Fall Day 7: Kevin Sumlin sizes up Aggies' first-week progress

Kevin Sumlin

On injuries…

“You know we don’t talk about injuries here.”
 

On Saturday’s scrimmage…

“We went 86 plays, not counting kicking or penalties, so a total of right about 100 with the kicking snaps. All 105 guys got to – well, most of them – about 100 got to play in an evaluation-type setting. It was a live scrimmage, and I was happy with some of the progress of a lot of different people. It’s a learning experience for some of the young guys and some of the older guys (can) see where they’ve improved and who’s really stepping up and making some strides over the course of the last year. There’s some good performances, a lot of great video that we were able to look at.

"We didn’t practice Sunday, and today was really our first two-a-day practice. This morning we had an individual workout working on technique, and tonight was more of a team-type setting. Just talking with Spav and Chief, it was a scrimmage where the video was really, really helpful. With some new schemes on both sides and both guys getting to see – ‘Okay, here’s what I need to do.’ Being able to watch that and come back and work individual technique this morning and practice tonight, I thought we had a better understanding of where we are. So from that standpoint, I think it was beneficial.”
 

On the quarterback play…

“It was good. All three of them got snaps. Kyle (Allen) got snaps early, and Kyler (Murray) went with the two’s. Then just about halfway through, Kyler went with the one’s and Jake went with the two’s and three’s. They got plenty of reps out of that number. We can get some evaluation on the two new guys and see where Kyle has progressed over the last year.

"Yeah, they’re getting plenty of practice and plenty of reps during practice. Those live situations – we’ll have another live situation coming up Wednesday night and then another on Saturday just like I described. We’ll just keep evaluating.”
 

On player development…

“They all are (works in progress). I don’t think there’s anybody out there – we’re just talking about quarterbacks. Myles Garrett is a work in progress right now. People keep forgetting that he’s just a second-year player. Everybody out there has something that they can improve on. That’s what I’m getting at about Saturday. We really had a couple goals, and they start with what our team’s about. We wanted to see guys play hard – with effort – be smart about how they played and be physical. We can work from that.

"From that standpoint, they guys that played hard Saturday were rewarded. The guys who didn’t play to the standard -- offensively or defensively – got reminded today about how we need to play around here. That goes for the whole team. You talk about the quarterbacks and their development – where they need to go. They need to do that, but there’s a lot of people on this team that need to keep getting better.”
 

On impressive performances during the scrimmage…

“I don’t know. I think I was – the usual suspects played pretty well, which we expect. You get concerned when those guys that haven’t played well for you in the past don’t play well right off the bat. I thought our back end – just like it has looked. The secondary has looked very, very fast. They seem to be in the right place and communicating. We need to communicate a little bit better.

"That’ll come in the next couple weeks, but those guys – Armani (Watts) is probably playing as good as he’s played. If he can be more consistent this year than he was last year, then he can be an all-league type of player. He’s played enough big games for us, and he understands his weaknesses. I think he worked really hard in the offseason, because he’s had some really, really great games – he’s had some duds. That experience, I think, has helped him in the offseason to develop not only physically, but mentally. (It’s) what he needs to do to be successful. I was pleased with that.

"I thought Brandon Williams did pretty good. He’s a work in progress, continuing to get better. Just off the top of my head, the receivers had really good effort – Josh Reynolds, Speedy (Noil), Ricky (Seals-Jones) and Christian Kirk with the first group. There’s high expectations for those guys, and on Saturday they didn’t disappoint.”
 

On the linebackers...

“I think we’re fortunate that we had freshmen that played last year. We’ll see how A.J. (Hilliard) fits in. He’s coming back off that injury, so we’ve been taking it slow with him. Between the ankle and the wrist – he’s got a broken wrist – so we’ve been taking it easy with him and just trying to get him back in the flow of things. I’m pleased with him. I’ll tell you who else I’m pleased with, we had a meeting the other day — the two young guys, really, the three young guys, have really, really caught on. The summer’s really helped them.

"Richard Moore – being here in the spring has helped him at the WILL linebacker spot, because he’s more of a space guy. He’s a smaller guy, but runs very well. He’s a guy that’s going to help us on special teams. Riley (Garner) is 230 now and really, really athletic. He played pretty well on Saturday. He’s a guy that can help us, I think, special teams-wise. I think all of those young linebackers have done pretty well. Justin Dunning played pretty well and had an interception. He made some open-field tackles.

"This is the first year since we’ve been here that we haven’t had a meeting after the first scrimmage, saying, ‘We’ve got to get that guy ready, because he’s got to start for us at some position as a freshman.’ Our roster, I think, is different. We’re thin at a couple spots, but we don’t have huge holes in it. These guys are really pushing these older guys for playing time, creating depth and are really going to strengthen our special teams.”
 

On getting to practice on Kyle Field…

“Now that it’s done? Yeah, the 22nd. We’re looking forward to it. I’m trying to arrange some kind of – sneak a private tour. I don’t know if we’ve got 105 helmets. I just kind of want our players and coaches – a lot of times you only get to see the tunnel and field. So, we’re trying to arrange a deal where our players can get up on the upper concourse and kind of walk around to the upper deck on the west side and maybe see some of the suites. You take for granted that they’ve seen it.

"We had a function for kickoff camp Saturday night, and that’s the first time I’ve been up in the east side press box. I’d never been up there. That’s when it hit me that these kids have never been in the stands, hardly. Getting in there will be one thing, but I think they’ll have a better appreciation if we can get them to walk around one evening or something and get them to see some things.”
 

On Otaro Alaka…

“Not going to say anything about injuries.”
 

On fatigue after two-a-days…

“They’re dragging a little bit today. You’re in week two also. You’re coming off a scrimmage. We didn’t practice yesterday, but we had a pretty good meeting in the afternoon, mentally. Then you come in this morning – we met this morning, and we were on the field for walkthrough and introduced two-minute today. We went outside, and two-minute can be a stressful situation and a lot of running in the morning. Even though we weren’t out there very long, it’s still a lot.

"Then we came back tonight with full pads, and we were out there for two-and-a-half hours tonight. For some guys it’s the first time they’ve done that in a while. For everybody, it’s the first time they’ve done that in a while. For some guys, it’s the first time they’ve ever done that.”
 

On the offensive line…

“Good. I think you’ve got Keaton Sutherland who benefits from being here. He’s probably the most ready out of the young guys. Eric McCoy, I think, is going to be a really, really good player as a center down the line. He’s 310 pounds, has a really good demeanor and a real good grasp of what we’re doing – a big-bodied guy that’s strong and tough. Those guys – those are guys that are going to be pushing to get on the bus.

"You guys know me. I think Mike Matthews benefited by playing in games behind Pat Lewis. Then the next year – to start three years in the SEC on the offensive line, you’ve got to be a good player. I think Mike benefited from that, and I think Eric’s going to benefit by traveling and probably being a back-up this year and being our guy the next year.”