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TEXAS A&M RACES PAST SAM HOUSTON STATE, 65-28

Post Game Quotes and Video

        

   

TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH KEVIN SUMLIN

On the offensive performance…

“Johnny was very efficient. I thought there was some maturity shown on the scrambles, the ability to throw the ball away, not take big losses and take care of the football. Last year he would have just slung it up the middle of the field. He threw one down the middle after we knew they had jumped offsides. I thought he operated the offense efficiently. The line was good and it was good to get Brandon Williams back. He’s got a little rust on his game but he knocked some of it off. He’s got some real explosiveness that can help us. We will get Trey Williams back this week. We held him last week because of an ankle. Tra Carson and Ben Malena have been very steady for us. We’ve got some playmakers around Johnny and he is utilizing everybody. You can’t take Mike Evans for granted, either. He’s a playmaker and he’s continued to improve. Offensively, there’s more to it than just Johnny.”

On the defensive performance…

“We had our moments. You look at about four big plays that weren’t good. You can’t do that. We will go back and watch the video and assess where we are. We’ve got some guys that can be corrected. We’ve got to continue to keep coaching. The addition this week of having Steven Jenkins will be good. Kirby Ennis told me at halftime that he was a little rusty. He said he was glad he was playing. To get those guys all back in the huddle will be a big deal. Everybody sees the difference. Deshazor Everett walked back out there today and he was very active. The experience and familiarity factors of those guys coming back will help our confidence as a defense and as a confidence for our coaches to be able to change some schemes and do some different things instead of being very vanilla, which we have been the last couple of weeks because of youth.”

On Mike Evans…

“I don’t know that he is “scratching the surface.” We’ve moved past that. I think he’s playing pretty good. He played very well last year and he’s continued to improve. He’s a playmaker. He’s a big, physical guy that plays as hard without the ball in his hands as he does when his number is called. Because of that, it’s really an example for the not just the receiving corps and the young guys that watch him play, but also an example to this football team the unselfishness he plays with. You’ve got guys like that on this team, Mike and Ben Malena offensively as well as on defense. Toney Hurd was all over the place on special teams. These guys do whatever it takes to help this team win.”

On Johnny Manziel’s performance…

“I’ve watched him practice. He probably should have taken off on the play where he crossed the line. That comes with the position. Everybody is going to be critical. I’m probably more critical of him, internally, than anybody. It’s part of his game. He’s getting more comfortable playing. I said last week that he was pressing. I think he saw some times today that he saw some questionable things happening after the play that he walked away from. That’s going to happen. We had that conversation last week about things happening on the field and people saying things to him and taking shots. That’s the way it is. Is that fair? Probably not, but that’s where we are. All in all, our team handled a lot of different situations. I’m pleased. There’s a lot of learning going on out there for everybody. You are in a better mood to teach, though, when you are winning.”

On LaQuvionte Gonzalez and Travis Labhart…

“LaQuvionte has got some real speed. He showed some on some speed sweeps. I thought he did a pretty good job on the kickoff return game. He’s getting better and more comfortable. Instead of just running at people, he’s looking to do some things. He’s got some homerun speed. He really played receiver in high school and that’s what he’s doing now. He’s got game-breaking touch speed and he’s a guy that‘s not very big. We have to utilize his speed because he can help us as a game-breaker. I thought Travis’ decision-making was pretty good back there. He’s back there as a punt returner because he has demonstrated for us to trust him deep. He made a couple nice catches during the game. He’s a guy who has worked like crazy and is a team favorite. Our team appreciate a guy like that who comes to work, wasn’t on scholarship and fought his way there. He is reaping the rewards of his hard work and helping us win. I talked a few weeks ago about the guys that we have put on scholarship since I have been here. I think it gives our walk-on program credibility. Guys who come here and do what we ask them to do get a chance to get on the field and perform. The guys that can help us win can earn a scholarship and Travis is one of those guys.”

 

 

SOPHOMORE QUARTERBACK JOHNNY MANZIEL

On getting ready for Alabama…

“It feels like another game, feels like week three of the season. We have to continue to get better as a team, get better in every aspect: offense, defense, special teams. Having a full lineup and all of our guys back will be nice but for us we have to continue to get better like we did last year and see how things go."

On whether or not he’s hit full-stride with his play this season…

“Absolutely. Today it was a little wet, a little hard to throw the ball in the first half, so we were out there just making sure we were getting completions and slinging it like I have been through camp so hopefully we get some better weather these next few weeks so that we’ll be able to go out and throw the ball around.”

On what’s been the biggest help to him this month…

“The biggest thing that’s helped has just been being around these guys, being in this building, having my teammates, it makes it easy to block all this stuff out and grow with my teammates and build a bond with them. That’s what’s been the most helpful.”

SENIOR DEFENSIVE BACK TONEY HURD JR.

On how the secondary improved after the Rice game…

“I think our confidence level went up, the younger guys kind of now the pace and speed of the game now and they feel a little bit more comfortable each and every week. We have to get better with the younger guys and push it to the next level.”

On how important the defensive players returning are...

“They’re very important. They’re role-players for us. They’ll come in and make an immediate impact. We’ll be looking forward to them making big plays for us next weekend and helping the defense out to get this W.”

On where he thinks the defense could improve the most…

“With the guys we have coming back I think it will be a great improvement. So far we have a lot of guys playing with a lot more effort than we did last week, a lot more speed and a lot more confidence. Going into this week we just need to polish up our defense and we’ll be ready to play come September 14.”

 

SOPHOMORE WIDE RECEIVER MIKE EVANS

On being able to create options against Alabama…

“Just playing as hard as I can, just playing my game.”

 

On what his best catch of the game was…

“The bobble catch, but I was a little upset with myself because I didn’t get my depth on the route, but made a lucky catch and made up for it.”

On the anticipation of the Alabama game…

“Not at all, our next game is our biggest game. Alabama is number 1 in the country, and we realize that. We’re ready.”

On the effect of having Johnny for the entire game…

“Well, he’s the best player in the country and having him for two halves is great.”

SOPHOMORE OFFENSIVE LINEMAN MIKE MATTHEWS

On the running game…

“Yeah, having all three, they all are a different style of running back. Tra Carson, he’s downhill and will run you over. He’s just a hard worker, and he finds the hole. Brandon Williams, Slim, is what we call him, he’s really fast, so I believe it helps us out a whole lot with the running because we can switch them out, and they are all three great running backs. They help us get yards.“

On Tra Carson…

“He does a great job. He finds the hole, and he puts his head down and doesn’t look back. He’s willing to run someone over; he’s not scared, and he doesn’t try to make people miss. He tries to run them over and when it comes down to the short run, you need a guy like that. “

On taking it one game at a time…

“It’s hard when family and friends are like 2 more weeks and having to tell them you know we have Sam Houston first. So yes, we have been taking it one week at a time, but it has been hard these first 2 games when everyone has their eyes on Alabama, the big game. But for us we just had to get those first two down and now we are ready for them.”

SENIOR LINEBACKER NATE ASKEW

On his first career interception…

“It felt great. Coach had the perfect call. Great players around me made great plays. Darian Claiborne tipped the ball up and I saw it in the air. I went back to my receiver days and went for the end zone.”

On defensive improvements…

“We are improving everyday on defense. We got to practice just to improve and get better. After the first game we focused on minimizing mistakes. Today I think we went out there and got a little better. There’s always room for improvement. We are going to attack this week with an open mind and just want to grind for the next game. We have our next opponent in Alabama and we will be ready.”

On transition to linebacker from wide receiver…

“It’s been tough going from a receiver, which is a less-physical position.  I had great guys around me to help me along the way and to mentor me. They were able to show me different things on the defensive side of the ball. I went in there and just attacked everything with an open mind. I went out there for my first game and it went okay. I just focused on being more physical the next week and I thought I did better.”

 


 

 

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