On Saturday evening, Texas A&M will begin its 2023 campaign against the New Mexico Lobos at Kyle Field in College Station, but on Monday afternoon, Jimbo Fisher, Ainias Smith and Demani Richardson spoke to the media to preview the contest.
The following are live, paraphrased notes from Jimbo Fisher’s Monday afternoon media availability:
- Great to get game week going. Great to see someone else. We started prep last week. Coach Gonzales’ group does a great job. They are tough to prepare for. They have a lot of portal guys. Anxious to get ready and play this week.
- Conner Weigman will be the starting quarterback.
- First games are a pain. You know what someone does in the offseason. You haven't seen them play. Those are restless nights. You look at everything, You can chase ghosts. First games are nerve-wracking in that you have nothing to prepare off of.
- You work all year to play 12 games. All your work and preparation goes to those 12.
- The most important game is the one in front of you. In the sports world, people ask Tiger Woods how he hits a put. He thinks about each shot. You can’t become outcome-orientated.
- We have not named the 12th Man.
- In the first game, you are what the film says you are. Hopefully, it tells us we made great progress and camp was successful. In sports, the goal is to play the best you can. You are always trying to be perfect but is good enough ever good enough?
- There are lists of things that we talk about that impact the outcomes of games. We have to perfect those things.
- We have good experience with linebackers in Edgerrin Cooper and Chris Russell. Martrell Harris has matured. Taurean York, Daymion Sanford and Chantz Johnson are all producing. I feel very good about the linebacker position.
- We have not had one guy not pass a hydration test. They have a purpose. The coachability has been really good. That happens because of the leadership of the team. They understand the why. The young guys are taking the leadership. The players are coaching each other.
- No major injuries other than Donovan Green.
- Right now, Chase Bistonis and Trey Zuhn will be in there. I feel really good about that group. They have done a good job of handling a lot of different things. New Mexico does a great job upfront. They are very demanding.
- At the end of the day, we had to make a choice, and it was Weigman.
- We have practiced with the new rules. We work at a ton of situations.
- As a sophomore, you can take a lot more of the load on yourself when you know you can play. Weigman knows he can play. Recognizing how to use his weapons.
- You are only as good as your two-deep is.
- Look at what we did in 2020. We controlled the ball. Defense builds confidence by getting three-and-outs. You can kill your offense if they sit too long. We don't talk enough about complimentary football.
- Bryce Foster was practicing and playing last week. Mark Nabou and Remington Strickland will be in there. That will give us a lot of options if he is ready to go.
- Playing linebacker is like playing quarterback. York can make checks. He has had an outstanding camp. I’m glad Demani Richardson knows that. When he is making calls at the third level, they recognize that.
- Choosing the 12th Man, their character and are they ready to go at all times? It is a tough choice. We have had more guys to choose from. That is a positive for this team. That’s a tough choice, and we take it seriously as a staff.
