Mike Elko, Conner Weigman, Shemar Stewart and Amari Daniels fielded questions from the media on Monday as Texas A&M held its latest weekly press conference of the young season.
Aggies Hold Florida Week Press Conference
Mike Elko, Conner Weigman, Shemar Stewart and Amari Daniels fielded questions from the media on Monday as Texas A&M held its latest weekly press conference of the young season.
Quotables: Mike Elko
OPENING COMMENT:
Wrapping up last week, obviously, I think watching the film kind of showed what we discussed. It was a very professional way we went out and handled that. I thought we started fast. I thought both sides of the ball did what we would have expected them to do. We were able to get that thing out of hand quickly and able to play a lot of guys. I think we wound up playing 85 different players in the game and got some young guys a lot of extended reps and a lot of work. And so that was really good to see.
Wrapping it up for us, our players of the week...offensive lineman of the week were Ar'maj Reed-Adams and Chase Bisontis. Both those guys really set the tone for us. Defensive lineman of the week was Albert Regis. I thought he played a really stout game, although we played so many defensive linemen so many reps that the stats were a little bit hard to kind of figure out. Players of the game, on offense was Le'Veon Moss. I thought he ran the ball really well. I thought he made the strides that we had hoped to see him make from week one to week two. I think he'll continue to improve as the year goes on. On defense, we gave it to Rylan Kennedy. We're just really happy with the value he's given us on third down. That's two weeks in a row where he was able to go out there in third-down stuff and really be a factor. And then as he got to go in a little bit, he was able to get a lot more work in the first- and second-down stuff and kind of make his impact that way too. And then our special teams player of the week, we had to give it to the 12th Man kickoff team, the whole group, for pinning the ball inside the 20-yard line on their rep when they were out there.
ON SATURDAY'S OPPONENT, FLORIDA:
As we turn our attention to Florida, obviously (they're) an extremely talented SEC team. It's going to be a very difficult environment Saturday, to go down in The Swamp, one of the tougher places to play in this conference. Getting the primetime afternoon slot, we know that place is going to be rocking. When you look at them on offense, they've got two extremely talented quarterbacks who kind of have different skill sets. So it'll be a challenge for us defensively to prepare for both and make sure that we're ready for both.
They've got a running back, Montrell Johnson, who has run for over 2,500 yards in his career. He's certainly played an awful lot of football. He's a really talented back. Outside they've got Eugene Wilson playing wide receiver, who's one of the best wide receivers in the conference and a kid that obviously we're going to have to pay a lot of attention to. They really did a good job adding some experienced guys through the portal, and so they're really talented at the wide receiver group for sure--the best group that we've played to this point. Tight end wise, I think they've got great size and length, they're physical at the point of attack. They bring back three offensive line starters and they added a transfer from San Diego State. So again, a lot of guys up front who have played a lot of football. Offensively it's a group that's played a lot of football, very, very experienced and very, very talented. Coach Napier does a phenomenal job with his scheme. He always has. And so we're going to have our hands full.
Defensively, it's certainly an SEC group when you look at them. They're tall. They're long. They've got a lot of girth inside. Their defensive line is really talented. Length, physicality, athleticism. Certainly when you get into SEC play you get a different level of twitch that jumps off the tape and we'll have to prepare for that appropriately. Shemar James is one of the better linebackers in the conference. Pup Howard is a kid that we knew very well when I was here recruiting. And so both those kids are talented players. Jason Marshall is one of the best corners in the league. And again, through the transfer portal, they added some experience in the secondary. So it's a talented group. We're going to have our hands full and we'll have to have a great week of prep to go down there and be ready to play our best.
FROM WHAT YOU'VE SEEN ON TAPE, AS FAR AS FLORIDA'S DEFENSE GOES, WHAT KIND OF CHALLENGES DO THEY PRESENT FOR YOUR OFFENSE?
I think they're extremely athletic. Their two corners are really, really long and athletic. And so they can cover at an elite clip, which is always a challenge. I think they roll a lot of different guys up front, and so, they're going to come at us in waves and be very fresh. And, I think they have some playmakers at the second level. So again, it doesn't take you long to remember that when you get into this league it's a little bit different when you start watching skill sets of the people that you play against. They're a talented SEC football team and it'll be a big challenge.
THE LAST TIME A&M WON AN SEC ROAD GAME, YOU WERE HERE. DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON HOW YOU ACTUALLY WIN A ROAD GAME? AND DO YOU HAVE A PHILOSOPHY WITH THE WAY YOU APPROACH A ROAD GAME ANY DIFFERENTLY THAN A REGULAR GAME?
I was here. It was at Missouri. I do remember it. We won quite a few of them when I was here, so I'll try to duplicate that recipe a little bit more than the last two years. But, no, I think, we maybe started back in the spring kind of doing some things that we think are important when you play road games in this conference, things with your mechanics, how you work your quarterback/center snaps, how you work different things getting in and out of the huddle, how you communicate in bad environments. I think it's something we've put some time and effort into. I think some of it is just, it's challenging playing on the road in this conference. I think one of the things that makes this conference so unique is you're going to play in a hostile environment, no matter who, no matter where and no matter when. That certainly presents challenges. And so there are no easy road games. Whereas, maybe in some of the other conferences, you maybe get some opportunities to play some road games that aren't quite as daunting. In this league, every single game is a major challenge. And so I think that's kind of what it comes down to.
GOING BACK TO YOUR FIRST ROAD GAME AS A HEAD COACH, IT WAS AT NORTHWESTERN, TO NOW...WHAT HAS CHANGED? ARE YOU MORE AGGRESSIVE AS A COACH DURING A GAME? LESS AGGRESSIVE? WHAT HAVE YOU TAKEN FROM THAT TO NOW IN I THINK 11 ROAD GAMES?
Yeah...I don't know that I think about a road game differently in that regard. I think you look at each opponent and you try to figure out, okay, what is our best way to create opportunities to jump on them early, try to establish game control, try to put ourselves in a position where we don't have to chase the game, and then figure out through the middle parts, how do we sustain what we're doing and then know that you have to finish down the stretch? I think maybe the game control piece is a little bit more important on the road. And what I mean by that is when you get in the flow of the game, you get a lead, you keep the thing within reach, you stay in touch to them, I think it kind of neutralizes a little bit how the crowd plays into it. I think some of those things are important.
WITH A ROAD ENVIRONMENT, HOW MUCH OF A CHALLENGE YOU EXPECT AS FAR AS HELMET COMMUNICATION AND WHETHER YOU MIGHT NEED A SILENT CADENCE? AND DO YOU GUYS PREPARE FOR CROWD NOISE DURING PRACTICE THIS WEEK?
One of the things with crowd noise is we've kind of started practicing for it in the spring. I think that's one of the things when you look at, okay, we're an SEC program, we're going to have to do this. We're gonna have to win games on the road. And so you certainly don't want to walk in on Sunday and say, okay, here's what it now looks like and we're going to try to get ready in three days for this. And so I think some of those different mechanics we've already been working and practicing. Some of it is your normal cadence, some of it is how do you handle it if it gets really loud, third down, when you're backed up, some of those types of things. But I think those are all things that our kids are really comfortable with because we installed all of that in the spring and we've been working it ever since.