Sitting at 5-1 and 3-0 in the Southeastern Conference, the Aggies enter a bye week with all their goals still in front of them. On Thursday morning's edition of TexAgs Live, former Texas A&M QB Stephen McGee joined us in the studio to discuss what he has loved through Week 6.
Key notes from Stephen McGee interview
- Do I love a dropback passer? I do. The best quarterbacks of all time have been dropback passers. I just like quarterbacks that play fast and decisively. If you want to run, great. I understand the game is trending toward the guy who can do both. If you do both, you have to win from the pocket, and if you win from the pocket, you have to get the ball out in time, play fast and be accurate.
- The things I like about a quarterback aren't necessarily the normal things a fan would love. All the flashy stuff can be fool’s gold. They are great, and they are one moment, but they are rare moments. The plays that consistently win games are the ones like the little flat route, the rail route to Terry Bussey for the explosive play. That was the exact play we didn't complete against Notre Dame. It was low. That is the difference between winning and losing football games.
- I love Conner Weigman. I have been saying this for the last two and a half years. I think his skill set is so unique. Anticipating a throw as a young quarterback is nearly impossible.
- Running the ball 37 times in Lincoln, Nebraska, shouldn't happen. That’s not championship football. Can we all agree on that?
- You are only as good as your last performance. That is the reality of football. As a coach, you have to look at the body of work. Who is this kid really? Did the guy that played against Notre Dame... Is that some guy that just stole his jersey? Who is the real Weigman? I respect Mike Elko’s decision. I would've put a less than 10 percent chance on Weigman starting that game.
- I don't care what anybody says. That was an unpopular decision to start Weigman. I think the fanbase largely wanted Marcel Reed. He provided excitement, and the kid was a winner. Me being high on Weigman does not mean I am not high on Reed. He has won three in a row. It is hard to bench a winner. Elko’s job as a leader is not to make popular decisions. It’s to make hard ones. That's why I think Elko is the right guy for the job.
- We are 5-1, and I think if you ask any Aggie fan going into the bye week at 5-1, would you be happy? I would say 99 percent would say, “Yeah, I’d be thrilled.” If it wasn't for Reed, I'm not sure we would be 5-1. His skillset in Florida flipped the switch on this football team. He is a game-changer. The thing I appreciate most about Reed is the way he handles himself.
- I love college football. I like SEC football. I like good quarterback play, and you have two good quarterbacks and explosive offenses going at it this weekend between Ole Miss and LSU.
- Nico Iamaleava has taken a step back in my book. You watch him make throws, and they jump off the screen. However, it's all the stuff we talked about earlier. It’s all the plays between. It's the throw to the flat. Those are question marks surrounding this team.
- I like watching Ole Miss, but Lane Kiffin is the modern-day Mike Leach. They are competitive, but they are 9-3 or 10-2. They are never championship caliber, but stuck in that middle ground. Here they are again. Can they get over that hump?
- Look at what Elko is trying to preach here. What is he saying winning offensive football looks like? Offensive line. It all starts up front. The identity of our offense is the offensive line. I don't think that's true of any Kiffin team. It's about the quarterback. There's nothing wrong with that. You have to have a good QB to win at the highest level, but it all starts with the offensive line.
- Running the football is how you win tough football games. That constant push to commit to running the football. Has that ever been the DNA of a Lane Kiffin-coached team? I would argue no. I do believe that, as much as it pains me to say this as a quarterback, you do have to run the football to win at a high level.
- First 5-1 start since 2020. First five-game win streak since 2020. First 3-0 start in SEC play since Kevin Sumlin’s 2016 team. First 28-plus point victory over a top ten opponent since 2012. Do you think that anybody coming out of Notre Dame would have said that?
- I love Elko. I love the direction of this football team. He is football, football, football. That’s all he cares about. Xs and Os, running this program, holding people accountable, making sure everyone is on time. That is what it takes to be great. Think about this message he made very clear coming off a big win: “I don't care about that win anymore. We are focused on Mississippi State and how we are going to beat them.” It's always next week. It’s always the next play.
- What else that is culture that no one talks about is when your best players are the hardest working guys on your team. That is championship DNA. I remember Nic Scourton and Shemar Stewart running 30 to 40 yards downfield to make a tackle. That jumped out. That’s how you get other people to buy into the process.
- Le’Veon Moss is a guy who does not get the credit nationally that he should. I love the way he plays football. The yards after catch, it permeates. You have a runner that's tough. You have to be a great running back when the ball is not in your hands.
- My biggest concern all along is if we could beat a single-high man. We beat a single-high man. This was the best week for the wide receivers. Ten guys had receptions. They were stacking the box.
- Here is this new era. We are rotating three running backs consistently. We have a fresh guy in there toting the rock. Just because we have their guys doesn't mean our one guy, Moss, is not getting substantial carries and production.
- Numbers in the run game are about single-high and two-high defense. If the safety comes down in the box, if your quarterback is not a runner, you do not have numbers. That safety is unblocked. With two-high defense, you will have the numbers. RPOs were effective against Missouri. The key is to get the ball out on time so the linemen pulling aren’t downfield.
