SEC Media Days 2014: Aggies HC Kevin Sumlin

Here's our recap of the highlights that took place during Kevin Sumlin's media session:

We're excited about a lot of things. Many people have read about our stadium development, which is second to none. It's going to be an incredible facility.

We tried to get in a question to ask if all of the facilities updates and construction has been a distraction for the players, but it appears we are black-balled from asking questions to coaches.

The RC Slocum Nutrition Center has given us the opportunity to give our student athletes across the board quality nutrition.

A lot of people will glaze over that quote, but it was very savvy of Coach Sumlin to mention that nutrition center is there to benefit all student athletes at Texas A&M.

There's no doubt we are heading in the right direction. Our university is giving us the opportunity to do so.

This isn't news to A&M fans, but Sumlin is a master of the press conference.

A couple of weeks before the South Carolina opener we'll name our starter.

It's safe to say this was the expected timeline on the quarterback battle.

Our focus in the off-season has been on our offense. The new quarterback is going to be going into a really hostile environment in the opener in Columbia.

Coach Sumlin alluded to the South Carolina game multiple times during his press conference. That's a tough road trip to take to kick off the season, and he's definitely got the team focused on the challenge ahead of them.

This is a line of scrimmage league. We recruited and added more depth. Jordan Mastrigivonni is 240 now, he probably should have red-shirted last year, but we didn't have that luxury.

The Aggies have added some more depth on the defensive side of the ball, but they are still young there. Young guys like Mastrogiovanni are going to play a major role in the hopeful improvement on defense.

Special teams wise we bring everybody back. Drew Kaser, we brought him today. A lot of you guys gave me grief for that. I wanted you guys to see him, but I hope ya'll don't see him a lot during the season.

Hypno-Toad will have more from Kaser in his article, but Drew is a champ at handling the media. He fielded questions about Manziel, Lebron, and of course his impending Heisman campaign.

We've got pieces in place. We've got a lot of young guys we're going to have to integrate and figure out where they fit right away.

A&M's run on the recruiting trail has been well documented. Now it's up to the staff to get these guys ready for the big stage.

College football is a lot different than the NFL. Really great NFL teams and organizations have a core group of players that they keep, and then a satellite group that bounces in out. The difference in college football is that you're going to have turnover every 2-3 years. To me, that's what's exciting about college football. The ability to go out and match talent, I understand there's not going to be another Johnny Manziel. Does that mean that we change offensively, maybe? Does that mean that we changed offensively for him? That might be the case too.

A lot of folks in the media are still learning that Coach Sumlin has a very evident love for what he does in the college game. A few folks here have mentioned that Coach Sumlin comes off as arrogant in interviews. They are starting to see it's just his passion for the entire process.

The best rule change has been the coaches being able to be a part of player meetings in the summer time. We got 8 hours a week in the summer. 6 of which for S&C, 2 for meeting time and interaction. It's given our coaches a lot of time to interact with players. Myles Garrett has impressed Coach Jackson in the weight room. Walking in the door he's one of the strongest guys on the team. All signs point to him being as advertised.

A few coaches have mentioned these new rules so far. I bet the players are thrilled for the extra time with Coach Jackson in the offseason.

Is this the SEC Media Days? That's a great question for the Cleveland Browns. Next question.

Aside from the generic questions, this one was terrible. Coach Sumlin's response was money, and it got a nice round of laughter from the ballroom.

We haven't accomplished what we want to accomplish. We've got a ways to go. Thursday night in New York was a great night. We had three guys drafted in the first round. That's the good news. The bad news is that's the only three guys we had drafted.

We've been talking about this season being one that is very important for Sumlin and the Aggies from a talent perspective. They have a top 3 recruiting class sitting out there for 2015, and the performance of the team this year is going to go a long way towards sustaining that pipeline of talent heading towards College Station.

We'll be at south Carolina, at night, on the road, and whoever the quarterback is at that point I'll probably be his only friend.

There's a reason this game has a lot of interest around the conference. Starting a young QB on the road at night is a big part of the direction of the 2014 season.

If I was surprised I wouldn't have taken the Job. How's that? No I was recruiting Texas even when I was at Purdue.

Again, ask Coach Sumlin a silly question, you get laughed at by the media in the ballroom.

We have our own expectations, I'll put it that way. We have to, because year one no one expected any thing out of us. Year two we're expected to beat the Green Bay packers.

There was clear message from both the coach and the players today that they are chasing their own goals, and they aren't paying attention to media expectations.

The question doesn't have anything to do with your comment, lets just get that out there. You guys are just trying to stir the pot. (- On Spurrier's negotiator comment)

Click here to read a full transcript of Kevin Sumlin's appearance.

Coach Sumlin dominated his press conference, as usual. He shut down the nonsense questions, kept his smile geared towards the crowd, and let his charisma do the loudest talking. I think some media folks in the room are scrambling to find a fax machine so they can send in their LOIs. Drew For Heisman