Quotes, Notes & Video: Texas A&M 73, Lamar 3

Texas A&M post-game quotes

Head Coach Kevin Sumlin

On getting the team prepared after two hour delay…

“There’s lot of different discussion that goes on at that time. Fortunately, we’ve been through that before. In Houston we had a two and a half hour delay. It was even worse because we kicked off, went down the field and scored, and then they blew the horn and we had to go and sit down.

"The guys were hungry. We adjusted. I’d like to thank [the crowd]. I was shocked at the atmosphere. Many people were still there and ready to go. That was a big deal because you worry about it being flat walking back out there. The entrance was great: the fireworks, the whole bit, then, ‘Ugh, let’s go back and sit down’. The fans were great. That gave us a lot of energy to start the game. I thought that was a really positive situation for us, Being at home, setting a record tonight is a big deal, a big deal to these guys, and we’re real appreciative of our fans.”

On quarterbacks Kenny Hill and Kyle Allen’s performances…

“I thought the great thing about it was they weren’t prefect tonight, but they operated the offense and numbers were pretty good. Kyle made a mistake early but bounced back. The biggest thing I see with this team is how guys are really, really interested in the success of each other. I watched Kenny throw touchdowns and Kyle congratulate him. Before I could get to Kyle for his touchdown pass, Kenny ran right by me and they were up in the air back-bumping. That’s genuine.

"In the situation we’re in, I think that says a lot about the competition. I think that says a lot about the respect for each other’s ability. They both deserve to play and they’re comfortable. Kenny’s probably a little bit more comfortable because he’s played more. Kyle got better as the game went on. They congratulated each other. He was pretty determined. It was great for him. The competition there is good, but the enthusiasm for each other’s success on this team is genuine. That’s what you like to see as a coach.”

On the fresh players tonight…

“We have a lot of minutes. Watts showed up again tonight. He likes to play. Speedy had a really, really good game. He made some electric plays tonight. As you can see, he’s explosive. A lot of these young guys are playing and their talented. The best thing about tonight was the number of guys that got in the game and will be able to watch that video, be able to coach off of, and help us develop some depth.

"We’re going to need that valuable experience in this league because it’s long season. The more that those guys can play, the more confidence they get and we also get in them. It’s a lot of positive tonight’s in a situation like that we can draw from and get some confidence from some of these younger guys.”

QB Kenny Hill

On setting the tone…

“We came out wanting to get out to a fast start, just come out and really impose our will which I think we ended up doing pretty well.”

On the record…

“That’s nuts. They told us we were going to be in front of a big group like that. Its crazy to have fans that really support you like that and come out in a big number like that, I mean it’s unbelievable. It was a great feeling coming out to that many screaming fans.”

On the delayed start…

“It was tough but that’s part of the game. You control the things you can control. We came out there ready to go obviously. It’s just about refocusing yourself like we just got off the bus, we just had to think of it like that.”

CB Deshazor Everett

On the defense’s performance…

“Considering we held them to three points, I think we played really well. There are still things that we need to correct, we’re not perfect, but that’s what we’re striving to do.”

On what the defense tried to improve on for tonight’s game…

“We wanted to limit the big plays. Last week against South Carolina we let a couple of balls go over our heads for easy points. That’s something we wanted to eliminate tonight. We wanted to make them earn every point.”

WR Sabian Holmes

On the offensive flow…

“It’s just how we practice. We come out in practice and treat every day as important. Once we get into the game we just go with the flow and it comes easy for us.”

On playing with Kenny Hill since high school…

“It’s been fun. It took me a while to get him here. We practice pretty hard and we have connections in practice. We just have to make sure we come out and show what we do in practice in the games. Once we get into the games it’s kind of easy for us.”

On delayed start…

“I wouldn’t say it helped or hurt, we just have to refocus. It’s part of the game. Nothing is ever perfect. We had to make sure we came out with the same intensity that we came out with the first time. We couldn’t take these guys for granted no matter what their record is or what conference they’re in or anything.”

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Post-game notes

Courtesy of A&M Sports Information Department.

About the win...
• The Aggies moved to 2-0 for the second straight year.
• The win moves Kevin Sumlin’s record at Texas A&M to 22-6 and 57-23 in seven seasons as a head coach.

Big stadium, big crowd
• Attendance for tonight’s game in the redeveloped Kyle Field (capacity 106,000) was 104,728, which is a stadium record. The old stadium record was 90, 079 from the Nebraska vs. Texas A&M tilt in 2010 (W, 9-6).

• It was a state of Texas college football record, breaking the old mark of 101,851 from the West Virginia-Texas contest in 2012 at Darrell K Royal-Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.

• It was the second-largest crowd to see an Aggie game behind the 104,802 fans that watched the Texas A&M-Michigan matchup in 1977 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Another “fast start”
• The Aggies scored on their opening offensive series of the game when junior RB Trey Williams got loose on a 33-yard TD run. It only took three plays as the Aggies’ first play was a 44-yard connection to Speedy Noil from Kenny Hill.

• In 28 games under head coach Kevin Sumlin, the Aggies have scored on their opening offensive series of the game 20 times with 19 touchdowns. The Aggies have also scored first in 25 of 28 games under Sumlin.

• A&M scored 21 first-quarter points, marking the 15th time in 28 games that the Aggies have scored 14 or more in the first stanza.

• One of the opening periods of Sumlin’s practices is called “fast start.” Occuring just after warmups, “fast start” features several live-action 11-on-11 series just like a game situation. He started implementing the period when his teams at the University of Houston were getting off to slow starts.

Random notes
• Sophomore DE Daeshon Hall’s first quarter QB sack was the first of his career.

• True freshman DE Myles Garrett had a pair of sacks against Lamar and already has three QB sacks after two games.

• Junior Sabian Holmes’ 51-yard TD reception was the longest catch of his career. It was his first TD of 2014 and second of his career.

• True freshman WR Speedy Noil’s 67-yard punt return was a career long, and it was the longest by an Aggie since Dustin Harris’ memorable 96-yarder against South Carolina State in 2012.

• After going turnover-free against South Carolina last week, the Aggies suffered their first turnover of the season on a fumble at the 11:10 mark of the second quarter.

• Occasionally, the Aggies use jumbo blockers Caden Smith and Ben Compton in the backfield with the primary running back. Those two Aggies combine to weigh 560 pounds.

• Seeing his first action in the maroon and white against Lamar was redshirt freshman RB James White. He finished the game with 62 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns. Also seeing his first career action was redshirt freshman LB Reggie Chevis.

• Junior All-America punter Drew Kaser had only one punt, but the tricky 25-yarder was mishandled by Lamar and recovered by the Aggies. #Kaser4Heisman

• Walk-on sophomore receiver Boone Niederhofer grabbed his first career TD catch in the fourth quarter.

• Walk-on junior RB Brice Dolezal scored his first career TD on a 41-yard romp late in the fourth quarter.

• Redshirt freshman defenders Justin Manning and Brett Wade made their collegiate debuts tonight and both logged their first career tackles.

• The Aggies held Lamar to three points, which matched the low fewest points allowed during the Sumlin era (48-3 win over SMU in 2012).

More true freshmen enter the fray
• Nine true freshmen saw action in the season-opener against South Carolina, and five more took off their redshirts tonight against Lamar: LB Josh Walker (Gilmer, Texas), QB Kyle Allen (Scottsdale, Ariz.), LB Otaro Alaka (Houston, Texas), WR Jamal Jeffery (Lufkin, Texas) and DB Donovan Wilson (Shreveport, La.).

Offense: Sumlin-style
• The Aggies gained 630 total yards in the win over Lamar. It was 20th time in 28 games under Kevin Sumlin that the Aggies have surpassed the 500-yard mark in total offense. It was the 12th 600+ game in the Sumlin era.

• Texas A&M’s 73 points matches the most since Oct. 11, 2003, when the Aggies defeated Baylor 73-10. The 73 points tie for the seventh-most in a single game in A&M history.

• The Aggies’ 73 points marked the 13th time that A&M has scored 50+ points in the Sumlin era. The Aggies have scored 60+ points four times in the Sumlin era. It was the second time the Aggies have hit 70 points under Sumlin.

• The Aggies’ 70-point win marks the Aggies’ largest margin of victory since a 73-0 win over Missouri on Sept. 18, 1993.

Game captains, 12th Man
• Game captains were senior Malcome Kennedy and juniors Mike Matthews, Julien Obioha and Drew Kaser. Lamar won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff.

• Junior Sam Moeller was the Aggies’ 12th Man for the 15th straight game.