Press Conference: Aggies turning attention to challenges posed by Mississippi State

The Aggies' time to celebrate their 41-38 win against Florida is over as they must prepare for a road contest with Mike Leach and Mississippi State this week. Jimbo Fisher, Jalen Wydermyer, Ryan McCollum and DeMarvin Leal addressed the media ahead of Saturday's game.

Video courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics.

The following are live, paraphrased notes from head coach Jimbo Fisher's press conference on Monday.

• After evaluating the film from the Florida game, I’m very proud of our team for how we competed in the football game regardless of how things were going. We were able to do the things necessary to win. It was a great football game. Special teams wise, we were great. Our kicker, punter, our coverage were all great. Seth was excellent, making the kick at the end and the extra points. Defensively, Florida moved the football. We had a turnover called back. We had a couple of critical penalties called back. We have to get that cleaned up. We had a couple of big stops on defense. I was proud of how they kept competing. Offensively, I thought we were great. Hit our deep balls. Ran well. We controlled the clock. Kellen, Spiller, our receivers played well. Our protection was great. We needed every inch of it to come out. That one’s over with. It was a great win, but now it’s time to focus on Mississippi State. They’re very good defensively. They’re #2 in the league defensively. They are good defensively. Offensively, they broke an SEC record passing in week one. They can throw the ball. Mike Leach is an excellent offensive mind. We will have to play a complete football game on the road. It’s a great challenge ahead of us.
   
• Caleb Chapman will probably be out for the rest of the year.
   
• Erick Young is a day-to-day basis. We will have to see. Hezekiah Jones is also a daily thing.
   
• To replace Chapman, we will use multiple people. We will see how that goes as the week goes on.
   
• Maturity is amazing. Guys know when they’ve played games. On the offensive line, they’re able to pick things up and make better blocks. It’s not always on the offensive line when sacks happen. Sometimes it can be on receivers for not getting open or on the quarterback for making the wrong read. Their maturity and the number of games they’ve played have helped them get better. You don’t get to see that very often in college football because the really good ones go on to the NFL early.
   
• I do not feel like I’ve vindicated yet after the win. You have to play every week. Everybody looks at the obvious, but there are other indications of where your program is going. I’ve been in this game for a long time, and I love where we’re going. We’re nowhere close to where we want to be, but we’re improving. We have to go on to the next one and win this week.
   
• You have to be talented and diverse to stop Leach’s offense. He has always thrown the ball around, and he’s very sneaky in the running game. We have to be disciplined and play tough football. We have to tackle well. You have to maintain leverage on guys because they’ll spread it around to like eight receivers. You cannot be weak at any point.
   
• We started the drive on the six once and on the 10 another time, but we scored on both drive. You can’t do that, though, because those possessions are vital. Guys get caught up in the heat of the moment, but it can’t happen. We can’t let it happen. We will address those issues.
   
• Anytime your quarterback touches the ball, he has to get better and better. Our receivers played well. It’s amazing how, when the people around you play well, your performances go up. It’s a team game. I’m very happy for Kellen and proud of him, but we have a lot more work to get done.
   
• I don’t try to explain the offense in this league. We try to get better on offense and defense. I don’t have time to worry about that. I have enough to focus on. That seems like the kind of game we want in today’s football. The other side will usually fix it and patch it back up. Generally, when you don’t play, the defense is ahead of the offense, but in today’s game, the way kids throw and catch, maybe that’s not the case. There are a higher number of skill people on the field than ever before. Quarterbacks are more mobile. You don’t always have to be mobile. Skill people are always hard to get down.
   
• Guys kick it higher than they have ever kicked it. If you have 25 yards on each kickoff return, you’d be in the top 10 in the country. We won’t always fair catch it. If we think we have an advantage, we’ll take it. It’ll always be based on what the other team is doing. It will always reduce penalties.
   
• It was a normal road trip to play Alabama. We played an excellent team. That’s every trip in this league. It won’t be much different. It’ll be an interesting question for the players, but you have to win on the road in this league.
   
• I had high hopes for Chase Lane after I saw him developing in bowl practice. Chapman, Kam Brown, Jalen Preston, they were all coming along. I did see this coming. I felt he could have a tremendous job. Chase has done an excellent job, but we still need to improve.
   
• We’ve played two really good teams in Florida and Alabama. They throw it as well as anybody around. We’ve got experience against teams that throw, so hopefully, that will help. We will be able to put them in positions to be in better matchups this week.
   
• Coaches and referees always disagree on some stuff. They do a great job, but sometimes we disagree. That’s how it is. They have a job to do, and we have a job to do.
   
• Isaiah Spiller is running through guys. He’s big, strong and playing good football. He still has room to improve, and that’s encouraging. There are little details he can fix. He’s open to that coaching, and he works really hard. He’s done a great job.
   
• That running game gives you diversity and options. It creates problems on defense even when they’re preparing for it. The more diverse you can be, it gives you an advantage.
   
• We were at 22 percent capacity. I can’t wait for the other 78 because when they do come back, it makes Kyle Field the best atmosphere in college football. I was very proud of our fans at this game.
   
• Cowbells are good on the farm. It’s unique to Mississippi State, and it’s great. That’s a tradition that makes them unique.
   
• The way you practice, train and lift weights has helped prepare Spiller for the requirements of winning big football games.
   
• Remember why you had success last week. You can’t cheat this game. Physical ability does not win in this game. It just gives you a chance. The power of preparation is important. You have to stay hungry. Everyone is coming to beat you, and everyone can beat you. If you take care of your stuff, the scoreboard will take care of yourself. You have to do that over and over.
   
• I thought we could play well against Florida. We had opportunities against Alabama. Most of our mistakes have been self-inflicted through the first two weeks. You have to execute over and over.
   
• Jalen Wydermyer was a big, long athlete. He’s fluid and has great balance, body and ball skills. He has continued to grow, but he has grown into a blocker. He’s becoming a complete tight end. He’s learning to be the athlete and the blocker. He was a huge part of our running game the other day. As he continues to grow, he could be a great player.
   
• I listened to Eddie Van Halen growing up. It was sad. It’s scary because I’m 55, and he was 65. He was a true icon. He was a great personality. It’s a shame that any of those guys have to go before their time or before they reach old age.