Texas A&M Football: Press Conference – ULM Week

Texas A&M football head man Jimbo Fisher took the podium on Monday, after a disappointing loss to Miami. You can see his presser below.

Notes from Texas A&M Football Head Coach Jimbo Fisher Press Conference

Coach Fisher started with one of the longer opening statements you’ll hear from him, beginning with his disappointment that the team didn’t get the results they wanted. He noted that all three phases had good things that they did as well as things that needed to be cleaned up, but that the latter needs corrections to be made quickly.

Offensively, Jimbo thought the this Texas A&M football team moved the ball well and ran it efficiently. They took advantage of mistakes Miami made. He made mention of something that many Texas A&M football fans have been wondering about, saying that the protection issues were sometimes on the line and sometimes needed to be redirected by Conner. Sometimes hot routes need to be thrown. He continued on about the offense, saying that they sometimes got in position but failed to finish, such as on the FG drives.

Fisher then turned to the special teams, mentioning that they took advantage of two mistakes but gave up a kickoff return. He remarked slyly about the refs missing a hold against Sam Matthews on that play before saying that coverage was good otherwise. On the defense, he praised their performance against the run; however, they have to find a way to get more pressure. Miami often played max protection, and the young defensive linemen need to do better at transferring from run to pass when reading those keys. He briefly mentioned the Miami deep balls and that the team needs to tackle better in space, but, all that said, the team had chances, battling hard to get back in. Miami just made a few more plays than the Aggies did.

Turning to this week’s opponent, Jimbo gave a quick overview of the Warhawks, saying that they move quickly on offense, are unorthodox on defense, and have decent skill players. His former coach, Terry Bowden, is the head man for Louisiana Monroe.

Asked about the lack of pass rush against Van Dyke, Jimbo mentioned that pressure on the QB could be a quick fix, but young guys can improve in recognition on transitioning from run to pass. This Texas A&M football team has both edge and interior guys that can rush the passer, but the OL for Miami did a good job sliding protections. He also mentioned that the DBs need to recognize the protections too and change how they cover. Conversely, there could also be quick fixes in protection for the Aggies, but Conner should have slid the protection a couple of times and should have thrown hot a couple of times as well. Jimbo mentioned that the coaching staff could do a better job communicating during those times. Then, a few times, the Aggie OL just got beat.

On the subject of Ainiais’s slip, Jimbo said that slipping could have been due to the wrong cleats, or it could have been grass due to the way the field at Hard Rock is what with it being a field for two different teams.

A question came in about the defense and how involved Jimbo is, to which he said that he is involved with the defense pretty heavily throughout the week. Assessing DJ Durkin’s aptitude as a coach, Jimbo said Durkin is very good and knows what he’s doing.

On the subject of how to tell the difference between good teams that suffer an early loss and bad teams that suffer an early loss. Jimbo mentioned maturity, recognition in what the problems were, accepting and correcting them as factors that separate good teams from bad ones in this regard. As far as the 2023 Texas A&M football team, Jimbo emphasized their maturity in this loss. They’ve been asking questions, showing up on time to meetings since Saturday, watching film, and all the rest. He said that from their demeanor and approach they’re doing a good job.

Asked about the tackling issues and how those are addressed in practice, Fisher mentioned that the Texas A&M football staff sets up drills with angles, “thud,” and wrap up for practice tackling. They also have drills with engaging blockers.

One reporter asked how Fisher would assess his DBs against Miami. He said that the corners gave up a couple of big plays. He thought that Chappell played well. Several times, Aggie DBs got beat on a double move, and a couple of guys just gave up plays in one-on-one situations. He said they have to do a better job of not panicking at the point of attack and also the defensive line has to get more pressure on the quarterback. There are different things you can do to generate the pressure—giving more looks scheme-wise is one way. Miami did a good job sliding protections to take advantage of the Aggies’ man-coverage looks.