Texas A&M Week 8 Press Conference Recap

A recap of the press conferences held by Texas A&M coaches and players as they come off a loss against the Ole Miss Rebels.

By TelcoAg@TelcoAg Oct 27, 2015, 2:31pm CDT

Texas A&M lost in embarrassing fashion for the second straight week, as the Ole Miss Rebels allowed no offensive touchdowns to the Aggies in their 23-3 win. QB Kyle Allen, who had a fair, but not great, game in the first half, was absolutely abysmal in the second, going 1/16 on completions. Whether or not Allen was injured has been debated this week, but the real drama came after Jake Hubenak, and not Kyler Murray, took the reins to finish the game.

We know after this week that Murray got himself into trouble during the Alabama game and was effectively being punished during Ole Miss, but what we don't know is why, after watching drive after drive of 3-and-outs due to inaccurate passing, the A&M coaching staff left Kyle Allen in the game. A report over the weekend attempted to shed light on issues in the locker room and QB issues, but has since been refuted by both players and coaches. There has been no shortage of drama and rumors around the program since Saturday, and certainly no shortage of questions.

What has been going on with Kyle Allen over the last two weeks? Who will take the QB job against South Carolina this weekend? What changes will be made to the A&M offense after two pedestrian showings?

Members of the press met with Texas A&M coaches to ask these questions and more:

KEY NEWS

Jake Spavital is still Texas A&M's Offensive Coordinator
The QB competition has been opened, and a new starter will be announced Friday
Sumlin says Kyle Allen is fine physically

Kevin Sumlin on the pulse of the team

"...this team is not a divided football team, it's not divided by players, not divided by positions. After anything like that that we've been through the last two weeks, I would say the word is frustrated, just like anyone else. Just like the fans, like coaches, like me. If they weren't frustrated that would be another issue. We had some open discussion about where we are and what we need to do to get the ship turned back to where we need to go."

Kevin Sumlin on the QB changes

"Monday morning I met with all 3 quarterbacks and said to those guys, here's where we are as a team. All three of you guys have played in games now. Some of you had great moments, bad moments, and a little of both. What we're looking for is consistency across the board in quarterback play. Cutting down on turnovers, number 2. And this week you're going to be evaluated, not only based on practice, percentage, drills and everything else. You're also going to be evaluated on leadership skills, communication with teammates, communication with the coaching staff, and general overall play and demeanor. ... Friday before that practice, we will announce who the starter is for South Carolina."

Kevin Sumlin on Jake Spavital

"Yes," Spavital is still the play caller.

"It's been up and down [Spavital's performance], and life pays off on results. Up to week 5 there were no questions. ... But, it's not one guy, is my point. It's not just a quarterback, it's not one situation. Can we be better? Yes. That's why we're making some changes."

Jake Spavital on his own performance Saturday

"Obviously it begins with me. ... We've got to do a better job of finding easy completions for these quarterbacks. Especially when they're rattled.

Overall it's been an up and down ride with this offense. But we know we're going to get this fixed. This offense is based off rhythm, and once we find that rhythm we are one of the most dangerous offenses in the country."

Kevin Sumlin on Kyler Murray's status with the team

"Kyler has done the things that we've asked him to do to be on the sidelines. Hopefully that's been a learning experience for him. ... That's why he was part of the discussion yesterday in this wide open three man competition."

Kevin Sumlin on Kyle Allen

"If I knew what led to his struggles, they would have been fixed. ... [Is he injured?] He's fine.

Let's be honest, because it's easy to have 20/20 hindsight. Game 5, he's the highest rated QB in the SEC. Game 6, he throws 3 pick sixes. We throw another guy in, he throws an interception. ... That had not been the M.O. of this team, and that had not been how he had played through the first 5 games of this season. We go to the next where he has played very well on the road in the past ... So yeah, I think it was a bit of a surprise to everybody.

It's hard to play that position looking over your shoulder all of the time. ... Without confidence, it's hard to play quarterback. If that confidence goes, if that's the case, that's where it is. ... You kind of want a guy to play himself out of it, that wasn't happening, so we made a change."

Kevin Sumlin on OL and possible scheme changes

"There will be some changes, not necessarily with personnel but ... Maybe we're trying to do too much [in the offensive scheme] up front, as far as angles, numbers, reads, things like that. Maybe just looking at it, our guys are better off coming off the ball and heading forward. ... There will be some things that will change, not so much from a personnel standpoint, but from a schematic standpoint."

Spavital on Jake Hubenak

"The thing about Jake is he's done a great job for us since he stepped on campus. He knows how to communicate this offense, he can operate it effectively, he knows how to throw the ball around. He had a great career in junior college. He executed cleanly, he gave us a spark, and I thought he did a great job for us."

"The maturity of him, just when you talk to him, he's been through it all already. He's been through a D1 program that had success offensively and not played, then gone to JUCO and worked his way back up here. He knows what goes into being a team ... and understands that everybody plays a role. You have to commend him."

(Author's Note: These are the first two animated GIFs of Jake Hubenak in the history of the world. Enjoy)

Chavis on the final minute of the game, and not giving up a goal line TD during a clear loss

"Well that's what you got to do [keep fighting]. That's the way this team has practiced. ... You know they want to do well, they want to win, and they aren't going to turn down anything from anyone."

Video of the entire defensive stand sequence:

Chavis on Myles Garrett vs. Laremy Tunsil

"I think Myles did more than hold his own. I think he ended up with 7 tackles, he ended up with a deflected pass, a big holding call because he could deflect the speed. ... I'm prejudiced, I don't mind saying. I think Myles did a great job. I think he won most of the battles without any question.

I know there's been some talk about CBS. I don't care about CBS, ABC, or NBC. I care about Myles Garrett, and he played awful well for us. I'm proud of him"

Laremy Tunsil was dominating last night. Look at him absolutely dominate Myles Garrett with only 2 players helping pic.twitter.com/DCV39oCBZo
— Skelco (@TelcoAg) October 25, 2015