Story Poster
Kevin Sumlin
John Chavis
Noel Mazzone
David Turner
Quarterbacks
Christian Kirk
Justin Evans
Avery Gennesy
Texas A&M Football

Texas A&M Football weekly press conference: Mississippi State

November 1, 2016
13,556

The following are live, paraphrased notes from Texas A&M's weekly press conference. Videos of the interviews will be added to the story as they are rendered.

Kevin Sumlin


• David Turner has a wealth of experience. He has a lot of experience in the SEC. He's familiar with the style of play and the recruiting region. Those relationships help anybody. There's no substitute for quality experience. It's worked out for us. Timing is everything. He's continued to develop players that have played for us and brought up some new guys. Productivity is something we like out of that group, but it's not necessary the way we play defense. They need to stay in their gaps. They ran up the field and didn't do their job before. We'd like some productivity, but we love consistency in their gaps. Not giving up big seams and going sideways. That's been a big emphasis. It's not easy when you've always been told to make tackles.

• We have to create our own energy. It's an SEC away game. Their fans make a lot of noise. That's what makes this league the best in the country. The fans are fabulous in this league. We recognize that, but we have to worry about us. The guys have done a good job focusing on that.

• I just don't do a walkthrough at away games. Whether there are 100 people or 100,000, it's still a 100-yard field. We get a lot of things done here. We change the practice schedule. We're not a walkthrough team on Friday. The field will be the same, and I'm a little paranoid. I don't want to practice at the other place. I like to do it indoors at our place, where I can see all the doors are closed. I think it adds excitement for guys that haven't been there before. Some might get a little rattled, but I'm not worried about that. It's just part of how we do things.

• We'll be on the practice field when the rankings come out today. That's our regular practice time. We don't change anything because of the rankings. We don't have anything to do with it. All we can do is win the game in front of us. The media has no control over it. Why should we worry about it? We have to worry about winning Saturday. If we do that every week, there will be something good at the end. When the guys leave me, they have phones. People want to talk to them about it, but they've done a good job focusing. They've heard a lot of stuff about this program in the last year. If they listened to that, they wouldn't be where they are now.

• It's hard to evaluate the other night because we played so many people. We had three of our better players out of the game in Garrett, Watts and Willis. To evaluate that is a little difficult. Schematically, we're tweaking and improving in all three phases. We were able to rest our right guard. Jermaine Eluemunor was very unselfish, moving in at right guard. Coach Turner wanted him to do that to help rest some guys on the inside. Playing tackle is a big deal here. We got Koda Martin in, and he did a good job. For the most part, our tackles have done well this year. We struggled inside at Alabama. We have some flexibility on the line. We saw what Kendall Bussey can do. He's been wanting to get in there and play. The biggest thing I took away was that we had 7 guys that played winning football that have been up and down but will be important down the stretch. Larry Pryor and Donovan Wilson improved. Having interchangeable pieces is a big deal. I thought we operated well on third down early in the game. We have to continue to get better every week. We looked at everything Sunday and Monday to see what we have to get fixed. We can't let those pop up again.

• I'm not shocked. Dan Mullen has done a great job of developing quarterbacks and Utah and Florida. It's not a mistake that Dak Prescott is playing well. Nick Fitzgerald is no different. He's a big guy. We have to prepare for all kinds of stuff. He can spin it. He's a load when he runs it. These young quarterbacks are getting experienced by this time of year. When your quarterback plays well, your team has a chance to win. Fred Ross caught 11 ball against us last year. He's excited to play the Aggies. The quarterback is hot. We have to go over there and play our style of defense. We have to create our energy and play well on special teams and offense.

• The quarterbacks have my endorsement for the presidential election. They're in a good place right now. It just tells you where the team is right now. You have to have some levity. There's a time to be serious and respect the game, but there's also a time to enjoy life. Don't keep your eye on the destination; enjoy the journey. That's what it's all about.

• In the offseason, Christian Kirk really dedicated himself to being a better route runner. We weren't surprised by the big plays in the return game or screen game last year. He made people miss or outran them. He's really worked at understanding defenses. He's more of a receiver now. For his professional development, he's worked hard at his route-running. He's a great teammate. He's a great guy off the field. He does everything to prepare like a professional. He's always with the young guys and helping recruiting. He's another guy on this team that's in a good place. He wants to be better than he is and has the ability to bring other people along with him.



John Chavis


• I thought our guys were ready to play. We need to improve on responding to sudden changes. I wasn't happy with how we played after the roughing penalty. We got to play a lot of players and rest some guys. It was a good day from that standpoint. Now we'll move on to Mississippi State.

• I was pleased with Deshawn Capers-Smith. I don't think he anticipated playing this many plays, but he did a good job for us. We need that. We need to continue to build depth. I couldn't be more pleased with how he played.

• Fitzgerald is MSU's leading rusher. There are many schemes within their zone read. They design it for him to run the ball. He's physical, and we'll have to tackle well. They've got three or four running backs that they've been using. They let him run a lot in short yardage. We have to account for him along the perimeter and inside.

• When I got here, I felt I needed to be a part of Coach Sumlin's system. He knows what he's doing. He's put his team in a great situation. I have to follow his lead. I have to believe in what he believes in. I couldn't be more excited about working for anybody. I've coached for Hall of Fame coaches, and he's that quality of coach. He's got things in place. He's ahead of the curve, and football is a changing game.

• I think walkthroughs are overrated. These kids play in Kyle Field. They aren't going to be overwhelmed going into another stadium. I think it puts an extra burden on the kids sometimes with travel. You just get up and go play football.

• There's a lot of football to be played. I'm not concerned about the rankings. I'm concerned about Mississippi State.

• I interviewed for a head coaching job, and I wanted that experience. I've had the opportunity to coach at three great, SEC schools. I enjoy winning, and I want to be part of a winning program. Winning has always been more important to me. I love being a defensive coordinator, and I love coaching linebackers. I'm not sure I want to do a bunch of other stuff. Who knows what the future is going to bring? I'm not saying this to be nice. I don't say things to be nice. I say things because they are true. I hope that I can finish my career here at Texas A&M.

• We see great receivers every week, and Fred Ross fits that category. He's one of the elite receivers in this league. He's been making plays for quite a while. I wish he was in the NFL catching passes.

• Donovan Wilson has matured. It takes some mental maturity to understand all the positions and to do his job effectively. Terry Joseph has done a tremendous job with him. He's getting good coaching and responding. He's a talented athlete. The mental process of growing and maturing is where I've seen the most movement from his standpoint.

• Coach Sumlin makes decisions about assistants. You want to be around good men. It starts there. There have been few times in my career where there's been a problem in the coaching room. I've been around great men. Coach David Turner is a great technician. Same thing with Terry Price and Terry Joseph. Sometimes the coordinator gets too much credit for things. It's a blessing to work with those men. It's truly a joy to come to work.

• Winning was the first memory (from beating Alabama 9-6 while at LSU). Being a part of games like that is special. You want to coach on the big stage. That's why I was excited to come to Texas A&M. This program has a chance to be on that big stage. I'd say a defensive struggle like that isn't as likely anymore. There are good defensive teams, but football isn't the same. Offensive football has changed. The rules have changed. You can't use that as a crutch. You still have to have that standard.

• Justin Evans loves to play football. He'll give you everything he's got. I didn't see any change in him when we played the Bulldogs last year. He's a fine football player. He's as good as any safety I've ever coached. I'm proud of him and what he's getting done. I've done this for a long time. In terms of the make-up and approach, I'm not sure I've been around a better group of young men. I think our fans need to know that. This is a great group of young men.



Avery Gennesy


• I'm glad we have an opportunity to play another game. We get to get better.

• I thought Koda Martin has done a good job. He filled in for me when I had cramps in the first game. He's done well this year.

• It's always fun going back home to play. It's good to play in front of family and friends. That's what I'm most excited about this season.

• Right now, we're focused on this week. I'm sure 2017 will be exciting, but I'm just focused on playing MSU and getting this win.



Noel Mazzone


• I didn't know the quarterbacks were going to dress up. I heard it from Coach Sumlin while he was walking out.

• I'm very comfortable with Koda Martin. He's gotten valuable experience this year. He's played both left and right tackle. This is an unselfish group. They go wherever I want to put them. We're a little limited with our depth on the line, so that flexibility is great to have. Guys need to slide around. I have six or seven guys that I'm comfortable with. Every week we strive to play our best game. I think the mindset that we haven't played our best game yet is a good mindset to have. I want every play I call to score a touchdown.

• Christian Kirk is no different that the other starting receivers in my eyes. His position lends itself to more touches. He's going to have high reception numbers. I'd like his yardage to go up. I feel like both the outside guys – Ricky was knicked up. I'd like to see him get some more touches. I'm really happy with all the guys that have been playing. Jeremy Tabuyo has been really solid. Damion Ratley has helped the running game. I have tremendous confidence in all those guys.

• I've had it both ways. I've had the slot catch more passes and the wide guys catch more passes. I think it's a 69-70 catch position for us.

• We haven't really thrown it to the tight end much. He's been flexed out like a wide receiver. It looked good. Maybe we should use that a bit more.

• Ricky is more of a flex guy. It's the same with Tanner Schorp. It was good to see Calvin Kline get in there. I think it's been two or three years since we had some in-line guys. We're flexible enough to do that if we have that body. We're going to try to get that going (through recruiting).

• I've done it before. It's a fine line between a guy that's athletic enough to be in space and can block on the line. The ideal guy can do both for you. I've used a tight end that can do both in a tempo offense.

• Connor McQueen showed up to the quarterback meeting yesterday in a gingerbread outfit. The quarterbacks all get along great. Connor has played 6 snaps this year and takes the best notes. They're all focused on helping each other. Both Jake and Connor are very helpful to Trevor. They're great friends and fun to coach. I'm a little upset with Connor. If he had pulled his first play, he may have gone 60 yards and scored. He's a great guy.
Discussion from...

Texas A&M Football weekly press conference: Mississippi State

7,398 Views | 5 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by Bottlehead90
Mr. Black
How long do you want to ignore this user?
ahlongslide
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Quote:

Chavis: I interviewed for a head coaching job, and I wanted that experience. I've had the opportunity to coach at three great, SEC schools. I enjoy winning, and I want to be part of a winning program. Winning has always been more important to me. I love being a defensive coordinator, and I love coaching linebackers. I'm not sure I want to do a bunch of other stuff. Who knows what the future is going to bring? I'm not saying this to be nice. I don't say things to be nice. I say things because they are true. I hope that I can finish my career here at Texas A&M.
Flashdiaz
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
" say things because they are true. I hope that I can finish my career here at Texas A&M."

ccatag
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AG
Thanks for posting this presser!
Bottlehead90
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Refresh
Page 1 of 1
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.