Mike Evans traverses the road to stardom

On what aspects of his game he's looking at this week...

Evans: "Staying healthy through the whole week. I cramped up at the end of the game. Try to stay more hydrated, get more flexible and finish out the game stronger."

On SMU's secondary...

Evans: "They're a great secondary. No. 21 and No. 1, they're some great safeties. They've all played a lot of football. We have our hands tied with that. We'll be ready."

On the key matchups...

Evans: "We've just got to make plays all around the field. Whenever it's our turn, we have to make plays."

On how the Mustangs are different than last year...

Evans: "I haven't watched much film on them yet, so I can't really tell you that right now."

On mentoring the young receivers...

Evans: "Just trying to give them an aspect of what I've been through in my years here. I've had a lot of great receivers mentor me — Jeff Fuller, Ryan Swope, Uzoma Nwachukwu, Kenric McNeal, they all helped me out. I know how they feel, the young guys, so I just tell them what they need to hear and hopefully they can learn from it."

On the receiving corps this year...

Evans: "I love them. They're like my brothers. I like them all, it doesn't really matter."

On the 95-yard touchdown and the cramps...

Evans: "Yeah, on that play I was cramping a little bit and that's why I didn't get there fast enough, I guess. I've just got to hydrate more during the game. He definitely would have caught me if I didn't stiff-arm him. I got the stiff-arm in."

On whether he watches and learns from guys like Amari Cooper and how he feels about his performance vs. Cooper's...

Evans: "Cooper's a great player. I watched him last year and he did a real good job against us. Not so great this year, but he's a great player and he's fun to watch."

On friendly banter between he and Johnny Manziel...

Evans: "We don't do that. It's all him. He made me look good on that last play and all the other plays. He threw it up (late) and I just used my frame to go get it."

On whether he still plays basketball...

Evans: "Not during the season. A lot of my teammates, we all go to the Rec and kill people at the Rec and have fun. Sometimes we can't play together because we'll stay on the court all day, so we switch it up sometimes."

Evans: "It would have to be Tra Carson — I know he played in high school, he's real good — I'd put myself on there, probably LeKendrick Williams, Ricky Seals-Jones and a big man, probably Jarvis Harrison or Jake Matthews."

On feedback on preparing for the next level...

Evans: "Coach (David) Beaty, he just tells me what I need to do to play on Sundays. Run better routes. He's always on me about playing with a lower pad level. And I'm working with Coach (Larry) Jackson trying to get more explosive so I can become faster. I work hard and it's starting to pan out. That's good."

On the biggest lessons the older A&M receivers taught him...

Evans: "Just play with no regrets. That's one of the biggest things I picked up, play with no regrets because your time can be over any time. And just play your heart out and hopefully have a good career."

On his ability to catch the ball away from his body...

Evans: "Jeff Fuller really taught me. I watched Jeff Fuller a lot and he never really caught the ball with his body. In practice my freshman year when I got out here I saw him catch and he always came back to the ball. So when I come back to the ball, I got that from him."