Maroon & White | Texas A&M Spring Football Game April 24,2021

this unit this team making those uh calls playing with more tempo and perhaps the biggest key will be finding that chemistry all right lauren appreciate it jimbo fisher one of six active head coaches with a national championship wanted at florida state back in 2013 told us yesterday that all the hard work that they put in through the first three seasons finally paid off with his players really believing what jimbo was preaching it took a while they lost five games in 2019 but you and i were here last year when they defeated florida you could see the relief in the eyes of jimbo because he felt that that's exactly what they needed to get the players to say okay this is the right coach this is the right way to do things if we're going to be a championship contender so the maroon will kick it off seth small will boot it deep to jalen preston about 25 000 fans in attendance here at kyle field it will come out to the 25. [Music] so zach calzada will be the quarterback for the white team he played three games back in 2019 was 12-24 with a couple of touchdowns and a pick that's jimbo there play clock down to 10. he was listed as the backup last year calzada was he throws here on the first play and it's caught out at the 30-yard line by jalen preston who was the most improved player of the offense here in the spring when you look at zac calzada he's got a nice release it's quick it's compact and the ball comes off his hand really nicely jimbo fisher's been pleased with his leadership at the position knowing that they're two freshmen that are right with him neck and neck competing for the starting job but he's been really happy with the sophomore and his decision-making and accuracy he's put on display dell's out on second down gonna dump it off here first down for deandre jackson out of the backfield a guy that's been banged up a lot here in the spring but they're hopeful that he can be a big contributor there are a lot of guys on offense that are not available today including devon a chain who was the orange bowl mvp so first down at the 40 yard line play action and calzada with a good pass and close to a first down again is preston you'll notice it's a offensive minded head coach right there because a defensive end was right in the face of calzada if it's a defensive head coach that's probably a sack but jimbo's going to let him play the sack turns into a first down kills out of rolling left here and that pass nearly picked off and batted down by damani richardson it's interesting right now watching this white offense and i don't know if it's necessarily an indicator of what we're going to see from texas a m in the fall but moving the pocket getting the quarterbacks and using the athleticism of the quarterbacks to get on the move that helps the offensive line and when you have an inexperienced offensive line there are things that you can do like changing the launch point changing the rush angles that can help those guys kind of work their way into the plan so right now clearly that's been an emphasis for them in the spring and probably something we'll see quite a bit early in the fall and this is the second team offensive line little miss q there between calzada and the running back jackson cheetos cheetos looked like the running back ran the wrong way and that's what jimbo was saying there what does cheetos mean though i don't know that uh that is a chip of some sort i know that however it looks like the broken play turns into absolutely nothing for the white offense but that's par for the course in the spring you're not going to be a well-oiled machine on offense but you want to limit the mental mistakes those things like that can't happen and that's something that you have to make sure you preach to the young players throughout the course of the spring so third down and 10 here elzada and another dart that's a big hit by damani richardson but it's caught for a first down by devin price a sophomore whose father is on the coaching staff here terry price with a beautiful throw from calzada off the rpo he saw that outside linebacker widen which allowed the space over the middle where he throws a dart i like to see the young wide receiver too in price being willing to go across the middle knowing that a collision was imminent so they move it down to the 36-yard line [Music] and calzada gonna pull it back here and throw a deep ball and throw it out of bounds he was going for jalen preston down the sideline you were pointing out as we were watching warm-ups how on target he was on the deep balls granted there was no coverage in warm-ups correct a little more adrenaline too when there's a live rush coming at you even though you're wearing the green jersey and you're wearing that cloak of protection right there the adrenaline getting the best of calzada as he misses about seven yards out of bounds so give your receiver a chance in an isolation situation right there the quarterback a little fired up throws it a little too deep throw again here on second down another high pass so it'll bring up third and 10. justin mellenbrook was the intended target and you know they don't have a lot of weapons uh today for either quarterback really you've got a mackey finalist at tight end and weidermeyer is injured he's not going to play here in the spring caleb chapman had a knee injury in the florida game last year he won't play this spring took a medical redshirt last year and then they also have a transfer from tennessee jameer johnson who's got a great chance to start at right tackle so this fall is gonna look a lot different for a m from what we're even gonna see today third and ten and calzada on the run here good pass but was he out of bounds no he's in good throw there devin price did well to stay in get a foot down first down inside the 25. great job there by calzada too especially with pressure coming off the left feeling that pressure moving escaping to his right keeping his eyes downfield and throwing a dart on the sideline you see the ball place that's a thing of beauty reference the accuracy of calzod it's been on display so far for most of this first drive del zada back pedaling with pressure in his face throws that one out of boundaries commending him for just getting rid of that ball what are the challenges for the head coach here because jimbo is used to calaman that's the only quarterback he's had since he's been at a m obviously worked with a lot of different quarterbacks over the years as an assistant and a head coach of florida state but what's his biggest adjustment well you can make the case that jimbo's one of the best quarterback coaches in america i think if i were a high school player i would take a good long look at texas a m because of jimbo's track record developing guys i think he's excited about the opportunity to have some young faces not that he didn't love telling mom of course he did but having some young guys in there to work with that's what jimbo loves most another strong throw that time and able to stay in bounds there was preston he's out close to the first down at the 15-yard line but it's enough to move the sticks looks like it's just a little bit short there to bring up third one and well they said first down but i guess here's a good opportunity to challenge that young offensive line though i know it's the twos but right here obvious run situation challenge those guys up front let's see if the backups can get done deandre jackson instead fumbles the ball 57. it's recovered by the maroon team to deal dicks falls on the ball so turnover by the white team after a nice drive engineered by calzada they cough it up on the fumble zach calzada injured his left arm a defender fell on his arm and hopefully he's all right and you see him try to reach back for the football with that left arm you see the defender kind of fall awkwardly on the left shoulder we heard him actually talking with jimbo fisher of course kind of grabbing him as he goes to the sideline talking with jimbo fisher a second ago it appears as though he's jimbo also told him stay away from that ball don't reach for it not worth it at this point in the spring that wasn't your fault on the exchange so the maroon team with haynes king at quarterback the favorite to win the job and he throws a pass to max wright who's starting a tight end a former defensive lineman they have a ton of injuries at tight end so wright gets the first rep and he makes the catch and a gain of about seven on the play the first thing that jumps out with haynes king is just his flat out athleticism and speed he's a track star one of the fastest guys on the roster not the most pure and consistent thrower at this point of his development but he's a guy especially behind what might be a leaky offensive line early that can create on his own with his legs king's dad was his high school coach john king in longview texas dad was an offensive lineman in college i think i've heard that before of a quarterback that i know that his dad was an offensive lineman the pass is caught but short of the line to gain chase lane with the catch it'll be third down here's lauren yeah guys i talked to uh john king coach king the head coach of longview high school he actually coached his son in 2018 the first state championship they won since uh in 81 years so they ended that drop but you know john tried to talk haynes out of being a quarterback when he was growing up he said there's only one quarterback on the team and he felt he might have a better shot at playing at a different position if he developed there but haynes wanted to be a quarterback he knew he wanted to be under that microscope he wanted to be a leader he was fine with being praised fine with being criticized and now he's about to go out here and compete for the biggest job on the biggest stage why would you not want to play quarterback you get all the blame all the criticism all the hatred all the vitriol and what i mean you also get fair share of the credit too when things go well but i understand your dad tried to get you to play kicker not quarterback he just kind of fell into the ladder even though he was a an offensive lineman in hawaii i wouldn't even know which foot to use so first down and king shows some touch but it's drop hezekiah jones should have pulled that in but again nice touch from haynes king on that 25-yard pass downfield wow a beautiful throw great ball from haynes king as you hear jimbo praising his young quarterback just dropping it in the bucket on the deep cross nice in rhythm beautiful throw and that's one that hezekiah jones would love to have back just a little bit of concentration lacking as he brought it [Applause] with the offensive line there it's hard to in these kind of games if you're a player like haynes king is so good at using his feet because you know how hard does jimbo want him to go you know you already heard earlier him telling zach hello don't jump on the ball i mean that's never gonna happen in a real game where you tell the quarterback don't jump on the ball if you're a mobile guy like haynes king is at this point this type of setting isn't necessarily going to bring out your best attraction so take it with a grain of salt however it's throwing some nice balls already bust out of the pocket here throwing on the run a strike for a first down receiver lane ran backwards but still look like jake picked up the first down give up ground you got the first down stay on the first down here jimbo just actively coaching and he we must burn a million calories at every practice i mean he is all over coaching every position does such a great job of reaching these guys he coaches hard but i'll tell you what man the guys for spun coming straight ahead here and good broken tackle isaiah spiller who's a load at 6-1 225 at over a thousand net yards last year picks up about eight there it's a nice run for spiller king's pass out of the flat on a screen to anaya smith who i know you absolutely love i love him i think he is such a match-up nightmare and is poised i think to terrorize defenses this upcoming fall because what do you cover him with he's a running back that can play wide receiver he might be their best slot receiver at least at this point he can do anything and he just creates issues especially knowing they're going to use multiple tight end sets and him being the running back slash five receiver hybrid is something that's really difficult for defenses to measure king will throw it the other way here to lane out in space and knocked out of bounds in white territory after a gain of about five in the play keep it going now keep it going first game of the season for a m will be against kent state here on september 4th they'll play at colorado the following week they'll open sec play against arkansas on september 25th king on the rollout and again dumps it off first down inside the 25 hezekiah jones hung onto that one and a good gain two about the 21. i have a feeling this is going to be a lot of what texas a m is this year play-action boot is such a difficult play to defend especially when you have a quarterback that's a threat to run at this point that defender number 45 is in a position where he can either come up and take the quarterback or he can drop back into coverage that's a absolute can't win situation defensively so with a mobile quarterback like king you can put a lot of stress on the defense knowing that he's a threat to gain it with his legs any day of the week hump fake here and still throws underneath is everybody dropped off of chase lane good stiff arm there at the 15 and a gain of seven on the player 13 smart atta boy so greg what he's saying there he liked the check down right don't don't force it deep and that's part of what jimbo's been trying to stress to these guys taking the check down is not a sign of weakness it's a sign of intelligence and maturity because if you look at it a lot of these guys in the quarterback competition you're trying to make the big play you want to stand out you don't have to just take what's there limbo's been trying to stress that all spring will take a shot with single coverage here excellent pass wow chase lane couldn't come up with it and a really good play by josh moton at the last second to knock it away from chase lane ball just tiniest bit inside to allow moten to get a hand on it if he throws that ball to the back pylon as you see chase lane kind of reaching inside just a little bit if he throws it to the back pylon and allows lane to run under it that's likely going to be a touchdown and difficult play to defend so it's a good play by the defender but a slightly better throw would have led to the touchdown we also got to take into account the quarterbacks trying to create chemistry with the receivers it's hard to do at this point it's also extremely difficult knowing that they're rolling a bunch of receivers in and out you're with the twos and the ones and you're bouncing around so that chemistry you would expect to improve over the course of the summer and fall camp josh moton richard freshman from waldorf maryland shaken up on the play less than a minute to go here in the first quarter the starting offense the maroon team with a third down and three against the second team defense [Music] starters out for a m's defense to marvin liao and michael clements two of their best players on that side of the ball not playing today and here right here and you hear jimbo saying you can think four downs if you want but this is where quarterback competition to determine you as a quarterback in college is all about red zone efficiency and third down conversion percentage that's huge in college football so a good evaluation snap right here for the freshman haynes king came to the air on third down and three stepping up and throwing it at the last second incomplete trying to hit chase lane looks like lane could have caught that ball a little kicked in here going forward on force hey [Laughter] what do you think haynes should have said no i should have thrown it off yeah haynes is learning quickly if he but next year if he's a starting quarterback this year and he's a and he's entering into next year as a second year starter he'd say yeah i probably could have placed it a touchdown small 32-yard field goal and maroon team able to get on the board first that ends the first quarter [Music] heisman trophy winner former aggie johnny manziel in attendance and last year's quarterback quarterback in the last they've passed greg mcelroy back at kyle field with von miller in attendance aggie legend the maroon team leading the white team three nothing after one quarter of play and head coach jimbo fisher is with us all right coach there were a couple of drops by receivers there so maybe there should have been more points but overall what'd you think of the offense well i mean i i like to have the big drop on the over route was a big play and then the third down i couldn't look like it was i'll look at it on film gotta convert the third down and not having a turnover in it first but as far as the quarterbacks i like their management of the game getting to the right decisions even when things are breaking down getting rid of the ball not having negative plays and had chances to make big plays so so far so good it's got to get better what we're doing and often the lines give us just a little bit more time coach what's the message to the quarterbacks as they try to put their best foot forward here in the spring knowing the competition is going to continue into the summer in fall camp i'm sorry i got a lot of static i can't hear what you said the message of the quarterback what now what's the message to the quarterbacks to try to put their best foot forward today knowing this competition is going to continue on throughout summer and fall camp is that this listen show me here's what i want to say i want you to manage the game i want you to make good decisions don't play against each other play against all you can play against is the defense and the situations you got in front of you let me measure what's good and bad you make the right choices be accurate with the ball get us in now the right things to do and manage the game eliminate negative plays and self-inflicted wounds and we'll be fine jumbo how important last year was it for you guys i mean obviously it's important to win as many games as you can but in terms of guys believing in what you and your staff are preaching well it's anything you know there's a process to everything but when that process eventually has to get results and that's there's no doubt about that and then when you start getting those results and you're staying true to the process and then you even start enhancing that it makes the buy-in and then the faith turns into total belief because faith you can't see but leaving in some things meaning you're doing something and that's the step you have to go from faith to belief and then you have to man you have to maximize it the best you can coach i've been doing the spring game here for as long as i can remember with you and i've just been amazed this year by the depth it feels like even in the absence of all the great players that are not participating in today's game you still have a lot of playmakers on the field where is the roster at today as compared to when you took over four years it was like that they're the top players are top players both years but right now you have more depth because this league you're going to have attrition you're going to have things we got 15 guys out today that would be in our top two and you know that that's a big deal that's a big deal and but to get these young guys playing and listen they're going to get the opportunity you play this schedule in this league you're going to have to come out here and play and eventually after a year or so you're going to be the starter so that's the key to the drill that makes practice that much more competitive too hey jim jimbo give give the fans a nugget on each quarterback that zach and hanes in particular there's maybe something they don't know about the guys that they're watching here today today everybody knows everything because of social media more than i do they know things about them i don't know so i don't know if there's anything they don't know about them well in terms of their skill set that's a fair point on what they're maybe doing socially and what type of personality they have but in terms of what you know what you expect from them on the field what you've seen so far through spring practices you've got an ultimate competitor you got a coach's son who does the things you need to do he's not but he can really throw the football he's a student in the game very smart makes decisions you know everybody talks about his athleticism man he's an accurate password you saw that in the first drive same way great competitor zach tremendous arm and much more athletic than he's given credit for sometimes he doesn't get because kane is so athletic you don't realize how athletic zack is because you're comparing him to him but he's a very athletic guy who can really throw it and i mean ball gets to point a and point b very quickly decisive and that's what he's learned to do this spring he's being much more decisive you can see in this game he's cutting the guys up and made some really really tight throws and made some big-time throws already well coach we appreciate the time we'll let you get back to talking to your players instead of us thank you thank you guys jimbo fisher last year a m finished fourth and the ap poll the last time texas a m had back to back top 10 finishes you go back to the mid 90s and it's very possible that texas a m could be a top 10 team again this year i'm assuming greg alabama's the team to beat in the west but is a m in the mix yes i think a m is at worst right now too at worst now i think you could make a strong argument that lsu is going to have a bounce back season i'm very optimistic about the growth that they're likely going to show this year i thought last year was a battle they lost so many pieces off the national championship winning team two years ago i think lsu and a m are kind of 2a2b at this point alabama with what they bring back on defense and the established standard that nick saban's had in tuscaloosa is probably the one they have more question marks than they've had in quite some time particularly with the weapons at wide receivers they've lost over the last two drafts so alabama's got some question marks so does a m so does lsu but i think all three teams have excellent excellent rosters and not just can compete to win sec west titles but repeat to win national championship delzado fires to jackson out of the backfield boy nice job zacky down to the 34-yard line of 16. tell you what i'm liking what i'm seeing from zach calzada jimbo wasn't lying he said look this is not an easy decision we have two guys right now that most teams in the country would love to have hanes king with the athleticism calzada with his decisiveness the accuracy that he's had on display here in the first quarter and change i'm really liking what i'm seeing from the sophomore calzada played it three games two years ago ains king played in two games last year through just four passes a touchdown and a pick calzada threw 24 passes back in 2019 and with more on zach calzada let's bring in lauren sisler guys i think when you compare the two quarterbacks there's a little bit of a different personality between the two king's a little bit more low-key not as vocal but then you've got calzada out here a more fun-loving personality i've seen that in warm-ups seeing that on the sideline he brings a lot of life to the quarterback room and one thing he's had to learn though is finding balance from the highs and lows and greg you talked about that there's a lot of highs and lows at this quarterback position so when things break down he gets a little down on himself and then he gets a little overly excited when things are going really good but he's trying to find that balance and that more even keel nature and i think that's a difficult thing for young players to figure out you have to be the same guy every day you can be having the worst day ever and had a terrible test or your girlfriend broke up it doesn't matter when you show up to the facility as you see zach calzada so far with an efficient 10 of 17 for 101. you have to be the same guy every day and your teammates have to know what they're going to get from you whether that's elite quarterback play or if you're just going to be a great leader whatever it might be your teammates depend on the quarterback they're always looking at you and it's hard i think for a young quarterback to compartmentalize some of that especially as they're trying to win a job i only caught part of your answer because i heard dad gummit in between your analysis that was not me saying dad coming for the record that was not me that was jimbo so i love it and considering who's playing in this stadium this year they have alabama at home auburn at home mississippi state at home obviously a great home schedule here for the aggies there's third and ten calzada with a little pressure in his face just gets rid of the ball bad situation gosh i love this i'm loving hearing jimbo fisher it's just great to hear a head coach that just has the quarterbacks back no matter what [Laughter] not your fault don't worry throw it away this is also the spring yeah that's true again in the fall again that is a fair point yeah absolutely a little less pressure here in a beautiful spring environment but this is the time to be optimistic right boost the confidence guys of course both these quarter eyes are trying to find their way kayden davis who's the kickoff guy and you can see why he's got a cannon for a leg that was a 51-yarder into the wind i made into a heavy wind too that would have been good from 65. tell them i want 17 next 17 next done get ready so that's eli stowers who would be uh the next quarterback in for uh the white team that jimbo was uh referring to when he said number 17. what about that boot right there right down the middle and a m it's pretty remarkable how consistent it feels like over the years and i'm just speaking in generality they have been consistent on special teams for as long as i can remember i mean we would imagine that they're going to still continue to be excellent on that phase of the game as well this year all right let's check in with lauren who is standing by with a special guest a special guest indeed kellen monde is back in the flesh and a little bit of a different attire today the winningest quarterback here at texas a m how does it feel to be back home in front of the 12th man a little different get up today though it feels great and uh you know just to come out here be in front of the 12th man you know i'm not in my jersey today but uh just to have the opportunity to be out here and you know even coach some of the guys it's an awesome feeling talking about coaching some of the guys being around them what are you seeing out there especially as this quarterback competition unfolds a lot of talent out there what's maybe your advice to those guys as they duke it out because you've been in that competition before yourself yeah i think just the biggest advice and you know i've told both of them just go out and enjoy the game you know you don't want to go out there and think too much just go out play react and you know they're both great quarterbacks and uh just got to go out and trust the rise and you know that's something that coach fisher preaches all the time and you know preached to me all all three of my years so just for them to come out here and compete is a awesome feeling for them too kellen getting ready for a big weekend with the nfl draft upon us what has that process been like for you and what are you looking forward to most uh it's been amazing and i think just being able to meet with so many different teams and you know a bunch of evaluation interviews and meetings it's it's been amazing you know i tell a lot of people you know i'd rather be doing this than you know doing a lot of homework so you know now that i'm graduated and you know finally can come back out here enjoy the weather and uh you know just get ready for thursday thanks so much kellen and best of luck to you thank you the all-time leader at texas a m in career passing yards and passing touchdowns went 31-13 at a m haynes king who's in the game now at quarterback trying to replace monde who was the mvp of the senior bull greg and not only by coming back winning roger winning big games leading his team to a new year six ball and then performing well in the off he has improved his nfl draft stock dramatically significantly and if you look at kellen there you go come on that's run there by nia smith you think about kellen get him off he was a guy that was extremely inconsistent and then it was really the first three years of his starting career and then he was a little inconsistent even the early going of the 2020 season and then florida happened and he was a different guy from that point forward against florida he hit some balls down the field that he hadn't consistently hit throughout the course of his career and it's just amazing what confidence can do to a young man swagger he got better had a difficult game against lsu but he didn't let that game continue he just kept getting better and grinding towards it and as you see he's likely to be the first guy according to espn.com likely to be the first guy not in that top tier not in that first round range but possibly there on friday and second to third [Music] i just love kellerman because i love the person he is you know i mean he's not a guy he never complained had to earn this job every year continue to get better and change the culture at a program that has high expectations i just i can't tell you how much i respect him and how much he's done for this program about who's going at number three and who san francisco traded up for to take third overall we got a third down and one here for haynes king and spiller on the handoff didn't get it good job by that second team defense it'll be fourth down but you and i you and i have talked to people that work for espn that are in the draft business they all seem to think it's going to be mack jones but then there's some people that are in the nfl on either coaching staff or part of a personnel department that think that maybe it's not going to be mac jones i think it's going to be either justin fields or trey lance i've been thinking that for a while i actually think it's betray lance and i really like mac jones as a prospect but jimmy garoppolo is clearly established starter right now in san francisco and unless he's traded i don't know if you need to go with the guy that's most ready now you might want to go with a guy with major upside to give a year jimmy garoppolo is the guy in 2021 and then you go at lance or her fields down the road so that's my assessment of what it might might happen but it's obviously anybody's guess and a lot of people connected seem to think it's mac jokes see the running ability there of haines king on fourth down i wonder if jimbo would go for it on his own 32 with seven minutes left in the fall i like the idea though his spring game why not let it rip see if your quarterback can pull it off and challenge that offensive line he's an incredible athlete and again hard to really see it on display in a spring game but you can see some of the moves there and now he comes back with a beautiful toss down the sideline too anaya smith what great touch we've seen on several throws from haynes king really nice touch there and a difficult throw to a running back down the sideline on the wheel i like that trajectory he's able to get you see the defender underneath it you have to layer that football over the underneath the fender and under the over the top defender i mean just a perfectly thrown shot by haynes king on the sideline after he picked up the fourth down conversion with his legs yards as the maroon team inside the 40-yard line isaiah spiller down to the 31 jimbo liking the cut up the field and hitting the hole with authority gain of 6. we know spiller is going to be one of the best backs in the sec based on what he did last year i think most aggie fans and people around college football are more concerned about who's going to be next up is it going to be a chain who's not here today actually running track for texas a m he obviously had a great year last year and an excellent game there in the orange bowl but it's going to be a bunch of talent for guys that are trying to get touches in that backfield king on the run and hard to tell there if hezekiah jones should have caught that or the defender got a hand in there to knock it away jones had a drop earlier you see spiller right now i mean what a great year a guy that really runs behind his pads extremely good tackle the tackle can get out in the open field maybe not the crazy home run hitting ability that devin a chain has my goodness he makes that first defender miss more often than not so physical so talented and i think should be probably on everybody's watch list here in 2021 we're thinking about some of the best backs in the country king would have been sacked and you hear jimbo yelling at kenyon greene who was a phenomenal player last year as a guard was an all-american but he's been moved out to left tackle usually it's so funny i mean the best players are the ones that received the toughest coaching he's i mean if that were a freshman he's probably hey it's all right you got help outside no problem no reason to get beat inside but no since it's your veteran your leader your mvp of the offense probably going to be on the receiving end of of some frustration from jimbo fisher but right there and it's a difficult transition when you think about what green did last year at guard moving to left tackles not easy and he said he's battling a little bit with it especially with the talented ends that he's facing every day in practice but he'll be more and more comfortable and will probably be ready to roll as one of the best tackles in america here as we head into the fall that was uh donnell harris a redshirt freshman who got the pressure and got past kenyan green at that time so it'll be after the punt first down on the 20-yard line here is a devon a chain who you're talking about earlier that's 76 yard touchdown run against north carolina he is on the men's track and field team so he's competing today at lsu and not available for this game but one of the bright young stars in the sec yeah him along with spiller and you throw a nia smith in there as well you have a three-headed monster at running back and you couple it with crown over and some of the talented underclassmen and this is a very deep backfield it's gonna be a matter of like who how do you distribute the touches i think that's a challenge for daryl dickey the offensive coordinator jimbo fisher run play here on first down for deandre jackson gain of four and uh eli stowers is 17. that's who jimbo's talking to true freshman who enrolled in january jimbo said he's very smart picked up the offense quickly and it's amazing how quickly he's picked it up just a little raw at this point it's difficult to come in try to be a part of a quarterback competition so he's a little behind the other two but they're very excited about the future i think he's a very talented prospect low pass that time devin price the intended receiver you tell there the ball was under thrown that's why jimbo's telling him about the lower body it's a process too i mean some guys it's amazing actually see how many guys as true freshmen are able to come in and lead a program that's not the case for most i mean 95 of the freshmen hopefully don't see the field until their second year on campus so that might be the case [Music] for stowers but a lot of god-given ability just gotta come out to the forefront with some consistency you're going to treat that different than the guy's got his head thrown off his ear all right hey all right hey see you go come on that was aaron hansford really good player who almost picked that ball off starter on the defense for texas a m that's gold from jimbo right there reading the defenders shoulders that kind of dictate that's your read key so you got to know where he's at know which he's trying to take away so it's a great job by jimbo kota's young quarterback huge punt anaya smith pulls it in that's jimbo talking to daryl dickey the offensive coordinator at least trying to talk to him you hear jimbo here saying i want some two minutes like we talked about earlier this is where you can really try to create a very game-like situation this is where you test the quarterbacks not just physically but mentally situationally him time back here let him work come on there you go talking a little situation challenging the offensive line can't get enough reps in two minutes so many games come down to the final couple minutes of the half in the game especially in the nfl but here in college as well so good opportunity for king right now to operate no huddle they give him time here but everybody covered so he steps up and completes the pass to chase lane for a gain of eight so he just said that first one's big why first play two minute got to get the drive started most important play of two minute by far get the drive started and pick up a positive play snap looked a little low and then the receiver fell down chase lane you guys supposed to take care of him let him take care of you see jimbo telling chase lane in zone no reason to work away from the defender stay put stay stationary get big for your quarterback and let king throw you away from the defender to the proper shoulder so third and two we'll keep it on the ground here spiller able to get the corner and a first down past the 40-yard line and then thrown out of bounds chris russell with the takedown but it's a first down for the maroon come on the center is a true freshman matthew wyckoff who enrolled in january luke matthews the normal center is shaken up one of the four sons of bruce matthews to play at a m smith on the catch to the 35-yard line [Applause] good job throwing it on time hitting anaya smith on the scene king throws outside which pleases the head coach chase lane on the catch inside the 30-yard line for pickup of eight and jimmy's got to be encouraged by the tempo right there you hear him the rocket zoom it's your one word operation that you're two minute operation to simplify the communication if you say zoom that means everything that tells every single player what to are do messed up because in red that's a personnel grip with four wide receivers there's king single coverage [Music] threw it away third down and two you can run it go blue and run it so what's blue blue is one tight end three wide receivers red four wide receivers no tight ends and a running back [Music] big picture meaning you got three points yes don't turn it over can't take a sack can't take can't have any negative plays here first down hurry up at this point too this is where you start to tell your quarterback to roger bobcat this time you're telling your quarterback hey be mindful of timeouts you got two in your hip pocket right now you're trying to steal points before the half [Music] that's hezekiah jones mental error [Music] it will be a different deal when luke matthews is healthy it's difficult i mean when you're and you have to operate that quickly as a true freshman you're thinking about at center you're thinking about all five guys you're in charge of the communication and that's something and talking to the sophomore green that's the area that they need to improve is the communication across the front one nfl draft where will kellen mon go he's in attendance today four-year quarterback here at texas a m really improved his draft stock at the senior bowl and with a 9-1 record last year his replacement is it zach calzada is it haynes king king is on the field right now with the maroon team first and 15 here inside a minute to go king gets some pressure on his face jimbo not happy with the lack of time that haines king is getting to throw it downfield hey give him some chip help listen hey give him some chip help he wants to be able to fairly evaluate engage the quarterbacks and it's hard when they're not getting time to throw he wanted spiller there to chip to d-lineman [Music] [Applause] right side of that offensive line struggling a little bit you heard jimbo a play a go say chip it that means tell the running back to help the tackle there's jake matthews the normal starter at center they did lose four offensive linemen from last year's team but the coaching staff was telling us yesterday they think this group ultimately may be better not as experienced but more talented i think they're going to be more powerful guard to guard and once they get things settled at right tackle whoever ends up winning that competition they happen to think the upside of this group is very encouraging [Music] luke matthews has been injured and then the receiver didn't deny smith wasn't looking greg [Laughter] he was talking to haynes king there [Music] yep caden davis that's the guy made the 51 yarder let me take it you just made it 15. the kickoff guy i want tayden davis i want tayden davis ain't going to kick these long field goals that's him i want to look at how far back the holder is from the long snapper he's like 10 yards right now so apparently it doesn't matter whether you're on the maroon team or not just yeah i mean that's gonna say why is he why is the holder so deep he's trying to figure that out i was like is the longstander supposed to snap at 15 yards before he kicks it i mean what are they trying to i know he's the long kicker but i mean trying to play to a number here constantino is the punter maybe he's just used to that depth oh my goodness he hammered it again wow that was 55 [Applause] wow [Applause] do we have an early front runner for mvp right now considering he's scored points for both teams just kicked about a hundred yards with a field goal well had the had the uh the holder stayed where he was before it still would have been good from there that was unbelievable be interesting here if jimbo knowing the challenges they've had so far in protection i would imagine he's going to want to go with two minute drill here now for the white team it's a difficult situation throw a couple timeouts up there and let's see if he can steal three points for the white and get to evaluate calzada in a two-minute operation well stowers was in with that group the last time so let's see if he keeps going back to calzada there you go [Applause] you've got a minute that's fine but you ain't got enough time here hey give me something hey give me something that drives with an underneath mover and if you don't if you don't make it call timeout but still you can't leave it running here it's gonna be time we gotta get something vertical so right here in end of half situation obviously no nothing catastrophic no sacks any sack kills the drive and you got to pick up chunks you have three or four plays with timeouts could potentially get you to five or six but if you're trying to pick up chunk yardage you know you obviously have a deep kicker so you're probably good once you get to the 40. [Music] that helps them all right with it going out of bounds so now you got 25 yards that you need in 32 seconds with two timeouts in your hip pocket this is where jimbo would probably say hey this is where we got to get to in a normal game situation you would know exactly the yard line hey hey hey hey hey hey hey listen at me hey hey listen at me no hey hey no come here heavy trip's heavy trip's heavy so you need to slide both sides give me a chip back stay heavy zoro x drag if you hit it it's going to come out to get you got double verticals with a dig rip trip you got your drives you don't call time out for sure keep in mind we just watched caden davis hit a 55-yarder so if you can get it near the 40 you've got a chance for points 32 seconds left two timeouts drag soro give me time open the offensive line protects calzado throws it downfield into traffic incomplete going for preston hey hey they're getting two man they're getting two man two man's the coverage two high safeties man covers underneath pmt flag that was a tyranny kmt flag heavy fantasy chappelle a true freshman from philadelphia they think has a chance to be a really good player at corner deuce harmon's another true freshman corner 28 in maroon that they're really high on [Music] calzada again on the move with pressure and he throws a pick damani richardson intercepts it down right there and takes it back to the house for a touchdown right here hey down right here on the 20. down on the 20. put 20 seconds on the clock 20 seconds on the clock on the field tackle on the 20 yard that's the mistake you absolutely can't make you're trying to steal points there you go here's the conversation between jimbo and calzada listen where's the safe zone outside if we get we got it coming out second half don't i mean if we get it we get if we don't we don't you know i mean i know what you're trying to do to be smart right there you're insane don't be greedy don't try to match them that's the defense good coaching there be smart nowhere to miss your miss is high and outside anything late and inside is trouble now you get an opportunity to watch haynes king take two or three shots to the end zone kick a field goal what do we got tell the quarterback here absolutely can't take a sack hey you can't be short you can't leave it running so get to the sideline or get to the end zone come on give me some protection he's wearing out that offensive line all day king gets rid of it and it's knocked away incomplete [Applause] so second down with 16 seconds to go he's going for anaya smith and that was keldrick harper in coverage get him in huh hey get in a huddle you know scissors scissors flag talking about flag and divide scissors give me rip scissors back rip too louie heavy two louis scissors back nothing but down the field stay in chip nothing but down the field shots of the end zone scissors is usually a post by the outside receiver and a corner by the inside receiver come on reverse it give him room eight i mean zero give me money come on [Applause] [Applause] [Music] why don't you run the fight no so it'll be third down and 10 with 11 seconds to go eight steps around the flag no different drag up why are you changing the rules you receivers man who's the rookie who's the rookie [Applause] basically what he's saying is haynes king is making the right reads and you're a veteran and you're making mistakes an eight-step flag on your eighth step on the inside foot that's when you break it to the corner [Music] king has to elude pressure throws to the end zone and incomplete hey smart hey he's right [Applause] hey [Applause] garcia almost picked that off though it was really close take another look at it here what did we call what was the call pretty good play there by garcia and i think he actually did intercept that foot was likely in yes so jimbo not real it seemed maybe jimmy didn't realize that he didn't throw it out of the end [Music] zone now jimbo's looking at the free play review now on the jumbo tron like i said they feel good about what they bring back on defense this is a little bit of a confidence builder for the offense it certainly seems like small hits the field goal and so it is 9-3 maroon although technically it was the kicker for the white team that's in the ball against kent state on september 4th when the aggies opened the 2021 campaign coming off a number four final ranking in the ap poll a 9-1 record 8-1 in conference play their only loss was against alabama and the last win for a m against the tide was that 20 20 uh that 2012 magical season with manzo when they beat alabama in 2012. kane's king gonna dump it off out of the backfield here to isaiah spiller and he's got the first down out to the 37-yard line as we mentioned kent state greg they got to go to colorado new mexico at home they start conference play against arkansas obviously alabama's a tough game what are some of the other games that aggie fans should have their eyes on here i think at ole miss is going to be a tough one obviously ole miss a lot of firepower offensively and we know alabama we know lsu those are the obvious ones that snap recovered by the defense quit diving on the ball elijah judy true freshman regular greg how hard is it as a quarterback to not dive on a loose ball even in a spring game in a quarterback competition it's really hard but as a matter of self-preservation you can't do it i mean you just can't do it and your help is so important and while yes as a competitor you want to win you want to get the ball back for your team and instinctively in the fall of course you'll be on it in a heartbeat but at this point just not worth the risk remember coach steve would say you want us to take the green jersey off of you we can we can take it off it's fine no coach i'm good good the message got through is what you're saying calzada's pass is caught for a first down inside the 20-yard line jalen preston before he's knocked out of bounds by leon o'neill calzada had a nice first half and right now it's probably haynes king if the season started tomorrow i would think haynes king would probably be the starter i can tell you this though calzada so far from what i've seen today outside of the interception at the end of the half it's been very decisive very accurate his ball placement's been outstanding just to clean that up you heard jimbo in the background say check his shoulder out because we're watching haynes king here and after he dove on the ball he was pointing to his shoulder he's kind of working it out over on the sideline and when calzada jumped on a ball in the first half a defender landed on his left arm but calzada was okay and played through that we'll see if the hanes king is all right the medical staff is not looking at him just yet although again jimbo said check him out so we'll see second and seven here for the white team maroon leading 9-3 calzada's pass nearly picked off he threw a pick six to damani richardson in the first half right at the end of the first half [Music] i think it's going to be really important for these quarterbacks you've seen these receivers and i know they're without some of their best weapons and those guys will return to the fold sooner than later most notably caleb chapman who they're very excited about but they just need to get on the same page see a lot of guys slipping guys kind of not coming out of their break calzada throwing on the run the receiver i think fell down where was mike devin price third down fourth time how'd he come off the edge talking with the offensive line about the protection if the mike the middle linebacker gets to the left side might be thinking about pressure from that side the offensive line needs to negotiate that communicate right now let's take it with a grain of salt this offensive line group they only have nine guys that are healthy so they've had their fair share of issues up front and protection but that's to be expected right now in the spring you see those type of free rushers in the fall that's a little more concerning davis he don't know what to do here he's made a 51 and a 55-yarder how does he handle a 31 yarder hits the upright and bounces through [Music] that's good living it's like when you can drive the ball 330 you can't make a two-footer which i'm a little familiar with unfortunately although it did go through so technically i guess it's one of the two footer where it kind of goes around it yeah it lifts a couple times 100 all right let's check in again with lauren sisler who has another guest hey guys i got buddy johnson down here leading tackler 2019 2020 and now here you are standing in front of the 12th man kyle field in a little different attire today how does it feel to be back here oh it feels good you know the fans welcomed me back in you know it's a m always been great to me so you know for me to come back and you know just see what my brother's been doing in the off-season they've been doing a great job of grinding and i'm excited to see what they do next year getting ready for uh big weekend coming up the 2021 nfl draft what's that draft process been like for you uh for me it's just been a grind you know uh i know i did everything that i could do uh i i tried not to worry about it i know that i put in the work you know gotta handle itself so for me i just wake up every day and you know get better and you know we'll see what happens next week i'm excited for it so this football team loses a tremendous leader in you but they return a lot of star guys a lot of star power what excites you most about the defense coming back and what can we expect from this defense in 2021 most definitely i think that this defense have a lot of uh maturity guys older guys guys that know what they're doing so guys that can step up you know and be a leader on the defense it might not be a linebacker right now but you know it's guys that have a lot of experience and guys out there that's ready to go so all you got guys like michael clements uh the marvin lehigh he's been great for us uh you know aaron hansford last year was his first year stepping up now he's getting out in the groove so you know i'm excited to see guys like the money leon you know uh miles it's it's an exciting group and you know guys are out there making plays and excited about it so i'm fired up to see what they're gonna do thanks so much buddy and best of luck to you thank you guys right so the two guys that they lost on defense nine starters back bobby brown and then buddy johnson at linebacker as crownover stumbles forward to the 28-yard line gain of about three or four when you look at these linebackers they have quality pieces hansford is i think poised to become an upper echelon linebacker in the sec but they need to find that other piece is it gonna be andre white is it going to be chris russell whoever it may be they got to find a couple pieces there in the interior that are going to step up that level of play because buddy johnson not just provided consistency of middle linebacker he also provided a ton of leadership and a ton of stability and this defense that mike galco tries to run a lot of communication the linebacker wears a big hat in that regard so they got to find those guys not just physically but mentally as well bernard brits a walk-on is in the game at quarterback right now as you look at the uh the ranks defensively in the sec for texas a m number one in total defense third in points allowed keyshawn brown is another guy it'll be interesting to see he was a red shirt in 2019 opted out last year where does he fit into it as brits was sacked there and laden robinson i think that was a sarcastic great job that jimbo was talking about there you think about this defense in the offense there are some pieces to replace the offensive line being the most notable and of course at quarterback but this defense at least early in the season they might have to carry the load constantino with a good punt fair catch made around the 25-yard line by moose muhammad his dad mussin was a very good player played 11 years in the nfl went to a couple of pro bowls so eli stowers will get another series here true freshman quarterback for the white team with the score nine to six and stowers comes back on the field but like we were talking about a second ago mike elko he's one of the best defensive coordinators in america i think he is probably if i were to rank him and i'm not sure anybody puts out a ranking like this but you might as well probably be top two brent venables would have a very good argument to be number one and i think elko's in that mix and he's also a guy too that every single year his stock goes up just a little bit more as far as head coaching potential is concerned he was in the mix this past year at ucf after his first year here at texas a m there were three schools that offered him their head coaching job he turned him down he said we have things that we can accomplish here he loves the people he's bringing back he loves the depth that he's now starting to establish at all three levels and he loves the experience now so they can go to the next step last year being algebra now they're doing calculus and hopefully by the season's end they'll be all the way up to trigonometry dave which is far beyond your intellectual level i went to syracuse yep got that right second and two [Applause] blade reeves a walk on and he's out to the 38 yard line got the first down a lot of people watching this if uh defensive coordinators that do a really good job in college football may not be too happy with you just said mike alco is better than all of them except brent venables you may be right i'm just saying in the i mean who puts together a ranking of defensive coordinators i'm sure you could find one but you just there's not a credible there's not a credible ranking that wouldn't have mike elko in the top five there's not a single one out there the guy is unbelievable he's universally respected and will become a head coach probably sooner than later but he still feels as though there's an awful lot of unfinished business here in college station as you take a look at some of the deepest of plays that have been made today the secondary the defensive line has been disruptive they've had pretty good coverage for the most part and of course the interception at the end of half was the real bright spot for the defense and what was a bit of an up and down first half on that side of the ball so really exciting group coming back on that side one that should be in the conversation one of the best not just in the sec but in the entire country they'll be up there in most statistical categories and when you're coaching defense you're the coordinator at a place where the head coach is an offensive guy and obviously jimbo knows what the defense is doing but he's not hands on with the defense as much as some other places i mean it's got to make you more attractive for a head coaching position elsewhere because you're basically the head coach of the defense here yeah and it's an appealing job too because jimbo well yes he knows how he wants it run he identified mike elko when he got the job said that's the style of defense i'm wanting to implement here that's the style that's going to work and allow us to kind of progress up the rankings as they work into their fourth year but he gets to do everything he has full autonomy over what they're doing on that side of the ball and that to me yes do some coaches micromanage absolutely but i don't think jimbo does not with mike elko he has so much capital built up in that relationship and the trust that jimbo provides him with is pretty remarkable and rightfully so by the way it's well earned short punt anaya smith get out of the way why aren't we catching the ball and jimbo not happy about that hey catch the ball get there and break you should be there the trend continues by the way with jimbo fisher pick on the stars the better the player the more heat you're going to take anaya smith and kenyon green maybe their two best players and they're getting yelled at almost every every series but that for the younger players that i mean if you're a young guy and you see that happening of oh man just stop it we ain't doing this here but it does like what you said dave everybody can get it everybody can get it it doesn't matter i mean jimbo does not care you can be an all-american like kenyon green is and an all-american potential player like anaya smith and you're going to be on the receiving end if you don't know what's expected of you but i think anaya smith is poised for stardom here in 2021 so versatile such a match-up nightmare it does appear though today his concentration might not be all the way there incomplete pass haynes king in a quarterback smith is a junior from missouri city texas 43 catches six touchdowns last year plays running back plays wide receiver he's exactly what you want in a modern day gadget player and i hate to call him a gadget player because that seems like always situationally going to be used no he can just do everything and that's so difficult for opposing defensive coordinators to account for it seems like everybody compares everybody now to tyreek hill uh as uh that was smith getting the handoff because you look at an eye smith you see the body type it's similar to tyree kill you're going to run them on jet sweeps you can run between the tackles and obviously you can go out and catch passes he reminds me a lot of giovanni bernard at the cincinnati bengals or formerly of the cincinnati bengals very quick extremely effective in the past game to play slot receiver for anybody but also can be an excellent third down weapon coming out of the backfield at running back so third down and five here the defense has not surrendered a touchdown the only td came out of pick six from damani richardson at the end of the first half wow how about that throw his two defenders collide that pass into the waiting arms of hezekiah jones for a first down money throw by haynes king yeah and the throw not outrageously difficult short throw but the timing right there seeing that quick little window and see how quickly in this league it closes too the timing of getting the ball out on time where it needs to go it's a beautiful throw there by king king's gonna hand it off here to spiller trying to get wide and he's dragged down for a loss adrian cooper making the play in the backfield a freshman from louisiana jimbo has to be a little frustrated with the inconsistency from the offensive line today and that's to be expected we have a group that's knotted 100 and a group that struggled to keep defenders in front of them but there's been way too many negative plays throughout the course of this game king with time to throw here and another good play although a flag okay they're going to say cooper had a hold of max wright i think the offensive line is going to look a lot different in the fall you're going to have a healthy luke matthews uh jamir johnson transfer from tennessee will be here in june i tell him and do it every day don't listen can't grab a guy's riding pass interference number 20 easy call here i love it you think too and part of the protection issues too tight ends i mean open edges in this league are it's a death wish so you get your tight ends back in there wider meyer can obviously chip and things like that that will help to protect it as well in the fall yeah weidermeyer is out with a hand injury a mackey award finalist from last year baylor cup is another guy they're intrigued by but he's been hurt really the last two years six seven 240 pound tight end from brock texas but wydermeyer is the real deal and a huge weapon that uh either haynes king or zach calzada will have it their disposal in the fall and i love weidermeyer he's just a big target great catch radius good feel for the position he has a very bright future king stepping up that time of the pass should have been caught again we've seen several of those and that was anaya smith again and then tennessee transferred jamir johnson who will join the club in june yeah and this is the group that i think is the biggest question mark and it's not that they don't have talent at the position they have more depth at the position than they've had in years past but that was the reason why texas a m enters this year on an eight-game winning streak they found a mentality last year they found a philosophy offensively but we want to pound the football king's pass is picked off he was going for anaya smith [Music] samuel matthews with the interception [Music] [Music] like some pressure up the middle a little bit yeah hit low there did get hit low it looks like defensive tackle kind of fell into him i think it was isaiah rakes hopefully ains king's okay boy i mean i know quarterbacks aren't supposed to get hit at all in spring games and and we've seen king injured twice and calzada injured once now the other two times they were diving for loose well footballs was a scary proposition right there with the knee exposed and the ankle exposed so hopefully king's okay calzada overthrows justin mellenbrook incomplete the offensive line continues to be a little bit of a concern as they take haynes king into the tent to take a peek make sure he's all right but this was a group last year that gave up only seven sacks now partly because of kell and mon's understanding of the offense his willingness and ability to get the ball out on time his ability to also extend plays but we might have seen close to seven sacks today feels like in some ways so this is definitely an area that will improve over time i don't think aggie fans need to be worried there don't need to be any sleepless nights it's something that is going to be a huge point of emphasis for this offensive staff throughout the summer in fall camp to get those five spots solidified deandre jackson couldn't hang on to it now jimbo fisher took off his microphone uh probably doesn't want us to hear what uh is being said and it's understandable he's very upset that his quarterback got hit uh he was saying us several times in the first half get it out get it out to the quarterbacks so i guess my question to you is is that because it's not just on the offensive line that the quarterbacks were holding the ball too long a little bit jackson across the 45 close to a first down but at the same time the quarter the coaches always say get it out get it out offensive line coach especially but at the same time yes while that clock has to go off in your head a little bit you also in some ways it's not like the guys are holding it forever either the offensive line has been disappointing today there's no denying that but part of what jimbo and daryl dickey will do the offensive coordinator he'll protect the offensive line with the running backs with tight ends don't ever leave open edges they'll have quick gain they'll go misdirection they'll move the pocket there's ways of helping them but they want to test those guys they don't want to put them in a position to really succeed we want to see what makes them uncomfortable and how can we coach them up so it's not like they're game planning right now to kind of hide their offensive line they're putting those guys on an island and let's see who wins those individual matchups up front what'd you think of this throw there by uh calzada hitting devin price downfield of the 32 37 yard line thing of beauty a little back shoulder throw them away from the contact telling you calzada he's impressed me today with his accuracy he'll throw it here i'll play action pressure in his face again has to dump it off that was aaron hansford remember calzada has been working with the number two offense going against starters which is a difficult spot to be in and the coverage for the most part hasn't been bad i mean he's just thrown it to the right place and has protected his guys a little bit kind of like on that back shoulder crossing route he just threw to protect his receiver from the blow up [Music] going to hand it off to deandre jackson to the 35-yard line so he's gonna bring a third down so if you're jimbo fisher and you're trying to evaluate okay it's not just this game you're evaluating every spring practice every rep so it's not just the game but you're watching this you're saying okay so how do i really evaluate calzada and haynes king to be my first new starting quarterback at texas a m in four years five years because he had a four-year starter but for jimbo is here for three of them with kellen mom how do i really evaluate if the offensive line is letting guys run free all the time as kel's out his pass underneath is caught by jackson but he's pushed back at the 33 that's where the market did do so because they're both operating behind the leaky offensive line so it's not like one guy is getting great protection the other guy's not they're both in the same situation which guy handles it better and there's going to be days in this league there's going to be days when your offensive line isn't operating on all cylinders you might get sacked four or five times which guy's gonna handle it which guy's gonna get frustrated which guy's gonna hang his head maybe try to do too much and it results in a sack fumble as opposed to just a sack so i think there's ways of evaluating the quarterbacks in difficult circumstances that will be more game-like when you're facing adversity in the fall calzada's pass is caught inside the 30-yard line [Music] had to get to the 27 that was fourth down [Music] did not get it so as someone that obviously played in a lot of these games greg and now when you're done you leave and then the next time you're with your teammates is in fall camp and you're a quarterback and you're battling for the starting job at a place like texas a m what what are some of the things you have to do over the course of the summer to get ready for fall camp now well they'll go away mostly in may it'll be gone at home doing whatever come back early june and then your seven on seven start your route's on air start and ultimately yes the quarterback he can do everything that he can possibly do to position himself to win the job but the guy that will end up starting against kent state in week number one is the guy that wins the team who do the teammates respond to better who invokes confidence when he walks into the offensive huddle calzada's out there with the starters this is something jimbo said he wanted to see as he throws a strike there to hezekiah jones for a first down up past the 40-yard line jimbo told us yesterday that uh he did want to get zach some reps with the starters so this is not because necessarily of an injury or because he's upset with haynes king he just this was part of the plan all along yeah and that's good to get calzada a look some reps here with starting wide receivers to see if he's able to operate the offense a little smoother calzada throwing a deep ball here going for jones overthrows him incomplete here's lauren yeah haynes king is standing here on the sideline he kept grabbing his left knee kind of moving it around but he seems to be fine not too frustrated he went in the injury to they checked him out and now he's just back out here on the sideline talking to his teammates and just kind of watching things as they unfold but as you mentioned jimbo said that this was kind of how he saw things unfolding here in the fourth quarter with calzada getting more reps so i imagine that's part of it thank you lauren so second down and ten for sophomore zach calzada [Music] the coaching staff told us yesterday zach might be the best pure thrower of the guys that are competing for the starting job like a backwards pass there crownover is breaking free into the secondary to the 39-yard line crown over played in just four games last year but a player the coaches say is very smart knows the system really well [Applause] i like this play a little speed option i know it's kind of a design pitch but as a quarterback traditionally back in the day you would attack that defensive end get him to buy you and throw it to your running back on a pitch right there it's just an automatic pitch throw it into that pressure a nice job by crown over another capable back in the backfield very deep stable of running backs here at college station sideline throw pulled in by hezekiah jones able to slip a tackle but to your point on calzada we have not seen many balls that have not been right on target and most of the ones that haven't been on target have been throwaways yeah i mean he is really decisive throwing the football so this is a competition that will continue and given the nature of the transfer portal it's probably the best interest of texas a m for this competition to maybe go all the way into the season potentially why do you say that as crownover gets hit at the line of scrimmage gets a yard maybe because usually as soon as you declare a starting quarterback next thing you know you have three guys that enter the portal so and that's a little unfortunate but it's a reality and one that jimbo fisher is very aware of the good news is he has two guys right now for sure that they can win with well most coaches don't declare when you have a competition aren't going to declare a starter until kickoff of game one i wouldn't they may declare it obviously to their team and and you know people in the program but in terms of letting the other team know who it's going to be more than likely and here's the other thing and i asked jimbo point blank yesterday and we were talking with him what's the possibility of a two quarterback system at least early on because you do have a game against kent state that you'll be a heavy favorite play both guys because calzada's skill set's very different from that of haines king now jimbo being a traditionalist i don't think he likes that idea very much but i also don't think it's something that he's willing to completely shoot down at this point knowing how those two guys skill sets can complement each other it's not all that dissimilar to florida last year where kyle trask was the starter but emery jones played an awful lot because he was a totally different player than what kyle trask was in the game calzada's pass is caught and again it's max wright lowering the boom inside the five-yard line i'm gonna go back though to what you're just saying about florida but wouldn't you agree that if you asked people around the country who's the quarterback of florida they would say kyle trask even though emory jones played so you still if you're a m it you know it's different right because there are a lot of people that say well if you play two quarterbacks the whole game as anaya smith makes the catch into the end zone for the touchdown you don't have any quarterbacks where with florida you knew it was kyle trask's team absolutely as finally someone gets into the end zone yeah and the old the age-old adage of well if you have two quarterbacks you you don't have one that's not true what if you have two really good quarterbacks and i think based on what i've seen from calzada today we know haynes king has had some challenges and in this format where the quarterback's not live his running ability is completely neutralized but i've seen enough from calzada to think this competition is going to continue long into the fall and who knows maybe even into the season as anaya smith finds paydirt for the first time remarkably there was not a lot of talk about calaman being a viable nfl prospect going into 2020 but there is now and the draft starts thursday on espn and according to nabc nfl network and according to espn.com and everybody talks about five guys going early maybe in the top 15 of the nfl draft after those five kellen muns listed next in terms of quarterback prospects which means there's a good chance he's going in the first three rounds i think there's a very strong possibility that he goes top 40 picks top 50 picks i mean it's it's definitely possible and hey if those five quarterbacks end up going in the top seven which is definitely possible with trades and mobility [Applause] maybe he goes number 32 sneaks into the first round so a lot of teams like the idea of drafting a quarterback there in the first round because of the fifth year option that's cap friendly so really happy for him he deserves it he had a great career just continued to grind and help change the culture here in aguilar eli stowers is in the game at quarterback and he hands off for deandre jackson who takes some defenders for a ride out to the 32-yard line it's a 7-yard run for jackson who's been battling injury here in the spring 16-6 the maroon team in front we've seen players switch sides we've seen peyton davis kick for both teams and zach calzada play quarterback for both teams [Applause] jackson brought down by aaron hansford grad student started nine games missed the orange bowl though missed a couple of seasons he's been battling a lot of injuries and they're calling hansford a super senior those are guys that you know they could have left college football last year but because of covid and everybody getting the opportunity to return if they want to for another season of eligibility being allowed to do that i like that rule and just great that these guys have an opportunity to come back and maybe improve their stock if they want to take their game to the next level having hansford back has been big i think for the aggies on the defensive side as trying to replace buddy johnson won't be easy but having a guy that's played quite a bit there in the middle should help bridge that transition you're talking about improving your draft stock if you come back as a quote super senior but what about improving a team that maybe is on the cusp of potentially winning a national championship i'm really interested to see how that impacts the 2021 season 2020 was a season unlike any we've had before but 2021 could be for a different reason just because while you had guys opting out last year you have guys opting in in 2021 for another season no and doubt think too a lot of freshmen that got a free year of development too it's kind of accelerated their development although hanford we were just talking about just got hurt it looks like holding his left hand hopefully he'll be all right just funny looking at this aggie defense right now a lot of guys that will obviously play pivotal roles but missing some of their stars like michael clemons and de marvin lial and several others so hansford's out there holding his own for sure but he's gonna have some some guys alongside him this fall that are game wreckers in the trenches let's go to lauren the defense and the defense being stacked and you got to give a lot of credit to the coaching staff and what they kind of call recruiting recruiting these guys back recruiting several of them to come back for a final year a super senior season whatever you want to call it and the coaching staff said there just seems to be a lot more buy-in and trust between the players and staff several of them might have been ready for the nfl but they weren't playing their absolute best and the coaching staff feels they were able to convince them and help them to realize that and felt that another year would help them develop more and give them a better opportunity at raising their stock yeah going through the list yesterday talking to mike elko saying hey so what what'd you have to tell clemens to come back what'd you have to tell leal to come back all these guys just one after the other and he basically said look our pitch has been is it the right time because you only get one chance to go through the draft process one chance to maximize your value is your value maximized right now you had a great year last year but you can come back and elevate your status even further kellerman's a great example of a guy that went from being maybe a draftable prospect last year into now being a likely second day pick joe burrows a great example of a guy that went from a seventh round pick to the first overall pick over the course of one season mack jones was a complete afterthought last year now might be drafted as high as number three so you can do a lot to your stock in one year so i think that message that the coaches have been relaying to some of the players that were maybe on the fence i think it was well received and watch ernest crown over here greg steamroll tyrion lee yeah how about the finish right here you gotta love seeing that from one of your young backs at six three two fifteen he's a load he'll probably get a bunch of those downhill between the tackle carries in short guarded situations in the fall check that it was antonio doyle 22 that uh got run over that time not terry in league 23. zach daniel the quarterback great deep ball but it's dropped [Applause] excellent throw but ryan campbell couldn't hang on to it daniel the walk-on sophomore from houston put it on the money it appeared live anyway that it should have been easily caught in a walk-in touchdown it was a beautiful throw the transfer from hawaii daniel dropping it in the bucket on the downfield throw and chap campbell oh man that'll keep you up at night an opportunity to showcase your skills right now with some of the starters not being in attendance today dropped what would have been a touchdown so it's second and ten now king is back in the game and his pass is caught inside the 30-yard line by jones so obviously haines king from a health standpoint is okay otherwise there's no way he'd be back in the game here a nice throw there on the over route jones he had anaya smith going the other direction for a potential touchdown opting to work the crossing route moving left to right as opposed to right to left good throw on one that jones actually dropped earlier on a very similar play the defender all over hezekiah jones i'm seeing these corners start to get a little aggressive on some of the underneath routes where's my hitch and go coach give me a little stutter at five or six yards see if you can get that corner to bite take it right over the top on the double move for a touchdown dial it up for me coach come on if you don't call it i'm gonna call it myself i'll take the chewing but i'm gonna throw a touchdown second down at ten haynes king getting some late work here but it looked like his day might be over king throws it dave got a receiver wide open it's a touchdown rhys mason was left all alone and the walk-on pulls it in for a touchdown that's one that'll be frustrating for defensive coordinator mike elko as the defense did not pass off the bunch on the left-hand side leaving him wide open for the easy touchdown good throw there by hanes king [Music] extra point is good so the maroon extends its lead over the white by 17 with 3 56 to play you look they're right number three in the bunch and as they bring that running back out to the left adding that fourth potential target to the bunch is something very difficult to pass off so hard on opposing defenses especially in that look to be able to handle all four potential targets they lose one of them there and it results in a touchdown a good job there and the protection because it took a little while to develop and a nice throw by hanes king and finding the open man good for peace of mind for a lot of aggie fans too to see haynes king go back in the game because they're not going to see him again until the fall and obviously that was scary to see him get hit low and him holding his knee and having to go into the tent it came back out a good series there getting his team into the end zone we were talking earlier greg about the west and how texas a m fits in in a division that has been dominated by alabama save lsu's championship two years ago what about the east who's the favorite in the east in your mind going into 21. it's georgia at this point and and georgia with what they did down the stretch with jt daniels at quarterback you have to feel pretty good about their offense now there are some question marks on defense particularly in the secondary they also also have to replace aziz ojowari who was a game wrecker off the edge but georgia with what they did down the stretch and finding an offensive identity finding a quarterback identifying some weapons they lose george pickens early in the spring to an acl hopefully he'll be back in time to be that alpha dog wide receiver but if he can't do it adnai mitchell had a great spring game so it appears as though they have two pieces on the perimeter that'll cause some problems so there's a lot to like about what georgia brings back and really everywhere else in the east i think florida is the odds on favorite to be at at worst number two there's kind of question marks all throughout florida's roster at this point eli stowers getting another series here at quarterback throws back across the middle that ball took a while to arrive but it did was caught at the 44-yard line by price the ball did hang just a little bit too long for my comfort level but a good job there by stowers finding the guy coming over the middle and delivering it accurately on the move true freshman who enrolled in january out in space here's deandre jackson last year alabama was perfect won the championship florida won the east is there a team and you look at the standings here and i know you mentioned ole miss is there another team that is at the bottom of the standings in 2020 that we might see challenge in 21 or at least be significantly better this fall i'd be absolutely shocked if the champion wasn't alabama a m lsu or georgia i would and i have the utmost respect for what dan mullins built in florida i think they'll be really good again i just don't know if they'll have the juice offensively to be able to keep up with some of those other teams but it's anybody's guess right now as far as how the rest will all kind of sort itself out biggest question mark right now to me is auburn i don't know what to make of auburn they have good personnel new coach and brian harson i'm just not sure what to expect and what a reasonable expectation is here in your number one for harsen stowers with a great run they blow it dead around the 24-yard line you have new coaches south carolina and tennessee what about the vols i think tennessee's gonna struggle that roster is depleted a lot of guys enter the portal after jeremy pruitt's departure i think as much as i appreciate what josh hypel did offensively at ucf i think they'll be able to manufacture some points but still not 100 sure what their quarterback situation is going to look like they just got the transfer from michigan and joe milton maybe it'll be him maybe it'll be hooker formerly of virginia tech i think tennessee if they go to a bowl game this year that would be an accomplishment you have shane beamer taking over at uh south carolina you already mentioned brian harson at auburn the one to keep an eye on in the east is kentucky and i i don't know if they'll necessarily win the east but they can play spoiler feels like we say that every year at least the last four or five years about kentucky coach duke's done a remarkable job and really has they're physical they know their identity new offensive mentality they'll be a handful more than likely that ball almost caught by preston on a pass that looked like it was overthrown by stowers in the corner so it'll be second down and 10. missouri kind of fits into that mold alongside kentucky as well where they could potentially play spoiler at some point but a couple question marks on that roster but reason to feel good for eli drinkwits they made some progress over the course of last year and hopefully they can continue some of that progress in year number two stowers pass incomplete so it'll be third down minute 33 to go again texas a m will open the season september 4th at kyle field against kent state and in talking to some of the folks around the program today they are very optimistic about having a full stadium for that game jimbo always likes his team this time of year too i'll say that so i've done this game several times in the last few years always great to get back to my home state i sense with him this year he's extremely excited about the pieces they bring back the culture that's been established and the expectation level moving forward should be no steps back this year given the way they've recruited and the history of this place speaks for itself it's the 100th anniversary here of the 12th man what a cool tradition [Music] such an amazing it's an amazing tradition they have here in aggie land and the support that the community provides i just love walking through from being from texas and obviously having a million friends that are aggies all wear their ring proudly it's just a special place here at college station and i think it'll be i think it'll be rocking uh for for october 9th when alabama comes in i think the 12th man i think that might be a tough ticket 24 weeks from today is that alabama game they'll also play auburn here as towers pass is overthrown on fourth down they will go to lsu november 27th coming off a nine win season nine and one in a 10 game campaign for texas a m they won the orange ball against north carolina it was the best year for the aggies since that 2012 team that won 11 games and johnny manziel won the heisman trophy and they have not had back-to-back top 10 finishes since the mid-90s can jimbo and this group get it done in 2021 with a new quarterback this is the year to do it though i mean when you think about alabama now alabama's a juggernaut no one's arguing that but there are some question marks with alabama so you get them at home just need by week five whenever that i believe it's week five or six whatever week it is you've got to have your quarterback playing great football and you got to have that offensive line great continuity anaya smith with a great run after the catch but how about the throw again by calzada on the money to your best player out in space telling you if there was a gap between haynes king and calzada coming into today i think that gap might have disappeared he's not taking anything away from haynes king either he's done fine just goes to show you the calzada can certainly get the job done as well with how accurate he's been throughout the course of the game get a chance here to get some points and jimbo's going to try to help them out and call a timeout here see what calzada can do with the starters that first offensive line group is still out there the teams that a m plays in the east so at missouri and south carolina back to back weeks and again you have auburn and alabama here i'm with you about auburn i'm really interested to see brian harson coming from boise state and all the success that he had there coming to a program like auburn in the sec and in year one what can he accomplish in the toughest division probably in college football the cover's not empty at auburn just there are some considerable voids the offensive line was troubling last year beau knicks regressed if anything last year they lose three good weapons at wide receiver i love the hire i think harsen's a heck of a coach we've covered him for years called his games i love the hire i just don't know if the rewards are going to be reaped in year number one here's calzada has passed tipped at the line and [Applause] the incomplete sets up for i mean it really does you have a nice long stay here at kyle field there after week number two where you'll head to colorado which is a little bit of a dicey game at altitude i can't imagine they won't be extremely well conditioned coming out of fall camp knowing the heat that they're gonna experience here in texas in august but it's a little bit of a tricky game colorado had a nice year last year but they get hot there after that week look out a m could be off to the races gonna be a flag here look like uh either defensive holding or interference as anna smith got tangled up with a defensive back what's the challenge in terms of recruiting i want to go back to harson because i agree with you and obviously he's got a great track record what's the challenge from a recruiting standpoint you haven't been in the sec now he's not the first coach we've seen go from a program that's on the west coast coming to the sec and have success urban meyer went from utah to florida and obviously won championships i'm not concerned about it i mean it's you have so much talent in your backyard and several of which especially in the state of alabama that grow up with an affinity for the auburn tigers so i think he's gonna be just fine but a reasonable concern given the fact that he's never been in that footprint before but he has a staff that has right that's that's a so much of it is are you hiring guys that have relationships with the high school coaches in the area and right in the footprint same thing with jimbo jimbo never coached in texas does it matter no because he's got guys like daryl dicky and guys that are very familiar and jeff banks when he first got here all those other things guys that are really ingrained in texas high school football which is to me as good as it gets run play here and a high tackle at the line of scrimmage made by antonio johnson 46 seconds to go again jimbo fisher just you know wanting each quarterback to get as many reps as possible in the last real live action for a while he brought haynes king back in when the aggies were down in this part of the field earlier in the quarter i guess it really wasn't earlier in the quarter was the four minute mark it just felt like it was earlier in the quarters just with all the timeouts although in real time it's felt like a lot longer but again jimbo just trying to give as many reps in game-like circumstances to two quarterbacks buying for the starting job calzada from the pocket and another high throw at hit either the camera well or the goal post couldn't tell there but it's fourth down at 13. well the maroon team obviously has a 17-point lead these are good reps it is an end-of-game situation i'm sure jimbo he was wearing the microphone still he's probably telling calzada hey we got to have a touchdown here you got to extend the drive there's 41 seconds left backs against the wall we're down six trying to make it relatable to these quarterbacks i wouldn't even be shocked if jimbo said all right you score a touchdown here we're going for two because we want to get a live two-minute or a live two-point conversion on tape as well fourth down in 13. calzada with time incomplete and again jimbo took his mic off we don't know exactly what he's saying but he's he's looking over to the right side which must mean kills out and miss somebody on that side of the field yeah trying to work your tight end and man coverage right there on a route that's likely not going to get you 13 is not where you want to be that's one where based on what they were doing defensively find a match up you like and i think he was telling calzada you need to be looking in the direction of anaya smith [Music] 34 seconds to go eli stowers in a quarterback dowers flushed out we'll head for the sideline stop the clock a lot of people thought stowers was in the mix for the starting quarterback job when he enrolled in january but it's apparent as spring practice went along and just based on what we saw in terms of how the other two quarterbacks were utilized by jimbo today that it's a two-man race calzada and haynes king at the moment now the light could go on very easily here in the next three months forced hours and maybe the decision becomes a little more challenging but at this point given the complexity of this offense that jimbo fisher likes to run there's a certain there's definitely a learning curve there as you make the transition some places you can come in and play early with the style of offense that they run it's a little less likely here i think at texas a m jimbo call the timeout wants to give stowers another rep or two here to see what he can do second down and 13. [Music] stowers pass incomplete down the sideline 12 seconds to go just great to have spring games after last year to be back to be watching football to be talking about the fall to be uh optimistic about full stadiums for the fall gets your heart pumping a little bit back in the stadium man and just to hear uh a albeit a whimper to hear the crowd get into it a little bit and i can't wait to get back here in a few months won't be long see if they call another time out here to give stowers another player if that's it that will do it so the maroon wins it 23-6 both zach calzada and hanes king dueling for the starting quarterback job here at texas a m had their moments the offensive line which greg mentioned is maybe the biggest question mark also had its moments but different kind of moment because coach fisher was all over them especially in the first half for not giving his quarterbacks enough time to really evaluate i think something that you you got to acknowledge though is they are far from the finished product up there and that's to be expected let's just see replacing kellen mann still very much a part of the conversation one of the all-time greats here in aggieland the four-year starter as haynes king had a good day today behind what was a little bit leaky protection i thought calzada had an excellent day especially with the accuracy that he displayed on the intermediate and underneath throws then eli stowers who didn't have many opportunities but we'll certainly have them at some point here very soon as we go down

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Length: 115min 44sec (6944 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 24 2021