Kevin Sumlin met the press Sunday afternoon as Texas A&M’s stay in Memphis and preparation for the AutoZone Liberty Bowl comes to a close.
Select quotes are listed below. Audio and video are available through links to the left.
Head Coach Kevin Sumlin opening statement (partial)… “We’ve had a couple different gatherings with West Virginia and I know our players are starting to get on edge a little bit. It’s about time to play the game. Coaches, players, there’s a lot of familiarity in this game and we’ll see where that goes tomorrow. I think what you see is that both of us are extremely similar in not just our approach to the game but how our seasons have gone. We have identical records. We’ve won some big games and lost some games that we probably could’ve won but just didn’t. We’ve got some explosive players on both teams. A lot of times in bowl situations, there’s different scenarios as far as the excitement of the players and being ready to play. I have no reason based on the way that our week of practice has gone to believe that our guys won’t be ready to go tomorrow”
Sumlin on the bowl game giving Kyle Allen experience for next season…“We’ve had young guys playing all year. One game, particularly for a young quarterback, does not define you. All I can do is talk about our team and I think that Kyle has been very, very solid since he’s started. I think that what we’re looking for tomorrow is more consistency, not just out of our team but out of the other ten people on the field offensively. There’s no secret that I keep putting the pressure not on our quarterback, but on our other guys.”
Sumlin on how the changes Texas A&M faced this year will impact the Aggies… “I think for me it’s just part of coaching. If you have a season like this you’re making changes for the good of the program. When you’re successful changes are made for you because other people couldn’t get your guys—good players or good coaches. What you have to do is be able to assess the situation for what it is, figure out what you need to do to get better for the good of the whole program and I think we’ve done that. In the grand scheme of things, we have an opportunity to take another step, whether that’s coaches, players or how we play.”
Sumlin on West Virginia… “They’ve been pretty darn good against a lot of things. Special teams wise, they’ve got a great returner. Defensively they’ve been solid. You take a team that’s been battle tested with a lot of really good teams I think. Playing a tough schedule starting off the year with Alabama, beating Baylor, losing to TCU by one point—arguably three of the best teams in the country at this point in the year. They’re not going to be intimidated and not going to be afraid of anything that we’re going to throw out there. They’ve played well at home and better on the road. For whatever reason, they get excited to play in games like that. I think it’ll be interesting to see.”
Sumlin on his relationship with West Virginia Head Coach Dana Holgorsen…“We talk all the time. Dana is a good friend. We used to recruit Houston together when he was at Tech and I was at Oklahoma as an assistant and battle over players, battle during games. Then we got together and from a personal relationship I can’t tell you how much respect I have for him as a coach. I don’t use it very much but when it comes to football and being brilliant, that’s what he is. His ability to not only X and O but communicate with players is outstanding.”
Sumlin on game expectations… “The football is going to get snapped a lot tomorrow. That’s kind of the way it works. At a certain point, we got to keep our players in positions to make plays. They’ve got some great players offensively and defensively that even if you’re there they can hurt some people. The good news is we got some guys like that too. What we’ve got to do is put guys in those positions.”