WATCH: Mark Hagen, Aaron Moorehead on the topic of change

Mark Hagen

On the transition into a new role this spring…

“Smooth, real smooth. You know, if you look back, I think this is my 20th year and 14th coaching up front, so easy transition. TP (Terry Price) and I have been clicking, so it's been really smooth and I think for a whole defensive staff you couldn’t ask for a better transition with Coach Chavis. Not just up front, but all levels — I think it has gone well.”

On working with John Chavis this spring…

“It’s been great. He wants a lot of input and his background and resume speaks for itself. I think we have all learned a lot from him and he is really down to earth. It’s funny, you go back to the first time he addressed our players and you could've heard a pen drop. Our guys were zeroed in on him and our players have certainly bought in, and I think it has been a really smooth transition so far. I’m really pleased on all fronts.”

On reassurance of his job after Chavis was hired…

“I think if there was a time to sit back and think about it — certainly this is a performance-based business; we haven’t played as well as we wanted on the defensive side of the ball — but I didn’t get any time to change the leadership on either side that there’s a chance that you may not be around. Again, we had a game to get ready for, so between myself, Terry Joseph and Terry Price, we all collectively came together and concerned ourselves with going out and playing another football game, try to put a plan together for our players.

"But again, at the end of the day you never know what the future is going to hold you just try to do the best you can with the job at hand. That certainly was a variable that was real.”

On feeling refreshed after changing from coaching linebackers to DTs…

“I think big picture-wise we have all embraced this new dynamic with Chief coming in, and I think he has embraced us the same way. He has looked for a lot of input. I think he is really comfortable with myself and Terry Joseph and Price. Like I said, it has been a real good, smooth transition so far. In terms of being refreshed, I’ve looked at it as getting with a new group of kids and being in a role that I’m certainly familiar with. It’s been full speed ahead, so I feel really good about it.”

On his relationships with the new group of players under his watch…

“It’s going good. Obviously, Reggie (Chevis) had already been with me at linebacker, but from top to bottom — from Alonzo and Hardreck and Zaycoven and DeShawn — all the guys have been good about it. Like I said, Terry had a great relationship with that whole crew and I think our guys bought into having two coaches up front. We have been able to get more technical with a little bit more one-on-one coaching and been able to split the group up and watch practice video. When we do our installs we are usually in there together as a full line, so it has been a little of both, but the players have handled it real well.”

On Alonzo Williams’ development…

“He has been great for me. Here is a guy that started his career as an end and bulked himself up and moved inside. He’s certainly as good of a leader as we have up front. He and Julien (Obioha) together provide great leadership for our D line. He has been a guy that I can lean on. He has a great report with the younger players so he is the type of guy out on the practice field. It’s not always me as a coach having to get on those younger guys. He is like a coach on the field. Alonzo has been really good.

"I think that the best part for him is that we are changing the way we are playing up front. We have been more of a read-and-react type of defensive line trying to occupy blockers, and we are certainly more aggressive right now. We are trying to play more vertical rather than horizontally, so that has been an adjustment not only for Alonzo but for the whole group. I think we have certainly made progress, not nearly where we need to be right now, but we are making good progress in that respect.”

On the new style of coaching…

“Everywhere I have been there has only been one season that I can remember in the 14 years I’ve been coaching that we have been more of a sit back-read team. I think that’s really how you have to play unless you are built physically to sit back and occupy blockers and do a lot of two gapping. That’s where, when I look at our D-line, that’s what we are made for. I think more of an attacking style fits our players and it’s more fun to play in, to be honest with you.

"It’s really every man for themselves. You aren’t just trying to lock in blockers and let all your linebackers make all your plays or the secondary make all your plays. It’s you trying to establish a new line of scrimmage and make plays yourself. If I’m those guys, they are liking this style a lot.”

On players starting to flourish…

“I think we have seen them all come along. I think Hardreck had a good spring. He’s a gut that’s flashy but very steady. Zaycoven is a very explosive player for us. He is battling a few nagging injuries right now, but I think he has had a good spring and he has dropped some weight. He is a guy that can really attack the line of scrimmage and reestablish a new line-of-scrimmage play on the other side of the ball, which is something we talk a lot about. DeShawn Washington is coming along, gaining some weight and learning to play behind his pads a little more, so we are seeing a lot of progress from a lot of the guys. Reggie Chavis is a guy that has bulked up. He has had a little bit of an ankle injury but he’s a guy that I can see helping us. We have to keep him healthy, but he’s pushing 275-280 right now.

"You see a lot of guys but no one really jumping out right now other than Alonzo, who has had our most consistent spring inside.”

On being the interim defensive coordinator in the Liberty Bowl…

“We were certainly excited, mostly because we were able to win the game, but when we went back as a staff and looked at it there were certainly more pluses than minuses. It wasn’t a perfect game. We gave up some big and explosive plays but we got into a rhythm late in the second quarter and started to get off the field with some three-and-outs that built itself into the second half. I think we were really in sync with our offense. They were running the ball and controlling the ball and we were getting off the field in three and outs.

"I’m pleased with how it ended up, so certainly happy how we finished it up — and it gave our guys confidence going into the offseason and has carried over here to spring practice.”

On depth of the defensive tackle position…

“You are never as deep as you want to be and I think it has been a work in progress, but we are certainly farther along then we were a few years ago. We’ve got a couple quality good men coming in in Daylon (Mack) and Kingsley (Keke). We are making progress, we just aren’t quite there yet. I think we have more bodies that can get in and see more action for us and that is what we are looking forward to this fall.”

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Aaron Moorehead

On what it has been like settling into Aggieland…

“It’s been good so far. Obviously getting in before recruiting was over was nice, being able to get on the road with some of the guys and really get a feel for them personality-wise. Then obviously being able to get in the meeting room and meet with those guys a little bit and have a chance to get to know those guys, its been great. So far so good, the family is all moved in. We’re in our house so that makes everything twice as easy. So far with spring ball the transition is great, when you can get right on the field, into 6:00 AMs and into spring ball it kind of slows everything down for you and now its coming to an end. It has been a good spring so far.”

On whether or not he has a feel for the quality of hand he has been dealt…

“Yeah, you know I think as you watch film from last year, you watch the guys work, you watch the guys out in practice and how they are doing you start to get a feel for each guy. There is only so much you are going to gain from a spring ball in my opinion. I think you obviously have to get out and put those guys out there on Saturdays and really see what they are about and see who is going to step up and who is going to really make plays when the lights are on. The group has been doing a great job of working hard, every day is a different challenge and each guy has their different challenges that you work through, and I think as long as those guys are going to work and continue to get better — not only through the spring, which they have, but throughout the spring at the end and in the summer — we have got a chance to be a really great group in my opinion.

"As long as you continue to get Josh Reynolds healthy and those guys, I obviously think he is a big part of this offense and a guy that we need out there. I haven’t had a chance to put my hands on him yet but it is going to be good to get him back. With the way the group has progressed so far I am really excited about what the future holds.”

On what his thoughts are on rotation compared to Jake Spavital's…

“Well I like to really play a lot of guys. I think it is a good thing and I think it keeps the room alive. When only four or five guys are playing it is tough, those other guys tend to just get caught back and they aren’t as aggressive or certain things that you would like them to be so playing a lot of guys is good. Obviously you know when the money is on the line and you are in the red-zone and you’re on third down, those type of situations, you want to have your guys in there. You need those guys but there is so much more time, a lot of things can happen between now and the fall. You just have to go out there and see what hands are dealt at that point.

"It is just kind of a different feel, if a guy can handle seventy plays and he is your best player we will keep him in there for seventy plays. If a guy is going to get tired once he gets past sixty we will try to keep him at sixty and you kind of just have to have a feel for that a little bit. I think as we go in the fall that will kind of shake itself out but right now I am just trying to see how these guys are doing, see how they are getting better every week and see how much they can handle when the fall comes.”

On when he started following what Kevin Sumlin was doing with his offense…

“I think as a football coach and as a fan you kind of understand what this spread has done and you look. When I was coaching and a GA at New Mexico we played against Mike Leach and it is kind of similar to what those guys were doing, and you kind of understood what they were doing and why they were doing it. Until you sit down and really get to put your head in the playbook a little bit and see the film, it is different and it is good. It is a great offense, when you look at the teams that are out there doing it, the West Virginias, obviously the Washington States and still Texas Tech and those guys, it’s a great offense. It puts up big-time numbers, it is why it was so intriguing of an offer to come here and it was a tough decision to leave, but just seeing the possibilities of what this group had and who they had coming in and also with the ability of this offense to score so quick and so fast, I just loved it.

"Obviously Coach Sumlin is a big-time name, a guy that grew up in Indianapolis and I understood that part about him. It was a very special deal and as I have been here for a couple months you begin to realize how special of a place this is. Talking to the guys who have been here before, players and coaches who have been here before that have now moved on, and seen these new facilities and all the different things that it has brought, there is a lot of excitement right and I am just another person to get on the boat.”

On what areas he thought RSJ needed to develop and what he has done to help him…

“I think the biggest thing with Ricky was develop some consistency. He had a couple games last year where he was out there early on in the year and he looked like he was about to take off and really have that year that everyone expected him to have, and then later on in the season he had some games where he wasn’t a big factor. And that's kind of the challenge I gave him was, 'Every day you are out here in spring ball, be a factor' and he has done that so far. He has had an amazing camp, the guy has gone and made plays every single day and continued to get tougher in the run game when he is blocking. That is such a critical deal for Ricky — he is 230 pounds, he needs to be a guy that can be a physical presence out there all the time.

"So far what I have seen of him is just great things, and a guy that still has the ability to get better — and that is great for him because he has got things to work for towards the fall. Look  for him to be a breakout player for us this fall and be one of our leaders on the offense, which we need right now.”

On what he has seen from Speedy and whether he has been limited at all…

“Yeah just a little bit, but he is another guy who needs to take a big step from his freshman year. He is a guy that has all the talent in the world and just needs to improve some things technique-wise and really just compartmentalize some things and get going in the right direction. He has done a good job and I can’t wait to really see what this year holds for him. He has got to do everything he can to just take the path every day and just do what we are asking him to do and not try to get outside the box, and just understand why we are doing things. I think part of me as a coach, I like to explain why; I think if the guys understand 'why' they can be so much more productive and day in and day out and meetings can be so much more productive.

"A guy like Speedy who has played quarterback in high school, those 'whys', and Ricky, the 'whys,' they mean a lot to those guys. Every day you have a group of guys that continue to get better and it starts with those guys at the top and even the guys at the bottom, they have to step and get their stuff together because if not they aren’t going to play. And that is a challenge to those guys, but it is a good challenge. There has been some guys that I wasn’t so sure about when we came in the spring and all of a sudden you are looking at the Boone Niederhofers and thinking, 'This guy is taking a huge step this spring.' You look at a guy outside, Damion Rately who just got here, he has progressed tremendously this spring. Frank Nacho has done a great job over the last three or four practices of just trying to understand what is going on and making some plays.

"Now it is up to them for the end of the spring and summer to take their game to the next level.”

On whether the “whys” carry a little more weight because of his NFL experience…

“I think they understand that if you want to get to that next level and you don’t understand the whys it is really hard, because everybody on defense is so smart up there. The other guys and quarterbacks throwing you the ball, they know why — so if you don’t know why, that is a big issue. I think that there are guys in this room that are next-level players, there are guys in this room who will play that aren’t next level players. If you understand the whys and they know that I understand the whys, it just makes it easier. I think the credibility always helps and you never take that for granted.”

On why Speedy wasn’t practicing today…

“He just had some stuff he had to deal with and he will be back and rolling.”

On how Christian Kirk is translating over to college level…

“Christian has done a great job this spring. He is a guy that came out with a lot of hype and he is doing a great job of living up to that right now. He has done a good job in the slot of using his size and his speed for some match up problems right there for the defense. He is a guy right now that just every day is getting better. He is learning. But the big thing that I love about Christian is he wants to learn, he wants to know why. He is the guy studying extra film all the time and you love that. He didn’t come in here with a big head and thinking, 'I am this high recruited guy and I am going to just go around and just figure this thing out,' he has come in with a purpose and you love that about the kid. Every day he makes me a better coach and I make him a better player and you love kids like that. He is going to have a bright future here.”

On whether or not the receivers will be the strong point for the team…

“I like to think so. If you look at the group as a whole we are really two deep at every position and that's a good deal because if a guy goes down you have the ability to slide the next guy in or move a guy over, and it makes them practice really hard every day because they know that if they aren’t in then the next guy is going to step up and play — and he is going to do a great job. As a coach you can’t do a lot of things but if you provide the depth it allows them, from a practice standpoint, to have to be competitive on a daily basis. Not even just in this drill or this drill, it's the entire practice and guys understand that.

"They have been working hard and there is going to be some guys that come end of the spring are going to have to realize where their role is, and if that role is for a scout team guy that thinks he is supposed to be playing, sometimes that is hard to take. But you know what, that is this business and that is this team. We are moving on with the guys that we think are going to make plays on Saturdays. If you are not that guy then we will move on without you, and that has kind of been something this spring that I think a lot of guys, not just in the receiver room but on this football team, have began to realize — that we aren’t going to sit back and wait for you to figure it out. We are rolling and we are here to win SEC championships, and if you win an SEC championship it is proven you are going to be in the national championship hunt and we don’t have time to wait for guys who come on. You are either on the ship or you are off the ship, and that is the mentality that we have in our room as an offense and as a football team.

"Coach Chavis has brought that to the defensive guys and I'll tell you, it is as competitive of practice as I have been around and that starts with Coach Sumlin. I am a real competitive guy, you guys will get to understand that about me. I am not going to sit back and watch a guy not compete, I am just going to tell him to move on and go somewhere else. I will recruit somebody else who will. That's just kind of the way I am built and that is just the way I have gotten to where I am. I was a walk-on guy that earned a scholarship, I was a free agent that played five years in the NFL, I didn’t get that from not working hard and not competing every day. I am not going to let those players do anything to disrespect this game and to me, not being competitive is the most disrespectful thing you can do in this football game.

"I think we have a lot of coaches who are built like that and you look at Coach Chavis, he is so competitive as a defensive coordinator and I love it. Every day he is trying to win and get these guys better and he is making our offense better on a daily basis, and you can't say enough about that.”