Hometown kid Nic Scourton keeps winning games with his A&M brothers

As a kid from Bryan, Texas A&M defensive lineman Nic Scourton watched Kyle Field get knocked down and rebuilt, and now, he's making big-time plays for the Maroon & White. In an exclusive interview, Scourton spoke about beating LSU, the Ags' seven-game heater and more.

Key notes from Nic Scourton interview

• The hometown aspect of being back has worn off, and now I’m feeling that brotherhood. I’m happy to be winning and playing with my new brothers. I am on a winning team with guys I just enjoy being around, and it has been fun.
   
• I usually don’t let my emotions get into the game. I like to be level-headed and follow the game plan, but I don’t tolerate disrespect, especially after how hard we’ve worked and everything we’ve been through to get here. I know the things me and the guys have been put in. Yesterday was a grimy football game. We knew it was going to be hard, and we knew it was going to go the distance. We started slow, but the guys came out in the second half ready to fight.
   
• Mike Elko fired us up at halftime. He talked about playing our brand of football and told us we were giving the game away. He said they can’t play as hard as us and don’t know what we’ve been through. He said they weren’t as mentally strong as us and that we were going to prove it during the second half. He said they couldn’t go the distance with us and that we were going to tire their asses out.
   
• The game plan this week was lovely for the guys on the edges. It was amazing. They have two good guys on the edges, and we do, too. Jay Bateman and Elko challenged us to let us go and win. Guys were winning their one-on-one matchups in the second half. The interior guys, I have to give them props. Albert Regis, Shemar Turner, DJ Hicks and Rodas Johnson. Only 23 rushing yards? That’s a testament to them.
   
• The best way to play football is to stop the run. If we go get a TFL on first down and they get a three-yard gain on second down, you know they’re going to pass the ball. That’s what you want, especially in games like that. With a good offensive line vs. a good defensive line, that’s what people come to see.
   
• I went out there and did what I had to do. Going against good players, they got some plays on me, and I got some plays on them. That’s what you want to see: Guys competing at a high level. They hadn’t given up a sack “all year,” which was not true, and I was able to get that first one against them. That felt good. A couple of plays later, Rylan Kennedy came in and got his first career sack, which was dope. That’s what you want to do. I’m not sure how many pressures or hurries I had, but we were getting after the quarterback, getting him off his spot and having fun out there.
   
• You could see on third downs that we were sending everything at Garrett Nussmeier, and he was getting deeper and deeper in the pocket, trying to get the ball out fast, making jump throws and not going through his reads. That’s what you want to do to a guy like Nussmeier. He’s a good player. He played a really good first half, and we hurt him a little bit. He started not playing like himself, and that’s what you want to do to talented players in the SEC.
   
• Kyle Field was ridiculous. Having all of those fans behind you, when you make a play, they erupt, and it makes you want to go hard on the next play. That’s just how it’s always going to be. It’s hard for an offense to come play here, and it’s hard for an offense to go play in Death Valley. That’s the way the cookie crumbles in the SEC.
   
• The mindset this week is to be intentional about everything. That’s the same mindset we took in the approach for LSU. You have to do that for South Carolina. They’re a dangerous team, and we can’t slouch. After a win like LSU, you can’t really hang onto it. You have to be intentional and come ready to practice in order to go get this one.
   
• Those guys, the offensive line, they practice hard as hell. They don’t give us anything. We feel like we’re a talented group of guys on the defensive line. We go to practice every day just trying to get better. It’s Week 9, but we keep practicing hard. We’re steady and getting better because we’re working hard and getting stronger in the weight room. We’re doing this together. The offensive line trusts each other more, and there is a constant rotation. Guys keep stepping up, and that’s why they’re having so much success.
   
• BJ Mayes is a talented player and has been since the spring. He was playing corner in the spring. Tyreek Chappell went down, and he stepped up and made plays. I remember a moment in practice this week where Coach chewed him out, got on his ass and took him out of the play. I went over to him and said, “Keep working, bro. Don’t listen to what they're saying. You’re a baller.” We got into the game, and he stepped up. That’s a testament to him. For him, going from being an all-conference player to not being a starter is hard, and you can easily give up on yourself. He doesn’t do that. He comes to work every week. He’s a talented player, and he’s going to keep making plays for us.
   
• You see Marcel Reed in the media and how other players talk about him. He’s a humble guy. What makes Reed so special is how his journey revolves around God. He never gets upset. He’s always right behind Conner Weigman, buying into everything Elko is telling him. He’s always hyping up the defense when we make plays. He’s a special guy. He’s going to be a really good player. When his number was called, he made big plays. He’s going to constantly do that. It’s just who he is.
   
• Personally, I’m a mesh charger. I won’t give the quarterback that option. I don’t want to let them read it out. You can’t do much against Reed. If he hands it off to Le’Veon Moss or Amari Daniels, they’re going to score. If he pulls it, that’s hard to stop.
   
• If you have a slower quarterback, you can afford to make mistakes on read options and the read keys. With guys like Reed, you can’t do that. You have to make a decision now and live with it. In the spring, Reed got by the offensive lineman and juked me. He’s special.
   
• On Saturday night, I can never sleep after games. I was on Twitter. I never get on Twitter after games, but I wanted to clown a little bit. It was warranted because those guys asked for it. It was 4 a.m., and I had just gotten done watching tape. I was watching the game on my iPad, and Liucci had me cracking up on Twitter.