Notebook: Week 4 Press Conference

Fresh off a 17-9 win over No. 13 Miami at Kyle Field, Jimbo Fisher and the 20th-ranked Aggies now turn their attention to SEC play and the league-opener this Saturday evening against No. 10 Arkansas (6 p.m., ESPN). Fisher and several players met the press on Monday afternoon inside the Kyle Field Media Center.

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Jimbo Fisher's opening statement and game film review:

After reviewing the game, I'm extremely proud of our team. I thought they played extremely hard. Extremely physical. Did the things they had to do to win the game in all three phases. Still got work to do by far. Nowhere close to perfect in anywhere we are. But I love the competitiveness. Love the togetherness. Love the guys pulling together. I mean, coming off a tough week, come off a tough loss, guys bonded together, blocked out the noise, went and played. Had distraction before the game, blocked that out. Had injuries during the game, young guys stepped up, played critical minutes and made big plays and did really good things on both sides of the ball in different places.

Played a top-15 ranked team and played very well. And at the same time, have not played close to where we're capable of playing in we can do. Got to get better and do the things we have to do in all three phases.

Offensively, we've got to continue to get better. Moved the ball well coming out of the gate, had a great drive coming down. Wish we could have held that ball, could have scored that first one, had a chance to score right off the bat. Got a field goal, but then come back, got a sack, and a stop, and got the turnover (on downs), and converted really well. Then came back with a great 9, 10-play drive and got stalled on the 40. Missed a block one time, got a negative play, then we could have hit the next route. Route could have broke off and we could have had it and got some points out of that and kept that drive alive. But we still moved the ball. pinned them, and then our punter again did a great job of hitting one of his punts back in there. Almost had a two-minute drive right before the half. Then came out second half and scored right off the bat and had a great drive right there. Then got down to the 40 and did the same thing, missed an opportunity on third and two that we were going to try to go four downs, probably, on and missed one. Then got the ball back with 8 minutes to go in the game. Got a run for three, had a throw, and we had a third down throw we should have made. And that was it. Game was over, and we milked it out.

The defense played well. Did a great job physically. Again, they kept the ball in the second half, had a 16-play drive and a 12-play drive. We didn't get it back much on offense, and we've got to get off the field. Had some third and longs that we've got to get off the field, you should have got off the field on. Had a critical penalty one time, we had them stopped back there in the first half when they were inside the 10. Got our second targeting, I believe, I think was Demani's, unfortunately, that we could have had good field position, maybe get some points. But the guys just kept fighting. No matter what the circumstances were, they went to the next play.

Special teams, I thought our punter was magnificent, he hit the ball well, hit it high, was allowed to be covered. Our cover teams got down the field, took shots on guys as far as tackles, made the plays. Ball hit the ground, we got on it, got it converted, which was critical in the game. The only turnover in the game, which became very critical.

I thought Achane did a great job. People don't realize, we talk about him on offense--he was magnificent on offense catching and running--but he was the guy downing those punts inside the 10. He got blocked out of bounds one time, and he fish hooked and came all the way back in and got that ball down on the one. Just his ability to do many different things in that regard.

Field goal kicker did a great job. Caden kicked off extremely well. Bond hit his field goal. Kickoff return, had one really good one. The second one, we missed a block, had a chance. Punt returns, we've got to keep working on those, but had a very solid special teams game in the things we did. Now we had a muff at the end, glad we got that ball back, have got to a fair catch that ball right there.

But the guys played hard, man. Fought hard, did the things they had to do. And like I said, we're a long way from being perfect. Got to get better on offense, got to get better on defense. Got to get better on special teams. Continue to run the ball, I thought the offensive line got better in the game, played more physical up front at times. Moved people, created some great running lanes. The running game got better, gave Achane some time to go. Got to clean up some pass blocking and we've got clean up our routes in our passing game and get the ball down the field a little more. But I was very proud of how we competed in the game and now I get ready to move on and get ready for SEC play..

Week 4 Press Conference Notebook:

• Fisher had a heartfelt comment when asked about the sellout crowd that showed up on the heels of a loss: ""That's why they're loyal to the school and what we do. They're not fans. They're really not fans. They're family. There's a difference. The 12th Man is family. Fans come and go. Family sticks with you, no matter what goes on. Good times, bad times, anything else that happens. And that's what the 12th man is about. And that's what our fans are about. That's why I love them and I thank them for it. I thank them for their support, I really do."
• When asked to evaluate the play of quarterback Max Johnson, Fisher said the first thing that really stood out was that he took care of the football. He said at times a sack can be the right decision to make as well. "I think he managed the game. The game wasn't too big. He made good third-down throws. He led us, had good poise, understood the information getting back on the sideline in was what was happening in the game, and played a very solid game...he's developing, and I love his attitude and demeanor."
• And for Fisher, it's also about the team growing around their quarterback as well. "Hopefully (Max) can continue to grow and we can grow around him and keep playing better. Because there's still some plays out there that he really was making where we've got to do a little better around him. We could have really made some plays on some routes and different things that were going on. And then there's a throw or two I wish he had...every game there's always going to be one or two."
• Fisher's thoughts on the challenge of facing Arkansas this weekend: “Well, I think, first of all, Sam (Pittman) does a great job coaching. They have a veteran offensive line. They've got four returning starters on the offensive line. They got a veteran quarterback. Backs have played. Receivers, even though they haven't been there, there's a lot of transfer guys and they still have played a lot of football at different schools and have been very productive. Defensively, they're extremely well-coached. Up front, they're very good. Their safeties, their scheme on defense, four down, three down, different blitzes, the things they do are very dynamic in what they do. Special teams are really good too. Their kicker can kick the heck out of it. Punter is a very solid punter. What sparked them last week, if I'm not mistaken, was a 72-yard punt return. They're sound in all three phases. They're well-coached and they've got a veteran team. Those guys have been around a long time and I say that makes a difference, man. They're talented, they're schooled and they're well coached.”

Player Quotables:

• DL Albert Regis on the depth the defense showed against Miami after being down multiple players: Our depth...it's beautiful. I will say that I love it because we were able to keep people constantly fresh, rotate in, and we all trust each other. And we all built a bond within each other, that whoever is out there on the field with us, all 11 of us will be confident within each other because we all know what we're doing. Our depth is really just beautiful. I don't mean to repeat myself, but I just can't stress it enough."
• Regis on the confidence level of the team heading into SEC play: "Our confidence is high because we trust in each other. Like Coach Fisher always tells us, when you take a test and you study for it, you'll be confident because you'll know the answers. But when you don't study for a test, you're going to the test nervous because you don't know what to expect. And it's just the same thing. We study our opponents day in and day out, and we come up with the perfect game plan--from the coaching staff to the players--and then when it's time to play, we execute it. That is why our confidence is high, because we trust ourselves and, most importantly, we trust the coaches and what they tell us to do."
• Regis on whether being a three-star recruit playing with five stars has him play with an edge: "No, sir. I never once thought about it like that. I never once looked at as I'm surrounded by five stars, I need to play with an edge. I just came to play my game to the best of my abilities every day. And I know that I have people beside me who came to do the same thing, and we motivate each other to play better. You could call it a friendly competition. We're going to push each other. Iron sharpens iron. We're both going to push each other to be the best that we can be every day without ever saying, oh, I was a five star. You were a three star. I'm better than you. Because at the end of the day, everyone who plays college ball at this level in the SEC was a three star, four star, or five star--it doesn't matter. It's all about the grit you have when it comes to this game."
• WR Ainias Smith on the parts of Max Johnson's game that help him out as a wide receiver: "His poise. He definitely delivers a nice ball, spins it very well. You can tell that he's always motivated, even when things aren't going right. He's always willing to pat us on the back, tell others, keep going, you know what I'm saying? Because if you're not having such a good day, you've got your quarterback that's always there to pick you back up."
• Smith on what the offense needs to do to take things to the next level: "Really just executing. Executing the game plan, executing the plays. Of course, everybody plays a role, and we've just got to make sure that we're all on the same page. So execution is the most important thing."
• RB Devon Achane on the play of the offensive line Saturday: "They had a lot of (holes) for me. They had great pass protection as well. Like I said, those guys, their bond is getting shown. They're just trying to get better every week."
• Achane on the confidence level heading in to SEC play: "Most definitely we're ready for SEC play. This week, we've got Arkansas. They're a great team. This week, we've just got to go in, watch film, study our opponent, and just try and get better every week--knowing that we're getting into SEC play so it's getting harder and harder every week for us."
• LB Edgerrin Cooper on Texas A&M fans' presence each year at AT&T Stadium: "Our 12th Man, I tweeted about it earlier. It's unbelievable. They make us feel at home wherever we are. All the people that come to support us...it's crazy, you know, how loud they are. They give us a great advantage. We feel the support. We look forward to that every game and it helps us a lot."
• Cooper on defensive success in the red zone: "That's our biggest point in practice. Once we get into our red zone period, we all get together like, hey, once a team gets this far, we're going to turn it up a notch and give it everything we got. We just talk to each other on the field, give it all, all max effort. That's what we did, and we were successful at it."