Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M players preview 2018 season opener

The following are paraphrased notes taken live at Head Coach Jimbo Fisher's press conference prior to the August 30 season opener versus Northwestern State. 

• Finally game week. It's exciting. Our players are definitely looking forward to it; they're tired of playing each other. We've got our base in, had some good scrimmages, made tremendous progress. We were looking at spring versus fall tape, and we're happy with that. We have a long way to go. As they continue to grow it will get better. We're looking forward to the challenge of playing Northwestern State.
• The safeties jump out at me (as making a lot of progress).
• The corners too, those guys have all played well.
• The linebackers, Dodson and Alaka really understand what we're doing.
• Keke, Mack, Madubuike, all good. Durham, he's a guy who just makes plays.
• The offensive line is developing some depth. The young tackles have really come along.
• The young tight ends are doing a good job...Jace should have played in 1955. Even when he struggles, it makes him go harder. 
• I can't say enough about Trayveon - his leadership, his understanding of what he's supposed to do. He has his eyes in the right place all the time. Not just his physical abilities, but his mental abilities to compete.
• The QBs, both guys are developing and playing great football.
• The receivers are doing a great job. They've all been productive and made plays.
• Are we perfect? No. But I like the attitude, direction, and the way we're competing. The development from spring to now has been really, really good.
• We take the (Marchiol) allegations very seriously. We're open to all inquiries. We're very confident in the things we've done.
• We'll address the questions, we have all the records, and again, I feel confident in our program and how we've done things.
• When you're putting your offense in, it's like a library. You have to have things they're exposed to that may not be all the way polished. They may be for later. Part of that is installation - you won't carry as much into a game as you do in fall camp.
• I'm a guy who likes to install whole-part-whole. You try to get it all in up front, then you go back and reteach it, then break it down again like installation days. We know there's going to be learning curves.
• (At QB) somebody will have to start off the game, but I'm comfortable with both guys. We talk about throwing and all that, and it's important, but you've got to manage crisis, manage players...the types of things you have to do as a team to move the football. Decision making and accuracy are key. The decisions about their performance will be based on what our team needs - what we need to do to have success in a particular game. I feel very comfortable that both guys can go in and play winning football.
• The first game is not a tryout. At the end of the day, that's still just as important a game as the Clemson game.
• The team doesn't need to know who the starting QB is to rally behind one guy.
• I feel confident about our football team. Now we have to go out and do it for 60 minutes. We're at that next stage. We're going to take a test. We've prepared. We'll see where we're at.
• More than anything else on this team, I like two things: attitude and competitiveness. 
• Coach Dickey will be in the press box giving ideas and tracking our game plan. I'll send in the plays. Other coaches also give input to the plays too. I love that open communication. When you're calling a game in a series, you have to know what you're doing, but in between, we take everyone's input. We're a conglomerate. Nobody's the guru.
• I still call plays because I still love to be involved with the QB. It's something I love to do. When you call a game, you call a game through the QB's eyes. I understand what his strengths, weaknesses, etc., are. Darrell could do that in two seconds. But I still like coaching. I still like the fun part of this.
• Dameyune Craig knows how we want to work. He knows so many nuances. He knows some of it from when he was a player for me. He's helping receivers understand what goes through a QB's mind. A QB thinks about how the WR has done and that perspective has really helped them and let them grow.
• They'll (NW State) play good. They've gotten some transfers. They'll spread the ball out. Anytime you get guys in space, it gets tough. Defensively they'll bring pressure. They're a very well coached football team. The head coach is new, but he was DC and knows the players. They've had some tremendous players and have some tremendous tradition.
• We'll play the majority of our freshmen, especially with the skill levels and all the special teams. And now with teams running 70-90 plays a game, we have to play a lot of people. If you look at my track record, probably about 75 percent of our incoming class plays. 
• Kellen's hand placement, his hips, his eyes. I think yesterday in practice, I think he was over 80 percent, drops and all. He's throwing the ball with his feet and hips very well. I always judge guys...people want to judge a QB on the out routes, but how about those throws between the hashes? That means you're processing information. Even his leadership...Kellen was a very quiet guy. He's starting to come out of his shell, talking, and putting that on other guys.
• Philosophically Darrell and I are very similar. We mesh very well. We feed off each other well, and he's got some great ideas and things we're doing.
• (Asked about his gameday ritual)...I'm just going to be who I am. I'm very systematic. Staying on course, staying on schedule for what we're doing. Make sure you're checking off the boxes to make sure you've hit all the special teams things that could happen, all the substitutions that could happen and so forth. Just so many things that I'll be worried about. But I'm pretty systematic on game day.