Two Takes: Tennessee Week Press Conference

Photo by: Wesley Bowers/Texas A&M Athletics

Oct 09, 2023 | Football

Jimbo Fisher and select players visited with the media on Monday as the Aggies prepare to head to 19th-ranked Tennessee on Saturday (2:30 p.m., CBS).

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

Two Takes: Jimbo Fisher

Fisher was asked how to ensure that the team plays with the same intensity Saturday that they did in last weekend's emotional loss. "You just tell them what we did wrong. In our locker room, you saw a hurt locker room. You saw a disappointed locker room. You didn't see a dejected or a quitting locker room. Our kids have character. They have heart. I think they're going to play their tails off. They knew it. And like I said, back in that game, you've got to do ordinary things in games, and that's what it gets down to in a lot of our critical things. We've got to do a better job of coaching those ordinary things and then they've got to execute them just a little bit better in critical moments. But they see it. There's no rift. We're not blaming them. I blame myself. We've got to prepare them better and get them ready to play better. What's funny, I've got kids coming up going, 'Coach, it's my fault. It's not going to happen again.' No, it's not your fault, you tried. I mean, there's caring in there. As long as there's caring and there's love for each other, you're going to go back and play hard and do what you've got to do."
Tennessee may arguably present the Aggies' with the biggest offensive threat of the year, and Fisher discussed the weapons that the Vols have all over the field. "They're a very good team. Offensively, they've got a three-back system. 0 (Jaylen Wright), 2 (Jabari Small), and 6 (Dylan Sampson), the running backs, all have juice and are strong. You think of them as fast but they're 210, 215 pounds. Those guys are all really good players. The receiver 10 (Squirrel White), man, he's got juice...he plays physical for a guy that's 165, 170 pounds. Man he can run. The receivers outside are tall. (QB Joe) Milton, man, is hard to get on the ground. I remember him from high school, he was a Florida kid in Orlando. He's big and strong. I tell you, what you'll see in that game, when he throws deep balls...our DBs are going to have to pay attention because it's balls that you usually don't see thrown that far. I mean, they're in the air 60 yards, sometimes 70 yards. You're not used to ever playing a ball that far in the air. They do a really good job that. And, he can run, he's strong. The offensive line is very good in what they're doing. They're running the ball and got good bounce. The tight end's a good player. Defensively, they've got rush guys on the edge. 27 (James Pearce Jr.) and 30 (Roman Harrison) can bring it. The backer, 6 (Aaron Beasley), is all over the place, can make plays. They're physical up front. The inside guys, 21 (Omari Thomas) and those guys, are big. 5 (Kamal Harden) and 1 (Gabe Jeudy-Lally) at the corner are good and the safeties tackle well...They've got a really good team. Their punter can kick it right-footed or left-footed. I think he's only had two balls returned all year. It's all rugby stuff and he can roll with it right and kick it or roll with it left and kick it, which is a problem. The field goal kicker is 7-of-8. I mean they're a good football team. Offensively, like I said, they run and pass and the quarterback's hard to get on the ground. Joe's like (Arkansas QB) K.J. (Jefferson), he's a big, physical guy."

Two Takes: Layden Robinson

As one of the veteran leaders on the team, to Robinson it's simple how you move past Saturday's loss: "You flip the page. It's about getting back to work the next week. It is a tough loss, especially after you've been working hard all week, mentally and physically, preparing for a great team like that. Two great teams going to battle. You lose a tough one like that, especially in front of your home crowd that's been out there for two weeks straight, all that energy and momentum, that's always going to be a tough loss. But at the end of the day, we're at a what now stage? What are we going to do now? We're not going to hold our heads down and (have) self-pity. We've got another great team that we're about to go into their home, their home and play them. And that's a great atmosphere to play in. I'm excited to play in that atmosphere too as well. And I know that's going to be a great team and I know that they're going to be ready to play. So we've got to do our job and move on to the next week and we have to get ready to play. And that's what we're going to do starting today."
When asked if he's wary of guys brooding too much on the Alabama game, and if he's concerned about a hangover after the loss, Robinson said that is not what he's seen this week. "You know, I have no sense of anybody feeling like that at all. After that game, we had everybody on time to stretch and stride the next day, and we were ready to work. And I felt that present from everybody in there, 'Hey, we let this one get away, but we've got an opportunity this week to do something great.' And you could just feel that presence. Our team has come so far from last season, come so far in the way that we grind, the way that we develop, and just going through war with each other. We know what we can do. We know we can bring the best out of each other. So we made sure that we didn't hang our heads after this loss. We made sure that, hey, we've just got to go back to work. Now this is the exciting part. What are you going to do now?"

Two Takes: Fadil Diggs

Diggs was asked the same thing, about guarding against a hangover from Saturday's loss to Alabama. "We've got a 24-hour rule…you know, win or lose, 24 hours. You've got to get over that, because like you said, we've got another tough opponent coming up this week. We just have to have a great mindset going into the game. So we just make sure we get it together as a team and make sure everybody gets over the 24-hour rule and just be prepared for Tennessee."
When facing an up-tempo offense like Tennessee, Diggs was asked about the challenges that presents and how best to prepare for it. "Just got to get lined up, make sure we communicate in the right way. We've been doing well with that. So that's really not a thing I think we worry about this week coming up, because we communicate well on defense and we make sure everybody is on the same page...The scout team gives us a great look. They give a good look for us every week making sure we are ready for our opponent."

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