Press Conference: Fisher, Aggies eye top-25 battle with No. 13 Miami

No. 24 Texas A&M must turn the page and right the ship, beginning this week as the 13th-ranked Miami Hurricanes travel to Aggieland. Ahead of a Saturday primetime contest, Jimbo Fisher, Layden Robinson, Ainias Smith and Demani Richardson spoke to the media.

The following are live, paraphrased notes from Jimbo Fisher’s Monday afternoon media availability:

• Give credit to a good Appalachian State team. We did not execute. We had opportunities. Defensively, we did a nice job. We kept them to 17 points, and with that, you can expect to win the game. It was a hard-fought game. We need to win first-down battles. Offensively, we did not execute at a high enough level. We had two critical turnovers. We have to play better and execute better. Special teams did a good job. We want to get Ainias Smith more opportunities on kicks. We got to make sure we get the field goals right. We have to practice well.
   
• Our quarterbacks know exactly what they are doing. Haynes King made throws and missed throws. 
   
• In time, I would hand the offense over. It’s a collective group decision but based on the offensive staff. Whatever it takes to win. My ego would not get in the way.
   
• I know we have a good team and good players. I believe in our players and what we're doing.
   
• There could possibly be a quarterback change. We will evaluate every position this week.
   
• Miami has a great team this year. The mistakes are fixable. It’s cause and effect. That’s everchanging whether you are winning or losing. 
   
• Bryce Foster will be back in practice today.
   
• You have to get guys in the box and be dynamic. We have to keep the ball on offense and not shoot ourselves in the foot. We have to be able to convert on third down and put the pressure on them.
   
• When we played Miami at Florida State, we had good players, and it was a good rivalry. We found those inches. A couple of those games were one-possession games. 
   
• There are so many young players. We have to get those guys to execute. Up front, it’s a matter of time, and we will see that this week in practice.
   
• We are playing with exact consistency. I thought we had a good week of practice last week. It’s not on all the guys. That's on coaching too.
   
• We’ll see if Bryce Foster will step back in as a starter. We’ll evaluate that this week.
   
• “Buy in” for an older guy like him is every play and every snap in like a game rep. It’s like the Michael Jordan documentary. That’s what the great teams do. Every play in practice matters, and you have to do it perfectly. That’s what Ainias Smith is talking about with buy-in. That’s an evergoing process. Every rep has to be perfect.
   
• We have to execute and coach better. Having senior leadership and four and fifth-year guys matter. Appalachian State had those guys, but that's not an excuse for anything. The 18-year-old mind is not the same as a 22-year-old.
   
• A quarterback is your mother. Haynes is a young guy right now, and he is cleaning up his own messes. There are three or four plays I wish he would have made. He knows that and would be the first one to tell you that. 
   
• Physicality is the way you practice. You have to learn how to practice and play the game physically. We played physically. We were not technical.
   
• The freshmen have to explain, talk and communicate. That’s everything in life. they don't want to fail and were not going to put them in that position.