Monaco: Aggies beginning to learn their roles as SEC play heats up

Key notes from Andrew Monaco interview

• It was a great flight home. On Tuesday, you found out an awful lot. It was the first conference game, but you learned from non-conference too. You're seeing the identity of this team. Their defense is going to travel. They were up 17 on the road. That's impressive, even if they gave it away. They got that win because they had guys step up in the moment.
   
• If you took any single player out of that game, they don't win that game. They got contributions from everybody on the team.
   
• The three-point play by Georgia was with 5.5 seconds left. That was their first lead. Marcus Williams hit that three, so Georgia only led for about 4.3 seconds. It was almost enough. A&M had not been through something like that. They played from behind in the entire second half vs. Wisconsin. They played furiously in the second half vs. Notre Dame and TCU.
   
• They see what they didn't do well. They did not protect the paint. What they did well was force turnovers and take their shots.
   
• Henry Coleman III's performance. Wade Taylor coming off the bench. Hassan Diarra's defense. Tyrece Radford punished defenders by going to the hoop. These players are learning their roles, but the thing they've had since day one is trust.
   
• You cannot simulate the pressure. You can simulate late-game situations, but there was actually a win or a loss in the balance. That's a play — 'Kevin' — that was in their book, but they hadn't run it for a while. You can't simulate everything.
   
• I think these players trust these coaches and that they'll put them in a position to succeed. The coaches trust the players to listen.
   
• Buzz Williams breaks the game into 10 four-minute segments. I immediately think of 10 rounds of boxing. You have to win as many of those as possible.
   
• It's tough to win on the road. Dr. John Thornton and I said this on the way to the airport: You have to be 10 points better on the road. The Aggies have to be the Aggies, and their defense has to carry the team. Most of the teams will not have seen a defense like theirs. I like that they know they can affect the game on the defensive end. Defense travels, and defense plays very well at home.
   
• Who is the guy that has gone through four seasons of conference games? Ethan Henderson has. He can tell the younger guys what to expect in this league. He is not a shot-blocker, but he is a shot-alterer. He has that presence around the rim that causes guys to think twice when they get close. I love what he brings.
   
• I think we saw that blossoming game from Henry Coleman III in that season-opener. Then it becomes about doing it again and again and again.
   
• I'm always going to wish Zach Calzada success, except for the games he plays against Texas A&M. If it is a quarterback battle with TJ Finley at Auburn, Calzada has already been in a situation like that. He has proven that he can win in the SEC, and I wish him the best. It's very similar to Nick Starkel, who went to Arkansas before San Jose State. You like seeing them do what's best for them after giving their all to Texas A&M. I wish him the best, except when we go to The Plains.
   
• For as much as we say we want new teams and new blood in college football, it's obvious that some college football fans can't stand the status quo being shaken up. If somebody else emerges, the narrative is that they must be cheating. They took their shots at A&M for missing the bowl game, even though that game got played. People are trying to take shots at the sleeping giant and the new player on the stage in Texas A&M. People get mad because it's always the same teams, but I want people to get mad at A&M because they're the team that's always there every year. If you're buying stock, why wouldn't you buy into A&M?
   
• How could you not want to be the defensive coordinator at Texas A&M with all this talent? Jimbo Fisher hired someone he had to coach against, not only at Ole Miss but when Fisher was at Florida State and D.J. Durkin was at Florida. If Jimbo Fisher is bringing him in, it has to be a really, really good fit.