Chavis
Kevin Sumlin
John Chavis
Noel Mazzone
Christian Kirk
Avery Gennesy
Connor McQueen
Justin Evans
Daeshon Hall
Kingsley Keke
Richard Moore
Texas A&M Football
Texas A&M Football weekly press conference: South Carolina
The following are live, paraphrased notes from Texas A&M's weekly
press conference. Videos of the interviews will be added to the story as
they are rendered.
• We're not going to comment on any injuries. No different than usual.
• This team is physically stronger than last year's. We've got the maturity factor. We made some tough decisions last year regarding our staff, and we've made some drastic changes to the player development plan. Those differences are apparent to me. Whether it changes results or not, we'll have to see. We needed to change our body types to look like the rest of the teams in our league. We spent a lot of time on nutrition and with our sports science people. We've done a lot regarding player development. Guys like Shaan Washington came in and needed shoulder surgeries. Daeshon Hall did too. They're different players now. We had to change the way they eat and put quantitative measures on it. We're a stronger team for it. I've seen the numbers. That was the goal. Let's see where that takes us.
• I've worked with a lot of offensive coordinators. I've known Noel Mazzone for over 20 years. There's a comfort level that comes with that. We've met in the offseason and talked during the season over the years. We've never had an opportunity to work together since 1993. I think there's a lot of commonality. People see us talking on the sidelines during series on the field. He's seen a lot of football and different systems. He's dealt with a lot of high-profile quarterbacks. He brings a lot to the table. I think his conversation with our quarterbacks and the offense have been received the right way. He's done a good job of trying to develop our strengths. That's harder to do than to say. Trevor Knight's evolution has a lot to do with his comfort level with the coaching staff. Noel is figuring out where he is. He's got the experience and the knowledge to see that and play to those strengths.
• I think everyone is going to look back at Trayveon Williams and say he was always explosive. He was a little bit thinner, but he had great hands. He did a lot for his high school. We were fortunate to flip him. He was committed to another school. He changed his mind, and I'm glad he did. He's got real explosiveness. I said that during fall camp. He was an early graduate. He went through off-season. He had some issues trying to pick up blitzes and things, but he's doing well. He and Colton Prater are playing at a really high level for freshman. They have one thing in common: their work ethic off the field. That has set them apart. I think them coming in and seeing the change in approach in the off-season – it's all they know. They've had a great start to the season, but they don't wear it on their sleeves. Trayveon enjoys it, but he's working on it off the field to be as good as he can be.
• Josh Reynolds and I may have talked about him not being on any pre-season lists prior to fall camp. I had that discussion with him just like the safeties. That means there were six guys ahead of him. We talked about it.
• We made some drastic changes to our program. We made some subtle changes to our program. That doesn't mean we'll win more games, but we're seeing a difference. Our guys understand where we are. They have a different perspective than when they were freshman and sophomores. They were used to winning and thought things were just going to keep rolling the way they were in 2012. Their approach has changed. Our schedule has been back-loaded the last two years. We played our non-conference games early. The first four games are different this year. We have a better feel for where we are as a team than we have at this point in other years. We can evaluate where we are better this year than we could before.
• I don't know if Josh likes being underrated, but I like that he's on my team. I have pro scouts ask me how fast he is, and I say he's fast enough. Whether he likes that or not, I don't know. He wants to be an elite player. It was evident that after the bowl game when he knocked on my door and said he wanted to come back and be the best he could be that it was great news for the team.
• Keke and Zaycoven have been solid. Daylon is still a work in progress. Keke is a bigger man with a longer body. Interior production isn't about making tackles in our defense. They need to hold the point and play in the other team's backfield. They need to hold gaps and free people up to run and make plays. That's hard for Daylon. He's not used to that. In high school, he blew through gaps to make tackles. David Turner is doing an excellent job of making these guys play with more control. That allows our linebackers to play in the backfield. The rotation has helped those guys too. They don't have to be on the field the whole time. You've got a 5-man rotation that keeps those guys fresh. Just because they don't have numbers doesn't mean they aren't productive. You don't have 11 snaps inside the 2-yard line without those guys doing their job.
• People make coaching changes for different reasons. South Carolina is in a new system. They're pretty good defensively. Coach Muschamp has been in this league for a while. They're still looking for an identity offensively, but the defense is salty. It's a good place to play. The fans have a lot of passion. It's loud. We opened the SEC Network on a Thursday night down there. Any time you go on the road in this league, you'd better be ready to play. This is our furthest road trip this year. For some young guys, riding the bus to Dallas is a little bit different. We had a couple guys who had never been on planes before when we went to Auburn. The plane bounced on the runway when we got back and we had to circle College Station again. Those guys might be a little more nervous this week. We've been sneaking those young guys onto the field for special teams to get them playing time. We aren't taking anything for granted.
• We've improved on defense. We're going to see good teams from here on out. We've seen some good teams. I think the flexibility of the defense has been interesting so far. We've faced different attacks. That's been encouraging. We've played at a high level. The key is to stay healthy, keep our depth. Everyone has seen the rotations. We've had big plays from a bunch of linebackers. The defensive ends are rotating. The ability to play 20 or 30 guys has really helped that defense.
• The "Wrecking Crew" name is something you earn. That's not really up to me. For years, I wasn't here. I was a player in the 80s. Then I was a young coach. A&M played good defense. From the outside looking in, that's what you saw. That was an identity. Because it was at such a high level, it's not something we're pushing, but if people start to identify us as a defense, you can't take it as anything but a compliment.
• We've got a great partnership with Adidas. They've done a great job across the board. We get a lot of questions about different uniforms, but if we watch all our other sports, they have all sorts of uniforms. They've done a great job with us. It started out the first year as a surprise to create energy in year one. When I got the job, Adidas had a reception at the national championship and had uniform samples right there. We made the decision then to go with the traditional two-strip uniform with the matte helmet. All the new ideas are approved by a lot of different people. This week's uniform is a tribute to a team that finished fifth in the country. I think there were some great names on that team. It was historic. It's great that we're able to have a replica uniform that's not outrageous and is representative of one of the great teams to play here.
• I'm really excited about how our players performed in terms of effort. I thought it was incredible. I've never seen players play harder. There were some negatives on third down. It started really bad in the third quarter. We had them pinned, but they kept converting on third down. They couldn't run it, but we let them convert in the passing game. Arkansas deserves some credit. They have good players. They can coach, but you have to keep the ball pinned down. They got a little momentum and got the ball down to the 2-yard line. The goal line stand was incredible. It was as big as it gets. They denied them the end zone, and I'm as proud of that as I can be. We have things to fix. That's on me. We're a pressure team. The pressure has to get home. Arkansas did a good job of protecting the quarterback, but we got there eventually. I assure you we will be better on third down this week.
• I think the defensive tackles provided great gap integrity. We had two misses during the game. One was about a 45-yard run. Arkansas is a well-coached football team, but we should have knocked that play in the dirt. These guys want to be a great defense. They aren't there yet, but nobody is playing with more effort than these guys. I think everyone did a really good job playing the run if you take away that one play.
• We knew back in the first spring I was here that we needed to get stronger on the line. Coach Jackson has done a good job of making us look like an SEC defense.
• It's tough for the corners to play on an island. I think the secondary played well. We need the pressure we're bringing to get home. We played some zone. We mixed it up. We can't have linebackers biting on bait. That's coaching. That's on me. I don't have problems with the secondary. We need the pressure to get to the quarterback.
• I haven't talked to Les Miles yet. I hope to soon. I think that could have been done different, but that's not my call. He did a lot for that school, and he's a great man. It wasn't difficult to see it was coming.
• If you take away the third down situation, we're playing with good enough effort. That's coaching. I take responsibility for that. You've got to tie it all together. People will scheme you up. They have to beat man-to-man. Then we have to play some zone. We're capable of doing it. When I say we're not a great defense, I don't want people to take that the wrong way. Right now, we're a very good defense. I'm happy with winning by 21 points, but I'm not happy about the yardage we gave up in the passing game. It's not just the corners. That's about 11 guys. I have to do a better job. This group of young men will respond to what we ask them to do. I think we can get to be a great defense.
• Coach Muschamp has done a great job and put together a great staff. They're a zone read team that wants to get the quarterback involved. I think we'll see some play-action. They aren't going to change what they do. We aren't going to change. The quarterback is a very talented young man. He's been there as long as anyone under Coach Muschamp. It'll be another test. They have a physical offensive line. They have a freshman that is doing a great job at running back. It'll be a good test.
• Trayveon Williams is a good fit for what we do offensively. He's got great vision and is explosive. He's not the biggest kid, but he's tough. His skillset as a runner is obvious. The things he's done without the football are what I've been impressed with. He's not a liability there.
• Ricky Seals-Jones got hurt, and I didn't even notice that Frank Iheanacho was in the game for the rest of the game. That means he's doing his job. He's progressed as a player. We didn't skip a beat, and I didn't adjust the way I called the game. That's vitally important. That depth is good. He did a nice job.
• As soon as your quarterback is a serious threat as a runner, it creates problems for the defense and options for you. I didn't know Trevor was that fast. I think him being a threat helped the running backs. Schematically, we're not a complicated offense. We want to do a couple of things really well. Our offensive line just keeps improving week-to-week. That has something to do with who they practice against, as well.
• We knew Trevor was a great decision-maker when he decided to come here. Being a quarterback in this style of offense – it's a quarterback-driven offense. You're giving him a pre-snap decision, a decision at the snap to pull it or hand it off, and a third decision if you want to take the ball to the perimeter. It's a repetition offense. He's got to see the same pictures over and over. He has to make snap-decisions. He won't always make the right ones. You just want to maximize the correct decisions. You're seeing those lights turn on in his head.
• Ricky has really embraced the blocking portion of his position. He's creating value for himself and the team. The more he's in there, the more he embraces it. He's really made strides and has done cool things for us in there. We can put him in the box, on the edge and in the slot. He's a versatile kid.
• We're working on snaps every day. That's Erik McCoy's third game. He's at the hardest position. He's making all the calls along the line. You have a guy behind you screaming at you to give you the football. He's got a lot of things going on. Every once in a while, you'll have problems like that. We're working on it every week.
• Conditioning has been a big key this year. Coach Jackson prepares us pretty well. We have to keep focusing on us and do the little things that we do.
• Myles is bigger and faster this year. He's a powerful guy. I like the challenge to get better against him in practice. On the field and even in the game, we try to make each other better.
• It's fun to block for all the running backs. They can all make plays. Any one of them can take it to the house. We just want them to see big lanes when they run.
Kevin Sumlin
• We're not going to comment on any injuries. No different than usual.
• This team is physically stronger than last year's. We've got the maturity factor. We made some tough decisions last year regarding our staff, and we've made some drastic changes to the player development plan. Those differences are apparent to me. Whether it changes results or not, we'll have to see. We needed to change our body types to look like the rest of the teams in our league. We spent a lot of time on nutrition and with our sports science people. We've done a lot regarding player development. Guys like Shaan Washington came in and needed shoulder surgeries. Daeshon Hall did too. They're different players now. We had to change the way they eat and put quantitative measures on it. We're a stronger team for it. I've seen the numbers. That was the goal. Let's see where that takes us.
• I've worked with a lot of offensive coordinators. I've known Noel Mazzone for over 20 years. There's a comfort level that comes with that. We've met in the offseason and talked during the season over the years. We've never had an opportunity to work together since 1993. I think there's a lot of commonality. People see us talking on the sidelines during series on the field. He's seen a lot of football and different systems. He's dealt with a lot of high-profile quarterbacks. He brings a lot to the table. I think his conversation with our quarterbacks and the offense have been received the right way. He's done a good job of trying to develop our strengths. That's harder to do than to say. Trevor Knight's evolution has a lot to do with his comfort level with the coaching staff. Noel is figuring out where he is. He's got the experience and the knowledge to see that and play to those strengths.
• I think everyone is going to look back at Trayveon Williams and say he was always explosive. He was a little bit thinner, but he had great hands. He did a lot for his high school. We were fortunate to flip him. He was committed to another school. He changed his mind, and I'm glad he did. He's got real explosiveness. I said that during fall camp. He was an early graduate. He went through off-season. He had some issues trying to pick up blitzes and things, but he's doing well. He and Colton Prater are playing at a really high level for freshman. They have one thing in common: their work ethic off the field. That has set them apart. I think them coming in and seeing the change in approach in the off-season – it's all they know. They've had a great start to the season, but they don't wear it on their sleeves. Trayveon enjoys it, but he's working on it off the field to be as good as he can be.
• Josh Reynolds and I may have talked about him not being on any pre-season lists prior to fall camp. I had that discussion with him just like the safeties. That means there were six guys ahead of him. We talked about it.
• We made some drastic changes to our program. We made some subtle changes to our program. That doesn't mean we'll win more games, but we're seeing a difference. Our guys understand where we are. They have a different perspective than when they were freshman and sophomores. They were used to winning and thought things were just going to keep rolling the way they were in 2012. Their approach has changed. Our schedule has been back-loaded the last two years. We played our non-conference games early. The first four games are different this year. We have a better feel for where we are as a team than we have at this point in other years. We can evaluate where we are better this year than we could before.
• I don't know if Josh likes being underrated, but I like that he's on my team. I have pro scouts ask me how fast he is, and I say he's fast enough. Whether he likes that or not, I don't know. He wants to be an elite player. It was evident that after the bowl game when he knocked on my door and said he wanted to come back and be the best he could be that it was great news for the team.
• Keke and Zaycoven have been solid. Daylon is still a work in progress. Keke is a bigger man with a longer body. Interior production isn't about making tackles in our defense. They need to hold the point and play in the other team's backfield. They need to hold gaps and free people up to run and make plays. That's hard for Daylon. He's not used to that. In high school, he blew through gaps to make tackles. David Turner is doing an excellent job of making these guys play with more control. That allows our linebackers to play in the backfield. The rotation has helped those guys too. They don't have to be on the field the whole time. You've got a 5-man rotation that keeps those guys fresh. Just because they don't have numbers doesn't mean they aren't productive. You don't have 11 snaps inside the 2-yard line without those guys doing their job.
• People make coaching changes for different reasons. South Carolina is in a new system. They're pretty good defensively. Coach Muschamp has been in this league for a while. They're still looking for an identity offensively, but the defense is salty. It's a good place to play. The fans have a lot of passion. It's loud. We opened the SEC Network on a Thursday night down there. Any time you go on the road in this league, you'd better be ready to play. This is our furthest road trip this year. For some young guys, riding the bus to Dallas is a little bit different. We had a couple guys who had never been on planes before when we went to Auburn. The plane bounced on the runway when we got back and we had to circle College Station again. Those guys might be a little more nervous this week. We've been sneaking those young guys onto the field for special teams to get them playing time. We aren't taking anything for granted.
• We've improved on defense. We're going to see good teams from here on out. We've seen some good teams. I think the flexibility of the defense has been interesting so far. We've faced different attacks. That's been encouraging. We've played at a high level. The key is to stay healthy, keep our depth. Everyone has seen the rotations. We've had big plays from a bunch of linebackers. The defensive ends are rotating. The ability to play 20 or 30 guys has really helped that defense.
• The "Wrecking Crew" name is something you earn. That's not really up to me. For years, I wasn't here. I was a player in the 80s. Then I was a young coach. A&M played good defense. From the outside looking in, that's what you saw. That was an identity. Because it was at such a high level, it's not something we're pushing, but if people start to identify us as a defense, you can't take it as anything but a compliment.
• We've got a great partnership with Adidas. They've done a great job across the board. We get a lot of questions about different uniforms, but if we watch all our other sports, they have all sorts of uniforms. They've done a great job with us. It started out the first year as a surprise to create energy in year one. When I got the job, Adidas had a reception at the national championship and had uniform samples right there. We made the decision then to go with the traditional two-strip uniform with the matte helmet. All the new ideas are approved by a lot of different people. This week's uniform is a tribute to a team that finished fifth in the country. I think there were some great names on that team. It was historic. It's great that we're able to have a replica uniform that's not outrageous and is representative of one of the great teams to play here.
John Chavis
• I'm really excited about how our players performed in terms of effort. I thought it was incredible. I've never seen players play harder. There were some negatives on third down. It started really bad in the third quarter. We had them pinned, but they kept converting on third down. They couldn't run it, but we let them convert in the passing game. Arkansas deserves some credit. They have good players. They can coach, but you have to keep the ball pinned down. They got a little momentum and got the ball down to the 2-yard line. The goal line stand was incredible. It was as big as it gets. They denied them the end zone, and I'm as proud of that as I can be. We have things to fix. That's on me. We're a pressure team. The pressure has to get home. Arkansas did a good job of protecting the quarterback, but we got there eventually. I assure you we will be better on third down this week.
• I think the defensive tackles provided great gap integrity. We had two misses during the game. One was about a 45-yard run. Arkansas is a well-coached football team, but we should have knocked that play in the dirt. These guys want to be a great defense. They aren't there yet, but nobody is playing with more effort than these guys. I think everyone did a really good job playing the run if you take away that one play.
• We knew back in the first spring I was here that we needed to get stronger on the line. Coach Jackson has done a good job of making us look like an SEC defense.
• It's tough for the corners to play on an island. I think the secondary played well. We need the pressure we're bringing to get home. We played some zone. We mixed it up. We can't have linebackers biting on bait. That's coaching. That's on me. I don't have problems with the secondary. We need the pressure to get to the quarterback.
• I haven't talked to Les Miles yet. I hope to soon. I think that could have been done different, but that's not my call. He did a lot for that school, and he's a great man. It wasn't difficult to see it was coming.
• If you take away the third down situation, we're playing with good enough effort. That's coaching. I take responsibility for that. You've got to tie it all together. People will scheme you up. They have to beat man-to-man. Then we have to play some zone. We're capable of doing it. When I say we're not a great defense, I don't want people to take that the wrong way. Right now, we're a very good defense. I'm happy with winning by 21 points, but I'm not happy about the yardage we gave up in the passing game. It's not just the corners. That's about 11 guys. I have to do a better job. This group of young men will respond to what we ask them to do. I think we can get to be a great defense.
• Coach Muschamp has done a great job and put together a great staff. They're a zone read team that wants to get the quarterback involved. I think we'll see some play-action. They aren't going to change what they do. We aren't going to change. The quarterback is a very talented young man. He's been there as long as anyone under Coach Muschamp. It'll be another test. They have a physical offensive line. They have a freshman that is doing a great job at running back. It'll be a good test.
Noel Mazzone
• Trayveon Williams is a good fit for what we do offensively. He's got great vision and is explosive. He's not the biggest kid, but he's tough. His skillset as a runner is obvious. The things he's done without the football are what I've been impressed with. He's not a liability there.
• Ricky Seals-Jones got hurt, and I didn't even notice that Frank Iheanacho was in the game for the rest of the game. That means he's doing his job. He's progressed as a player. We didn't skip a beat, and I didn't adjust the way I called the game. That's vitally important. That depth is good. He did a nice job.
• As soon as your quarterback is a serious threat as a runner, it creates problems for the defense and options for you. I didn't know Trevor was that fast. I think him being a threat helped the running backs. Schematically, we're not a complicated offense. We want to do a couple of things really well. Our offensive line just keeps improving week-to-week. That has something to do with who they practice against, as well.
• We knew Trevor was a great decision-maker when he decided to come here. Being a quarterback in this style of offense – it's a quarterback-driven offense. You're giving him a pre-snap decision, a decision at the snap to pull it or hand it off, and a third decision if you want to take the ball to the perimeter. It's a repetition offense. He's got to see the same pictures over and over. He has to make snap-decisions. He won't always make the right ones. You just want to maximize the correct decisions. You're seeing those lights turn on in his head.
• Ricky has really embraced the blocking portion of his position. He's creating value for himself and the team. The more he's in there, the more he embraces it. He's really made strides and has done cool things for us in there. We can put him in the box, on the edge and in the slot. He's a versatile kid.
• We're working on snaps every day. That's Erik McCoy's third game. He's at the hardest position. He's making all the calls along the line. You have a guy behind you screaming at you to give you the football. He's got a lot of things going on. Every once in a while, you'll have problems like that. We're working on it every week.
Avery Gennesy
• Conditioning has been a big key this year. Coach Jackson prepares us pretty well. We have to keep focusing on us and do the little things that we do.
• Myles is bigger and faster this year. He's a powerful guy. I like the challenge to get better against him in practice. On the field and even in the game, we try to make each other better.
• It's fun to block for all the running backs. They can all make plays. Any one of them can take it to the house. We just want them to see big lanes when they run.
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