Two Takes: Week 3 Fall Camp Press Conference

It's week three for the Aggies as they continue to grind through fall camp. Following a Saturday scrimmage and a Sunday off day, Jimbo Fisher and a pair of players took time to visit with the press Monday afternoon inside the Kyle Field Media Center prior to the first team meeting of the week.

We've got “two takes” from each of the media sessions below, along with full press conference video.

Two Takes: Jimbo Fisher

• We got Coach Fisher's thoughts on the Aggies’ first fall scrimmage, held this past Saturday afternoon inside Kyle Field. His biggest takeaway? “I thought the physicality was good. You always want more consistency when you're playing some young guys. Some of our older guys, we scrimmaged them a certain number of plays and got them out to see other young guys. But I thought for the most part, up front on both sides of the ball, we had good physicality. The defensive line and offensive line, I was very pleased with a lot of their movements. The offensive line is really emerging…Offensively, I thought for the most part we took care of the ball very well. I know defensively you want to create turnovers, but offensively the quarterbacks’ decision making was good, actually was pretty solid…we dropped a couple balls at receiver and had some little things I wish we wouldn't have done…so it was a good first scrimmage. I would like to see more consistency but I liked the physicality of it.”
• Fisher was asked how long it takes to get a sense of the chemistry a team has, and whether it is something he can feel right off the bat or if it takes half a season. He pointed out you can get a sense pretty quickly, but it can always change as a season evolves. “You can sense how guys are working, how they're relating to each other…I like our guys. I like our dynamic right now. I really do. I like our dynamic as far as the energy we have in practice. We come in with a purpose to meetings, guys seem to be very locked in, very driven, very motivated. And you can sense an urgency to do things right. Just from the communications and questions to each other, to coaches in practice, that dynamic (makes me) feel very confident. But I think chemistry always evolves and I think situations develop chemistry. Your chemistry grows as you gain confidence in what you're doing and how you're doing it. And then you get guys in situations that make plays, but of course you've got to take it to the practice field in a scrimmage and you’ve got to take it to a game during the season. So that culture and and chemistry always continues to grow, or deplete if it went the other way. It’s always that way on any team.”

Two Takes: Trey Zuhn III

• After playing a lot of last year at less than 100 percent, and missing the Spring due to rehab, Zuhn said he is fired up and ready to go for this fall. "Physically right now I'm at 110 percent. I'm stronger than ever, faster than ever. During the season I had a couple of nicks and nacks that I got fixed up afterwards, so that's what caused me to miss Spring ball...(During the Spring I would) Take the mental reps out there every day at practice, watching everything. And in the meetings, still keep my mind crisp. Then just lifting and strength training, because you can't really replicate the reps of going against the D linemen very well. I was just doing everything I can...But now I'm good to go, ready to roll."
• Zuhn says there is no reason for fans to be worried about his unit entering the season, based off what he’s seen on a daily basis and thanks to depth, experience and fierce competition in practice both inside the group and against the defensive line. "We have probably seven or eight guys at least that could play in any game this season. The competition's there. Everyone's working their butt off to fight for those five spots and move people around. People are playing multiple positions, so everyone's just kind of getting that groove together with multiple people...I think this is my third fall camp now that I'm going into, and I think this is probably the best one. The competition between the O-line and the D-line has been the best I've seen, with guys kind of getting older. We were a little young the last year with the offensive line. Now guys are getting older. Mental mistakes aren't really an issue anymore.”

Two Takes: Demani Richardson

• Richardson opened talking about his routine as he works back to 100 percent. “So to get healthy, I’ve just been doing a little bit of rehab in the training room and some stuff on the field just to strengthen my calf. I just had a minor injury at the end of workouts, but everything's good now.” And, with being off the field a little more than usual, it’s allowed him to gain an even more focused perspective on his position group. “I've seen growth from the young guys, and the leaders are bringing the young guys up every day at practice. There’s people encouraging each other. I've seen people getting better on both sides of the ball.”
• When asked who has really stood out to him, Richardson mentioned freshman Jayvon Thomas out of South Oak Cliff. “He's been doing really well. He's athletic, he's smart. He's really impressed me this fall.” A follow up question then asked specifically about Bryce Anderson, and Richardson said it was the Miami game where he really first noticed Bryce in a big moment. “I think that was his first game, playing safety for the first time (in a big game). And he went out and just made every tackle and was physical. Every time Bryce has a step, man, he makes plays. That's what he does. He's super athletic, fast, can cover anybody, can tackle anybody. I'm really glad to have him back there.”