Press Conference: Fisher, Aggies look to rebound this week vs. Prairie View A&M

Texas A&M returns to Kyle Field this weekend as the Aggies host Prairie View A&M in the final home game of the 2021 season. Ahead of the matchup with the Panthers, Jimbo Fisher, DeMarvin Leal, Ainias Smith and Nik Constantinou spoke to the media.

The following are live, paraphrased notes from Jimbo Fisher’s Monday afternoon media availability:

• After reviewing the film, I’m disappointed we didn’t play as good as we could have and should have played. Ole Miss did a great job, but we had a lot of self-inflicted wounds. Different guys took turns at times. We have to learn to play better in bigger situations.
   
• We shot ourselves in the foot early in games. Offensively, we’d move the ball but then shoot ourselves in the foot. After doing all that, we found ways to hang in there and put ourselves in a position to win the game, which I commend our kids for.
   
• We did not make plays when it was 15-13. We dropped a ball for a touchdown. We kicked a field goal. We got a stop, and then we had the turnovers. It was disappointing that we didn’t keep the poise.
   
• Ole Miss played a good game. We had our opportunities. We had started fast in our previous four games, but we didn’t do it for some reason. We have to learn to take it onto the field.
   
• We’ve got two more games left. We will play really well and practice really well to end this season the right way.
   
• Opponent is faceless is not about your opponent. It’s about your own standard of excellence. You prepare for your opponent, but you play to your standard. They understand that we let that get away a little bit. You practice the same. You do the same. The great teams and players do not matter about who they play. It’s how they play. I’m glad those players said that. It makes me feel good.
   
• If you have RPOs, you have to take what’s given to you. We averaged 11 yards per play on RPOs. We tried to establish the run. We got behind. We started taking the RPOs. We got a good mix and balance going. You have an idea going in, but you have to change your game plan with what you get. They didn’t change a lot. We started having success with the pass, and I’ve thrown it 50 or 60 times. You do whatever you need to do to win.
   
• Overall knowledge of the game is where Bryce Foster has grown. When you’re a center, I cannot explain how tough that is. First of all, to snap the ball is not as easy as it looks. He’s very intelligent and is a great athlete, so he adapts to things. Before, he had gotten away with being so big and strong in high school, but now he is learning how to drop his pad level. He’s going to be good, and he’s a very good kid.
   
• Achane had some better looks than Spiller did because the line blocked a little better on those particular moments. Achane did some special things too. We have two guys that are extremely talented backs. Spiller didn’t get as many clean looks. You get a bad card sometimes.
   
• How many points did Kiffin’s no-huddle score in a game? He scored 20. Kiffin going no-huddle helped us get the ball pack. We’re a running football team. We can go no-huddle, but you play methodically to what your team is.
   
• I think Demas should have caught that ball, but I think the ball should’ve been lowered. If both guys catch the ball, isn’t it the offense’s? They both caught the ball. When they called it, Demas’ back was on the ground, and the ref behind him called it a first down.
   
• RC Slocum never played quarterback with all of the multitude of blitzes coming at you. When you field punts, you can call a fair catch. Playing quarterback is tougher than fielding punts. Is fielding punts one of the hardest things to do? No doubt. It takes a different kind of cat. The courage and the decision-making skills of when and where to call a fair catch. You’re looking where the gunners and center are at. You’re judging from two different sides. It’s one of the hardest things to do, and it takes a guy with skill and a tough son of a gun. Ainias is very, very gifted at it.
   
• This team is 7-2. Prairie View is a very good team. Their coaching staff has been on two HBCU championship teams. These guys know how to win, and they have a great program. They do a good job, and you have to play every week. Remember App State-Michigan?
   
• Defensively, PVAMU is a high blitzing team. Very schematically up front. Offensively, three and four wide, throwing the football. They have really good skill guys and can throw the ball. They’re talented on both sides of the ball.
   
• Leal is a big-time guy who was wanted by everybody in the country that decided to play for new coaches and build something. He and Kenyon were huge when they wanted to stay in-state and play here. Leal is a very intelligent, high-character guy. He has a magnetic personality. He can show you and tell you how to do something. I can’t say enough good things about him. Kenyon is in that group too.
   
• I’ve told everybody I’m staying here, and I plan to be the coach at Texas A&M. Everyone thinks coaches lie. We’re going to recruit maybe as good a class in the country. I read the reports. I don’t want to hear it. I’m not interested. We may report the best class in the country, so if I leave, I might be the dumbest human being on earth to Texas A&M and then go across to Baton Rouge to coach against them. If I were that dumb, you wouldn’t want me to be here. I love A&M. I plan on being here. We have a lot of good stuff coming here in the future.
   
• Just to clarify, I have one ranch in Texas, and I have one in West Virginia.
   
• Here’s what I’ll say about seniors you don’t recruit that buy into what you’re selling: That’s sometimes more special. When a new coach comes in, a player questions him. For these guys to trust me and what I said was a good thing. They did their best, and we made a spot. Sometimes, that’s harder for them to do. They didn’t just buy-in, but they helped spread the message. It’s a very, very, very special group of guys to me for what they have done for this program.
   
• Officials don’t do things on purpose. Everyone has a different way to call different scenarios. There are some things in the rules that get frustrating. One call can change the outcome of what goes on. Is that an interception? Is that a catch? Is that a hold? I don’t believe they do things on purpose, but it is frustrating. It’s life-changing experiences for players and coaches who put their heart and soul into things. It’s getting tougher and tougher. I don’t know if replay review has made it worse. They didn’t see the sub. If you’re going to review it, do it right. I still question what we can and can’t review.
   
• Seth Small is a very human than he is a player. He’s a good Christian young man, and he is not afraid to share that and talk to teammates about it. He is who many others ought to be. I have the utmost respect for Seth.
   
• This team is a brotherhood. When one gets hurt, they try to rally around the others. I’ve seen teams that don’t talk. That’s not this. Watch Spiller and Achane. One’s as happy as he is for the other. Watch the D-ends. They’re all happy for each other. Tyree has been player of the week three times, and they’re all happy for him. There is nothing like being on a team. Don’t ever waste that.
   
• I hope the seniors appreciate the game. I hate guys being sad. I’ve seen guys that senior days affect emotionally. I hope they appreciate the situation and the program, the Aggie network and what Texas A&M represents. I hope they appreciate what they have meant to this school. I hope they understand they made the right decision when they decided to come here.