December 25, 2007
The Texas A&M football team opened on-site preparations for the Valero Alamo Bowl on Christmas Day with a workout of just under two hours in shorts and shoulder pads inside the Alamodome.
In what interim coach Gary Darnell termed a good workout, the Aggies worked on installation in preparation for Saturday's showdown with Penn State (7 p.m. CST, ESPN HD).
Darnell and many of the players commented on how important it was for the team to get inside the competition venue and familiarize themselves with the facility and especially the playing surface.
The Aggies will eat Christmas dinner as a team tonight and in conjunction will give out the annual team awards, including the coveted Aggie Heart Award. Practice resumes tomorrow morning at Trinity University and is closed to the public.
Texas A&M Quotes
INTERIM HEAD COACH GARY DARNELL
opening statement... "It's our first practice in the Alamodome, and we're ready to play. We want to be here (Alamo Bowl), we want to take in every part of it, and we want to enjoy practice. And that's a hard thing to do for some guys on a bowl trip sometimes, but that's part of it. Being here and having this great opportunity to play, we're all excited for it. I know that's a clich?, but it's totally a reality for us...to come here, have a great time, and play as well as we can play."
on bowl week practices and how they differ... "We had a really good week of practice last week. But this week, these three days, become critical for us. This is when we really start fine tuning. What we take with us today, we won't be doing again until we play the game Saturday night."
on how he wants the players to react to everything that's gone on around the program... "I want them to keep acting like they've been acting. Our players have a value system to them, as far as how they learn to prepare to work and how they do their work. We want them to carry that and not deviate from it."
on being able to get inside the Alamodome and practice before gameday... "That was really important to us. Last year, when we played Army in here, we really had a rough time as far as our footing. We weren't adjusted. I can remember last year, we missed six tackles on the first play of the game, and guys were slipping around. Consequently, throughout the game, it happened a lot, so it became very important for us, somehow, someway, to get in here today and make sure we have ourselves adjusted to the surface we're playing on."
JUNIOR QUARTERBACK STEPHEN McGEE
on spending Christmas Day at a bowl game... "It's something you've come to get used to, getting to spend Christmas with our other family, all our brothers. So, we're going to get into the Christmas spirit and go have ourselves a 22-period practice. We're going to have a good time, knowing that our focus is to try to get ready to beat Penn State."
on perhaps some redemption after last year's bowl game (loss to Cal in the Holiday Bowl)... "Yeah, we've definitely got something to prove. We want to come into this game knowing we're going to have to play a really good opponent. We want to win this game and send these seniors out right. That's very important to us, and how we handle these next few days will determine that."
on how the team's reacted to all the program's been through over the last month... "We're just doing what's most important, and that's playing together and sticking together as brothers and a family. We just continue to work hard, knowing our focus now is not on anything else but winning the next game, just like it's been all year. As long as we keep that mentality I don't think anything is going to bother us."
SENIOR DEFENSIVE LINEMAN CHRIS HARRINGTON
on Penn State's offense... "They've got a pretty solid run game. I think the keys to victory for us are being able to stop the run, make them pass, and get ahead early. I think we should be able to handle it."
on how Penn State's offense differs from what A&M has seen this year... "They do a lot more traditional two-back sets, a lot of I-formation, a lot of power running game. I think this year in the Big 12 a lot of people tried to spread things out. They seem to be a more traditional-style team."
on being able to practice in the Alamodome early in the week... "Getting on the turf a little bit and being in the environment, it gets a little warm in here once everyone gets inside. It's kind of similar to our indoor facility. It's good to get in here, look around and get comfortable playing in this stadium."
on the approach to this bowl game, coming off last season's loss to Cal... "We're just going to play our butts off, come out ready to play, and play four quarters. I think last year we came out and played a good first half, but dropped off in the second half. That's when (California) really got on us. (We look to) play four quarters, have fun, play for each other, and as seniors this is our last game-so go out with a win."
SENIOR LINEBACKER MARK DODGE
on this being the last game of his career... "This is the last one for me, the last one for a lot of us. We definitely want to go out with a good style and remember it the way we want to."
on whether Defensive Coordinator Gary Darnell's role has changed in practice, now that he has assumed interim coach duties... "It really hasn't changed. He's really letting Coach (Les) Koenning run practices on the offensive side, and he's been sticking with us. It hasn't really changed at all. He's been with us the entire time."
on playing a bowl game in Texas... "I think last year, guys were just so excited to get out of Texas, to get out there (to San Diego) and have some fun. We got out there and everyone was wide-eyed, looking at the ocean and just so amazed by where they were. A lot of guys had never even been to California. Here, (Texas) is a lot of guys' home state, so for them it's not as big a deal. We're kind of treating this as an away game. Mentally, we're just trying to come out, play football and have fun."
SENIOR TIGHT END JOEY THOMAS
on getting bowl week underway... "It's always exciting. Bowl games are a lot of fun. They have a lot of festivities for us to do. It's going to be fun trying to win a bowl game. For me, leaving A&M and everything, I know it means a lot to us seniors. It's fun getting things underway."
on playing in the familiar surroundings of San Antonio and the Alamodome... "Most of our guys have played here since high school. We've come here for playoff games and it's always special to be around our hometowns."
on the advantage of playing so close to home... "I think the biggest advantage is how strong the 12th Man will be. I've heard crazy things about the ratio of fans. I know it's going to be a great showing for the 12th Man."