Thursday Media Luncheon Quotes and Audio

November 16, 2006

Texas A&M coaches and players met with members of the press on Thursday at the final weekly football media luncheon of the regular season, held at the Bright Football Complex.

The Aggies are preparing to travel to 11th-ranked Texas on Friday, Nov. 24. Kickoff at Memorial Stadium is set for 11 a.m. (CST) and the game will be televised nationally by ABC.

Links to audio clips are available to the right.

-------------------------------------

COACH FRAN: It?™s always exciting to be going into tu week and getting ready to play in this game. I?™m very fortunate to get to coach in this great rivalry and certainly look forward to it every year and I know our fans look forward to it. Certainly (Texas) has had a great year and kind of stubbed their toe a little bit last week which was unfortunate for them. We?™re excited about the opportunity and the challenge and excited about just playing in a game of this magnitude.

THE QUESTION: What did Kansas State do to them?

COACH FRAN: Kansas State got into a feeding frenzy. They got some turnovers, blocked a punt, hit some deep balls, and the crowd got electric, everybody got going and they just kind of outscored them a little bit. Certainly the turnovers were an assist in all that but Kansas State in return gave them some turnovers too.

THE QUESTION: For the last two games you have played so well in the second half, how important is it for you to get off to a better start this week against Texas?

COACH FRAN: I?™m going to call Coach Brown and see if I can get his jv to scrimmage during warm up to get us going a little bit. I think in all these games it?™s important and obviously we?™ve proven the point that no matter what happens in the first half it?™s a 60-minute game and we have to fight and dig and claw every second of the game and handle the ebb and flow of what goes through in a game with momentum. But from our standpoint to be able to get off to a good start I think would be much better than having to play the entire game in a catch up mode.

THE QUESTION: Could you just kind of speak to the job Gary (Darnell) has done this year in terms of the defense and then him going back to Austin as well.

COACH FRAN: Well, Gary?™s done exactly what I knew he could do. He captured the spirit of his players on that side of the ball, got them to believe in him, and all the coaches did that. Then he has given them a plan and put them in position most of the time to utilize their ability and give them an opportunity to have some success. I think Bill Clay and Van Malone and Stan Eggen for that matter but especially the new guys to recognize all of them would be what we should do because I think all three of them have really come in and been able to relate and teach and have the confidence of their players. I knew going in that Gary had a great defensive mind and would be good coaching in this position and where we were at at this time and I felt like as I moved through the process there was one name that kept coming back to me as the right guy at the right time. I think nine out of our 11 games this year we have held the opponent under their average total offense. So Gary?™s done an outstanding job.

THE QUESTION: Do you sense a little bit of extra excitement with him having spent some time in Austin as a defensive coordinator and going back into Memorial Stadium?

COACH FRAN: Gary is a seasoned veteran but I know he?™s excited by coaching in this game and I think the big advantage for him is that he?™s been through this game. He understands it. He?™s been in big games like these before, so I think that?™s a plus, and of course he understands the game from both sides.

THE QUESTION: Texas had a long win streak snapped last Saturday, what is it like for a team to bounce back from having a long winning streak snapped?

COACH FRAN: Well, it certainly takes its mental toll on you initially for a day or two. In this case they certainly have the ability to let that happen for a day or two more so than if they had to get ready to play the next Saturday. I think what happens is your players can now kind of look back and savor what they accomplished and move forward and try to do it again and put that one behind them and start to focus on the next challenge and the next streak. They still have I believe a long winning streak at home in Big XII games.

THE QUESTION: Coach, you guys played Texas about as well as anybody last year, doyou think your players are drawing on that game for confidence going into this game?

COACH FRAN: They should be. I think that?™s a vivid indication of where they were last year and how they managed to play in that game and I think we?™re better equipped to play in this game. I think any time that you?™re on film and having lived through that game and played through that game and to see where you were, it?™s got to be a strength to draw from.

THE QUESTION: Coach, you talked about how exciting this week is for you. What makes this week so exciting for you as a head coach?

COACH FRAN: I think the opportunity to coach in one of the greatest traditional rivalries in all of college football. It is such a special week. You have Michigan vs. Ohio State this weekend. I believe you have USC vs. California and Auburn vs. Alabama happening this weekend. Going into rivalry week and to be able to coach at one of the schools that?™s a part of that and a part of the great tradition of the game?...you know we have Wheaties boxes up in our offices about this game and you guys all know me well enough to know I love tradition and I?™m a traditionalist all the way through in college football and the opportunity to be a part of a game like this is really for me very special and I think it should be for our players.

THE QUESTION: With the way the series streak has been going lately, I would imagine that that plays a role in it as well. I mean, I'm sure that you guys want to reverse that trend as soon as possible.

COACH FRAN: Well, we do. When I went to Alabama my first year we played Tennessee. Alabama probably has two rivalries they would classify along these lines, the third Saturday in October and then the Auburn game. My first year we lost to Tennessee, they had a really outstanding team that year and the first question after the press conference is when are we going to be able to talk about a victory. That was the seventh consecutive loss at Alabama -- I believe that?™s right -- that had experienced in that. The next year we were able to win that game. One of the finest moments in coaching for me was that night winning that game. I?™ll always remember No. 1, ending that streak; No. 2, our fans and how excited they were; and No. 3, to go to Knoxville and win the football game was all very special. My first year we went to Auburn and won the football game. It wasn?™t as much of a streak involved at that point in time. I have kind of been a part of those and I know that sometimes rivalries can go in segments of streaks and can ebb and flow like that instead of back and forth as automatically year by year as some rivalries.

THE QUESTION: I heard someone talking about the Michigan vs. Ohio State game today and some fans said that they would rather win that game than win the national championship. Do you believe that a win in this game can erase whatever has gone on in the past? Do these games really have that kind of power or does everyone just get really excited and then everything kind of falls back into its slot?

COACH FRAN: Well, I think these games have a life of their own and an identity of their own. I know that they touch your fan base very deeply. They should touch your players very deeply. I know our former players are touched very deeply by this game and I think as a player and a coach you have a sense that this game means more than just about any game. Now, does it mean more than winning a national championship? If somebody said you could lose this game and win the national championship I would have to sit and think about that a little bit. I think what they?™re trying to do when they say that is quantify how special this game really is and games like this.

THE QUESTION: When you first took this job was it one of those things where people were saying, "hey we're looking forward to beating tu?"

COACH FRAN: Sure. You bet. Whenever you?™re at a place that plays in these kind of games, this game comes up a lot from both teams and for whichever team you?™re with. I mean, you know it can become a 365 game.

THE QUESTION: Speaking of former players, do you have a guy like Jacob Green come out and give a speech?

COACH FRAN: What I have done is I send an e-mail to the lettermen after every game and I?™ve asked all the lettermen to send in an e-mail for us about this game and the meaning of it. Just about what it meant to them, and we?™ll probably post those on our players?™ lockers or put them where they can read them next week. I think it?™s important for them to hear from those people and we?™ve done that in the past years. So this is a little bit of a variation of that I think we can touch more of our lettermen and get more of a response and individually touch each one of our freshmen with guys who have fought in this game.

THE QUESTION: Evaluate Stephen?™s season through the progress he?™s made.

COACH FRAN: I think Stephen?™s had a good sophomore year. We?™re going to finish the year and be able to sit down and analyze and say okay now these are things that we can do to have a great junior year. Realistically speaking had someone been able to look ahead and say this is the kind of year Stephen McGee is going to have back in August, I?™d have probably said that?™s pretty darn good and you know no matter how good it is it?™s like everything else you want it to be a little bit better but when you really put your feet on the ground and look at what he?™s done and how he?™s played and how he?™s led his team, it hadn?™t been without some mistakes but it?™s been games that has?...his game has put our team in a position to win every game and I think that?™s the true measure of a quarterback. That?™s the only stat that really matters and he gets a pretty good grade in that stat.

THE QUESTION: Seems like several times this season you?™ve had situations where time-out have had to be called sort of in the middle of a half situation. Rather save them for the end. Is there any sort of trend why all these different ones have been called and why it?™s happened this much? Has it happened more than you would like?

COACH FRAN: Oh, I don?™t think it?™s happened any more than and other year. As a coach especially with the new time rules now you go ahead and use that time-out a little earlier just because you know you?™re only going to get so many opportunities in this situation. You?™re not as hesitant to use it. Have we had a couple of times I wish we didn?™t use it? Sure we have. Has it been any more than any other year? Probably not. I think it?™s been about normal there. You hope you never have to get into those situations but realistically over 11 games you?™re going to have a situation or two where maybe you didn?™t get the right substitution in or formation into the boundary and you didn?™t want it or whatever. Maybe they lined up in something totally different than you had seen or thought they were going to and you just said hey lets shut this down and rethink this play before we snap it. So I don?™t think it?™s been unusual.

THE QUESTION: Coach can you talk about Courtney Lewis and the injuries that he has had to battle throughout his career and has he done other things that can help this ball club?

COACH FRAN: I certainly feel for Courtney, the injuries that he has had thru his career that have limited his production. First off, he was such a pivotal part of things and we needed him so many days to be healthy but it just hasn?™t worked always that way for him. He has always handled it in a class manner always worked very hard to try to get back healthy, to try to put himself in a position to play. It was unfortunate him pulling a muscle early in the year this year here for him. Our belief system has never really changed in Courtney in that regard. The good side of it was -- and there?™s always an upside and a down side to things -- it let Michael Goodson be forced more into the offense and to blossom and it made it difficult once we got into the Big XII season to change that rotation just a little bit. But Courtney?™s continued to prepare and to work and to be ready when called upon and I think he?™s been a positive influence on the other backs. Courtney is not going to say a whole lot to the team. That?™s not his style. I think within his group he?™s done what we?™ve asked him to do certainly and beyond.

THE QUESTION: Has he been relatively healthy over the last several weeks? Or is It just that Mike Goodson has been playing so well?

COACH FRAN: Right. I think it was probably about the sixth ball game before he said he was close to 95 percent. He played a couple before he probably was.

THE QUESTION: There were rumors flying last year that he had been kicked off the team. I know that it's unfortunate but do you ever reflect on situations like that?

COACH FRAN: I feel for any person or player that becomes a part of a conversation that?™s not accurate and heaven knows there are plenty of those. Somebody said Jorvorskie (Lane) and I had a falling out a couple of weeks ago. That?™s about as off the wall and wrong as it gets. Where they happen and how they happen I don?™t know completely. Certainly you hate for people to be miss judged because of those areas. I mean, that?™s certainly sad.

THE QUESTION: Speaking of Mike Goodson we always kind of enjoy visiting with him. He seems like a happy go lucky kind of guy. Have you been impressed with his progress especially against some good rush defenses the last few weeks?

COACH FRAN: We really have. We all knew Mike had this kind of potential. I think it would have been difficult to completely realize it would happen as fast as it has and he is certainly a guy right now that you hope he has his opportunities in a game because he can make big plays. As you watch him play and learn to understand what he can do best and trust what he can do, you start to think more about how to utilize him and that?™s been a process all year long. I really admire Michael. I think if you told any freshman to model yourself after someone, he?™d be a good one because he came in, he worked hard, he made some mistakes, he learned from his mistakes, he purposefully went to practice to correct his mistakes and eventually did and really has done a nice job. Along the way he listened to his coaching and listened to his critiques and addressed those and tried to correct them. Not every freshman can do it at the magnitude he has done in a first year, true freshman especially. Michael is a pretty good model for younger players to look at and say, this is what he did, this is how he did it and if you can follow this course of action this is what you could do.

THE QUESTION: He had another drain incident. Did you know he got his hand stuck in this drain and a camera man fell on him.

COACH FRAN: (laughs) Coach Koenning didn?™t tell me. I wasn?™t aware. I just hope he doesn?™t get sucked down one of those things, we may lose him on of these days.

THE QUESTION: How special can he be? You have been around LT (LaDainian Tomlinson) and backs like that. Does the future look pretty nice for this kid?

COACH FRAN: It does. I think there aren?™t a lot of limitations on him. It?™s always a little bit difficult to say for a true freshman they can do this or do that. I really believe if Mike, the way he has built on his season from beginning to end if he can apply this to his career going to the off season and work and work in the wait room and improve, watch film, watch tape and say these are things I did that I can do better now. I don?™t have any doubt Michael is the type of guy that absorbs all of that pretty well, and eventually starts to address it. The really good thing about Michael which I would relate to LT is that Michael practices really hard. When he runs a play in practice, he doesn?™t just run 5 yards past the line of scrimmage he?™s going to run about 35 yards down field and LT was like that always. He was always making a run that was more than just a little bit in practice, and he carried it over to the game. So Michael?™s got some qualities like LT developed and hopefully he?™s got them to the point where we can develop and nurture them.

THE QUESTION: This is Coach Pope?™s first year working with the running backs. What does that say about him moving into a new position and having a big influence on Michael?

COACH FRAN: Kenny (Coach Pope) has done a great job. One of the reasons that I wanted to move Kenny to coaching our running backs is that I really felt like he would relate with them and manage them and coach them. Not so much x and o wise although that wasn?™t a question but I really felt like he would handle those personalities in a great way. I?™ve seen him do it time and time again with receivers. So I knew that he would do it with the running backs and if I gave him a grade on a one through ten scale it would be pretty close to ten because I really think he?™s done a nice job with Jorvorskie Lane and Courtney (Lewis) and Keondra Smith and Samson (Taylor) and Michael (Goodson) certainly and Chris Alexander. Chris Alexander quietly put together a real solid year for us and you look at what Michael?™s done and all those guys and they don?™t all get to carry the ball as much as they?™d like to, don?™t all play as much as they would like to; but Kenny has gotten the team spirit in their head and the way they?™ve responded and handled it and I really think he deserves a pat on the back and a lot of credit for how he?™s coached.

THE QUESTION: Coach Pope had a very deep group of receivers last year. Did that maybe help him with handling the fact that not everyone was going to get the playing time and touches that they wanted?

COACH FRAN: Well, I guess you could say that. My feeling was that when I knew we were going to hire Bob DeBesse who I was very excited about, I knew that Kenny would do a great job with the running backs and I knew that Bob would do a great job with the receivers. So it really came about from that thinking as much as anything, but because of what you mentioned I knew that.

THE QUESTION: What is the No. 1 quality about Chad Schroeder?

COACH FRAN: No. 1, huh? He?™s a great person. One of the finest I?™ve ever coached. He loves his team, going to give you more than one now. Loves his team and works hard in practice, gives of himself at every turn. I?™ve coached a lot of years. I haven?™t coached many people better as a person than Chad.

THE QUESTION: Can you talk a little about Ty Branyon?

COACH FRAN: Ty has meant a lot, Ty is a special person, a special individual. The way he has fulfilled a role, and is acknowledged and looked up to by his teammates and coaches, his attitude his approach his willingness to help his team and to care about his teammates. Ty Branyon is going to be a coach and he is going to be a great one, he would be a great one to have on the staff someday. He has such a knack for having a role not as big as others but being a great leader to all and that is hard, hard to do. It takes a unique special person to do that.

THE QUESTION: In the room just now he said that he doesn't care about playing time, he just wants what is best for Stephen (McGee) and what's best for the team. Is that kind of the attitude that you are talking about?

THE ANSWER: It is. He epitomizes Aggie Spirit and he loves his teammates, he cares about them. He wants to do anything he can to help them, and if that's playing then great and if not then he is going to find another way to help them.