Press Conference: Elko, Aggies take 5-0 SEC record to Williams-Brice

No. 10 Texas A&M hits the road this week as the Aggies carry their 5-0 SEC record into a night game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium. On Monday, Mike Elko, Albert Regis and Trey Zuhn III spoke to the media ahead of another crucial SEC game.

The following are live, paraphrased notes from the Monday afternoon media availability:

Mike Elko

• Recapping the LSU game, two days later, still a thank you to the 12th Man. It was an unbelievable environment. OL Players of the Week were Trey Zuhn III and Dametrious Crownover. DL was Shemar Turner and DJ Hicks. Offensively, we gave it to Marcel Reed. Shoutout to Amari Daniels. Defensively, BJ Mayes. The one guy I didn't talk about was Tyler White, and he deserves mentioning. 
   
• We are excited about where we are at. This will be the biggest change of the year to date. South Carolina is coming off a bye and could easily have been 6-1. This is an enormous challenge for our program. 
   
• It's comical that I have to do this. I made a postgame statement that seemed like a shot at someone. I have nothing but respect for Coach Fisher. I am the head coach at A&M because of coach Fisher. For it to be about another coach, it’s asinine.
   
• The possibility is there for us to do a lot of things with the QBs. We will see this week what we think gives us the best chance. It's too early in our minds to make that decision. Even if we made one, I probably wouldn't tell you.
   
• Chase Bisontis was out last week. He will probably be out for a couple of weeks. We will see where that’s at after the bye. 
   
• Our pre- and post-snap penalties will kill us. We have to do our job as a staff to address that. 
   
• We are playing very level. We are coming in prepared for a three-and-a-half-hour fight. That was shown in the fourth quarter. 
   
• South Carolina is extremely talented. They have two kids on the D-line who will be first-round NFL Draft picks. They have a first-round safety. In the games they have been successful, the defense has taken over. They had an extra week of preparation. 
   
• There were questions asked in the opener about Marcel. I don't know if that ever crossed our minds. When you see how he played... It was not an easy decision before Missouri. It was a hard decision. It was not all on Conner. You know you have a kid with a different dynamic who can inject some life into the offense, you certainly do it.
   
• We are still working through consistency in the throwing game. The timing of it.
   
• The decision to go to Reed is ultimately my decision. Collin Klein and I go into it every week, and he comes up with plans. We have to have a plan with Marcel at all times because you never know what will happen injury-wise. It's a credit to Collin. He does it in a way that doesn't create a ton of volume. We have enough wrinkles in our system to adjust. 
   
• I think preparing for two QBs is a challenge because of their contrasting strengths. Conner sees things well and can beat you with his arm, but he also runs. Marcel can do enough in the RPO game but the zone read game... When you are doing all of that, you are touching the entire gauntlet of offense. As a defensive coach, I imagine it would be challenging to prepare your guys through that. 
   
• Standing there after the game, sawing ‘em off, that was such an impressive scene. I want the 12th Man to understand how much we appreciate it. This is year five for me with that support. 
   
• Albert Regis is the main reason why this is one of the best D-lines he’s played on. He is one of the most unsung heroes. He is immovable in there right now. You talk about the depth. Bringing in DJ Hicks, Cashius Howell and Rylan Kennedy... There is a lot of quality in that group. The rotation keeps them fresh.
   
• We start installing the third down on Tuesday. That’s different. A lot of teams don't do that. I want to give kids the chance to wrap their heads around it. It's an emphasis point. 
   
• Conner gets sped up sometimes. His clock starts moving faster when he isn't having success. His eyes are going through the progressions too quickly, or he rushes his mechanics. Sometimes, our wideouts are too slow, and Conner is too quick.