Texas A&M Football weekly press conference: Western Carolina

Coach interview videos will be added as they are rendered.

Kevin Sumlin

On the offense's decline and how to fix it...

"It's a combination of a lot of things. You have a couple young guys that have not had a lot of experience (at quarterback), but last week I thought the big story of the whole game was we lost the turnover battle 3 to 0 and two of those were in the end zone. We moved the football fairly well in our rushing attack, third quarter we came out in a closer game, then when we got behind we weren't really able to execute that because we took a long time to score in that third quarter and we ran out of time and it forced us into a different football game.

"You can't lose the turnover battle 3 to 0 and give up over 300 yards rushing and expect to win a division game. ... Like most teams in America, when we limit turnovers and penalties, we've won. When we haven't, we have not won. Turnover ratio becomes a complete team statistic as we talk about every week. ... That's the first game in a while where we didn't get a turnover on defense, then we turn it over twice going in to score."

On the QB situation...

"I can tell you this, we're going to evaluate Kyler because you all know he left the game Saturday night. Without being specific about injuries, which we never are, yesterday was more of a mental day with installation, game plan, we get back into pads today. We'll see where he is physically and where his status is throughout the week.

"As I've said before, I sit here every week and tell people the truth and people try to make up their own story, Kyle and Jake need to prepare this week just like they do every week — but based on what happened Saturday, like they're going to start the game. So the pecking order will be based then just like it always has been: on practice.

"So we'll see where Kyler is from a physical standpoint. He needs to practice because he needs the reps. If he's ready to go, he'll be the starter. If not, we'll make a decision later in the week. All that will come later in the week."

On where his program is and his message to the fans...

"Just like every coach, you want to win — you want to be undefeated. My message would be let's wait until the end of the season. Let's figure out where we are."

On Western Carolina QB Troy Mitchell...

"No, we didn't (recruit him). But we probably should've, since he's the all-time yardage guy at Western Carolina. For those who don't know, he's a Houston product, a Cy-Falls guy. They have one guy from the state of Texas on their team and he's that guy, and he's one of the greatest players in their history at quarterback. So he'll be excited to come in here and probably have a lot of people in here. He's an exciting player, averages close to 50 yards a game rushing, can throw it around.

"It's a read-option team. They're going to run some zone read, pop it out on the perimeter, some things that gave us issues last week. So we'll have to be disciplined in what we do. They put pressure on you in a lot of different ways. They played Tennessee earlier in the year, and they (UT) sit 500 or 600 people less than we do, so they're used to playing in these environments.

"We need to get away from talking about things and dissecting this and that — we need to play football against someone else, and that'll be good Saturday night."

On the linebackers' struggles and what can fix it...

"A.J. didn't play the first couple games, he's gotten steadily better. Otaro Alaka not playing was a big blow to us. ... Shaan Washington is healthy and has gotten better. The young freshmen we have are playing special teams. We don't have a lot of guys who were playing at that position before this year. We signed five linebackers last year, and this year you've seen Claude George and Richard Moore show flashes. But they're first-year players. Like many positions on this team, all those guys will be back this year."

On the team's seniors dealing with the struggles and preparing for their last home game...

"It goes real fast. In the meeting yesterday we talked as a team: nobody cares more than seniors, because for a lot of these guys they're guaranteed 180 minutes more of football. There'll be a bowl game and they don't know what's going to happen with that, but for most of them it'll be the last time they play organized football in their life. So their sense of urgency is always, no matter how much you preach it, better than a younger guy.

"I was just laughing with Mike Matthews yesterday that it seemed like yesterday I was driving up to his house ... 'Just the other day I was there sitting with your mom and we had your dad on speaker phone because he was still in Tennessee,' and he said, 'Man, it's hard to believe I have three or four more games here.' For these young men, you blink your eye and — particularly if you play as a freshman — time flies by. It's an emotional time.

"Jake will be here this weekend and Mike and them will take their family Christmas picture on the sideline because it'll be the first time they've all been together in the same place in six, seven years. That's just one example.

"You look at this class of guys, this is the first class to go through SEC football (all four years). They're a transitional class and they're very proud of what they're doing and how they're doing it. It'll be like most senior nights but it'll be particularly emotional for a lot of reasons, and it should, because of the special moments they've had at Texas A&M and that they're still fighting to achieve."

On the efficacy of the run game...

"Statistically, we've been able to run the ball the last couple weeks pretty well. I think Tra Carson has been effective, up around four/five yards a carry, so it depends on — anytime you're not winning at a rate that you want to win, everybody is looking for 'what's the problem?' Sometimes it can be a combination of a lot of different things. When you turn the ball over the way we've turned it over in our losses, everything gets amplified.

"We had nine possessions Saturday. We average 13, 14 per game. We had nine, scored on two, turned the ball over in the end zone twice. We moved the football. But did we score as many points as we wanted to? No. There are always things we want to work on and get better. At times we've been effective, at times we haven't. Those are things we've tried to address and are addressing on a weekly basis, be it with scheme, or tempo, or even with different players in there. All those things are in play, but the execution is probably more important than the actual play itself. If that makes sense."

On how the program has progressed from last season...

"Let's wait and see after the season. We've got two more conference games, we've got a game this weekend, and let's see where we are. You try to make progress every week. You look at our football team and probably the biggest thing that jumps out to me is that everybody who is in a key position on this football team will be back next year. Probably our most visible and biggest playmakers on this team will be back. So, what does that tell you? I don't know. But I do know that they're playing in meaningful games and some guys have had good moments and they've had bad moments, that's what experience is about — particularly defensively.

"The top pass-rushers, the linebackers, the three safeties, the guys you brought up, we don't lose any of those guys. So the guys gaining experience are not walking out the door. Alonzo and Julien have done a very nice job and been steady inside, but it's given Zaycoven and Mack a lot of reps in there too. And they'll return.

"So, I would say this: there are a lot of young guys having a learning experience. We're not a young football team but we are a team that has a lot of players coming back next year, with experience, that played this year."

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John Chavis

"I'd like to start by saying what we saw Saturday was totally unacceptable. We expected more, our fans deserve more, and we're going to give them that. I didn't do enough to help them early with adjustments, but I take ownership and I told the kids yesterday, 'This is my defense right now. Until we get to the standard we're looking for, this will continue to be MY defense.' ... It's our job to be consistent and my job to make sure that happens. Questions?

On whether the defense's struggles are related to still learning the system...

"It's not a matter of learning, it's a matter of guys working together. ... We're letting plays get away from us that shouldn't, and that's been a thing that has continued and it's a thing that, I won't get frustrated, but we've got to get fixed. It's got to be a sense of urgency. Our guys want to do well. They want to play well. I don't think it's a matter of learning the defense, it's a matter of reacting to plays in very quick situations. Offenses move fast and you've got to react quickly."

On what to do at linebacker in the short term...

"I'm going to shock you just a little bit, ok? We actually made some improvement there in this last game.

"Without calling a name, you take a guy that had been playing at 45 percent and he's up to 65 percent. But 65 percent gets you beat. We've got to keep growing.

"Richard Moore has been a plus force, every time he's on the field he's making plays. He's a guy that's got to get more involved in our defense."

On Josh Walker's limited action...

"Because of certain situations we've been forced to ask guys to play two positions. That's not good with a new scheme, but it's where we are. Josh is a guy who's smart enough and talented enough that his role should be growing and growing."

On what he wants to see against WCU...

"The same thing I just mentioned: execution. If we go out and execute the calls, 11 guys on the field executing the same defense ... that's where we need to grow. That's the biggest area. We should've been there already, but we've got to keep pushing the envelope. You say, 'Ok, Coach, but what are you going to do about it?' I say, 'Our backs, right now, are against the wall.' We've got to show improvement. That improvement has to be consistency throughout the game ... I'm more worried about being consistent with the things we do."

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Jake Spavital

On Kyler's end zone interceptions...

"He did see the receivers, that was something we talked about, there was nothing wrong with the vision of the play. It just came down to execution. The first one was a 50/50 ball and you have to come down with that. The second one was just a missed throw and he knew it when he released it and we'll just move on from there."

On the offense's decline and how to fix it...

"One of the main things is we just have to finish. Against Auburn we moved the ball efficiently but we didn't finish. In this league you don't know how many opportunities you're going to get. You have nine solid drives to go out there and move the ball and we just didn't capitalize on punching it in the end zone."

On the Allen-Hubenak battle...

"Like it is every week, we do it with every position, you put them out there during the week in practice and whoever does best is going to be the guy that goes in. That's not just for the quarterback position, that's for all positions."

On how Murray moved the ball and threw outside of the INTs...

"There's always things you can improve on. He's a young quarterback and that was a tough test for him. They did a great job of throwing a lot of good looks at him and he understands that there are great players in this league and you have to be accurate. He's in good spirits, we've had our talk and he's ready to move on."

On the receiving corps' stats dropping...

"Just the level of competition. In this league you're going to get press coverage every snap. We see it every day in practice. We just have to be physical, keep working on our routes."

On what he wants to see on offense against Western Carolina...

"Right now it comes down to execution. I want to see them put together a complete week. I thought the preparation was good last week but we didn't finish on Saturday. I want to see solid individual performances across the board. I don't want to see seven, eight guys doing their job, I want to see all 11 guys doing their job. It comes down to finishing drives and solid individual performances."

On getting Josh Reynolds involved...

"He's got to keep playing his game and I've got to get Kyler more comfortable looking that direction. You can tell defenses try to take him out of the game and we've got to be more creative to get him open in space and get Kyler looking at him. He's one of our top guys out there and we've got to get him the ball."

On Kyle Allen's response to everything...

"He's been incredible. When we're in the quarterback room as a unit he's in Kyler's ear saying, 'Here's what I saw, here's how I handled it.' It's impressive for a kid to be in a situation like that and handle it with such class."