Head coach Kevin Sumlin, coordinators Jake Spavital and John Chavis and select players met with the press on Tuesday at the Aggies' weekly football press conference inside the Kyle Field Media Center.
A summary of comments, along with video, are posted below.
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Quarterback situation. We've talked about it as a staff. Talked with the QBs. Going to practice this week and then we'll evaluate where we are in practice. Just like we've said before, all of them have played. Some have had good moments, some have had not so good moments. Looking for consistency out of position. That's what this week of practice will be about. Will name starter as we get closer to game time.
Noil and Reynolds. They're back. Back practicing. Will play Saturday.
Example of what someone might do to receive 1-game suspension. Many things. We have team rules. Can range from all types of diff situations. Rules violating team policy or athletic department policy, those are different things that are either public or not public, things we deal with internally. As long as our guys understand the consequences for those types of transgressions and meet those obligations they'll come back in good standing.
Did you say Saturday Kyle Allen would play regardless. Didn't say that.
Evaluate Kyler's performance. Just talked about that. Said I think all quarterbacks that have been in a game have had good moments and some bad moments. What we're looking for is consistency in position. Not here and there. That was pretty evident Saturday. Were times Saturday we moved the football. We moved the football all night. Our ability to limit turnovers has been issue throughout year. Something we've put an emphasis on, turnover margin. Minus-3 for year with more turnovers on defense. It's no secret, with exception of Saturday's game, we have won when we've been plus in turnover ratio. Games we've lost we've been on bottom end of that. Has lot to do with people who touch the ball. Been an emphasis, whether offense, defense or special teams. Turnover ratio has been probably the biggest stat for us this year, and probably the biggest stat in college football. All those guys have had their moments and 'want to get that back' moments. Looking for consistency in the position. That's what this week is about.
Said after game, Kyle was back to being himself. What happens to kid who plays so well and then struggles. I don't know, there's a lot of things that can happen, particularly when he's a sophomore, on stages that are pretty big. More to playing that position than just physical tools. Lot of pressure in that positon. When things don't go well you have heard me say before, same thing as being head coach. Way too much credit when you win, all the blame when you lose. That's part of it. Sometimes as a younger player maybe that can be a lot. Think he's had a chance to step back and gather himself. We'll see. A lot less pressure coming into a game against an FCS opponent in the fourth quarter when the game is in hand then going on the road against an SEC opponent. Certainly a week afterwards, maybe after being able to take a deep breath helped him. Kyler too is now understanding the preparation to play at this level takes a lot more than maybe he was used to. Sees a lot different defenses and changing in defenses, and the ability to make up for a mistake that he might have been able to in high school is certainly greater. Learning process for all these guys. Old adage, good news and bad news. Have they handled it perfectly? No. good news? They are freshman and sophomore players. Will continue to get better. What practice is about. That's the truth. Truth for all 11 positions on the field. Your job at practice is to demonstrate ability to play your position but also to create confidence in the teammates around you that you know what you are doing and we have a reasonable idea of what you're going to do in the game, and create similar confidence in the coaches. That's best way for us to evaluate and get guys ready to play. Will see where we are Saturday.
Tra Carson and his move to Aggieland. When he called, I said thank you. Really kind of interesting story. Were recruiting young man at time who was at Blinn. Actually ended up going to Arizona State. In meantime, Trey Williams was committed. We got two calls within 48 hours, between Brandon Williams calling and Tra calling. Had to make a decision with both having to sit out. Brandon maybe could play because he had an appeal. Both knew each other. Been in all-star games together. Both coming back and having to sit out a year. Wanted to make sure they knew both of them were coming. They said that's fine coach, it'll work out. They've both played. Sat out and really went through the same things. Went through scout team. That's a humbling experience. Not dressing for games. Not traveling. Really the first time they haven't heard their name called. Brandon and Tra played as freshmen in big time programs. Went thru a ton together, think that brought them closer. Tra couldn't have been happier. Worked hard. Productive year. Got a real chance to get 1,000 yards and that's nothing to sneeze at in the SEC. Worked out for everybody. Will have a degree from Texas A&M. Four years ago that wasn't even in the cards.
Inconsistency at quarterback affecting how you've called games. We're not putting it all on QBs. Been very, very clear about that. Not been what we've done. Think everyone focuses on that position. Heard me say against Alabama and Ole Miss the share of 50-50 balls we weren't even close on the perimeter to making those plays. Even Auburn, the first interception. There are some things offensively that can be better, no doubt. Need to be better offensively. Certainly it's not all on the QB. From day one have said whether it has been older guy or experienced guy or brand new guy, it's incumbent on 10 other guys on field to play at high level and not make it all about the QB. Been instances this year where that has not been case. Not being able to run the ball effectively forced us into situation against Alabama where we had to throw it. Get behind, have to throw it, that changes pass rush dynamics against Ole Miss. Offense has to be able to adapt and execute. Not all on the quarterback. I have to do better job putting our guys in positions (to succeed) and give them a chance to do what they can do. On the perimeter we need to compete more. Seen guys like Ricky Seals-Jones really come into the Ricky we thought he would be. For him it's his best year here. Has had a really good year from catching the football, being physical presence on outside, and blocking. And Christian Kirk too. We've got to be able to make the competitive plays. In this league at a certain point you'll get 8 or 9 in the box and they'll dare you to throw it. That's what this week is about too. About to play a Vanderbilt team who is in top 5 in most critical defensive categories in this league. #1 in third-down stops. 4th in scoring defense. In top 5 of all major categories on defense. Will be a challenge again for us offensively but that's what this week is for. Will get the right 11 on the field and go up there and try and get (win) #8.
Vandy RB Ralph Webb. Got a couple back-to-back 100-yard games. Combine that with defense that has really done a good job stopping people, limiting possessions. Pride themselves on 3 and outs. Last week I think 6 out of 15 possessions the other team had. We have to be efficient with what we do. Combine that with an offense who will try and hold the ball, that's been their formula. Vastly improved on defense. #1 in red zone defense in SEC. Holding people to field goals. Hanging on to ball and rushing it pretty well. Not a lot explosive plays but have controlled clock in games and played good defense. Derek (Mason) has done a great job. Think the numbers speak for themselves. We've got a challenge ahead of us. Will be senior night up there, emotional night for them. Will be emotional for us too, because we want to get #8 as bad as anybody.
Kyle Allen's toughness. That's what he's done. Lot of things people don't see about any of these QBs. Everyone sees them on Saturdays. Even the TV shows on them on the sideline. What you don't see is the human element throughout the week. Conversations they have, things they have to listen to--true, maybe untrue, speculation. Crazy stuff. That's a part of it that guys have to handle. Particularly harder when they're younger. Lot of different things coming at them from social media. From television. From all over the place. Bad news is, like I told them, hey guess what you signed up for all of this. We will do our best to help you and put you in the right position. But at the end of the day when you're a quarterback, you get a lot of credit, a lot of blame. Comes with territory. He's a guy who's been through that. Kyler is learning about that. We'll see where they are this week. Come in with the game in hand in the fourth quarter against an FCS opponent at home, really not a lot of pressure there. But going 6-for-6 and really strolling up and down the field shows he did have some confidence.
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Kyle Allen. Thought he did pretty well. Gave him one opportunity to go with #1 offensive line before we started pulling them. First play we took a shot, and he cut it loose. Scored on 3 plays. Rest of the time just managing clock. He's getting better each week. Confidence building. Ready to get back to work and have a good week of preparation.
Vanderbilt defense. Coach Mason has done a great job. Watching tape, the effort and energy is pretty impressive. Give a lot of credit for where they stand. Great job of playing sound defense and giving the team a chance to win each week. Give lot of credit to Coach Mason.
Kyler Murray Saturday. Getting better each week, he really is. Focus was he has got to get out there and play a complete game as a quarterback. Didn't want to see him running around all the time. Wanted to see him sit back in pocket and run offense. Did a good job. Mix of things. Had a wide range of offense in. For most part he's still young, his third start, lot of positives out of game. Negatives from it, he'll learn. Will keep moving forward.
So you told him not to run. Well in a way. Wanted him to work on going through progressions, not just to revert to his athletic ability. Called a lot of progression plays. Times he got all way through, times he escaped and did his thing. Overall I thought he did pretty good.
Surprised Tra Carson closing on 1,000 yards. Not really. With James being out, he had to step up his play. Got a lot more touches. Told him he'd get touches early (last week). He set the tone. Been doing a fantastic job for us. Setting tone offensively. Hope he can get 1,000 yards, it's a great accomplishment.
Vanderbilt defense. Just play sound. Very hard. Watch the effort they play with makes up for a lot of things. Coach Mason has done great job everywhere he's been. Something we've struggled with is finishing. Will have a good week of preparation and try and go out and do the best we can.
Kyler Murray struggling because of size. No. wouldn't say that. Look at a lot of successful quarterbacks, Drew Brees, Russell Wilson and even Johnny. Undersized but still find a way to make it happen. Think Kyler will be a special player. Will find way to get it done.
Things to work on and things working well. Need to continue to get better at all positions. Play a complete game all around, especially up front. Been doing a great job but need to protect better. Need to make contested catches on perimeter. Be more accurate with the ball. Best teams across country are the ones who continue to improve each week. Tra is our most consistent player so we put a lot of game plan on his shoulders to get it going. One of our stronger points right now.
Speedy and Josh coming off suspension. Hope they're very hungry and motivated. Made a mistake and learned from it. Ready to get back out and play. I'm excited for them to be out there and I know they are too.
Backing QB up in shotgun. Never done that before. Learned that from the Seahawks. Put him 6 yards back. Doesn't change things, just gives him more vision of the field.
Decision to bring in Kyle because you felt Kyler was not playing well. No. Hardest decision was who to put in, Jake (Hubenak) or Kyle. Been rotating back and forth. Decided Friday the first guy in would be Kyle. Thought Kyler had 3 great quarters with a lot of quality reps. Got better in this game.
Key to establishing run game vs Vanderbilt. They do get very multiple in their fronts. Don't change personnel but will see all sorts of fronts. Got to communicate clearly. Be alert. React on the run and make sure we're communicating efficiently with the front five.
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Seen the improvement from the defense you wanted to see. Saw a win. That was the first thing we wanted to see. Saw some guys grow a little bit. That was not SEC football, there's a lot of things you can't measure, but are things you can see. Had a couple guys that weren't able to go. Hopefully healthy this week. Well on way to doing that. Saw some guys compete and saw some mistakes. Mistakes are things that continue. Simple formula to winning football games – team that makes fewest will win. True 99% of time. Didn't have as many mistakes but Western Carolina did a good job. Able to run the ball a bit in second half. Took us 2-3 plays to get that fixed, but we got it fixed. They came in with a good idea and scheme and it worked and we had to get that fixed during game. Saw us able to do that and communicate to guys on the field and it wasn't a problem. We're growing a little bit.
Justin Dunning. Big body. Has speed to play safety. Lot of range. Covers a lot of ground. Lot of times what it takes is guys to get in game like that and pay good football, then you're more comfortable in putting them in some of other games. Athletically good enough to play safety, if body continues to grow can play winning football here. We're excited about that. May very well have future at safety.
Vandy offense and QB Kyle Shurmur. See a team that has a formula, and it's winning for them. Went from throwing the ball probably 60% of time to running it 60% of time last 4 ballgames. Protecting the football. Got 2 running backs who are good players. O-line is a good SEC o-line. Put more on the run game. Had one play in Florida game that looked like it may hold up, a 65-75 yard run. Neither team did a lot offensively. But they as a team want to run football on you and let their defense play. Burden is on us. We can't afford to give up big plays. Can't do that in SEC and win. QB is doing good job. OC does great job calling plays with formations, multiple shifts, trying to get someone out of the gap. Will see a bunch of that. Turned the dial from being team wanting to throw it to being a team wanting to run it.
Richard Moore. If you go back, was hurt early, couldn't play. Came out of spring feeling real good. Halfway through season he was physically able to play. Made plays. Got to expand his role. Made decision to make that move. Not knowing everything fully but feel like he will make us better on defense. Great instincts. Something you can't coach or teach.Â
A summary of comments, along with video, are posted below.
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KEVIN SUMLIN PRESS CONFERENCE SUMMARY
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Quarterback situation. We've talked about it as a staff. Talked with the QBs. Going to practice this week and then we'll evaluate where we are in practice. Just like we've said before, all of them have played. Some have had good moments, some have had not so good moments. Looking for consistency out of position. That's what this week of practice will be about. Will name starter as we get closer to game time.
Noil and Reynolds. They're back. Back practicing. Will play Saturday.
Example of what someone might do to receive 1-game suspension. Many things. We have team rules. Can range from all types of diff situations. Rules violating team policy or athletic department policy, those are different things that are either public or not public, things we deal with internally. As long as our guys understand the consequences for those types of transgressions and meet those obligations they'll come back in good standing.
Did you say Saturday Kyle Allen would play regardless. Didn't say that.
Evaluate Kyler's performance. Just talked about that. Said I think all quarterbacks that have been in a game have had good moments and some bad moments. What we're looking for is consistency in position. Not here and there. That was pretty evident Saturday. Were times Saturday we moved the football. We moved the football all night. Our ability to limit turnovers has been issue throughout year. Something we've put an emphasis on, turnover margin. Minus-3 for year with more turnovers on defense. It's no secret, with exception of Saturday's game, we have won when we've been plus in turnover ratio. Games we've lost we've been on bottom end of that. Has lot to do with people who touch the ball. Been an emphasis, whether offense, defense or special teams. Turnover ratio has been probably the biggest stat for us this year, and probably the biggest stat in college football. All those guys have had their moments and 'want to get that back' moments. Looking for consistency in the position. That's what this week is about.
Said after game, Kyle was back to being himself. What happens to kid who plays so well and then struggles. I don't know, there's a lot of things that can happen, particularly when he's a sophomore, on stages that are pretty big. More to playing that position than just physical tools. Lot of pressure in that positon. When things don't go well you have heard me say before, same thing as being head coach. Way too much credit when you win, all the blame when you lose. That's part of it. Sometimes as a younger player maybe that can be a lot. Think he's had a chance to step back and gather himself. We'll see. A lot less pressure coming into a game against an FCS opponent in the fourth quarter when the game is in hand then going on the road against an SEC opponent. Certainly a week afterwards, maybe after being able to take a deep breath helped him. Kyler too is now understanding the preparation to play at this level takes a lot more than maybe he was used to. Sees a lot different defenses and changing in defenses, and the ability to make up for a mistake that he might have been able to in high school is certainly greater. Learning process for all these guys. Old adage, good news and bad news. Have they handled it perfectly? No. good news? They are freshman and sophomore players. Will continue to get better. What practice is about. That's the truth. Truth for all 11 positions on the field. Your job at practice is to demonstrate ability to play your position but also to create confidence in the teammates around you that you know what you are doing and we have a reasonable idea of what you're going to do in the game, and create similar confidence in the coaches. That's best way for us to evaluate and get guys ready to play. Will see where we are Saturday.
Tra Carson and his move to Aggieland. When he called, I said thank you. Really kind of interesting story. Were recruiting young man at time who was at Blinn. Actually ended up going to Arizona State. In meantime, Trey Williams was committed. We got two calls within 48 hours, between Brandon Williams calling and Tra calling. Had to make a decision with both having to sit out. Brandon maybe could play because he had an appeal. Both knew each other. Been in all-star games together. Both coming back and having to sit out a year. Wanted to make sure they knew both of them were coming. They said that's fine coach, it'll work out. They've both played. Sat out and really went through the same things. Went through scout team. That's a humbling experience. Not dressing for games. Not traveling. Really the first time they haven't heard their name called. Brandon and Tra played as freshmen in big time programs. Went thru a ton together, think that brought them closer. Tra couldn't have been happier. Worked hard. Productive year. Got a real chance to get 1,000 yards and that's nothing to sneeze at in the SEC. Worked out for everybody. Will have a degree from Texas A&M. Four years ago that wasn't even in the cards.
Inconsistency at quarterback affecting how you've called games. We're not putting it all on QBs. Been very, very clear about that. Not been what we've done. Think everyone focuses on that position. Heard me say against Alabama and Ole Miss the share of 50-50 balls we weren't even close on the perimeter to making those plays. Even Auburn, the first interception. There are some things offensively that can be better, no doubt. Need to be better offensively. Certainly it's not all on the QB. From day one have said whether it has been older guy or experienced guy or brand new guy, it's incumbent on 10 other guys on field to play at high level and not make it all about the QB. Been instances this year where that has not been case. Not being able to run the ball effectively forced us into situation against Alabama where we had to throw it. Get behind, have to throw it, that changes pass rush dynamics against Ole Miss. Offense has to be able to adapt and execute. Not all on the quarterback. I have to do better job putting our guys in positions (to succeed) and give them a chance to do what they can do. On the perimeter we need to compete more. Seen guys like Ricky Seals-Jones really come into the Ricky we thought he would be. For him it's his best year here. Has had a really good year from catching the football, being physical presence on outside, and blocking. And Christian Kirk too. We've got to be able to make the competitive plays. In this league at a certain point you'll get 8 or 9 in the box and they'll dare you to throw it. That's what this week is about too. About to play a Vanderbilt team who is in top 5 in most critical defensive categories in this league. #1 in third-down stops. 4th in scoring defense. In top 5 of all major categories on defense. Will be a challenge again for us offensively but that's what this week is for. Will get the right 11 on the field and go up there and try and get (win) #8.
Vandy RB Ralph Webb. Got a couple back-to-back 100-yard games. Combine that with defense that has really done a good job stopping people, limiting possessions. Pride themselves on 3 and outs. Last week I think 6 out of 15 possessions the other team had. We have to be efficient with what we do. Combine that with an offense who will try and hold the ball, that's been their formula. Vastly improved on defense. #1 in red zone defense in SEC. Holding people to field goals. Hanging on to ball and rushing it pretty well. Not a lot explosive plays but have controlled clock in games and played good defense. Derek (Mason) has done a great job. Think the numbers speak for themselves. We've got a challenge ahead of us. Will be senior night up there, emotional night for them. Will be emotional for us too, because we want to get #8 as bad as anybody.
Kyle Allen's toughness. That's what he's done. Lot of things people don't see about any of these QBs. Everyone sees them on Saturdays. Even the TV shows on them on the sideline. What you don't see is the human element throughout the week. Conversations they have, things they have to listen to--true, maybe untrue, speculation. Crazy stuff. That's a part of it that guys have to handle. Particularly harder when they're younger. Lot of different things coming at them from social media. From television. From all over the place. Bad news is, like I told them, hey guess what you signed up for all of this. We will do our best to help you and put you in the right position. But at the end of the day when you're a quarterback, you get a lot of credit, a lot of blame. Comes with territory. He's a guy who's been through that. Kyler is learning about that. We'll see where they are this week. Come in with the game in hand in the fourth quarter against an FCS opponent at home, really not a lot of pressure there. But going 6-for-6 and really strolling up and down the field shows he did have some confidence.
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JAKE SPAVITAL PRESS CONFERENCE SUMMARY
Kyle Allen. Thought he did pretty well. Gave him one opportunity to go with #1 offensive line before we started pulling them. First play we took a shot, and he cut it loose. Scored on 3 plays. Rest of the time just managing clock. He's getting better each week. Confidence building. Ready to get back to work and have a good week of preparation.
Vanderbilt defense. Coach Mason has done a great job. Watching tape, the effort and energy is pretty impressive. Give a lot of credit for where they stand. Great job of playing sound defense and giving the team a chance to win each week. Give lot of credit to Coach Mason.
Kyler Murray Saturday. Getting better each week, he really is. Focus was he has got to get out there and play a complete game as a quarterback. Didn't want to see him running around all the time. Wanted to see him sit back in pocket and run offense. Did a good job. Mix of things. Had a wide range of offense in. For most part he's still young, his third start, lot of positives out of game. Negatives from it, he'll learn. Will keep moving forward.
So you told him not to run. Well in a way. Wanted him to work on going through progressions, not just to revert to his athletic ability. Called a lot of progression plays. Times he got all way through, times he escaped and did his thing. Overall I thought he did pretty good.
Surprised Tra Carson closing on 1,000 yards. Not really. With James being out, he had to step up his play. Got a lot more touches. Told him he'd get touches early (last week). He set the tone. Been doing a fantastic job for us. Setting tone offensively. Hope he can get 1,000 yards, it's a great accomplishment.
Vanderbilt defense. Just play sound. Very hard. Watch the effort they play with makes up for a lot of things. Coach Mason has done great job everywhere he's been. Something we've struggled with is finishing. Will have a good week of preparation and try and go out and do the best we can.
Kyler Murray struggling because of size. No. wouldn't say that. Look at a lot of successful quarterbacks, Drew Brees, Russell Wilson and even Johnny. Undersized but still find a way to make it happen. Think Kyler will be a special player. Will find way to get it done.
Things to work on and things working well. Need to continue to get better at all positions. Play a complete game all around, especially up front. Been doing a great job but need to protect better. Need to make contested catches on perimeter. Be more accurate with the ball. Best teams across country are the ones who continue to improve each week. Tra is our most consistent player so we put a lot of game plan on his shoulders to get it going. One of our stronger points right now.
Speedy and Josh coming off suspension. Hope they're very hungry and motivated. Made a mistake and learned from it. Ready to get back out and play. I'm excited for them to be out there and I know they are too.
Backing QB up in shotgun. Never done that before. Learned that from the Seahawks. Put him 6 yards back. Doesn't change things, just gives him more vision of the field.
Decision to bring in Kyle because you felt Kyler was not playing well. No. Hardest decision was who to put in, Jake (Hubenak) or Kyle. Been rotating back and forth. Decided Friday the first guy in would be Kyle. Thought Kyler had 3 great quarters with a lot of quality reps. Got better in this game.
Key to establishing run game vs Vanderbilt. They do get very multiple in their fronts. Don't change personnel but will see all sorts of fronts. Got to communicate clearly. Be alert. React on the run and make sure we're communicating efficiently with the front five.
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JOHN CHAVIS PRESS CONFERENCE SUMMARY
Seen the improvement from the defense you wanted to see. Saw a win. That was the first thing we wanted to see. Saw some guys grow a little bit. That was not SEC football, there's a lot of things you can't measure, but are things you can see. Had a couple guys that weren't able to go. Hopefully healthy this week. Well on way to doing that. Saw some guys compete and saw some mistakes. Mistakes are things that continue. Simple formula to winning football games – team that makes fewest will win. True 99% of time. Didn't have as many mistakes but Western Carolina did a good job. Able to run the ball a bit in second half. Took us 2-3 plays to get that fixed, but we got it fixed. They came in with a good idea and scheme and it worked and we had to get that fixed during game. Saw us able to do that and communicate to guys on the field and it wasn't a problem. We're growing a little bit.
Justin Dunning. Big body. Has speed to play safety. Lot of range. Covers a lot of ground. Lot of times what it takes is guys to get in game like that and pay good football, then you're more comfortable in putting them in some of other games. Athletically good enough to play safety, if body continues to grow can play winning football here. We're excited about that. May very well have future at safety.
Vandy offense and QB Kyle Shurmur. See a team that has a formula, and it's winning for them. Went from throwing the ball probably 60% of time to running it 60% of time last 4 ballgames. Protecting the football. Got 2 running backs who are good players. O-line is a good SEC o-line. Put more on the run game. Had one play in Florida game that looked like it may hold up, a 65-75 yard run. Neither team did a lot offensively. But they as a team want to run football on you and let their defense play. Burden is on us. We can't afford to give up big plays. Can't do that in SEC and win. QB is doing good job. OC does great job calling plays with formations, multiple shifts, trying to get someone out of the gap. Will see a bunch of that. Turned the dial from being team wanting to throw it to being a team wanting to run it.
Richard Moore. If you go back, was hurt early, couldn't play. Came out of spring feeling real good. Halfway through season he was physically able to play. Made plays. Got to expand his role. Made decision to make that move. Not knowing everything fully but feel like he will make us better on defense. Great instincts. Something you can't coach or teach.Â