Aggies welcome new challenges at SECMD14

Note: Remaining transcripts will be added as they become available.

Kevin Sumlin

"We've got this thing and it's really helping us with recruiting. Here's how it goes: you play left tackle and you leave and become a millionaire. The guy on the right gets to move over to left, and he gets to become a millionaire. We just keep moving them. Whoever's playing right tackle this year, he is going to be pretty excited. There's a bigger fight right now to play right tackle than there is left, because the left tackle's name gets called in New York every year. It's been a pretty good recruiting plan, too.

"Cedric has that ability to play wherever he wants on the line. He's been a guard, a right tackle. You guys have seen him, he doesn't look like he wears 305 pounds. He looks like he's about 270. He's very athletic and very long. Some guys will say he's more athletic than the last two guys. That may be true. Those two guys were pretty good.

"Moving guys from right to left tackle has kind of been our deal. It's kind of a privileged situation at Texas A&M. Guys have been buying into it and understanding it. Like I said, it's really helped in recruiting too."

On expectations for this season...

"We have our own expectations. I said in the big room, the first year nobody expected anything out of us. Last year, everyone expected us to win every game. As a coach, you have your expectations within your program. You set that with your players and you don't ride the wave. Our expectations are not going to change. Our players understand, not only what the expectations are, but more importantly, what the expectations are day-to-day, to try and reach those goals. To me, that's what's important.

"You have to remember I come here with three other players, and the other 80-90 guys don't know what's going on with perception, they just listen to us. Around practice 17, when it's 100 degrees, they could care less what everyone thinks is supposed to happen, they are just trying to get to the next drill. We try to set that expectation for them early in practice and hold them to those standards."

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Cedric Ogbuehi

On how Kyle Allen and Kenny Hill compare to Johnny Manziel…

"They're fighting hard every day to become the starter. Kyle is more of a pocket guy. Kenny is a little bit more mobile. I see a little similarities there, but they are also playmakers, too."

"For sure. I would say he's probably the biggest impact on me getting more comfortable at the position. Me and him, even last week when he was back in town, work a little bit to still get more comfortable."

"It's a big deal, but every game I have to play still. I have to show out. It's not earned. I have to work for it."

On his favorite Texas A&M tradition…

"I would say Muster. I like how they always remember the fallen Aggies and how we never forget the Aggies that passed."

On the running backs…

"First off, all of them are fast. Tra Carson is a little more power. Brandon Williams is a little more speed. He's probably the fastest one. Trey Williams is shifty. He can cut through the small gaps and the holes. They have a lot of similarities, but they are all great backs."

On what Jake Spavital does to keep this offense clicking…

"He keeps preaching tempo. Make sure we stay fast and stay in shape, because we are a fast-paced offense. Just keeping preaching tempo. That's the biggest deal."

On the biggest difference from right to left tackle…

"The biggest difference is technique, going from right stagger to left stagger, but tackle is tackle. It was harder at first, but once you get used to it, it's the same thing."

On what Matthews has shown him…

"It's not really talking. It's just like seeing. He was showing me some footwork, steps and techniques. He didn't really say much, but just me watching him do it helped the most."

On South Carolina…

"They are a great team. They are physical, play hard, and they have a funny coach."

On his decision to return to school...

"The big deal was most teams had me playing left tackle, not right tackle. I had never played left tackle before, so just getting comfortable with getting a full year under my belt at left tackle was a big factor. Graduating was also a big factor. Last year Jake did the same thing and he went top ten, so I just hope it works out."

On Mike Matthews…

"Mike's a great player. Next year, he is going to have the same kind of decision that I had. He's a Matthews. He works hard and works for it, and he's doing great things so far."

On whether the entire offensive line is quiet like Jake…

"Everyone has their own personalities. Mike, his brother, is loud and outgoing. Everybody has different personalities. You can't really say Jake had an impact on how we react."

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Deshazor Everett

On how to improve the defense next season…

"We have to play better. That's what we take from it. Giving up as points as we did as a defense is pretty embarrassing. We definitely have to come out stronger this year."

On the depth of the defense…

"The guys that we have played last year. We lost a few guys, but there were guys in those positions that also played. As far as depth, we're pretty good on depth. We're going to come and we're going to play."

On how much it helps knowing he's going to play just corner...

"If I was going from safety to corner this year, I would still be as confident as I am now. But knowing that I can focus on one position and focus on that to the best of my abilities, it gives me more confidence and the ability to make more plays."

On Nick Harvey, Armani Watts, and the young guys in the secondary…

"Going through 7-on-7, I see a lot of from those guys. I see things that are some things that I used to do that aren't so good. Me out there helping them, I know that they can be players that step in and help us out if we need them to. I expect great things from them. They are all capable players of playing, and I believe they will play and be playmakers. You still have to coach them up, because they are still young."

On how much the Wrecking Crew is talked about…

"After last year, you aren't hearing too much talk about the Wrecking Crew. It wasn't really a Wrecking Crew out there. We were just guys flying around just doing whatever we wanted to do. We weren't playing actual defense. That's what we have to get back to if we want to be the Wrecking Crew, get back to playing actual defense."

On the new stadium...

"Kyle Field is going to be a lot larger than it was. That's just going to give us more support from the 12th Man. They've been amazing in the past, and just making it bigger, it's going to be more amazing."

On playing as a defense…

"Definitely not making it simple. It's understanding the game. That's what Coach (Snyder) has taken the time to do is explain things to us, for the younger players to understand why the person next to them is doing what they're doing and why they need to do their job so everything plays together."

On the South Carolina game…

"I wouldn't want to open up any other way. An away game, in someone else's stadium, I'm prepared for this game. We are preparing as we speak, every day, to get better to prepare for this game. They are a great offense so we have to come there ready to play."

On new defensive backs coach Terry Joseph…

"He's brought a lot. He understands the game, and he really wants us to be the best secondary out there. He coaches us up to be the best secondary out there. I believe if we do everything he's asking us to do, then we can be the best secondary out there."

On the offense without Johnny Manziel…

"It's still a great offense. Johnny was a playmaker, and Kyle (Allen) is making plays. Kenny (Hill) is making plays. We have receivers outside catching the ball. We have receivers in the slots catching the ball. We have running backs busting up the middle and making plays, and that's all we can ask for is that offense keeps ticking and as a defense we are going to get better and keep ticking."

On the LSU game and whether it's the game he looks forward to the most…

"Definitely. I'm preparing for each game day-by-day and week-by-week. In my mind, I'm waiting for that LSU game. They're the only SEC team we haven't beaten the past two years, so it's definitely something I'm holding against them."

On AT&T Stadium against Arkansas…

"It's going to be exciting. It's a nice stadium and just to go back to something that we used to do, it builds hope for future things that we might get back to doing."

On losing Isaiah Golden…

"Golden was a playmaker, but we expect whoever is behind Golden to step in and make plays, just as Golden was making plays. We believe that we have the talent to put whoever in behind Golden and they will make plays like Golden did."

On going through this process twice…

"You really understand what to expect and what you need to prove. It just gives you a better perspective on the whole situation like the media is this, the media is that. You just have to go out there and play football at the end of the day."

On whether the defense can be better…

"If we play the way we are expected to play, or the way we believe we can play — I can't say expected to play — we will be a lot better."

On whether he is known for clinching the 2012 Alabama game…

"I'm definitely known for that play. Personally, yes I would like to get rid of that stigma and be known as that guy making more plays than just that Alabama play two years ago. In my mind I'm thinking, 'If people are still recognizing that one play, even though it was that great of a play, am I not doing enough out there on defense to be noticed for something else?'"