Two Takes: Auburn Week Press Conference

Photo by: Evan Pilat/Texas A&M Athletics

Sep 18, 2023 | Football

Jimbo Fisher and select players visited with the media on Monday as the Aggies prep for the SEC opener Saturday against Auburn (11 a.m., ESPN).

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

Two Takes: Jimbo Fisher

Fisher began with a breakdown of Saturday's opponent, Auburn: "We're playing a very good Auburn team. Auburn's 3-0. Very physical as always. Auburn's always a physical football team. Defensively, up front, inside, they're big, man. The inside guys are physical, really strong, big guys, hard to move once you get their guys down inside. And like I said, 99 (Jayson Jones) and 50 (Marcus Harris) are great big guys. The linebackers, 9 (Eugene Asante) can run like heck. I know 6 (Austin Keys) broke a thumb, I don't know if he'll be back or not. The transfer, (Larry) Nixon, does a great job. Secondary, (DJ) James, the corner, is a really good player. The nickel 0 (Keionte Scott), the nickel 5 (Donovan Kaufman), those guys stand out. The safeties tackle well. 1, he hasn't played all year, (Nehemiah) Pritchett, but the other corners along with him, (Kayin) Lee and those guys I mean they're all really good players...constant pressures, mixing coverages, different coverages in the secondary.

"On offense, the quarterback Peyton Thorne played a lot of football at Michigan State, was a starter, two or three year starter I believe. Had a great week last week, rushed for 127 yards, threw for 260 or 270 or whatever it was. Can throw the football. (Robby) Ashford behind him is athletic, big, strong. They use him in the red zone, tight zones. He runs the football and mixes things with different packages, but the quarterbacks are really good players. The backs (Jarquez) Hunter, strong. The other backs are fast, athletic. Jay Fair, the receiver, we know. He's from Texas, we recruited him he transferred back into their slot, does a great job for them. The big guy (Shane) Hooks from Jackson State is a very good player. The tight end is athletic, 13 (Rivaldo Fairweather) can catch and run. The tackles are big and physical. The punter's been greatgreat about a 42 to 43 yard average, a 4.2 hang, does a great job. The returners are good. Their field goal guy, (Alex) McPherson, his brother is in the NFL. We recruited this guy, he's a really good player.

“So they're sound all the way across the board. Hugh's a great coach. We've got to play well. Playing the SEC, we get the season started and play here. We need to play well in all facets, be physical in the game and compete in the game very well. It's going to be a battle.”
Fisher was asked to talk about Conner Weigman's recruitment and what first drew him to the QB. "Conner looks like he belongs playing quarterback. And what I mean by that is he has such great skills, but he's very comfortable...Everything he does about the game, he fits in the game. The game makes sense to him. It's natural to him. He's competitive, he's tough, he's athletic, he can throw, can do all the things, but the processing of the things around him, the feel of the pocket, how he moves and how he naturally slides and doesn't panic, but then take off. I mean, just there's a naturalness to playing that position because you're having to process so much information playing quarterback. There's no other position in any sport like it...And when you watch a guy that can just get it right, you know, say not all the time, say 95 percent of the time or whatever it is, but the way they do it, it's like they're in slow motion. And they just have the great sense and feel around, and when I first watched that was my first impression. He just looks like he belongs doing what he's doing. And then when you get to know him, he's naturally very intelligent, very charismatic. He's not quiet, but he's not loud. He's just very confident in himself. And he brings confidence and he exudes confidence and he gets it to people and how he communicates with people...

"He has a lot of those other tools, though, things that you can't teach...And listen. He's got a lot of work to do. He's still young. He's only played seven or eight games. He's got a lot of football to go, we've got an SEC schedule to go, we've got a lot of things to do. But love where he's at. Love his demeanor...I also like his disposition. It's competitive. It's natural. It's learning. He doesn't mind getting coached hard. When he makes mistakes, he admits to them. He's very competitive. He's got the right DNA. So hopefully we can keep doing the right things."

Two Takes: Conner Weigman

Weigman was asked about the performance of the offense to this point, and if they feel like if needed, they can outscore opponents in order to get a win. "For sure. I mean, that's what Coach Petrino and I, we try and preach to everyone, every guy on the team. Every time we touch the ball, we want to score, and I feel like that message has gone across well. You've got to lock in every every drive, every play. And I feel like we've been doing a pretty good job of that."
To Weigman, the fire, intensity and competitive energy he shows on the sideline is something he's always had. "I don't know, I feel like it's always been there, with whatever sport I'm playing...football, baseball, basketball, growing up. But like Coach Fisher always preaches, we've got to play well. All four quarters. And just because we're winning the game, we can't let up. We've got to go out and execute the game plan, what Coach Petrino was calling, and I just try to get that across to everyone."

Two Takes: Mark Nabou Jr.

Nabou broke down the good and the bad from the offensive line after watching film on Saturday's win. "I think what we were doing pretty well was we were trying to keep Conner safe in the pocket, trying to give him as much space and as much time to throw the ball. I think one thing that we can improve a lot as the o-linemen is our combinations...and trying to hold onto the blocks as long as we can."
Both of Nabou's parents are Fijian, and he was asked about representing the heritage. "It means a lot to me...There's not a lot of athletes that play football that are Fijian. I think most Fijians play rugby. I don't know how many Fijians play football, but (being) one of the Fijians that are kind of like big in the SEC that are able to represent my name and the culture that I represent...I think it means a lot to me and my people."

Two Takes: LT Overton

Overton was asked about the defense's response to the Miami loss and if it was satisfactory on Saturday against ULM. "I never really looked at that Miami loss as a setback. I feel like after that loss, we really realized that it doesn't really matter who we play. There's competition in every game. After getting to witness our first loss this year, I feel like...we figured out a standard for our defensive room and now we really want to uphold that standard."
Overton said the team is really looking forward to Saturday's league opener with the Tigers. "We're really excited. We've been juiced up. We're really juiced up about this weekend, really the weeks coming forward. SEC play is always big, and we're always about competition."

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