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TEXAS A&M FOOTBALL PRESS CONFERENCE
HEAD COACH MIKE SHERMAN
Are you glad to get the SEC announcement out of the way?
“I know you guys don’t believe me when I say this time and time again,
it wasn’t an issue with our players and coaches. Yeah, I guess for you
guys it’s probably helpful that you don’t have to write about it
anymore. I’m sure the players got asked about it, but as far as in the
locker room and at practice it really wasn’t an issue. It wasn’t an
issue for me or for our coaches.”
I know you’re focused on
this game, but what does it mean for this program to officially make
the move to the SEC? “I’m not trying to avoid the question but
our president will make the announcement tonight, and I’ll defer to him
and Bill Byrne to talk about that. I’ll wait till they make the
announcement and then I’ll answer whatever questions you want.”
What about the OSU game would you do over if you could?
“I’d try to eliminate the third quarter. We played three quarters of
pretty good football and one quarter of disastrous football. They had
37 plays and 245 yards, we had 11 plays and 3 turnovers. I don’t think
I’ve ever experienced anything like that in my entire coaching career.
We didn’t handle it well. We weren’t engaged. They picked the tempo up,
went right down the field on us and scored. We didn’t respond well. We
didn’t play very well.”
Christine ran the ball well with
limited touches, are you disappointed you weren’t able to get him the
ball more? “The game changed a little bit in the third quarter.
We had felt like in the first half we were fine and the numbers were
good. In the third quarter, 8 of our 11 plays were on first or second
down. We ran on 5 of those and got a little bit of yards, but I think
the game changed and we had to respond to what they were doing. But I
thought Christine ran the ball well and was definitely deserving of
more touches.”
Did you sense the third quarter problems coming?
“We were fine at the half. We had played a pretty good first half but I
told the team that we had to play better in the second half. I
thought we were in good shape. I didn’t see warning signs. I just think
things kind of snowballed on us. They changed the tempo on us and we
didn’t handle it well. I always preface it by saying they did a good
job. Take nothing away from their execution, that was part of it. But
we didn’t help the situation very much.”
On the cramping the team experienced…
“Defensive players will cramp more than offensive players because of
what is asked of them. They do twice the running that the offense does.
All 11 guys on defense have to run to those bubble screens. I’ve never
been in a quarter where you run almost 40 plays. I think we are in
pretty good shape but in that climate and with the amount of reps they
had to do and the speed at which they had to do them, I think cramping
was inevitable.”
With the fan support in the Dallas area and the team winless at Cowboys Stadium, how important is it to get this win?
“We just have to win. I don’t care if we play at Bryan High or A&M
Consolidated or on the practice field. It happens to be in Dallas. We
just have to go win a football game. We will go up there and play
against a very good Arkansas team. They are a very typical SEC defense,
with a lot of guys who can run and are very physical. They are a very
good team and will be a big test for us. If we don’t play up to our
expectations it’ll be hard.”
Was there anything specific you saw out of Ryan on Saturday?
“Well, we had 3 interceptions, and the one where he got hit while
throwing is only one I’ll put on him. The other two we didn’t run the
route. We weren’t where we were supposed to be when we were supposed to
be there, and Ryan is a precision quarterback. I’m not worried about
Ryan he’s a great competitior and will be ready to lead the team in
this ballgame.”
On getting the team ready for Arkansas…
“Today will be a rough day for them. This morning was rough and this
afternoon was rough. After today you have to flush it out and get ready
for next week. You’ve got to learn from your mistakes but you can’t
hang on to them. You’ve got to move forward and we will.”
What was going on with the difficulty stopping the screen?
“It was lining up more than anything. (OSU) did a nice job. They went
up and snapped the ball while we were getting the calls in. It’s mainly
getting lined up correctly and getting the calls in. They ran a bunch
to their sideline, which I thought was a good job. We were looking one
way (to get the call) and they were running it to the other side. It’s
a mayday play is what we call it, a hurry-up play. We were a little
late lined up, and they just nickeled-and-dimed us with that and
changed the tempo of the game. They did a nice job with that.”
What’s Ryan Swope’s availability? “He will not practice today or probably tomorrow. We’ll have to wait and see. It was a heck of a hit he took.”
Is the difference between Arkansas’ Tyler Wilson and Ryan Mallett from last year is that Wilson is more mobile?
“Pretty much, yeah. He’s got 7 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, and he
manages the game pretty well. He’s a good solid quarterback for what
they do offensively. They have a nice scheme and he does it well. He
fits in very well with what they want to do.”
With Sean Porter’s health issues how impressive was his play?
“Sean has always has edge to him anyways. To get him to smile is near
impossible. That’s what makes him great. I think that helped him
because he does have that edge. He’s going to be mad at the world when
he gets on the field, and that allowed him to play and do what he did.
It’s impressive, he lost 10-12 pounds last week. I didn’t expect him to
play but you couldn’t keep him out of that ballgame.”
Trent
talked about being more vocal as senior, what do you hope to see from
your defense and their response to adversity? “The great teams
I’ve had the opportunity to be on, when you have a game like you did
the other day—on both sides of the ball—there should be some pride. 245
yards in a quarter is unacceptable. Not being able to get off the field
is unacceptable. It should make them mad and focused on getting that
fixed. If they want to claim lineage to the Wrecking Crew then they
need to step up and get that fixed.”
Do you take what
Coach Gundy said about his team being the more conditioned one by a
long shot personally? “I don’t take things people say personally unless
it’s about my wife, my mom and dad or my kids. He is entitled to have
his opinions, they don’t bother me. I know what type of shape my team
is in. The way we practice, we are in shape, I promise you. We didn’t
stress their defense the way they stressed our defense. Their offensive
players run that scheme that doesn’t stress them the way it stresses a
defense. To their credit, they did a great job.”
On the
cramping saying the team is out of shape… “Cramping has nothing to do
with being in shape. Some of the most conditioned athletes cramp up.
It’s how you maintain your moisture in your body. Most guys who aren’t
in shape shut down before they cramp.”
How do you address
the penalties, the unsportsmanlike conducts and such? “They are
unacceptable. They’re not characteristic of who we are and they
certainly concern me. They were senseless, stupid pens. They have been
addressed and will continue to be addressed.”
On the
possibility that the Texas game may not be on the schedule again… “It’s
a game I always enjoyed playing when I was an assistant coach here
under R.C. Slocum, and now as a head coach. I think the kids look
forward to it. The families, Longhorns and Aggies, look forward to that
ballgame. There’s no question it’s one of the premier games in the
country. I think logistical problems may exist that will cause it not
to continue. It would be sad to see that game go away but certainly I
understand the logistical elements that go along with it. From a
scheduling standpoint it might be very difficult.”
ASST. HEAD COACH/DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR TIM DeRUYTER
How
much did OSU’s tempo affect y’all? “Clearly it affected us. We didn’t
do a very good job of getting lined up. We didn’t effectively
communicate to our players the call. It’s a tough scheme to go against.
We addressed it yesterday. If we have a team that goes to it we will
have a better and simpler system to communicate. It’s tough when our
guys are looking across the field to get the signal and they are
bunching everyone to the boundary. It’s difficult to defend. But we
will.”
On the defense’s preparedness for OSU with the
up-tempo offense they practice against regularly… “Clearly we should
have been better prepared. We don’t use that particular tactic in
high-tempo. It really works well with what they do. It gives the
offensive line a chance to rest a play. When they throw that smoke
screen out there, their offensive line is just resting there, while our
guys are all chasing the ball and getting tired. With spread teams it’s
part of their reputation. Typically you can get them out of that if
you’re more physical at the point of attack. If they bubble screen and
get only a yard, they’ll go away from it. But yes, we have to be better
prepared, and that’s on me.”
Why don’t more teams try that
tactic, and does it sit on the bounds of sportsmanship? “It’s within
the rules and it’s what they do. It makes it difficult on the defense.
We needed to do a better job of being physical at the point of attack
and that’s on me. It’s a difficult thing to defend. We have some things
in place now, we talked about it all day yesterday. It will help us
communicate more effectively to our players and limit what players have
to think about so they can get lined up and be more physical.”
On
getting more physical at the point of attack, how do you address that,
specifically on the perimeter? “Well we will work on it today. Anytime
you don’t do something effectively I think you have to hit it on Monday
morning. We addressed it in the meeting this morning and we will go
practice it today. We’ll go against our first-team offense. We’ll get
our best receivers blocking us and our best defenders getting off those
blocks and getting the ball carrier.”
How much to you
expect your defense to rebound this week? “I expect our defense to
because we have a lot of guys that will come back with resolve. I
absolutely believe our guys believe we will win the rest of the games
on our schedule. There’s enough blame to go around the coaches and
players (from last week). Guys like Trent and T-Fred stepped up in the
mental part of the game, but that’s got to be more widespread. It’s
difficult but we’ve got to be able to stand up and compete in that
situation.”
Are the players mad? “Absolutely. Our guys
showed up today with resolve. No one was cutting up. We realized we had
an opportunity and we let it slip. The great thing about this game when
you have games left is on Saturday we have another chance to show what
we really are all about as a defense. We have a tremendous opponent in
Arkansas that will be a great challenge. It’s a different set of
players and scheme but they have a heck of a lot of talent. I know they
were the number one offense in the SEC going into the Alabama game. We
see those players and they’ve got as good a crew as anyone in the
country. Their quarterback is an excellent player. Their running back
Wingo is a physical load. We have our hands full this weekend and I
think that helps you get back on that horse when you’ve been knocked
off. There’s no feeling sorry for yourself, it’s lets go and let’s
press on.”
Is this game a good look at what you’ll be
seeing in the future (SEC)? “Absolutely. Coach Petrino has been there
for four years now, and you’re looking at a team that has his signature
on it. They’ve recruited to the SEC with the personnel he wants to
have. I think they have a physical team with excellent skills and
excellent coaches. I think they’re a team that is very well-deserving
of a top-20 ranking and that’s what we’re getting ready for in the
future I guess.”
Do SEC teams give you different looks as
a defensive coordinator than you see in the Big 12? “For the most part,
the SEC is much more of an NFL-looking type of attack. There are
different offenses of course, but when you look at LSU, Arkansas,
Alabama, you see much more two-back, multiple-personnel groupings. They
really establish the run and a physical run game to set up the pass
game. Our league is more about spreading you out to run the football
and throw the football.”
On Sean Porter’s play, especially
with the health issues he had during the week… “I was really pleased
with how productive he was. I think he lost 7 or 8 pounds during the
week, he couldn’t eat for a few days. He wasn’t 100 percent on Saturday
but he absolutely gutted it out. I really thought he played well in the
first half. Because nutrition-wise he was famished I think he lost
little in the tank in the second half but he really gutted it out and
was a playmaker for us.”
QB RYAN TANNEHILL (Sr., Big Spring, Texas)
Looking
at the game film, besides turnovers, what do you think caused you guys
the problems on Saturday? “We had some critical mistakes. Turnovers
obviously killed us, and some unfortunate things happened. We had a
15-yard penalty down in our own end, I think around the 20, that put us
on our 5. That killed us. We had a tough break, Kenric (McNeal) caught
a cramp coming out of a break, that was a big third down and he was
going to be able to catch that and run. Just things like that,
unfortunate breaks. Also, we weren’t executing at a high level in the
second half. When you’re playing a tough talented team like Oklahoma
State you have to be able to execute. I think we kind of got away from
that in the second half.”
Did they do anything special or
different in the second half? “No, I don’t think they changed things
up. They played with what we thought they would play. We just didn’t
execute.”
Was all the cramping maybe a wake-up call about
the condition you guys are in? “I feel like we’re in pretty good
condition. Obviously when you are having that type of cramping across
your team may mean something. It may mean we have to look at our salt
intake, maybe not so much the conditioning. A lot goes into cramping,
it’s more than conditioning. We run every week. I feel like we are in
good condition, we have to make sure everyone is taking the right steps
getting ready late in the week for the game.”
On playing
Arkansas at Cowboys Stadium… “It’s exciting anytime you get to play up
in Dallas. It’s a great atmosphere. We have great fans that travel up
there and make it like a home game for us. Arkansas is a good team, a
ranked team. We are looking to rebound from last week. We know we
didn’t finish like we needed to in the second half. We are excited to
get on that field and prove that we can finish.”
What are
your thoughts on the Arkansas game and how playing an SEC team may see
how you stack up? “I have no thoughts really. Arkansas is on our
schedule even if we were staying in the Big 12. It’s just a game, it
doesn’t matter what conference you’re in. Once you’re on the field it’s
just like any other game in the nation. Once you start playing it
doesn’t matter what conference tag you have on your team.”
You
know from being a receiver in the game that Arkansas’ defense plays
very aggressively. Can you take advantage of that as a quarterback?
“Yeah, their defense is definitely aggressive. They are talented, they
are fast and they can make plays. When you do play an aggressive
defense it gives you some 1-on-1 matchups and some opportunities to
take some shots down the field. Hopefully we’ll be able to optimize
those opportunities and make some plays.”
Was it
frustrating not to be able to establish the run game in the second
half? “Yeah I think so. We want to be a balanced offense. We
don’t want to have to line up and throw it every play. We have good
running backs and a good offensive line. We want to get those guys
their carries and establish the run game. You have to give credit to
Oklahoma State. They came out, adjusted well at halftime and controlled
the line of scrimmage.”
Are you excited about the move to
the SEC now that it’s official? “I’m excited for this year. All the
guys in the locker room are excited for this year. We are excited about
what we can do this year. The season isn’t over. There are still a lot
of big games to play. We didn’t lose any confidence. We hurt ourselves
(on Saturday). We feel Oklahoma State wasn’t that much better than us.
They got the win, and are well deserving of it—take nothing away from
them—but we know we hurt ourselves in this game. We have a lot of
confidence still and we will be able to move forward the rest of the
season.”
On the offensive line’s progress… “The offensive
line has consistently improved. I think that was the best defensive
front they have played so far this year. They gave me time to throw
most of the game. I still have confidence in those guys. Arkansas has a
good front, good pass rushers on the edge, big guys in the middle and
fast linebackers.”
LB SEAN PORTER (Jr., Schertz, Texas)
How
much was fatigue a factor for you personally, as the game wore on,
especially with you being sick all week? “Fatigue was a big factor for
me as the game wore on. In the second half I wasn’t feeling the same
way I was feeling in the first half. I hadn’t eaten much all week.
Fatigue was a big factor for me, I was just trying to fight through it
and help out my team.”
What do you think about the
statement that OSU was way more conditioned than y’all, with all the
cramping going on? “I don’t think that’s correct. It was hot outside.
It was a 2:30 game, and this year we’re not used to playing those
games, not to make excuses at all. I just think we had a couple guys
cramp up. It’s an individual thing, you have to take care of your
bodies.”
What happened to allow them to get into a rhythm?
“We left a couple of zones open. We weren’t as focused especially in
the third quarter. I think we played three-quarters of game. We came
out at halftime and we weren’t as focused as we were in the first half.
That’s a mental mistake that we have to clean up.”
Talk
about the underclassmen’s opinion about the official SEC announcement…
“The underclassmen are excited about going to the SEC just as much as
anyone else is. It’s a good deal for us. It’s supposed to be the best
conference in the country. We’re going to play against the best
competition. It will be a good thing for our school and our fans also.”
On
going up against Arkansas being a test for the SEC move… “That’ll be
fun. It really has nothing to do with next year for us. We just want to
have a great season for seniors. They deserve it.”
Last
year you had a 3-game losing streak that started with OSU. How
important is it to prevent that from happening again? “It’s very
important. That was a tough loss. I don’t think we’ll have a 3-game
losing streak again. We have a different team with a lot of veterans.
This won’t affect us the same way it did last year mentally. We’ll be
able to fight through it.”
DL TONY JEROD-EDDIE (Sr., DeSoto, Texas)
How
excited are you to get back to Dallas? “It’s always exciting to go back
home and play in front of all my friends and family. But I’m more
excited to put last week behind me.”
Does it help to have
a marquee opponent on deck after a tough loss? “I think that helps a
lot. We know we have to prepare really well to beat these guys. They
are a great team, they’ve got a great offensive scheme, great
playmakers at the wide receiver position and a pretty good quarterback.
We know we have to prepare well.”
How key is the senior
leadership this week? “That’s key. Last week is done, we can’t do
anything about it. We’ve got to rally the troops. We will work on the
things we need to work on and make sure things that happened last week
don’t happen this week.”
On the need to bounce back and
how to prevent last week’s loss from affecting this game… “We’ve got
great leadership on both sides of the ball. We are just a unit.
Offense, defense, special teams—we are all one big family. I’m not
saying we weren’t last year but we’re even more so this year. We know
what’s at stake and we know we can’t let last week affect this week in
Dallas.”
DB TERRENCE FREDERICK (Sr., Katy, Texas)
Do
you think Arkansas can play at a high tempo like Oklahoma State? “Yes I
feel like they can. I think every team we play will try to live up to
that tempo so I wouldn’t be surprised if Arkansas did that.”
On
the defensive morale in the third quarter… “After the first time they
got into field goal range in the first half we thought they would try
to come back to the tempo. We talked about it at halftime and in the
third quarter they gave us exactly what we were thinking. We didn’t get
down about it, we just knew we had to stop it.”
On OSU
attempting 27 passes in the third quarter… “We’ve got to get our hands
on the ball. We didn’t do that as a group. We have to go watch the film
and get better at that.”
How important is it to keep this
to a 1-game losing streak? “We have to bounce back. If we sit back and
bicker about this loss we won’t win many more games. We have to put
this game behind us and focus on Arkansas.”
On senior
leadership this week… “We have to make sure everyone is engaged, make
sure everyone is on the same page. If we keep going off on this loss we
won’t be successful in the long run. All the seniors have to step up
and get this team ready for Arkansas.”
How much did not
having Coryell Judie hurt against their tempo? “They ran a fast tempo
but the thing is we have a lot of great corners. Coryell went down, and
that was hard for us, but at the same time we expect the next one to
step up and get it done for us.”
Why was it so difficult
to get lined up when you’re used to seeing up-tempo in practice? “We do
see a lot of that in practice but it hit us unexpectedly. When they did
it, it got away from us and it we couldn’t adapt. We have to work on
that. I just feel like it got away from us. It’s football. Once it
happened you have to adapt to the situation. We didn’t adapt and we
have to look for that in the future.”
DB TRENT HUNTER (Sr., Katy, Texas)
Do
you think it’s good to have a game like Arkansas this week after a
loss? “Our coaches do a good job of keeping our minds straight and
focused on the next game at hand. And that game is Arkansas. I’m glad
it’s a ranked team we have to play. We’ve always had a little bit of a
rivalry since we started playing. I don’t really think it has to do
with who we played last week, it has to do with who we play this week.”
How
do you expect the defense to respond to this adversity? “Without a
doubt we had a rough time in the third quarter. We picked it up a bit
in the fourth quarter. I’m excited to see how we come out this week in
practice. I think we’ll respond well. We’re not going to accept those
lulls. That’s not who we are and not how we’re going to play.”
Can
you take anything from the last two games with Arkansas? “They have
always had a talented group of guys. Regardless of who they lost they
will return a lot of talent this year. They always have a great group
of receivers, great backs and a great offensive line.”
What
did you as a senior learn from last year’s 3-game losing streak? “I
really didn’t think about it much last year because we had guys like
Von (Miller) and Mike (Hodges) who were the leaders. Even from this
first loss I’ve learned to be more vocal. We need to have those ‘Come
to Jesus’ meetings on the sideline during the game instead of waiting
until after the game. All the leaders have to be more vocal on the
football field.”
LB GARRICK WILLIAMS (Sr., DeSoto, Texas)
On
playing in Dallas for the last time in his career… “That game is always
special to us. We get to play back home and more family gets to watch
the game. It’s always special for us.”
On what he’ll do as
a senior to help lead the team this week… “It’s not just me, we need
everybody. Something happened Saturday in the third quarter that really
got to us as a whole unit. That’s just something that we can’t do.
We’re going to be on guys this week in practice and try to get
everyone very attentive to detail.”
On Brandon Weeden
lining up so far behind the line of scrimmage and the inability to
pressure the quarterback… “It’s always something that’s kind of
frustrating when we can’t get to the ball. Him dropping back that deep
is something they just adjusted to and got him that much more time. We
have to do our job. Our coaches call the plays and we have to go
execute. I feel like this game was totally on the defense. It wasn’t
the offense by any means. No defense should give up 24 points in one
quarter. We take this one upon ourselves, but we’ll be back Saturday.”
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