Jimbo Fisher, Kellen Mond and Jayden Peevy addressed the media on Tuesday afternoon after the Aggies' first practice of Fall Camp.
Jimbo Fisher, Kellen Mond and Jayden Peevy addressed the media on Tuesday afternoon after the Aggies' first practice of Fall Camp. Click any of the videos below to watch.
We've got Coach Fisher's opening statement and three themes below from today's press conference.
“It's great to be back. People say, what's the biggest thing you take away from practice? It's that it was practice. You got back out there and we got to do what we do. The kids were very excited. You could see the excitement in their bodies. The coaches were (excited), everybody involved (was excited). It was different with the social distancing and coaching with a mask. They asked if I could wear four masks so they didn't have to hear me. They asked if I could put a couple more on to make sure I was safe, that would help them out. So we may have to work on that. But it was great to be out there. I was very happy with our staff and the organization. You know, if you think about that's the first time we've been on a field since bowl practice, as far as actual football-related activities with practice. So our kids were very excited. They did a good job. For our first practice they had great energy, great enthusiasm, had some really good execution on things, and of course some things we've got to clean up. We had a lot of new faces out there. Those young freshmen are out there, and I'm very happy we signed every one of them. Those guys all showed a lot of things which we thought (we saw) in recruiting, their size, their speed, their athleticism, their work ethic. You saw the ability to play football. (I'm) Very happy with that. And our upperclassmen, I really felt a lot of leadership on that field yesterday. I really did. I thought Kellen (Mond) was outstanding. Yesterday I thought (Ryan) McCollum up front, Dan (Moore), Carson Green...you felt those guys up front. Jhamon (Ausbon) out wide. On defense I felt (Demarvin) Leal and Micheal Clemons, boy their energy level, their ability to chase the ball, just them bouncing around and playing and doing things...I thought that was outstanding. Myles Jones, I felt good about in the secondary. You felt him. The guys were just happy to be out there and they did a really good job. So overall for a first practice I was happy. We've got a lot of things to work on, but we're heading that way.”
Have you had any players opt out or discussed with any players who are concerned enough to come to you about that?
"Yeah, we've had one player opt out, that was James Foster."
Do you have anybody on the roster that is expected to miss a significant portion of camp or time because of injury or health reasons?
"I don't believe so right now. We have nobody who was actually right now who is positive. We have a couple guys who were quarantined out of precaution from another thing but have tested negative. But they have to sit a little bit of time and should be back here relatively quickly. But, none that are are on the roster. I mean, guys may be shortened in practice, that had injuries that are coming back, but they should be back within a week or so going full speed. So nothing significant. Right now if top my head I cannot think of any. Actually, they just reminded me. Adarious Jones is out. He had a knee injury this summer during workouts and will be out for the season."
What about the job your guys have done in terms of managing testing and guys just having good habits through this?
"Well I'm going to tell you this. Our guys have done a tremendous job the second half of this summer of understanding how to do that, because it was all a learning curve. And like I said, that's why I think we're free right now. if we do have a case or so, guys are minimal in who has to quarantine what they're doing. They're keeping great social distancing right now. Testing wise, once the season starts it will be two times or three times a week in practice and all those things, but right now we're once a week. We tested them all coming back, and right now presently in camp we are testing one time a week unless there are any symptoms on a guy."
How have the COVID-19 protocols changed the way the way that practice looks, the way it feels, and then the way that you've had to put together practice plans and the like?
"From a practice-planning standpoint, once we're able to get a lot of the conditioning back, they're very similar. There's a lot less people out there. You can't have any bystanders, only the people that are in the necessity for us to be able to practice within the organization. But they're having that the shields on, all the coaches are wearing a mask, all the different things you have to do that way. We're trying to keep the guys, when they stand around on the side or in the back, you've got to spread them out as much as you possibly can to keep them away from each other for periods of time. So from that standpoint you've got people always reminding those guys to separate and to not be bunched up. I tell you, one thing it does is it makes you talk more between each other. They have to communicate, they have to talk louder to be able to hear, because you can't be all standing beside each other."
With how much of the conversation has drawn towards a look towards heart health and how that might be tied in with COVID-19, do you have any anecdotes or looking back on your career any instances with players where the seriousness of heart health in these athletes has become apparent to you, and how important is adding in the heart imaging and stuff like that to return to play right now?
"Tremendously. We were one of the schools in the beginning, in our protocols coming back, where we did tests on the heart. We did tests on the kidneys, the lungs, all the different organs in which it can possibly affect, and then we added a few with these last protocols that came in. One thing about A&M and the great resources you have here, we're going to do everything first class and do what's best for our student-athletes and our players First and foremost. But we have found out that certain guys, when they come back and we test, and start to work them out, have come back differently. Some guys have come back a little slower, and some of their functions have been a little different. So we cut their workouts back and we've been able to test and do that and stay as safe as we possibly can. Thank God we've been able to do that so far."
How rare it is to have a four-year starter at quarterback, and what are your expectations for him, and also the idea that he's not only become a voice for you on the field but off the field as well?
"He's really...it's not that he's mature, because he's always been very mature. But you see him growing up. He's turning into a man. I thought you felt him yesterday, not only his play--he had a really good day yesterday. I thought he played well, going through reads and doing things I thought were really good. But just his (leadership) ability. I saw him grabbing guys on the side, other quarterbacks, teaching them, other receivers, other backs, even linemen. You felt his presence and leadership very much yesterday in what he was doing. I'm very pleased with his performance overall."
What do you think the advantages are that the three major conferences could have by playing football when you have the Big Ten and Pac-12 not playing?
"I think right now, first of all it's that you're the only game in town. So the publicity part of that, the ability to see you and know what's going on. I know everybody thinks everybody in the world watches SEC football and nobody else watches another league, but some people do watch other leagues. So to find ball, they're going to have to come here. You can even draw more fans to the SEC and what it's about because you're one of the three games in town. You're going to have a lot of marquee matchups by making more league games. It's going to make it very interesting. it's like the NFL, every week they're all good games. It's going to be great players against great players and great coaches against great coaches and so on and so forth. I think financially, you know, whatever that ramification turns out to be, but I also think that it's possibly how we can adjust to this COVID world. If we can keep things in perspective...we think we can function in this world. I think learning to function with this disease going forward and showing that it can be...you're never going to stop anything. We don't want anybody to get sick, but we can still live our lives and keep the protocols in place and and show maybe we're the first step in helping say that we could get back to normality and still be able to function within this COVID world until we can find a cure, to live a normal life or as close to a normal life as we possibly can."