Kevin Sumlin
Marcel Yates
Steven Campbell
Steven Terrell
Texas A&M Football
"It's mostly mental. And you see other coaches around the country talking about it. You start feeling sorry for yourself but there's 124 other teams doing the same thing. If you're not, you're not going to win. But the people that are winning are investing in football. Everybody's sore. That's part of playing big boy football, you've got to push yourself through it. And that's kind of where we are."
"We've expressed that to him. He knows how we feel. He's a very talented guy that needs to understand that we need him to be productive for us. He needs to be solid in the other parts of the game. He doesn't need to be counterproductive. So if we can get him to that, consistently, he's shown the ability, like he did Saturday coming off the line. He's made plenty of plays for us."
"Outside, you're looking at (Gavin) Stansbury and (Julien) Obioha at one end and they've done a nice job. Obioha has been really good for us. He's really pushing Stansbury. Basically it's made Stansbury a better player. Competition is a coach's best friend. On the other side, Damontre is playing well, but the young Taylor (Tyrone) has come in. When he was recruited he was 210; now he's not 210. He's closer to 240. He's really come in and shown an ability to flash.
"For every player there's an adjustment and a how-to-do that. Sean has gone beyond that. We're at the point where we've more guys doing that across the board. Sean understood that quicker and he's been able to become a leader quicker because he understands things and is able to communicate with our coaches. We're going to need his leadership to get through camp and through the season. He's doing everything we ask him to do."
"Those guys have been good. Deshazor (Everett) has been bouncing back there between corner and safety; De'Vante (Harris) has given us a little flexibility with Floyd Raven and Otis Jacobs. So as I said, it seems like an easy deal but we need to get the right pieces. We've got some pieces, but we don't have a lot. We've got some pieces and it's up to us as coaches to get them in the right spot.
"It's probably as difficult a position as there is to play, and so those guys ... we've still got time. We've got tomorrow and another scrimmage Saturday, which we'll open up again. It won't be nearly as long on Saturday, but we'll get back in the stadium. Those guys need to play a bit more. The scrimmage will be open for fans."
Fall Camp Day #10: Sumlin, Yates, Campbell, Terrell
Kevin Sumlin
On how the players have held up to the grind...
Sumlin: "You know, you've found a way to ask the same question (smirk) eight times. What'd you see? It's alright. We're at 12. We talked about how we have, basically, 29 practice opportunities. Some guys use them all and some coaches don't. We've been using about 28 of them over the last three years. But tomorrow's really the halfway point. What makes it tough is hitting the halfway point in a two-a-day practice.
"It's mostly mental. And you see other coaches around the country talking about it. You start feeling sorry for yourself but there's 124 other teams doing the same thing. If you're not, you're not going to win. But the people that are winning are investing in football. Everybody's sore. That's part of playing big boy football, you've got to push yourself through it. And that's kind of where we are."
On Damontre Moore...
Sumlin: "He's coming along. He's a guy that's made big plays. The problem with him has been feast-or-famine. He's made big plays but shown the ability to hurt the team, too, with containment issues, jumping offsides, hasn't been able to stay up out there and he's flopping around on the ground ... so he's a guy we have to corral out there. He's got to understand his role. And become an every-down player that's consistent and not just a great play followed by not seeing him and then a penalty.
"We've expressed that to him. He knows how we feel. He's a very talented guy that needs to understand that we need him to be productive for us. He needs to be solid in the other parts of the game. He doesn't need to be counterproductive. So if we can get him to that, consistently, he's shown the ability, like he did Saturday coming off the line. He's made plenty of plays for us."
On the rest of the D-line...
Sumlin: "The addition of (Jonathan) Mathis, getting (Kirby) Ennis back, that gives you (Shayvion) Hatten, who's 300 pounds, and (Spencer) Nealy in there. That's four guys going. We moved Polo (Manukainiu) in there and he's 270 as a freshman. Alonzo (Williams) has been in there, he's 270. But we've got those four guys inside while those freshmen are starting to feel their way.
"Outside, you're looking at (Gavin) Stansbury and (Julien) Obioha at one end and they've done a nice job. Obioha has been really good for us. He's really pushing Stansbury. Basically it's made Stansbury a better player. Competition is a coach's best friend. On the other side, Damontre is playing well, but the young Taylor (Tyrone) has come in. When he was recruited he was 210; now he's not 210. He's closer to 240. He's really come in and shown an ability to flash.
"Those young guys have come in and done a nice job from an effort standpoint. They've really pushed our veterans and given us a change of pace outside, almost an entire new D-line than we had in the spring — which Coach (Terry) Price is happy about. But, Coach Price is not getting a whole bunch of sleep. His hair's falling out and his eyes are red because he's working like crazy trying to get the proper match, the proper rotation. We're not where we need to be, but out of that group, we feel a lot better than we did leaving spring football when you can rotate that group in there and be able to play in the league we're getting ready to play in."
On whether Sean Porter and Jonathan Stewart are stepping up their leadership...
Sumlin: "Yeah, I think so. Particularly Sean. I think Sean is a guy who understands the defense a little bit more, the whole package, has a better feel for Coach (Mark) Snyder, has a better feel for Coach (Matt) Wallerstedt and now, it's like anything else, you talk about freshmen ... there's really two phases. There's the 'what-to-do' phase that every freshman goes through, just figuring out what to do, and translating the playbook to the field; and there's the 'how-to-do' stage, which comes down the road, where, instead of just running to where the line is in the playbook, there's an adjustment.
"For every player there's an adjustment and a how-to-do that. Sean has gone beyond that. We're at the point where we've more guys doing that across the board. Sean understood that quicker and he's been able to become a leader quicker because he understands things and is able to communicate with our coaches. We're going to need his leadership to get through camp and through the season. He's doing everything we ask him to do."
On Steven Campbell...
Sumlin: "He's been good. We've got to keep an eye on him and his foot. Any time he looks like he's going to limp, I'll probably pull him out. I'm a bit protective of him. That injury is ... when you put that screw in there, that can go at any time. We're very cognizant of it, but when you're practicing safeties back there, you're not practicing one safety. You need to have two guys back there that are communicating, and communicating with the defense. So he's got to get reps and be able to talk. We've kind of been playing that by ear, getting him reps. But when he goes, he goes hard. I've been really pleased with he and Steven Terrell back there.
"Those guys have been good. Deshazor (Everett) has been bouncing back there between corner and safety; De'Vante (Harris) has given us a little flexibility with Floyd Raven and Otis Jacobs. So as I said, it seems like an easy deal but we need to get the right pieces. We've got some pieces, but we don't have a lot. We've got some pieces and it's up to us as coaches to get them in the right spot.
On Shaun Ward, Michael Richardson and Jordan Richmond...
Sumlin: "They're OK. They've got a ways to go. Linebacker is a very difficult position to play. The way it is right now, you've got to be, for what we do and as multiple as we are, able to cover guys and, as a young guy, when that ball is getting snapped, play the run and pass. Mentally, it's pretty difficult. Physically, for the front, it's different as a freshman. Mentally, for a linebacker, it's difficult. Different coverages, different drops, different A-gaps, B-gaps, C-gaps depending on where the back is.
"It's probably as difficult a position as there is to play, and so those guys ... we've still got time. We've got tomorrow and another scrimmage Saturday, which we'll open up again. It won't be nearly as long on Saturday, but we'll get back in the stadium. Those guys need to play a bit more. The scrimmage will be open for fans."
Marcel Yates
* If Campbell can stay healthy that would be great. He’s smart, he’s physical and he’s had a lot of playing time. All of that will be beneficial.
* Right now the secondary is talented but they need to get better, particularly at communicating. He wants the 2s to start playing like 1s.
* There’s a four or five man race for cornerback. Deshazor Everett, Floyd Raven, De’Vante Harris, Dustin Harris and Otis Jacobs are all competing and all want starting jobs. The competition keeps everyone on their toes and going hard.
* Everett will need to be versatile and be a key player. They’re loaded at corner so he’s going to need to adapt and play safety when needed.
* Safeties have to be guys that play the run and the pass. He was never in the Big 12 so he’s not familiar with those offenses but he doesn’t think in terms of conferences. The corners and safeties all need to be able to cover and tackle soundly regardless.
* Tony Hurd plays with a lot of energy. He feels he can just go out there and make plays. He’s a guy that can play all the positions: corner, safety and nickel. He plays larger than his frame.
* He’s very technical as a coach and the 2s just need to get better at doing their job. At corner there’s a five man race and they’re going to see who takes that next step over the next couple of weeks. He wants to find the quarterback(s) of the defense who can make the calls and then make plays. If you can cover and tackle, you can be pretty good.
* The 1s aren’t there yet but they made a lot of plays at the scrimmage. There was a drop off with the 2s. In the SEC, there’s likely going to be injuries so they need the 2s to step up and become like 1s. Corners also have to be ready to switch positions, perhaps safety.
* It feels great to have a healthy group. Seeing Campbell and Terrell on the field is encouraging because they have great chemistry and they’re both smart. Combining that with Tony Hurd will help out considerably at the position.
Steven Campbell
* It feels good to be back out there practicing. He wants to keep a positive mindset after all the injuries.
* The cornerbacks have done a good job competing with each other every day. They’ve found several people competing for safety.
* The defensive backs have to be more aggressive in the SEC but he doesn’t think it’s going to be that different than the Big 12. He thinks they need to prove themselves as a team and individuals against the new competition.
* He thinks he’s been doing decently in fall camp. He thinks he can get better at communicating and learning the new defense.
* He thinks he’s just about 100 percent and he feels better now than he did at the same time last year.
Steven Terrell
* It’s a lot more fun with Campbell and just having another senior out there leadership wise. He’s always wanted him to be back there so it’s great.
* Coach Yates has been a great coach. As a whole they’ve focused more on the little things. In the secondary it’s a battle of inches. Focusing on the little stuff is important and he feels he’s improved in that aspect.
* All of the cornerbacks impress him. The Aggies need that great competition.
* He wants to prove himself his senior year and have fun. He says the one thing that kept him down was not having fun so he wants to do that his final year.
* They’re more confident with the scheme. There are new disguises and now they’re comfortable with them. The 1s are particularly adept at knowing the disguises and coverages and then executing them.
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