Press Conference: Elko's Aggies eye Week 2 opportunity vs. Arizona State

Mike Elko

• Players of the Week: Scout team was Tylan Wilson, Avery Morcho and Luke Braden. OL was Tyree Adams. DL was T.J. Searcy. He was stout and firm in the run game. Offense was Marcel Reed. Really good start for him. Defensively, it was Ryan Henderson. He played four snaps, and he had a fourth-down stop and a sack-fumble. Mario Craver was Special Teams Player of the Week. The game went the way we thought it would go. We have to figure out how to improve the lull we hit in the second quarter. It was a good start on special teams.
   
• Now, we turn our attention, and we welcome a talented Arizona State team. They are really a good football team. It’s a big test. For all the Aggies coming, if you are here on Friday, head over to Reed Arena to watch volleyball vs. Wisconsin.
   
• I thought the way we got in the game, especially the OL, was good to see. They were anxious in the beginning, like Blake Ivy and Tyler Thomas. You could see the game slowing down for them.
   
• There was a lot of good. Things we have to clean up. We didn't play to the standard we need to early in the game, but it was good to see us settle in.
   
• We have a lot of confidence in Carsyn Baker and KJ Edwards. We create standards for that room.
   
• 911 still hits really close to home. I was working up there. I walked down and saw the first plane hit. There's a lot of emotion around that event.
   
• Like, a lot of jobs I got, they were searching for a guy late, and my name got thrown in, and they picked me. Kings Point impacted me a lot because I learned what I could get better at.
   
• I want to win everything, so I don't want to play with anyone who isn't any good. This is a talented team that has produced a lot of NFL players.
   
• Wilkin Formby is fine.
   
• I do think the penalties were different. Last year we had a lot of lazy focus penalties. A lot of them were on the line. It didn't feel like they were egregious lack-of-focus type of penalties. 
   
• Kenny Dillingham’s philosophy and I have changed a lot. I'm sure he remembers a lot too. I think we have both evolved schematically.
   
• There will be more emotion when you see the red, white and blue more than anything.
   
• I'm very supportive of Reed because I wish more people would study him. He is continuing to move up the all-time passing record, and he will start moving past some notable quarterbacks. He is 12-1 as a regular-season starter. I wish all of it
   
• Terry Price’s passing was unbelievably unfortunate. He was beloved by his family and many Aggies. I was always appreciative of TP and the impact he had. It's awesome for him to be in the Hall of Fame. We are excited to have Devin Price. If this is what he wants to do for a living, he has a bright future ahead of him.
   
• You watch a lot of different player tapes. You do that until three or four games in. You draw what you can for last week.
   
• Dillingham is a bright football guy. People gravitate to him. How hard those kids play shows what his program demands.
   
• There were two drops, a couple of throwaways, and a couple of decisions he wasn't back on. I thought there was a lot of progression with him going through his reads. It was a really good performance from him.
   
• With Tyree Adams, there wasn't a ton of tape, but what we saw was impressive. He was higher on our board than the ranking sites. We were excited when we landed him. We wanted an older LB. Ray Coney was a guy who was explosive and powerful. He was a really productive player. I think we made another right decision with him.
   
• Henderson has been really good. We are deeper at DE than we have ever been during my time here. He can play the end and jack position.
   
• Coney was wearing the green dot in defense. He played MIKE linebacker and is a natural fit for us to talk to him.