Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics
CFP First Round Press Conference Quotes: Defense
Dec 16, 2025 | Football
Albert Regis, Will Lee III, Daymion Sanford and Dezz Ricks met the press on Tuesday at the Aggies' defensive press conference for the College Football Playoff First Round matchup with Miami.
As you've been scouting Miami and Malachi Toney, what kind of impression or opinion did you come up with of him? And how do you cover that guy?
DEZZ RICKS: I think they have a really talented receiver corps. It's going to be a challenge for us, but we've played a lot of good receiver corps this year. As long as we go out there and play our game, we'll like the end result.
WILL LEE III: He's a great young receiver. He has special talents. And we've got guys on our defense that we feel like can match up with them pretty well. So hopefully we go out there, execute at a high level and do what we need to do. And we'll be just fine.
For Daymion and Albert, what's made you guys so good on third down in your opinion this season? And just the matchup of the third down offense and defense with Miami being so efficient?
DAYMION SANFORD: I feel like being like able to work well with each other. Communication is key. With our defense, I feel like we do a lot of exotic things on third down. Elko does a great job to put us in a great position to go make plays. I feel like that's been a great addition to us for this year.
ALBERT REGIS: It's really just everybody doing their one of 11. D-Line, we know what we've got to do. Linebackers, DBs, we all communicate well. We've got to do that within the play and just give full effort on third down, just like every other down. And obviously we have a high success rate on third down. There's no secret to it. We practice it for a living, we live by it and we just execute the plan.
What kind of an impact has Lyle Hemphill had on this defense this year and what gives you confidence that he can be the guy to lead this defense moving forward as the new coordinator?
WILL LEE III: Just being around him in the facility, just hearing him talk about football and how he breaks down how defenses work and knowing what the offenses do. Just having him around and having his knowledge of the game just makes it really easy for everybody to pick up on it and follow him. I feel like he's going to do a great job. Back in the spring, I chose him for the DC in our spring game, and it turned out great. I know he's going to be a good guy and a good fit for us.
Daymion and Albert, you guys have played against this Miami team before. So from those games, what have you retained from that game a couple years ago? And do you think that gives you guys an advantage for this weekend?
ALBERT REGIS: It's going to be my third time playing against them. I played against them in the '22 season and the '23 season. Obviously (Mario Cristobal's) coaching may be the same, but the scheme within things may be a little bit different. I mean, he's got different guys, it might not match up to how he used to be. And truthfully that's remembering a lot from a couple years ago…most of us don't even remember what we ate yesterday. I couldn't give you an honest answer on that.
And then for all of you, just what have you seen from Carson Beck and how have you guys prepared for him?
ALBERT REGIS: He's a phenomenal quarterback. He's got the talent. He's got the skill. I'm not going to sit here and disrespect him. Dude is good. Like he's a good quarterback. But with that being said, everyone we play from here on out is going to be good, if not great. So we've just got to bring our game and make him one dimensional.
WILL LEE III: Yeah, like Al said, he's a great quarterback. He does the little things right. He leads his team. Just him being a SEC quarterback in past years, you know he knows the level it takes to play against SEC defenses. I give him respect for that. Like I said before, I feel like if we come out to do what we're supposed to do we're going to be just fine.
DAYMION SANFORD: He's got a lot of experience, like they said. We've got to do a great job of caging him and setting pressure on him. I feel like if we disrupt him, disrupt his timing, we'll do good this game.
DEZZ RICKS: Piggybacking off what they said, he's a very experienced guy. He's been around for a while. He's seen all kinds of defenses. As long as we play our game, we'll be just fine.
Daymion, expecting to get Scooby Williams back who's been practicing, you stepped in admirably for him. But what does getting a guy like that back in the middle of that defense do for you guys in this game?
DAYMION SANFORD: That helps us a lot with added depth in the linebackers. Playing the whole game with just two linebackers is a lot on our legs. Having him for additional numbers is going to be really good for us.
Albert, you mentioned you've been in this program a long time. What does it mean to you and what did it mean to you when you saw Texas A&M's name in the playoffs?
ALBERT REGIS: It's a great feeling, you know, made it through the hard times to get to better days but obviously we've still got a lot of ball left. And you know what our end goal is and we all know it. It's been an adventure from where I started to everything we've been through with the Texas Bowl to the Vegas Bowl…just the growth of this program in my five years that I've been here. I'm blessed to say it's been a fun ride.
When you were sitting there in 2023 and there wasn't even a head coach with the team, could you imagine being in the playoffs just two years later?
ALBERT REGIS: Nah, I would say you're a fool to be honest. I would not have thought that. I mean, did I think we'd be successful? Yes. But I didn't know who was coming in. Nobody knew. So, I kept it up in faith, and I was like, I feel like we're going to be successful. But I was just up for a chance. But yeah, nah I wouldn't think we'd be here in two years, if I'm being honest from back then.
Miami's offensive line has been one of the top in not giving up sacks and TFLs. What's kind of stood out to you about them and particularly the right tackle?
ALBERT REGIS: They all work together. O-line, D-line is all the same. They all shine because they all work as one. And it's the same on the D-line, they ain't give up all that for nothing, you know what I'm saying? They got some dogs over there…and we got dogs. It's going to be a battle of the trenches and it's going to be fun. We're going to keep it competitive. But who wants it more? That's really what it's going to come down to, and we do.
How cool was that on senior day to run out with your daughter in your arms. And what do you think about it going viral?
ALBERT REGIS: Hate it, hate it in the aspect of it going viral…I loved it for the moment because it's something that I'm going to cherish with her forever. No one's going to take that away from us. It's a beautiful moment for us. But in the social media eyes, I did not want it to go viral. It's just how it happened.
If Bryce Anderson is able to come back, what would that mean for this defense?
WILL LEE III: It's going to be key for us, just more depth in the back end and Bryce being in this defense for going on two years now. He really understands how everything works and how everything moves. So having Bryce back and hopefully he gets the playing time he deserves and what he needs and that's going to be great for the defense. You know it's going to help everybody speed things up and everybody be on the same page.
DEZZ RICKS: That'll be big for us. With Bryce being here for a long time and we have three different kinds of safeties, so it gives offenses a different look. I think that'll be really big for us.
I know you guys have senior bowl games coming up ahead. So, when you look at the future is there a sense of urgency or a sense of playing your last game at Kyle Field and then knowing that this could be as far as your college careers go?
ALBERT REGIS: A sense of urgency as in wanting to win, yes. All that other stuff, that's down the road. We don't know what tomorrow holds, but we know who holds it. That is something that we're not focused on. Obviously, it's a blessing to get invited and accepted. Don't get me wrong. But we've still got to get through this weekend first. The sense of urgency is there to do great things here for this program that hasn't been done in a very long time.
WILL LEE III: It's great to be invited and all the things positive moving on past it. But the main goal right now is really to just live where your feet are at. We've got a game coming up Saturday and that's the biggest thing right now. Our goal is to make it as far as we can so we wouldn't have to play in the Senior Bowl. It's a blessing to be accepted. It's a blessing to get the invite. But my goal is make it to the national championship so I don't have to play in one of those games.
The expectation probably was to make the CFP. But now that it's here, what's the key to keeping the main goal the main goal and not letting this game be bigger than it is?
ALBERT REGIS: One game at a time. That's really what it is. We're part of a special group of teams to be one of 12 in this right now. But we've got to keep the main thing the main thing and that's obviously the big trophy. You can't get to the big trophy unless you win this game. Then the next one, the next one. What Will just said, being where your feet are. So that's really what it is.
DEZZ RICKS: I think kind of like Al said, to not make one game bigger than what it is, just going out there and playing our game, not having nerves and trust in our preparation. Just taking it one game at a time.
Can you tell me what you guys expect the crowd to be like on Saturday and maybe say what it was like the first time you ever saw it?
ALBERT REGIS: Saturday is going to be an amped up crowd. I mean, this might be number one for me. In my expectations I'm already putting this crowd at number one out of all the years I've been here. But from when I first got here, my very first game my freshman year was against Kent State in 2021. I remember watching all the videos…but when you ran out and you hear the crowd, the smoke, the flames, you're like, oh, damn, this is really cool. I got emotional because I was like, I made it, you know? But the crowd this weekend is going to be a one of one experience for everyone. And they're going to bring it all at that 11 a.m. kick.
WILL LEE III: I know the crowd is going to show up and do what they're supposed to do. They love the team. They love the culture here. They're going to show up like it's a night game. And for me, my first experience, coming from the Big 12, we didn't have stadiums that held 100,000-plus people. Then our first game being Notre Dame at night, it was crazy. It was unreal. I enjoyed it and I enjoyed everything about it.
DAYMION SANFORD: I know the 12th Man is going to show up for us. I hope they break the attendance record. I want to see that. My first game playing here was really loud, and it was like a different experience. Playing in the away games it's not like here, there's nothing compared to Kyle Field. I feel like that's going to help us win this game.
DEZZ RICKS: Even though it's an 11 a.m. game, I expect it to be the loudest it's been. I also want to say my first time playing here was my freshman year at Alabama, and it's a lot louder on the other sideline.
Will, you had talked about how you didn't get a chance to play in a state championship because of Covid impacting your senior year. Being here and having this opportunity, do you kind of feel like this is a second chance for you to compete on a stage that you didn't get when you were in high school?
WILL LEE III: Just being able to play for something way bigger than you is a great feeling, you know? And just that ending short for me in high school, it was real tough. Having another chance to play here with a team that I love and the guys, it's just great to have that feeling and great to have an opportunity to do that. It means the world and it's going to be real special going out there playing Saturday so I can get it done.
Albert, Coach Elko and other guys have referred to you as one of the OGs of this squad. First of all, what does it mean to hear that? And what has kind of been your message this week?
ALBERT REGIS: Well, first it makes me feel like I'm old. I mean, the message is always the same, everything starts with stopping the run. We've got to make it easy on our secondary, because if they can run the ball, our secondary is going to come flying up the field to try to make tackles and then next thing you know, play action pass. Now they got to get back in coverage. So it starts with stopping the run, interiorly and on the edges. The message has been the same. We ended the season in a way we didn't want it to end. I remember after the Texas game, I told all the DTs this is the most fun I've had with a group of guys. And obviously we've got plenty more ball left. But I told them from how you embraced me to accepting my fiancé and my daughter…I wouldn't trade it for anything. And I told them you've forever got a home with the Regis family, that's just point blank. We operate off trust and love and the message is always going to be the same.
Daymion, how have you seen Coach Bateman handle the deal of how he kind of has two jobs. Have you seen any difference? How's he handled that?
DAYMION SANFORD: Really isn't anything different. He let us know that he's going to continue this playoff run. So, it hasn't really been anything different.
Miami can make plays in the passing game. But for Malachi Toney to have more than double than anybody else in receptions wise, does that change how you guys approach this attack and try to bracket him? Or how do you kind of just stop him and try to maybe make other guys beat you guys in the secondary?
WILL LEE III: It's really just us doing what we need to do. We don't really look at it as him being the number one target and him having all this high production with it. It's just more of the fact that if we know we do what we're supposed to do, we're going to be on our game. When we're on our game, I don't think anybody can really do anything with us, honestly. All we've got to do is just communicate on the back end and execute. The whole thing this week has been about executing, so if we execute at a high level, we're going to be just fine.
DEZZ RICKS: It really comes down to us just communicating and having our alignment right and good eyes…you know, the simple things. That will just get it done honestly.
Besides winning, what do y'all want to accomplish on Saturday and what have you all seen in practice this weekend? What does it feel like?
ALBERT REGIS: Obviously what we want to accomplish is a win. We're the first team to make the playoffs. But we didn't do all this just to get that little two claps and a Ric Flair achievement. We want the win and we want to keep winning until the season's over.
WILL LEE III: I really want to see us go out there and play four quarters worth of football. Coach Elko has been talking about all these games we've been playing, and we still haven't given our best four quarters worth of football. We've been getting the outcomes we've been getting. So I want to see what we can do and go out there on offense, defense, four quarters of our best football and just see the outcome. If we do that, I'll be happy with the outcome for sure.
DAYMION SANFORD: Piggyback off of Will and just playing for each other and go out there executing. Do what we are supposed to do.
DEZZ RICKS: Yeah, obviously a win, but, for the defensive side of things, I just want to see us play our cleanest ball from the running game to the passing game.
As you've been scouting Miami and Malachi Toney, what kind of impression or opinion did you come up with of him? And how do you cover that guy?
DEZZ RICKS: I think they have a really talented receiver corps. It's going to be a challenge for us, but we've played a lot of good receiver corps this year. As long as we go out there and play our game, we'll like the end result.
WILL LEE III: He's a great young receiver. He has special talents. And we've got guys on our defense that we feel like can match up with them pretty well. So hopefully we go out there, execute at a high level and do what we need to do. And we'll be just fine.
For Daymion and Albert, what's made you guys so good on third down in your opinion this season? And just the matchup of the third down offense and defense with Miami being so efficient?
DAYMION SANFORD: I feel like being like able to work well with each other. Communication is key. With our defense, I feel like we do a lot of exotic things on third down. Elko does a great job to put us in a great position to go make plays. I feel like that's been a great addition to us for this year.
ALBERT REGIS: It's really just everybody doing their one of 11. D-Line, we know what we've got to do. Linebackers, DBs, we all communicate well. We've got to do that within the play and just give full effort on third down, just like every other down. And obviously we have a high success rate on third down. There's no secret to it. We practice it for a living, we live by it and we just execute the plan.
What kind of an impact has Lyle Hemphill had on this defense this year and what gives you confidence that he can be the guy to lead this defense moving forward as the new coordinator?
WILL LEE III: Just being around him in the facility, just hearing him talk about football and how he breaks down how defenses work and knowing what the offenses do. Just having him around and having his knowledge of the game just makes it really easy for everybody to pick up on it and follow him. I feel like he's going to do a great job. Back in the spring, I chose him for the DC in our spring game, and it turned out great. I know he's going to be a good guy and a good fit for us.
Daymion and Albert, you guys have played against this Miami team before. So from those games, what have you retained from that game a couple years ago? And do you think that gives you guys an advantage for this weekend?
ALBERT REGIS: It's going to be my third time playing against them. I played against them in the '22 season and the '23 season. Obviously (Mario Cristobal's) coaching may be the same, but the scheme within things may be a little bit different. I mean, he's got different guys, it might not match up to how he used to be. And truthfully that's remembering a lot from a couple years ago…most of us don't even remember what we ate yesterday. I couldn't give you an honest answer on that.
And then for all of you, just what have you seen from Carson Beck and how have you guys prepared for him?
ALBERT REGIS: He's a phenomenal quarterback. He's got the talent. He's got the skill. I'm not going to sit here and disrespect him. Dude is good. Like he's a good quarterback. But with that being said, everyone we play from here on out is going to be good, if not great. So we've just got to bring our game and make him one dimensional.
WILL LEE III: Yeah, like Al said, he's a great quarterback. He does the little things right. He leads his team. Just him being a SEC quarterback in past years, you know he knows the level it takes to play against SEC defenses. I give him respect for that. Like I said before, I feel like if we come out to do what we're supposed to do we're going to be just fine.
DAYMION SANFORD: He's got a lot of experience, like they said. We've got to do a great job of caging him and setting pressure on him. I feel like if we disrupt him, disrupt his timing, we'll do good this game.
DEZZ RICKS: Piggybacking off what they said, he's a very experienced guy. He's been around for a while. He's seen all kinds of defenses. As long as we play our game, we'll be just fine.
Daymion, expecting to get Scooby Williams back who's been practicing, you stepped in admirably for him. But what does getting a guy like that back in the middle of that defense do for you guys in this game?
DAYMION SANFORD: That helps us a lot with added depth in the linebackers. Playing the whole game with just two linebackers is a lot on our legs. Having him for additional numbers is going to be really good for us.
Albert, you mentioned you've been in this program a long time. What does it mean to you and what did it mean to you when you saw Texas A&M's name in the playoffs?
ALBERT REGIS: It's a great feeling, you know, made it through the hard times to get to better days but obviously we've still got a lot of ball left. And you know what our end goal is and we all know it. It's been an adventure from where I started to everything we've been through with the Texas Bowl to the Vegas Bowl…just the growth of this program in my five years that I've been here. I'm blessed to say it's been a fun ride.
When you were sitting there in 2023 and there wasn't even a head coach with the team, could you imagine being in the playoffs just two years later?
ALBERT REGIS: Nah, I would say you're a fool to be honest. I would not have thought that. I mean, did I think we'd be successful? Yes. But I didn't know who was coming in. Nobody knew. So, I kept it up in faith, and I was like, I feel like we're going to be successful. But I was just up for a chance. But yeah, nah I wouldn't think we'd be here in two years, if I'm being honest from back then.
Miami's offensive line has been one of the top in not giving up sacks and TFLs. What's kind of stood out to you about them and particularly the right tackle?
ALBERT REGIS: They all work together. O-line, D-line is all the same. They all shine because they all work as one. And it's the same on the D-line, they ain't give up all that for nothing, you know what I'm saying? They got some dogs over there…and we got dogs. It's going to be a battle of the trenches and it's going to be fun. We're going to keep it competitive. But who wants it more? That's really what it's going to come down to, and we do.
How cool was that on senior day to run out with your daughter in your arms. And what do you think about it going viral?
ALBERT REGIS: Hate it, hate it in the aspect of it going viral…I loved it for the moment because it's something that I'm going to cherish with her forever. No one's going to take that away from us. It's a beautiful moment for us. But in the social media eyes, I did not want it to go viral. It's just how it happened.
If Bryce Anderson is able to come back, what would that mean for this defense?
WILL LEE III: It's going to be key for us, just more depth in the back end and Bryce being in this defense for going on two years now. He really understands how everything works and how everything moves. So having Bryce back and hopefully he gets the playing time he deserves and what he needs and that's going to be great for the defense. You know it's going to help everybody speed things up and everybody be on the same page.
DEZZ RICKS: That'll be big for us. With Bryce being here for a long time and we have three different kinds of safeties, so it gives offenses a different look. I think that'll be really big for us.
I know you guys have senior bowl games coming up ahead. So, when you look at the future is there a sense of urgency or a sense of playing your last game at Kyle Field and then knowing that this could be as far as your college careers go?
ALBERT REGIS: A sense of urgency as in wanting to win, yes. All that other stuff, that's down the road. We don't know what tomorrow holds, but we know who holds it. That is something that we're not focused on. Obviously, it's a blessing to get invited and accepted. Don't get me wrong. But we've still got to get through this weekend first. The sense of urgency is there to do great things here for this program that hasn't been done in a very long time.
WILL LEE III: It's great to be invited and all the things positive moving on past it. But the main goal right now is really to just live where your feet are at. We've got a game coming up Saturday and that's the biggest thing right now. Our goal is to make it as far as we can so we wouldn't have to play in the Senior Bowl. It's a blessing to be accepted. It's a blessing to get the invite. But my goal is make it to the national championship so I don't have to play in one of those games.
The expectation probably was to make the CFP. But now that it's here, what's the key to keeping the main goal the main goal and not letting this game be bigger than it is?
ALBERT REGIS: One game at a time. That's really what it is. We're part of a special group of teams to be one of 12 in this right now. But we've got to keep the main thing the main thing and that's obviously the big trophy. You can't get to the big trophy unless you win this game. Then the next one, the next one. What Will just said, being where your feet are. So that's really what it is.
DEZZ RICKS: I think kind of like Al said, to not make one game bigger than what it is, just going out there and playing our game, not having nerves and trust in our preparation. Just taking it one game at a time.
Can you tell me what you guys expect the crowd to be like on Saturday and maybe say what it was like the first time you ever saw it?
ALBERT REGIS: Saturday is going to be an amped up crowd. I mean, this might be number one for me. In my expectations I'm already putting this crowd at number one out of all the years I've been here. But from when I first got here, my very first game my freshman year was against Kent State in 2021. I remember watching all the videos…but when you ran out and you hear the crowd, the smoke, the flames, you're like, oh, damn, this is really cool. I got emotional because I was like, I made it, you know? But the crowd this weekend is going to be a one of one experience for everyone. And they're going to bring it all at that 11 a.m. kick.
WILL LEE III: I know the crowd is going to show up and do what they're supposed to do. They love the team. They love the culture here. They're going to show up like it's a night game. And for me, my first experience, coming from the Big 12, we didn't have stadiums that held 100,000-plus people. Then our first game being Notre Dame at night, it was crazy. It was unreal. I enjoyed it and I enjoyed everything about it.
DAYMION SANFORD: I know the 12th Man is going to show up for us. I hope they break the attendance record. I want to see that. My first game playing here was really loud, and it was like a different experience. Playing in the away games it's not like here, there's nothing compared to Kyle Field. I feel like that's going to help us win this game.
DEZZ RICKS: Even though it's an 11 a.m. game, I expect it to be the loudest it's been. I also want to say my first time playing here was my freshman year at Alabama, and it's a lot louder on the other sideline.
Will, you had talked about how you didn't get a chance to play in a state championship because of Covid impacting your senior year. Being here and having this opportunity, do you kind of feel like this is a second chance for you to compete on a stage that you didn't get when you were in high school?
WILL LEE III: Just being able to play for something way bigger than you is a great feeling, you know? And just that ending short for me in high school, it was real tough. Having another chance to play here with a team that I love and the guys, it's just great to have that feeling and great to have an opportunity to do that. It means the world and it's going to be real special going out there playing Saturday so I can get it done.
Albert, Coach Elko and other guys have referred to you as one of the OGs of this squad. First of all, what does it mean to hear that? And what has kind of been your message this week?
ALBERT REGIS: Well, first it makes me feel like I'm old. I mean, the message is always the same, everything starts with stopping the run. We've got to make it easy on our secondary, because if they can run the ball, our secondary is going to come flying up the field to try to make tackles and then next thing you know, play action pass. Now they got to get back in coverage. So it starts with stopping the run, interiorly and on the edges. The message has been the same. We ended the season in a way we didn't want it to end. I remember after the Texas game, I told all the DTs this is the most fun I've had with a group of guys. And obviously we've got plenty more ball left. But I told them from how you embraced me to accepting my fiancé and my daughter…I wouldn't trade it for anything. And I told them you've forever got a home with the Regis family, that's just point blank. We operate off trust and love and the message is always going to be the same.
Daymion, how have you seen Coach Bateman handle the deal of how he kind of has two jobs. Have you seen any difference? How's he handled that?
DAYMION SANFORD: Really isn't anything different. He let us know that he's going to continue this playoff run. So, it hasn't really been anything different.
Miami can make plays in the passing game. But for Malachi Toney to have more than double than anybody else in receptions wise, does that change how you guys approach this attack and try to bracket him? Or how do you kind of just stop him and try to maybe make other guys beat you guys in the secondary?
WILL LEE III: It's really just us doing what we need to do. We don't really look at it as him being the number one target and him having all this high production with it. It's just more of the fact that if we know we do what we're supposed to do, we're going to be on our game. When we're on our game, I don't think anybody can really do anything with us, honestly. All we've got to do is just communicate on the back end and execute. The whole thing this week has been about executing, so if we execute at a high level, we're going to be just fine.
DEZZ RICKS: It really comes down to us just communicating and having our alignment right and good eyes…you know, the simple things. That will just get it done honestly.
Besides winning, what do y'all want to accomplish on Saturday and what have you all seen in practice this weekend? What does it feel like?
ALBERT REGIS: Obviously what we want to accomplish is a win. We're the first team to make the playoffs. But we didn't do all this just to get that little two claps and a Ric Flair achievement. We want the win and we want to keep winning until the season's over.
WILL LEE III: I really want to see us go out there and play four quarters worth of football. Coach Elko has been talking about all these games we've been playing, and we still haven't given our best four quarters worth of football. We've been getting the outcomes we've been getting. So I want to see what we can do and go out there on offense, defense, four quarters of our best football and just see the outcome. If we do that, I'll be happy with the outcome for sure.
DAYMION SANFORD: Piggyback off of Will and just playing for each other and go out there executing. Do what we are supposed to do.
DEZZ RICKS: Yeah, obviously a win, but, for the defensive side of things, I just want to see us play our cleanest ball from the running game to the passing game.
Players Mentioned
S
/ Football
CB
/ Football
DT
/ Football
CB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
LB
/ FootballCFP First Round Press Conference: Albert Regis, Will Lee III, Daymion Sanford, Dezz Ricks
Tuesday, December 16
CFP First Round Press Conference: Collin Klein
Tuesday, December 16
CFP First Round Press Conference: Jay Bateman
Tuesday, December 16
CFP First Round Press Conference: Mario Craver, Rueben Owens II, KC Concepcion, Dametrious Crownover
Monday, December 15
