Aggies discuss 'game of the year,' prep for Bama

 "Certainly we don't have all our questions answered but we got to play several true freshmen over the last couple weeks. Those two games gave us a chance to look at those guys and get them much-needed experience. I saw a big improvement in those guys in their effort and being comfortable. The pressure to perform, handling that, handling some adjustments. Also, putting more pressure on some guys that need to be leaders that haven't been leaders — guys that have played football here. Toney Hurd has been a leader by example but now needs to be a more vocal leader, Jake Matthews, Ben Malena, who's already been doing that.

"From that standpoint I feel like we accomplished quite a bit. For those guys, being able to play and have some success, and number two, our coaching staff being able to evaluate those guys. We've got a better comfort level with those guys now. Coming into this week I think we were able to get Kirby Ennis back. Last week he played a lot of snaps for us. The addition of Steven Jenkins back on defense will be big not just from a linebacker standpoint but from a leadership standpoint. He's played in big games and doesn't panic. He'll help us.

"De'Vante Harris battled throughout the spring and was a projected starter for us coming into the season. He'll add depth at corner and give us more flexibility in the back end. Floyd Raven is injured; he'll be back this season but won't play this week. That gives us the opportunity to have more moving pieces. Coming into this week, for us, the attention is on this being our first SEC game. Everybody's goal in this league — certainly our goal — is to win the West and get to Atlanta and win an SEC championship. In order to do that, you start with your league, in particular your division, so this week becomes our first league game.

"Our fans are excited, obviously. Our guys are excited. It's going to be a heck of a game."

Sumlin: "I said in the summer, for our former students and our community, the University and our fans, the excitement level is probably as high as it's been. As a coaching staff and as an organization, we've got to improve consistency. Great organizations are consistent in their approach. That's what we're trying to do. Shoot, this is our second year in the league. So we're just getting started with this thing.

"But it is important internally for us to remain consistent in our approach. It's fine for our fans, I want them as excited as they've ever been and this place as loud as it's ever been Saturday afternoon. But it's good to hear our players are reflecting that approach."

Sumlin: "Every game presents leadership opportunities. Different players continue to grow. We don't have a lot of seniors on this football team. We do have a number of guys who have played in meaningful games in their career. There will be leadership opportunities in every game, and we've had that arise in the first two weeks even if the scoreboard isn't indicative of those opportunities. That's all part of growing as a team. Every game will present those types of challenges for every team."

Sumlin: "It seems like a long time ago. I have a lot of respect for Nick. I walked into a room and he was there and Jimbo Fisher was too. There were a lot of guys who became head coaches. It was a situation where the time just wasn't right. I had to weigh some options. The interesting part of it was we (Oklahoma) ended up playing LSU in the national championship. I was walking around and someone, maybe Jimbo, said, 'You'd've been alright in this game.' (Laughter.) He talks about the process all the time and how Alabama goes about doing things. It's hard to argue right now that they're not the standard in college football.

"We're in year two. For this to be a game of this magnitude in our second year in this league tells you we're on the right track, and we've got to continue to keep climbing. We've got a lot of respect for Alabama and a lot of respect for Nick Saban."

Sumlin: "I think it's already had an impact. We've got a large number of prospects who are going to be here. The move to the SEC obviously has been a boost for us. I think it wouldn't be as big a boost if we didn't have some sort of success in the league last year. We didn't have all the success we wanted but we were extremely competitive and won a big game last year.

"All that being said, I think the ability to compete and win in this league has really helped us in recruiting. You don't have a stage like this for this weekend if you're not a competitive program. I think high school coaches in this state do a fantastic job of coaching and recognizing ... student-athletes recognize, too, that we've got a great situation here from a stability standpoint, a facility standpoint and a league standpoint. You don't have to go 700 miles away anymore to get all these things.

"That has been a big selling point for us since we've gotten here and I think that message is being driven home every week we play in the SEC. Not just play, but play in meaningful games on big stages."

Sumlin: "It ought to be pretty obvious how I respond to it. We try to go as fast as we can. I haven't seen any evidence to support the player safety argument. Anything that's within the rules, that's how football is. That's how any sport is. In basketball, you can be a fast-break, full-court press team and it's within the rules. It doesn't mean it's not how the game should be played. I'm for anything that's within the rules.

"The object is not to trick people. The object is to play the game at a pace you're comfortable with and maybe the other team's not comfortable with. There's a reason they call it offense and defense. Defense should not dictate the game, offense should dictate the pace of the game when you have the ball and speed it up and slow it down. It's within the rules. Players are set."

Sumlin: "I thought he did a great job Saturday night after the game, postgame, of talking and expressing his feelings about his play and his teammates' play. Quite frankly, right now he and his family and his advisors have advised not to talk. I respect his wishes for that. I think there'll be a time, as I've said beforehand, there'll be a time when he'll be able to speak to the media. I'm going to respect his wish not to speak to the media at this time. Like I said, I thought Saturday night he did a great job."

Sumlin: "He plays with intensity. It's my job to have it moving in a positive direction because when it does, he plays well. I think the intensity and the emotion he plays with is part of his game. I don't think anybody around college football who watches him play doubts that. Our job and his job is to channel that emotion into a positive way of doing things. And for the most part, he does that.

"That's what separates him from a lot of people, particularly at that position, which you don't see a lot. Two weeks ago was the exception and not the rule. If it was, we'd have all those kinds of problems for the 13 games he started the year before."

Sumlin: "You know, I just heard about that this morning. Basically I really just heard about it maybe an hour ago. To me it's interesting — everything we do, everything I try to do, everything we try to do here at Texas A&M is about team. It's about building our team, building our program and trying to not be an individual. Saturday afternoon you're going to have two football teams on the field.

"I just don't understand why there's got to be one guy singled out and put a camera on all the time. That's not what we're about, that's not what we're trying to promote and, certainly, from my standpoint all the criticism about individualism on the football team, I don't think this helps enhance the team concept one bit."

Sumlin: "I think the kicking game will be a big factor in this game. All you've got to do is look at what they've done in the return game, it was a huge factor in the Virginia Tech game. They have really skilled players. The misconception ... Alabama's a great defensive football team, they've got great players who've had a week of preparation. Where people get confused is that they struggled on offense two weeks ago. But they've got tremendous weapons on the perimeter at wide receiver and a fabulous running back in T.J. Yeldon who's played in big games and a quarterback who understands what they're doing.

"They're an overall team, and that's what Alabama has been known to do. They're a great team and, we talked about it earlier, they understand what they're doing to win football games. With that being said, we're going to have to match that with our special teams play. We had a high snap on one (on Saturday) and it's not all Taylor Bertolet's fault. If it were, I wouldn't have run it down to a couple seconds and had him kick before the half, which he made.

"Any game like this, who knows what's going to happen. It could be a number of things that factor into a win or a loss, but I also think our kicking game is improving and will continue to improve as the year goes on."

Sumlin: "I wouldn't have come to Texas A&M if I didn't think we would have the opportunity to be one of the top programs in the country. I think the combination of a lot of different things have led to our success between seasons. I think you're talking about recruiting and being able to recruit at a high level and we're accomplishing that. Being in the SEC is one thing, but if you're getting beat down in the SEC every week like people said was going to happen to us, you're not going to be able to recruit. Players understand that, coaches understand that.

"Players in this state or in this region have a choice, a different way, the best league in the country and games like this Saturday. Being a part of games like this Saturday's and having people in this room and trucks showing up is different. There's an appeal to players for that, and it should be. Because if you invest that much time in what you're doing in high school and junior high and those things, at some point you have to choose a university. From an academic standpoint we're extremely competitive, but you also want to play in meaningful games and against the best.

"Certainly, we provide that opportunity for guys within five or six hours of here. Before, that wasn't necessarily the case."

Sumlin: "It's well-documented as a player, the last six games last year as opposed to the first six games last year, there's no question he's a different quarterback. A lot of that has to do with his maturity, but it also has to do with our understanding of him as players and coaches — what he can't do, his strengths and weaknesses. To sit down and talk to him from a football standpoint, the way I approach it for quarterbacks and young guys, whatever you do best in the offseason and film study, people are going to try to take that away from you. What you have to do to become a really good player at this level and higher is take a real good look at what you don't do very well. What your weaknesses are. And try to eliminate them, if you can.

"Some guys can, some can't. If you're 6-4, 245, you're not going to get any faster. But try to cut down on weaknesses or enhance those, and your strengths. That's how people are going to try to limit you — what you do best, that's what people will try to take away. It takes a mature guy to sit down and look at that and say, 'Here's where I'm not very good; here's where I need to get better. Can you help me with this? Can I work on this?' while continuing to strengthen what you do best. That's how you become a better player and have success in different facets."

Sumlin: "You look at first games ... Virginia Tech hasn't been a slouch on defense the last few years. That's all relative. He had young guys playing, just like we had young guys playing on defense. Communication can be one thing. The talent level is there, when you have a defense like Virginia Tech, communication can be an issue. But there are plenty of weapons there. Whenever you face a veteran quarterback who has the ability to change things during the game, it's always a concern. He's one of the better quarterbacks in this game and always has an impact on the offense."

Sumlin: "We're just going to have to keep working at it. When we get some personnel and some young guys back, some guys we played the last couple of weeks, to get them ready ... we've got Deshazor who's only been out there for a half the last couple games, Steven Jenkins, guys that haven't been a part of our coverage units, having two or three veteran guys out there makes a huge difference on recognizing returns and dealing with different schemes. Whereas freshmen may be out there just kind of running down the field.

"Coach Banks does a great job with our guys, but we have to be ready to go. That made a big difference in that Virginia Tech game. That's something Virginia Tech has prided itself on with Frank Beamer there, so to do that is something."

Sumlin: "It's something that, I'm sure there will be a discussion after what I just said (laughter). It's what's on my mind."

Sumlin: "I'd be lying if I told you no. In this room it probably hasn't changed much because of our approach day-to-day with the players. Our coaches, when we leave here, I take out my phone and all you guys are talking about is what we're supposed to be and how big this game is. That's when the problems come. When the boys watch television all the time and see the trucks outside, they recognize how big it is.

"I think it's great for our university, the excitement level particularly for this weekend and this year. It's been great. Managing that, I don't know that that's something I have to manage — or that you can manage it at this level of football. Everybody wants the same endgame, everybody wants to be successful, everybody wants a program in the SEC to be successful.

"We're pretty visible right now and, because of that, that's what you want as a coach. You come into situations and, as things start to progress, you want to be in meaningful games and you want your team to have a chance to play in those meaningful games not just now but in November. I spend my time coaching the football team. I don't have a lot of time to manage what's outside."

Clarence McKinney

McKinney: "Just like last year, with those guys, it was their first year being in the system as well. We do a scramble drill where we try to get those guys going in a certain direction depending on where they are within the play. It's something we practice. Whether you're a young guy or not, you've got to know where to go on the scramble drills. I think the scramble drill becomes more like sandlot. You try to get open at that point. You just run to where you think you'll be open."

McKinney: "They're a really, really good defensive football team and I think he's going to have to be at his best, whether that's standing in the pocket or running around or whatever he's doing or we're asking him to do. He's going to have to do it at a high level."

McKinney: "I think that's always important. When you establish the run game it allows you to do some things with the pass. This is the best front we'll play all year, so it may not be that easy."

McKinney: "Before I joined with Coach Sumlin, Dana Holgorsen and I had coached together at an all-star game and he alerted me to some things he wanted to do with the tempo."

McKinney: "Mike Evans, we think he's taken his game to a whole 'nother level. A guy who didn't start last year but played well in the Alabama game and had some big catches was Malcome Kennedy. Derel Walker ... and Sabian Holmes, those are guys who didn't play that much last year who we want to be leaders."

McKinney: "As long as the rules allow you to play up-tempo, you're going to have teams that play up-tempo. If you look at football, whether teams play up-tempo or not, when it's a two-minute situation and the game's on the line, everybody's playing up-tempo. We just choose to use that as our entire offense, not just when the game's on the line."

McKinney: "In Texas high school football you get all types of offenses. The most recently successful teams, the Lake Travises and Southlakes and Allens, are spread teams. But you take a team like Katy, who's been successful the last 20 years, they're not an up-tempo spread team. You find a philosophy you believe in and just work on that."

McKinney: "I don't think it's changed a whole lot. When you go into a recruit in the state of Texas' home and and you're the only team in Texas that's playing in the SEC, that sells itself. Before the season there were recruits that were skeptical of how good we could be in this league, but after the season we had last year..."

McKinney: "I was just up there visiting with our coaches and we're trying to find a weakness within the Alabama defense. No matter where you look, there are no weaknesses. Those guys are solid across the board, they play hard, they play fast, they're athletic on the back end. They're experienced and they have no weaknesses.

McKinney: "It's been huge for us, but we've always felt like last year it was his natural position and he's a natural talent. When you're playing tackle you're in a lot more space. He's athletic and we feel pretty comfortable about him being out there. Last year we had two All-Americans there but we had to get him on the field, so we had him at guard."

McKinney: "You can see he's a leader. He's a playmaker. The guy never leaves the field, I don't care what package they're using, he's getting them lined up and making plays."

McKinney: "He's day-to-day but there's a good chance he'll be back this week."

Mark Snyder

Snyder: "It'll be interesting once the game gets started. They've got to knock some rust off. In practice, rolling our first unit out together was very pleasing to see."

Snyder: "We'll stay with the same personnel. We'll have to make some adjustments to prepare in case we get an injury."

Snyder: "We're playing a very good football team and obviously the national spotlight is there, but I'm more worried about the team we have to play. They're extremely well-coached and they play really hard."

Snyder: "I don't think (they look different) at all. Coach Saban's going to do what Coach Saban does. They've won a lot of games doing it, why change? There's not a dramatic drop-off from last year's team. Their left tackle is still really good, their right guard is still really good. They've had two weeks to get things fixed. We'll get their best."

Snyder: "A wealth of experience. He's been on the big stage, he's played against the team we're getting ready to play against and played well. These receivers will be the best we'll play against, and really fast."

Snyder: "We ran three to the flat on a pick play, pushed it and intercepted the football. We practice it every week. It was great, after that game I said it was one of the finest coaching moments I've had, to see something you work on in a game like that was pretty special."

Snyder: "The tempo did change a little bit. We did get winded a bit in the third quarter when we had to start rolling some people in. But I'll take 20-0 out the gate every time. We've just got to survive."

Snyder: "I would absolutely agree with that. Jenks played pretty well in this game, played pretty well last year for us period. To have that confidence on the field, a little swag, just permeating will be really good.

Snyder: "Because I think he's a really good football coach, in more ways than one. The way he handles kids, he tells them the truth and they appreciate that. It builds trust. Once they trust you, they play hard. When they play hard, you play well. The game this week, we're going to prepare exactly as we prepare every week and kind of leave the zoo outside the lines. And he does a fantastic job of that."

Snyder: "I've seen enough of him. He is a leader, he runs their offense, he knows where his checkdowns are and obviously he's a great leader for them, because they've won a lot of football games. He's the guy that's driving the car. You see his poise and his patience and it's hard to get him rattled. If you do rattle him a little bit, he has the ability to sit down and get un-rattled and come back and play his game. That's what I see."

Snyder: "Yes."

Snyder: "They still went with the ones. We tried to get that cohesion going once the suspensions hit. Once game week hit, then we had to start adjusting reps. We had so many young guys that needed reps that we couldn't take them away from them to give them to guys that weren't playing. During fall camp they were all working together, knowing this day would come at some point."

Snyder: "We're going to have a plan. It depends on how the game goes. I can't sit here and answer that, it depends on how the game goes."

Snyder: "He's our best viable option right now. He's a big, strong kid and he's a smart kid. They have a couple big tight ends, so we feel like he gives us the best chance."

Snyder: "It was good, I was happy for Nate. He had success and any time you have success it'll build confidence. I was happy for him."

Ben Malena

On Nick Saban's criticism of the up-tempo offense...

Malena: "That's something that we don't worry about. We just go out there and try to push the tempo as fast as we can."

On how important it is to establish the run...

Malena: "It's very important, with (Johnny) running the ball and with me running the ball, our four running backs. We have to open up the defense. There are more players on this team than just Johnny and we have to go out and execute at a high level."

On how fun it is to play in an up-tempo offense...

Malena: "It's very fun, but at the same time it's very challenging. You have to know your line, you have to know your assignment and do it at a fast level. That's the challenge to keeping this offense working."

On what makes Bama so good...

Malena: "Their size up front. Their knowledge to be exactly where to be at the right place, they're a very well-coached team. And their intensity, there's guys running to the ball on every single play. That's not something you see every week when you watch film."

On whether the RBs are flying under the radar with the focus on Johnny...

Malena: "I don't think it gives us an advantage at all because I'm sure that, just the same amount of attention as they're focusing on Johnny, they're focusing on our whole offense. As an offense we have to match their intensity."

On Kyle Field on Saturday...

Malena: "I'm sure it's going to be something that, in my four years here, I've never seen. I can't wait for the 12th Man to be out there rocking."

On Johnny's maturation...

Malena: "As a player, his knowledge of the game and his knowledge of this offense — knowing exactly where to go with the football. His direction, leading this offense on every single drive, trying to get six points on every drive."

On improving before Bama...

Malena: "I think we've done a very good job of taking strides to get to Atlanta. Correcting mistakes that we made from week 1 to week 2 was very good and now we'll need to correct more stuff, because they'll come in ready."

On treating it like it's another week...

Malena: "When it comes to a preparation level we are treating it like it's another week. When you prepare for one specific team more than others, your performance will correlate with your preparation. It's just an SEC West opponent. Championship-level teams prep the same for every opponent."

On last season's game in Tuscaloosa and Johnny's immediate fame...

Malena: "I think last year, the Alabama game was a stage for the whole world to see what kind of player he is. He deserved it, along with this team. We deserved to be put on a stage to show what we can do and what he can do. This game is also a stage where the world can see how much better and how much he has progressed, along with our team."

On Johnny's performance on that stage...

Malena: "The exact same things he does in the game, he does in practice. The things he does in the game are not a surprise for us."

On whether they're disrespected...

Malena: "That's something we don't worry about. We focus on every week, preparing for the next opponent. And on the offensive side of the ball, every time we're on the field we're trying to get first downs and score points."

On the Bama defense adjusting to the offense last season...

Malena: "That's what coaches are paid to do, to make halftime adjustments. Every team we play makes adjustments during the game, but we make adjustments during the game also."

On the buzz for this game...

Malena: "In the locker room it's the same, preparing for another opponent. It is Alabama, but it's an SEC West opponent. This is the next step we have to accomplish to get to Atlanta. But on campus, everybody can't wait to get to Saturday."

On avoiding the hype...

Malena: "We understand the magnitude and the stage that this game is presented to us. We welcome it. We accept the challenge. But when it comes to outside, media and things like that, we don't worry about that. Our focus is solely on Alabama this week."

Malcome Kennedy

On his TD grab in Tuscaloosa last year...

Kennedy: "It was a great time. I like the memory of me knowing I had to win on that route and scoring the touchdown. Ever since then it's been a big highlight. This year I'm looking forward to doing the same and more."

On what he can take from Ryan Swope's performance in that game...

Kennedy: "Just definitely being fearless out there. Last year in this game Swope was phenomenal. He went across the middle and caught passes he shouldn't have caught. Learning from the type of player he is and seeing his success, I'm just trying to do the same thing for this team in this game and improve more over the course of the season."

On the evolution of Johnny as a passer...

Kennedy: "He's come a long way. Obviously he's a unique quarterback, and what he does makes him who he is. With that said, he's really been focusing on letting everyone see that he's maturing as a quarterback and can stand in the pocket and make passes. We know he can do that and he's such a great quarterback, but him being mobile, he has to do that. But he has come a long way."

On preparing to block for Johnny's scrambles...

Kennedy: "Just from constant practice. We came up with a drill we do that accompanies Johnny when he's running. We practice that every week, right before the game we practice it, and we've pretty much got it down to a T. When Johnny scrambles we know what to do. We always stay prepared for that situation."

On exploiting the Bama D...

Kennedy: "Just from the fact that sometimes in football you have broken plays and there's no way you can prepare for those types of plays. There's no way you can account for (Johnny) and receivers running around back there. It's so hard for defenses to cope with that because it becomes a free-for-all."

On Mike Evans growing as a player...

Kennedy: "Definitely. Just confidence-wise and having that experience under your belt, it goes a long way and it goes to show what kind of receiver Mike Evans is. He's a big guy but he's elusive, a lot of people don't understand. He showed it in that last game."

On feeling a target on their back...

Kennedy: "Not really. As Ben said, we just prepare for games the same each week. We just want to be 1-0 each week. Us beating them, people didn't expect that — and people probably don't expect that this year. But we go on a week-to-week basis and that's how we're going to approach this game."

On Sumlin's leadership...

Kennedy: "He has a strong sense of urgency every week and it trickles down to us. He wants us to treat it like a normal game and we know that if we play that way, the game will play in our favor."

On being on campus...

Kennedy: "Nothing really strange, but just people camping out for tickets, people standing here ... it's amazing to see the Aggie Spirit like that. It really does, with this school being the way it is, inspire us to play the best we can."

On the Johnny scrambling drill...

Kennedy: "I don't exactly remember the first time. It was definitely the spring when he first got here. It was weird because we weren't used to a quarterback that could move one direction, make a throw across his body and be accurate. We incorporated it into our drills and now we're in sync with everything he does and it makes the offense go."

On being the focus of Nick Saban...

Kennedy: "It's odd, but it's just another game. We feel like if they take it serious and we take it serious, it's just another game on the way to Atlanta. We know what we have to do and we use the game from last year for motivation as well. We're going to do what we can and be the team we are and see how it ends up."

On whether a bye week before or two games is better entering this one...

Kennedy: "It really works well in both situations. Them being off last week gives them more time to prepare for us, but us having the game, we needed that. We had guys out and freshmen who needed the experience. This week we'll put it all together and it should be fun."

On how to be a leader this week...

Kennedy: "Just being a leader, trying to fill the shoes of the guys who came before me and leading by example. And being a leader on the field ... guys look up to you when you're older and you've been out there doing things. It's going to be fun out there and the guys looking to me and Mike Evans and the older guys on the team as leaders."

On the pace of the offense against Bama...

Kennedy: "The offense is going to be very fast. Coach has already said we're focusing on the tempo this week. We know it got on their nerves last year. Hopefully it'll turn out well."

Deshazor Everett

On how much attention he got from the interception in 2012...

Everett: "I'm not going to say I've got too much fame now, but more people know who I am. As the season progresses more people recognize me on West Campus and Twitter and things. It hasn't grown too much, but more people know me."

On Alabama's receiving corps...

Everett: "They definitely have some great receivers over there. We'll just have to do what we do every day in practice. We go against some of the best receivers also. Just have to go out there and have fun."

On the play on fourth down last season...

Everett: "It was a two-point play we had been working on every week probably up until that week. Coach was constantly on about it because he said everybody runs that play. Finally they ran it and it was a fourth-down play, not a two-point play. I just recognized it and jumped the route."

On Amari Cooper...

Everett: "He's a good receiver, one of the best I faced all year. He has good speed, he runs his routes pretty crisp. It's going to be hard to get someone to mimic that in practice, so I'll just have to go off of what I saw last year and do my best to know what he's going to try to do and prepare."

On having the entire defense back this week...

Everett: "It should be exciting. It'll be something new to see. We have defensive linemen back, we got Kirby Ennis back last game ... we'll have Gavin Stansbury back, Ivan Robinson might get to play, guys in the back end of the secondary. We've got some good players and if we can all get in sync with each other, it should be good."

On getting to play a full game...

Everett: "I'm looking forward to that and not having to come in in the second half. But I saw the receivers and how their tendencies are, so when I got out there it was like I had been in the game. I was studying."

On whether the defense can get better...

Everett: "We can only progress. I'm not going to say they've seen the real defense. But we have to get better and we'll keep getting better. Having everyone back, we'll keep progressing."

On whether Bama thinks it can score on them...

Everett: "You can look and see what a defense does well and what it doesn't do well and you go off of that and try to attack. That's what we're trying to improve — where our weaknesses are."

On being underdogs again...

Everett: "It's Alabama. Some people think it was a fluke. They're a good team. We're going into the game thinking we can beat anybody. That's how we're going to approach this game. But we're not just going to walk in there thinking it's done."

On the suspension after the hit...

Everett: "It was frustrating, but I learned from it — hit lower, bring my arms. It won't happen again."

On treating it like another week...

Everett: "You approach it like it's the Super Bowl, you're going to go out there nervous. You have to approach it like it's another week. We're going to approach it like it's another week. But it is a big game; we're going to go out there, play hard and do what we do."

On having a bandaged hand...

Everett: "I learn to play with it week by week. It's getting better and it's becoming less of an issue. I feel like it helps me out more than it hinders me because it makes me move my feet more and not try to do things I'd usually do with two hands."

On the locker room before a game like this...

Everett: "It's a high level of excitement, but it definitely makes us focus more. It's making us work harder in practice and work to be great and go out there."

On Christion Jones...

Everett: "He's fast. (Laughter.) He's fast. He's a good returner and we're preparing for that. We're just going to have to go out there and play to his weaknesses and try to play to our strengths."

On the momentum Bama had in the fourth quarter of last year's game...

Everett: "I trust in our defense. I knew that, yeah, they're going to make plays. It's Alabama. They practice to make plays, just like we practice stopping plays. We're not going to be perfect every time, and they made a few plays. But I knew when it got near the goal line, I knew ... as a whole defense we all stepped up and made plays."

On the feeling of the interception...

Everett: "I felt like everything went slow motion after I caught it. I was trying to stay on my feet. It was exciting, but I just wish I had returned it so I didn't have to worry about the offense getting pushed back to our own goal line. I felt good."

On having a chip on their shoulders because of doubters...

Everett: "We like being the underdog. Coach Sumlin came from Houston, they played a lot of teams that were underdogs. Coach Yates came from Boise and they were always underdogs. When you go in there as an underdog you just play with a fighting mentality."

Toney Hurd

Hurd: "Alabama has a great special teams unit. They have good returners, just like everybody else in the SEC. But this is just another week for us. We have to cover down and make sure we fit correctly and we'll be fine."

Hurd: "Coach Sumlin hasn't said it's another week, but as a player coming into a game like this you don't want to blow it out of proportion. We're just starting our SEC play."

Hurd: "I just feel like right now around Texas A&M we have a lot of swagger and confidence. I feel like we're kind of taking over the state, recruiting, playing football. As a whole, we're a pretty solid university."

Hurd: "With the 12th Man behind us on each and every play, I feel like Alabama will definitely be intimidated. When the 12th Man gets loud and proud, it's electric."

Hurd: "Last year I felt like we controlled the line of scrimmage. First down, second down, we got them behind the chains; third down, we just went after them. Coach Snyder was calling up blitzes and, as a defense, I just feel like we played really well last year."

Hurd: "A.J. McCarron is a great quarterback. Each and every week he comes out and puts his best foot forward. Taking nothing away from their offense, I'm sure they'll be prepared. But we'll be prepared as well."

Hurd: "Coach Saban puts him in great positions, A.J. McCarron is a great quarterback; each week he puts his best foot forward and he's won a national championship. Everybody's dream is to win a national championship. He's a great quarterback."

Hurd: "Coach Sumlin's message to us is 'Win the Day.' If we go out in practice and put our best foot forward we should win the day."

Hurd: "Everybody served their suspensions and had to man up. Now we're looking forward to having a great outing this weekend."

Hurd: "I actually haven't been on campus. None of my classes are on campus, I'm actually an economics major, so (chuckle) I'm kind of back in the economics building."

Hurd: "Coach Snyder puts each and every player in a position to make plays. All he epxects out of us is fanatical effort and fitting our gaps. He's not a very critical guy, he just wants us to go out there and have fun and play hard."

Hurd: "Honestly I just try to stay calm. The calm before the storm every game, I just like to stay calm. I don't want to blow this out of proportion. I know it's a big game ... but as players I think it's best if we just stay calm and let everything play out."