Two Takes: New Mexico Week Press Conference

Photo by: Evan Pilat/Texas A&M Athletics

Aug 28, 2023 | Football

Game week is here, and Jimbo Fisher met the press on Monday as the Aggies begin preparations for Saturday's season opener against New Mexico (6 p.m., ESPN).

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

Two Takes: Jimbo Fisher

Game week is here, and in his opening statement Coach Fisher gave a quick scouting report on this weekend's opponent, the New Mexico Lobos. "Coach (Danny) Gonzales and his group do a great job. They're very physical on defense, very tough to prepare for. (They show) Tons of fronts, motions, blitzes, different things they do. Offensively, very physical. (They've got a) New offensive coordinator (Bryant Vincent) that came from UAB...they run the football, take shots, and have a good influx of new guys from the portal. A lot of guys you can find some film on, but not all the time. (They have) Some big receivers, guys that can run. It's the same way in the secondary. And like I've said, college football sometimes from team to team things can change very quickly from year to year...Kicking game, they do a really good job. I'm anxious to get ready to play this week and see where the guys are at in what they're doing. I feel very good about camp. We've had a great camp, but we'll have to wait and see and make sure we take it to the field."
Coach Fisher also mentioned that, while both quarterbacks had great camps and played very well, Conner Weigman will get the start against the Lobos. He was then asked what he wants to see from Conner in year two: "Just keep keep playing great football. Great decision making, the great accuracy, toughness and leadership, but also the ability to help players on the field. I think now that it's the next year, you really understand the offense a lot more and you're able to help the running back. Help the offensive line. They don't know a call sometimes. Or (help) a receiver. You can take a lot more of that load upon yourself as you grow in your offense and you know you can play, which he knows he can play. So that can kind of go into your other players a lot more. They can lean on him. Sometimes, when you're a freshman, trying to help other guys? You do it. But man, I've got to take care of my own. I've got to prove I can play out here. I've got to do those things. I think from a leadership standpoint, it's those things. But then again, managing the game and playing the game the way it should be played. Being aggressively intelligent. When the plays are there, be able to make the big plays. Listen, two things affect the outcome of the game more than anything anymore...turnovers and big plays. You can't have (turnovers), you've got to create big plays, and you can't give them up. That determines winning and losing right now as much as anything...But him being able to do those things and recognize how to use all of his weapons, managing the game and keeping yourself in good situations where you can control the game."

Two Takes: Ainias Smith

Worried about Ainias being ready for the season? Don't be. “It's probably the most exciting feeling that I've had since I've been here. I know all the guys are definitely ready and pumped. We've definitely been tired of going up against each other and we've been saying it for the past week. So now that we get to go up against somebody else in a different uniform, it's definitely exciting.”
Last year the Aggies were unable to play to their standard in several games, and Ainias was asked about that and what's different this year to protect against that. “ I'll say the mentality. I know this year we've really been emphasizing in our room, let's not play down to anybody's level. Let us play at our level. We're all great in our room. So we've just got to make sure that, my mentality to the guys was…let's go ahead and destroy (whoever's in front of us) and make sure that they don't want to come back on this field no more.”

Two Takes: Demani Richardson

Demani, as with Ainias, is ready to go Saturday. "I can't wait. I'm glad it's finally here. Like I've been saying, it's the best time of the year, so I'm just happy to finally be back. And I can't wait to go out there and prove it, to show who we really are. Last year happened and it was a lesson that we learned. So I can't wait to prove to people who we really are."
Demani said that, as a leader, it's not about reminding teammates what happened in certain games last year where the Aggies didn't perform to their standard, but it's more about a consistent approach--no matter the opponent. "Just remind them we can't take our foot off the gas. We have to prepare each week like it's the same. We can't take a day off. We can't just say it's New Mexico and not play hard, or watch less film. You can't practice not as hard. You have to prepare each day, each week, like it's the same opponent. So we have to just keep going at practice, practice hard like it's Alabama or LSU or like it's a conference game. We just can't take the day off."

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