"Game week is here. Excited. Excited for the players. I know they've been through camp, and you always want to go play another opponent. Well, we're going to get a very good opponent. We're gonna get one that's only had one loss in two years, and a coach who's won multiple national championships and has played in multiple national championship games. They understand how to play, how to win. Coach Keeler has done a tremendous job at Sam Houston, but he also did it at Delaware, when he was at Delaware, and he did it at Rowan when he was at Rowan. But he played in five national championship games there, won a championship at Delaware, won one at Sam Houston. A tremendous football coach who'll have these guys well-prepared. They've done a great job.
"You watch the film, you can tell how well-rounded they are and diverse in what they do in their schemes on offense. Throw the ball around. Their new quarterback can really run. He's athletic. Knew him out of high school. Can spin it. Played at Georgia Tech. The other new transfers they have plus what they have coming back have done a great job. These kids expect to win. Defensively, very multiple on their fronts. A lot of stem and movement up front, blitz packages, and in things they do they're aggressive, physical with multiple coverages. Kicking game is very sound. You don't win national championships and win 20 or 21 games in a row, however many it was they won there, without being a great team in all three phases. And they do it.
"They're well coached and will come in here ready to play. And like I say, they've added some new transfers to the roster on both sides of the ball that will be significant. Plus the other guys that have already won a national championship with. So it'll be a great challenge for us. We need to play very well. We need to come out of the gate, but more importantly, have a great week of practice. You play well if you practice well. You have to come out and understand that. But these guys will challenge you, not only physically with their ability but their schemes, their competitiveness, their toughness. They do a great job. And like I said, we need to play very well and have a great week of practice to get ready to go."
Week 1 Press Conference Notebook:
- Outside of the obvious goal of victory, Fisher said a successful game would come down to one word. "Execute." He wants to see his team care of the ball, play physical, disciplined football and do so in all three phases of the game. He wants to see the Aggies execute the plays that are called and be able to get substitutions in efficiently. Because, at the end of the day, A&M has a big challenge on its hands Saturday at Kyle Field. "You better play a heck of a game. You're playing a very good football team. So we've got to be ready to play that way."
- Fisher confirmed that Haynes King will be under center to start the season on Saturday. When asked what was the deciding factor, he said there was not one thing that stood out. "It's a multitude of things on a daily basis--on the field, off the field, throwing, running, reading, checking...but as I said, it took a while because you had guys matching each other. Guys played very well off each other, kept pushing each other. But we had to make a decision for the first game. We feel very comfortable with Haynes, we thought he had a great camp."
- That being said, the coaching staff is very happy with the quarterback stable and all three could make significant contributions if and when they are needed. "We feel very comfortable with the other two quarterbacks...Max Johnson could be a starter here and I think play very well, and so could Conner Weigman." He said based on the team's performance during camp, they performed no matter who was QB1. "I know that sounds contradictory, but that's a fact. All three guys, our team responds to. They play well around them. They block for them. Make catches for them. Make checks for them. They play hard for them."
- When asked about Haynes having to come back and earn the job again after his injury, Fisher said it's like that at every position, all the time--not just at quarterback. And not just after an injury. "He's not the only one (that had to earn the starting position). Everybody on the team had to come back and win the starting job. We only talk about the quarterback. Every position is up for grabs, every day, every game. If you're not performing and doing the things you have to, everybody can be replaced. We want to make a big deal about the quarterback, but it happens everywhere else. Nothing's entitled to you. Nothing's given to you at any position on any team."
- Fisher was asked about having nerves for a season opener, and he said it's like that every game, not just the first one. "There's butterflies for every game. Butterflies mean you care." But one thing he loves the most is watching players realize a lifetime of hard work when they take the field for the first time in maroon and white. "It's a lifetime of work. A lifetime of dreams for them. So I love it every year. To me, that's one of the most exciting times, to watch them evolve into the team and the players, individually and collectively, that they can become. And that's one of the great joys to me as a coach that you can have, watching that happen. And so I'm very excited for that."
Quotables:
- OL Layden Robinson can't wait to take the field for the season opener: “We're very excited for the opportunity just to get on the field and play in front of the fans. You know, it's big. See the fans lining up outside, sleeping in tents as you're going by to class and you just say, wow, was really here. So we couldn't be more excited for it. We just excited for our opportunity to play in front of this great fan base that we call our family...When you actually hit the stadium, you just see the crowd after months and months of waiting. It's a it's a different feeling. It's like, wow, I'm finally back where I belong. That's what that feels like.”
- DB Antonio Johnson says there's been no talk about making a big early statement on Saturday: “Oh, honestly, there's been no talk through the whole offseason. We just don't. Our identity is that we have an identity that we play by. We have a center that we play around, even during the offseason. That's what we've just been preaching to each other. No matter who, our opponents are faceless. No matter who we play, from Week One, Week 10, or however many weeks we play, every team will get our best and we've just got to rise to the occasion each week.”
- DB Demani Richardson says expectations are high for his position group: “The sky's the limit. We have a lot of depth. We have a lot of playmakers. I feel like people have shown how much they want to win. I just feel like they care more so the sky's the limit. We just have to practice the right way and get better each and every week.”
- WR Ainias Smith says the talk of the team being a lot faster is not just hype: “I wouldn't say it's just getting hyped up. You can definitely tell there's lot of speed on the field at all positions, from the running back and receiver room, even the defensive backs. Everybody's just playing faster. It seems like the game is slowing down for a lot of these guys, you know what I'm saying? People are making a lot of plays.”
