Coach Fisher and team members met with the media on Monday. The Aggies host Lamar on Saturday.
Coach Fisher's full press conference, plus quotes from Jhamon Ausbon, Anthony Hines III and Kellen Mond can be seen below.
JIMBO FISHER PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
After reviewing the film and watching the film, that was a very competitive, hard-fought game. I thought our kids played hard. I thought they played physical. It was a very physical game within what was going on. Obviously we didn't get the outcome which we wanted but we have to learn to in my opinion capitalize on the opportunities. I think we're still growing to understand how to play at that level consistently and do those things in those great moments. They had a very good team, played very well, played big moments very well, made certain plays when they had to. We had opportunities to make them and we have to learn to make them. We have to create better habits, keep practicing to do that, but we have to learn to capitalize on opportunities. When you play the teams of that caliber that are used to winning and having success, when you get those opportunities you've got to take them. We had plenty of them and we didn't make enough of them. But again I thought we competed very well, I thought we played very hard, I thought the kicking game was very sound. Defensively we played well, gave up some things, gave up a drive. Offensively, it was a guy here, drop a ball, miss a throw, miss a block, everybody takes a turn or two and all of a sudden then those drives are over. And then you do get drives, we had three drives in the game that were over 14 plays, that were long, sustained drives that we didn't get to finish. We missed a touchdown opportunity on the first one and the second one, we got the last one but had opportunities in the game at other points in time with good field position and got critical drops or missed a throw or missed a block. Then defensively we give up a couple plays which we could have almost had them shut down and they made some critical throws and catches at certain times. But that's what good teams do. They are a very good football team. We're going to continue. We're not discouraged, we have to be a lot more technical in our repetition and experience of how to do things and create a little bit better habits in the right moment so those things come. We're gonna have plenty more opportunities out there to show what kind of team we have and get ready this week against Lamar, play a very good team, and then get into our conference schedule. We have to do that, play a playoff team in I-AA this weekend. So we've got to do that and then get ready to go.
How good an example is Roney Elam to some younger guys, a guy who stuck it out and is making plays as a senior as opposed to just leaving the program?
That's the thing about it you don't realize, you don't have those guys anymore because guys don't play as much then they want to leave. That to me is the greatest compliment to his development and what goes on and what college football is about and why you do stick it out and stay in the program and keep playing. He is playing really good football right now. He's taking advantage of this opportunity. He's worked to really get himself better and done a really good job. He's playing really good football. I'm very happy for him. That was a really nice play he made on that ball. Both of them he's made matter of fact, really good catches.
On that final drive any thought to going to a hurry-up offense?
We were, assignments couldn't get communicated in time to the younger guys. We were in a hurry up, we were just trying to get communicated because they were in different blitzes. But we were in a hurry.
Wonder if you could give us a status update on Corbin and Peevy specifically.
Corbin will be out for the season. He had a season-ending injury, his hamstring. And Peevy should be okay, he got an ankle and that's what kept happening. He had it happen twice to him, but he should be okay they think now. Didn't swell as bad as it did but on the day of the game it was pretty painful.
What were some positives that you took out of the game?
Competitiveness. Physicality. The opportunities to make those plays. On offense and defense, there were plays to be made all over. We didn't execute well enough. But we're right there, eyeball to eyeball. We said all these mistakes we made, and the score was 24 to 10 in a football game against the number one team in the country on the road with a lot of very young players. So I feel very comfortable about this team, it's just a matter of us having the experience to make those critical plays. We had seven dropped balls. You can make some of those catches. You missed some throws, missed a block or two, come out of coverage and give up a big play, had a couple penalties that just weren't the smartest at the time that allowed them to get a long drive in those situations. And you're still 24 to 10 and had another opportunity, right there eyeball to eyeball, playing with them. So it's not your talent level or anything else. We just have to keep playing better in those situations. It's the first time since we've been here we went into a game against the number one team in the country and people expect us to have one heck of a chance to win. And that's part of the learning curve which we have to go through. I love that the people had the expectations. That means the growth which we've shown...the last year in any of those games we weren't expected to win they just say let's just go play well. People were hoping we play well. We were expecting to win and hoping to win and thought we should win, and I think we've made a lot of growth in that area. But you've got to play in those moments and grow in your organization and your experience in those situations to get to those situations.
Just following up on the on the Corbin news there, I know you're deeper at running back but how does this shuffle that whole situation going forward?
We're just keeping the same rotation. Kibodi will be back this week, Spiller's in that group, Cordarrian Richardson and we got Prince. We've got four really good players.
This is a young team, how do you want them to react? What do you want them to take away from this game?
The worst thing about this game that we can come out of it with is we don't learn from it. That we don't learn and have the learning experience of how you have to go through it, how you have to play in it. I want us to come back this week ready to practice, ready to go, keep creating even better habits. Because like I always say, when you have great habits, when pressure comes, those habits come straight to the surface. And being able to do them in the biggest moments and not worrying about winning, because sometimes you go in and all you're focusing on is winning. It shouldn't be. You should go in focusing on playing well. When you play well, you win. And that's part of the growing experience which hopefully we can learn from this, and we do, then we can progress and we have plenty more opportunities as the year goes on. That's the other thing that's encouraged me about this too. is that attitude our players have taken and they knew it after the game. They knew that they had opportunities and they got to grow from this. And that's what I think they'll do.
You told us that Jashaun does everything on the field, catches, pass blocks, all those things. Do you feel like Isaiah is ready to be able to do all those things?
Yeah. He's played pretty well and he has all those skill sets, and so does Kibodi. Kibodi can catch the ball too very well. All of our backs have really good hands, none of them can't do that, but obviously Jashaun was doing it to a higher level, more consistent, because he was a starter and he'd been there. But those guys are very capable and can do that very well.
Do y'all try to discourage Kellen from scrambling or do you encourage him...because it seems like sometimes there are scramble opportunities there that he doesn't take.
Scrambles are feels man. You don't discourage or encourage anybody. You got to play the game and feel what you read down the field. A quarterback's job is not to run. A quarterback's job is to make decisions and feel the pressure and react accordingly.
To follow that up, because sometimes quarterback's jobs are to run...
If the situation is there. It's based off the reaction.
Well were there times when you looked on film did you think maybe he should have scrambled?
Not really. He had guys open and guys were catching the ball, and he ran, okay he had a couple runs, but no there weren't any glaring opportunities to run where he shouldn't have thrown the ball. He was going through his progressions. There may have been one or so that I'm missing, but I can't think of any off the top of my head.
To transition to your running back situation now, do you see it be more running back by committee?
Well we're playing three before we'll keep it to a three-man rotation like we did before.
Will Isaiah take the majority of the snaps?
We'll see as it goes but he would be the starter right now.
What do you hope to see from the receivers, bounce back after all the drops and just kind of inconsistent play?
Well they've got to play better. We got to keep getting them in practice getting them to play better and getting them to do the things they do. They had been making those plays all camp. They'd been making them all that week during practice. Like I say, it's a team learning experience. Sometimes you want to win too bad. Sometimes you want to make a play too bad, and that's all part of it. People don't understand that going into a game with those expectations and knowing you can win that game in those situations, those are all learned things. You have to learn, our program has to learn, and each player has to learn. So have a good week of practice, bounce back, go right back to the fundamentals and basics.