Press Conference: A&M hits bye week before stretch run

Kevin Sumlin

Opening statement...

"It's a bye week. It comes at a good time for us. Any time you win, it makes that two-week period a little bit easier to stomach. We met at practice yesterday and gave them today off; we'll practice again Wednesday and Friday and give them the weekend off for the first time in a long time. It comes at a good time for us with the two games we have on the road against two high-quality opponents, ranked teams. We have a couple games that are meaningful and will dictate a lot for this team. It gives our guys a lot to play for.

"It's a week of getting back healthy, catching your breath, getting a quick jump on LSU, and a weekend of recruiting. That's really what this week is about and we can use it. I thought Saturday we didn't always do everything right. We played well as a team in spurts. We played great or we played poorly. Consistency is something you really, really strive to get as a coach. With youth, that's the big struggle. AT times we were really, really good on defense and at times we were really, really bad.

"The same thing happened on offense. We had more third and extra-longs than we've had all year. We converted a bunch of them, which is a positive, but ... really good teams don't act that way. ... It was a really good performance by our special teams unit again."

On whether there's been a complete game...

Sumlin: "I don't know. We've had some complete games. Alabama was a pretty good game. I don't know if we could've played much better than that for that game. We've scored more points against some people and haven't played as well, whether it was turnovers or things that got us behind the chains, or penalties. We've had some games where we've played pretty well offensively this year. We haven't played a perfect one yet. Very seldom does that happen."

On the last few minutes against Mississippi State and taking knees...

Sumlin: "I don't either. I know they used four timeouts, did you notice that? I didn't account for four timeouts. Let's put it that way. We've moved on. I spent a lot of time yelling at the end. The clock kept going up and down, or one second going off. None of it made sense to me. We wouldn't have done it that way based on the time on the clock, based on what the situation was, with two timeouts left and a minute-thirty-five to go."

On where Johnny Manziel has improved most from last year...

Sumlin: (Laughs) "That question, I get that question every week. He's improved in all phases. It's not just one area. The knowledge of our offense has helped him, his knowledge of defense, his mechanics have improved. He's a better quarterback."

On using the helicopter in recruiting...

Sumlin: "We actually used it the first evaluation time we could use it, a year ago. It was a little controversial. We had the hurricane that postponed the first game, so Florida became the first game, and that Thursday night we had a couple guys who were playing and it just so happened the game was on ESPN2. We didn't know that. The two guys who were involved in the game actually signed with us. We practiced Thursday and just by sheer need to get to the game, there's only one way to do it. You can't drive when you're going to North Houston. You can't get through Houston at 6:00 on Thursday night. You can't fly and land in Bush, you've got the same problem with traffic.

"But if you land on the baseball field right next to it, you don't have that issue. We have a booster who fortunately was very generous to let us use that. It's one of the only helicopters of its time in the state. The ability of the coaches to practice to 6-whatever and there's a game that starts at 7:30, for us to get to Houston and inside that stadium in less than an hour was unbelievable. Or to Dallas, or to multiple games. Some people think it's for show, but it's also for necessity if you're going to complete practice with your own team and see multiple games on Thursday and Friday nights. As I've told the booster who lets us use it, it seems to be undefeated as far as signees and commits. That's one thing I think we'll just keep doing."

On being able to show that 'the best players play'...

Sumlin: "I don't think it's as important to 'prove' it as it is that those guys have success. We have less problems than a lot of places. I tell guys all the time — I don't have a hidden agenda. We don't win, they get rid of me. So why would I come here and play mind games with you or try to make a point about you sitting on the bench (while) it hurts the whole team? You make decisions based on how to get the individual better, not based on what's going to hurt the whole football team.

"When you start making decisions that way, guys understand it. Guys understand that the best players play, regardless of whether it's five-stars or walk-ons. Whoever's going to give us the best chance to win. Guys understand that. And it's not just on Saturday, it's a combination of practice and playing on Saturday. You'll have some guys who practice really good and you go out there and turn the lights on and they can't do it. You've got to be reasonable with that.

"And production matters; production in practice matters. As long as you're consistent about that as a coach, players understand. I tell them, come see me and don't ask why other guys are playing, ask, 'Why am I not playing?' It doesn't do any good to have you standing on the sideline. My job is to get you on the field and get us to win."

On the offensive line and whether it's gelled again...

Sumlin: "They're a little rusty. Different positions. People think if you're a lineman, you're a lineman. You move from guard to tackle back to guard and haven't played in a couple weeks and you're playing big, strong SEC linemen ... we've got some issues, and that's what recruiting's all about. But when you move back inside, you're a little rusty. But this week comes as a good week. Everybody will heal up and work together and with a week of game preparation I think we'll be at full strength against LSU."

On the construction at Kyle Field...

Sumlin: "My wife got some (grass), she was bugging me about it right after the game. Like, 'What are you talking about?' But yeah, we've got some grass. That construction cam, that's unbelievable. I couldn't even get my car out Saturday night because they had locked it in around Netum Steed. They were locking up stuff and starting out there and I was like, 'What's going on?' They were ripping up the field already. I was wrong last week when I said they start construction Monday. They started Saturday at 10-o'clock. The east side bleachers are down already and they're digging up the bottom.

"That says a lot about our commitment as a university, it says a lot about our former students and 12th Man Foundation. There's very few places in the country that can honestly say, 'Ok, you play the game, everybody get out of here, have a great time, let's build a new one.' It's going to be awesome. All the things that are going to go on ... this first phase, the players that are here are excited about it. All the time you here about things that are going to happen, but when you can see it, it generates excitement in your program and for recruiting. Because there's a lot of people with signs and posters, but when you can actually show what's going on, that's a completely different ballgame."

On Johnny's interceptions and whether it should be held against him in the Heisman race...

Sumlin: "I don't know. Any time you talk about any type of award, it's a complete body of work. You've got your pluses and your minuses. When you compare players, people compare stats, they compare all kinds of different things. Style of play matters. But you evaluate people on pluses and minuses. Everyone's got at least two more games to play. I think after that, everybody will figure it out."

On scoring 51 and feeling like points were still left on the field...

Sumlin: "Yeah, we've done that for a couple weeks now. It gets back to what I said earlier, lack of consistency. In this situation, like we talked about, you've got guys that are either really good or really bad. That drives you nuts as a coach, and it's not a complete unit, it's one guy. Getting off the field on third down is one guy, a missed tackle. The difference in the first half and second half is in the first half we made tackles. Second, we missed tackles. Offensively, same deal. We were able to block through and made some good plays; on the three-and-outs we were just a bit off. Catch a ball one foot out of bounds, run it and you're that short.

"You've got to be able to complete those types of situations, and it's not really an 11-guy breakdown. All it takes is one guy. Consistency in performance is the biggest hurdle that we have to clear. And we have to clear that in a hurry because our next two opponents are quality opponents that'll make you pay without consistency."

Clarence McKinney

On the MSU D-line and the run game failing...

McKinney: "It was last Sunday, when I watched the film. They're probably the biggest, most athletic defensive line we've faced all year. The field didn't help — it was the eighth game on Kyle Field and we'd worn it out a bit. It was tough sledding as far as the run game goes."

On scoring 51 and feeling like points were left on the field...

McKinney: "It's been like that for us each week. We've felt like we've left a ton of points on the field. We haven't put together a perfect offensive game yet and we hope that one is coming for us."

On what a complete performance would look like...

McKinney: "You're talking about, a complete game, 14 possible drives, if you score touchdowns in 14 drives you're looking at a lot of points. It's unrealistic, but as a coaching staff and players, we feel like we can score on every possession. We've had that opportunity, we just haven't put it together. Our guys were a lot better on third down this week than we've been in previous weeks."

On what needs to get fixed to lead to that kind of game...

McKinney: "It's usually that we'll get behind the sticks as far as penalties go early in drives. Instead of first-and-10, you're looking at a first-and-15 call. Turnovers in the red zone."

On Ben Malena's personality...

McKinney: "Day-to-day, I guess he's kind of like Superman-Clark Kent. You don't notice him during the day, or in practice and meetings. He doesn't say a whole lot. But when the lights come on, he's a different person. He's very vocal, a leader on the field. But when we're in practice and meetings, he doesn't say a lot."

On taking knees late and having to punt again...

McKinney: "I was trying to figure out what the referees were doing there. We ran a play and then we ran another play, and then we reviewed a play from two plays ago. I didn't know that was possible. I was trying to figure out the referees, what they were doing. We were up two scores, so you figure you run down as much clock as you can. That's what we tried to do."

On Tra Carson...

McKinney: "I'm not sure exactly what his status is. That'd be a question for Coach Sumlin. If we had him (against MSU), who knows. All four of those guys are really talented; they had some good runs. Tra Carson's good; it may or may not have been a good game for him. We don't put guys in the game based on wanting a big guy or not. We just roll those guys in and run our offense."

On whether there's an avenue for complaint regarding the late officiating...

McKinney: "I don't know — that's a Coach Sumlin question. When the offense is on the field, I just try to get us in the right play. It just looked like some time had gone off the clock and they put some back on the clock. I was confused myself."

Mark Snyder

On how he'd assess Steven Jenkins so far...

Snyder: "Up-and-down. I think he's coming on a little bit. I think he's getting a little tired toward the end of games. We've got to start to get Jordan (Mastrogiovanni) in and move Darian (Claiborne) over so we can get (Jenkins) off the field a little bit."

On Mastrogiovanni being a young vocal leader at MIKE...

Snyder: "I think Jordan's going to be really good someday. Only time will tell. Looking at our future, Darian will switch back over to where Jenks is and we hope that Jordan takes over that MIKE spot."

On the early good start against MSU...

Snyder: "The fourth quarter was the story of the game. We played a really good half of football, challenged the kids to come out fast. We got off the field and played well there. It was the last 20 minutes of the game, right before the fourth quarter, Dak takes off with the football, then in the fourth quarter they throw a reverse pass. We don't put the game away. ... The last 20 minutes is what we're focusing on this week. A lot of it goes back to we have to get Jordan in the game and get a rotation going. It felt like we were letting them hang around and they started running Dak a lot."

On what leads to the late breakdowns...

Snyder: "I don't know. That's something I've got to answer. Probably a lot of youth. We're letting people hang around and having to play into the fourth quarter this year. That's something we're addressing."

On Sumlin following through on the 'best players play' mantra...

Snyder: "There's no doubt, competition makes us all better. That's something Coach Sumlin does a great job of. Doesn't matter your age, the guys who are producing are the ones who will play. That makes everyone better."

On the timing of the bye week...

Snyder: "It's huge. The bye comes in a great week. We're pretty healthy, but because of our youth we'll get back to some fundamental things. It comes at a really good time, especially with the two offenses we're going to go against. This offense is really, really good."

On LSU QB Zach Mettenberger...

Snyder: "He's managing the game. He's a big kid who can throw, we all know that. He's got some really skilled people around him. Those two wide receivers are really good, that tailback is really good, that offensive line is really good. And he's controlling the game. You can see him getting him into the right plays, the right looks that they want."

On defending the run being a concern...

Snyder: "What hurt us last week was the quarterback runs. You look at their total yardage, a lot of that came in the fourth quarter. We were bleeding yards. You look at the clock at some point and you're like, 'Get this game over with.' The stats don't show, but on the field it does show. I was pretty pleased for 40 minutes this week."

On how he'll spend the bye week...

Snyder: "For me it's a little bit of relaxation and family time, get home in the evening and hang out with my daughters. Those kind of things. Take some stress off, because it's a bit of a grind. It's pretty cool."

On not playing in Tiger Stadium at night...

Snyder: "You know, I've never been to LSU. I've never been to a game there, so this will be my first trek to LSU. I've heard it's quite a wild place."

On the Kyle Field renovation being underway...

Snyder: "It's pretty neat. It's going to be pretty neat. I got there right after the renovation when I went to Ohio State and got to be a part of that and see the end result. It's going to be pretty cool."

David Beaty

On the idea that scoring 51 points is underachieving for this offense...

Beaty: "I can understand that; I have to wrap my own mind around that. But I was fortunate to be hired here by Coach Sumlin and I've watched his offenses for a long time. You start to expect more. When you look at an 85-play game and you see missed opportunities out there, you realize that if you can take care of that you have a chance to be special."

On how he feels about this wide receiver grouo...

Beaty: "I didn't think I'd ever feel as good as I did last year about a group of guys. But I think what they did was leave a mantra for these guys. They take care of their business and they continue to work. As long as you keep that mentality, you can be something special."

On the bye week...

Beaty: "It gives us a chance to get some guys healthy. And we have two quality opponents on the road. We've got a great challenge ahead of us and time is on our side."

On whether he needs to lobby for Mike Evans' Biletnikoff chances...

Beaty: "I talk to our kids all the time about awards being byproducts of great teams with great chemistry. We have great chemistry. When selfishness starts sneaking in, that's when you're in trouble. They understand that if you take a lazy step, things can change at any time."

On the possibility of bringing the Biletnikoff to Aggieland...

Beaty: "That's a very prestigious award, particularly in an offense like ours that throws the ball around. If we can bring one here to Texas A&M, that's a big deal."

Jeff Banks

On Drew Kaser's season thus far...

Banks: "Drew Kaser, his development speaks about him. He was counted out or not looked heavily upon or well regarded. He was out of high school, but then he got here and had two systems and he hasn't flourished. He had some injuries along the way and redshirted Epperson's senior year. He came into spring working hard ... and all of a sudden, gained a love for the weight room. Coach Jackson did a great job with his assistants; he's explosive now.

"Then suddenly, Shane Lechler's standing next to me two weeks ago and says, 'Coach, that guy has a shot at the NFL.' I think (Kaser) saw what he could do in the Rice game. You've got to attribute it to him — his confidence, his work ethic, coming in in the fall and doing work."

On the freshman impact on special teams...

Banks: "Our freshman group is well regarded, obviously, by recruiting editors. After seeing them, they deserve it. There are six to eight defensive players that can run down and cover for us. Tavares Garner, we lost him (to injury), but he did a fantastic job early; Shaan Washington has done a great job for us. ... Our freshman class has impacted us on every spot. Our block this weekend, Isaiah Golden was the guy pushing the center back to get the penetration to allow us to get the block."

On what he's come to appreciate about working at Texas A&M...

Banks: "Football is football. Wherever I've coached, you line up and get in the stadium. But I do appreciate the commitment given to us by our administration. This place we're sitting in now (the renovated Bright lobby) was not here when I got here. People say something and they do it, and it happens immediately. The support has been something to see.

"It's been fun, it's been exciting, but really, it's unfinished. We have two big games left. We're trying to be the No. 1 special teams group in the Southeastern Conference. Now I think we're getting there and seeing it happen week in and week out."

On whether the block was effort or scheme...

Banks: "They ran several different protections, so we had to run something that would block it against every protection. We got lucky that they switched it and we ended up getting two guys free. We knew there were some (slow) things with mechanics with the punter and when we backed them up to the goal line we saw a chance. It was effort by Sam Moeller, but it was scheme too."

Ben Malena

On the Mississippi State game...

Malena: "It was a good game on the offensive side of the ball. The defense played well, but I'm really proud of special teams. The reason we won the game was special teams. Trey Williams had the kickoff return and we blocked a field goal."

On what game he can point to as a complete performance...

Malena: "We really don't look back. We try to move forward, get better and learn from our mistakes. We've gotten better every week, but there's still things to work on."

On getting the bye week...

Malena: "From a health aspect we don't have a lot of guys banged up, but it's always good to get an extra weekend to get fresh. Especially going into LSU. We're going to take advantage of the bye week and watch some film."

On the run game sputtering against MSU...

Malena: "Those guys' front seven was probably the biggest we played all year and they were good at stopping the run. We need to realize what we're doing and that we do have the capability of running against anybody. LSU's going to give us a challenge and we have to rise to the challenge."

On whether the end of the game made him emotional...

Malena: "It did a little bit. But I didn't really let it get to me because we still have two games that really determine the outcome of our season. I kind of soaked it all in and made sure I took pictures of everything."

Malcome Kennedy

On Johnny's life as a celebrity in a smaller town...

Kennedy: "I can only imagine. We get crazy fans and an autograph here and an autograph there, but as a college student it's hard to deal with schoolwork and all that. He's doing well. He hasn't gotten in any trouble. He's outdoing himself on the field from last year. He's playing with a chip on his shoulder; that's what makes him him. He's passionate. We follow him — he's the field general. He's not cocky, he's confident, and that transfers to everyone else on the field."

On what he's seen of LSU...

Kennedy: "As the game approaches, we don't try to look over other teams. But I've watched them playing other teams. I watched the Ole Miss game, the Alabama game. They're a hard-running team, big team, great defense, great up front as always. It's going to be a challenge."

On the benefits of the bye week...

Kennedy: "(Recovering from) injuries. And staying sharp mentally. This bye week is a great chance to look at some extra film. Coach always preaches playing three complete phases of the game, which we haven't done yet. We're trying to put that together."

Cedric Ogbuehi

On the MSU game...

Ogbuehi: "They were a big, physical team. They play hard, don't give up until the end. We beat a good team last week."

On what he does during a bye week...

Ogbuehi: "It's more rest and getting extra work in the weight room and staying in shape. But I like to get some rest."

On facing LSU...

Ogbuehi: "I'm glad. I like playing tough teams, tough D-ends. I'm ready for the challenge."

On Johnny taking responsibility after the game for his interceptions...

Ogbuehi: "That's a part of him growing up as a player and person. He knew he made a mistake, but he makes up for it every time."

On the offense's untapped potential...

Ogbuehi: "We've got to stop making mistakes, stop hurting ourselves and we'll score 70."