Fall Day 12: Kevin Sumlin lays out remainder of A&M's camp

Kevin Sumlin

On how Kyle Allen earned the distinction of “starter”…

“I think we go through an evaluation process like we do at every position. And at that position, it just gets a lot more attention from media, from fans. So, you know, that evaluation process is not one day, it’s not a couple things. It’s accumulated over a couple weeks. I laid out what our practice plan was over the last two weeks, from, really three scrimmage opportunities to live scrimmage opportunities.

"You know, today was really getting into opponent preparation for the next couple weeks. We had plenty of time to evaluate and just like other positions, as I’ve said before, we got to start practicing to play other people. And today we did that.”
 

On how close the competition was and whether it is still ongoing…

“Every position is still ongoing at our place. You play, it’s a competition-based program. And, you know, guys put themselves in a position to earn time on the field and guys continue to work to try to earn it. And quarterback is no different.”
 

On how Kyle responded to earning the distinction of “starter”…

“Good. You know, I’ve talked to — we bought all the guys in and talked to Jake, talked to Kyler, talked to Kyle and just told each one of them the situation. They’re great guys, great competitors, they understand. And there’s only one quarterback on the field. So, it’s unlike other positions really, there’s three linebackers, five linemen. And anytime that happens, you know when guys are used to being 'that guy.' 

"But, the important part to that is moving forward. You know, how are you going to handle it in practice? You’re one play away from playing, from, you know, unforeseen injury or something like that. Or even, how you work, how you prepare from here on out, is going to give us an idea of when you’re ready to go into the game.”
 

On Allen’s reaction compared to his reaction last year…

“Yeah, I think it was just the discussion. I think everybody’s read that about Kyle. So, he probably had read that before and decided that he wasn’t going to do that. It was a good discussion. The discussion was about, basically, how you handle things from here on out. You know, what’s your demeanor going to be at practice, are you gonna hang your head, are you gonna pout?

"Everyone’s disappointed. If you’re not disappointed, then we’ve got the wrong guys. And Jake (Hubenak) was the same way. So, those guys understand their role that they want to play. Basically the message was, 'Hey, listen, either you come out today, how you study, how you prepare the game plan and the game plans coming up moving forward is gonna tell us not only that you want to play, but also that you’re ready to play.’ And that’s important.”
 

On how much better Allen is now then he was a year ago…

“I think he’s got a real sense of what everybody else is doing, if that makes sense. I know a lot of people would say, ‘Well he’s a quarterback, he should know that.’ And you guys have heard me, I don’t care what the position is, as a first year player, there’s a learning curve. And it’s the ‘what to do’ stage. And then now, he’s worked it to the ‘how to do it.’ And over the course of the offseason we’ve challenged him, as you’ve heard me talk about, with leadership skills from January on.

"So, you know, I think his knowledge of the offense and his knowledge of defense, his gains and blitzes has certainly improved. And with translating that knowledge into the production is going to be important. I would say this: I think that because of his knowledge and because it has improved, he’s a lot more relaxed in his operation right now than he was, certainly at this time last year.”
 

On whether or not there is a chance on playing two quarterbacks…

“You know, I’m not going to really talk about that. Today was about Kyle Allen and our team knowing here’s where we’re preparing. You know, we’ll see where that goes.”
 

On the rest of the travel team…

“We have a really good feel. We’re starting to move toward two deep, actually we were working on that today, and starting to figure out who’s going on the bus and go to Houston. And some young guys, who the key is, who’s going to redshirt, who’s going to be really, really involved in special teams. That’s what this week’s about. Besides to moving on to working on opponents, but really training on some of our players, these young linebackers, the DBs, some of the skill guys that are on the fringe of the two deep and figuring out where they’re gonna fit, as far as special teams go.

"Because of the depth of this league, it’s not necessarily games, as we learned, one, two and three. You know, these guys come into play from about game five on. Some of these young guys who aren’t ready to play, maybe right now, have had in the past here the roles coming down to stretch playing six games, bowl games, things like that, six or seven games of special teams.  So, you bring a redshirt on a guy playing special teams, if he’s a three-phase special teams player, you know he’s playing 30-something snaps a game, which is a half. And that’s significant.

"And the preparation involved in that during the week, which means he’s traveling, he’s working on our defense and offense, he understands game speed, he understands crowds, he understands pressure, and that pays dividends down the road, I think.”
 

On the cornerback competition between (Nick) Harvey and Brandon Williams…

“They’re good. Nick Harvey has had a great camp and he has really, really, he has been the Nick Harvey that we wanted him to be. He’s a little bit more confident, he is more relaxed. We’ve been really, really pleased with him. And he’s always had that talent, and he just for whatever reason wouldn’t turn it on and when he did it wasn’t consistent. It’s one of those deals, 'Well, he had a good scrimmage, well he had a good practice, he had another good scrimmage.’ We’re all waiting for him to go back to that Nick we had last year. 

"But, so far, he’s been consistent and Brandon has been too. So, we got real good competition still going there. And, you know, like playing a team like Arizona State, who’s going to present multiple formations, some up-tempo, a lot of different receivers. You know, there’s going to be a time for both those guys to be on the field.”
 

On the reaction by the players when they went out for the scrimmage Saturday…

“It was good, I was the last guy out there. So, I kind of let them get out there, they got out there as early as ever. I’ll put it this way, they were a heck of a lot faster tempo to get out there on Kyle Field, than they are to get out there on the practice field. And it’s the same temperature. You know, everybody was excited, there was a lot of people looking around.

"It was kind of interesting, parents were there, sitting in the South in zone. It was really kind of neat, we had a combination of SEC and Big 12 officials, and when I walked out there, they were all standing around, looking up. So, if we can get the officials doing that, hopefully we can get the other team doing that too.”
 

On whether or not he knows what his starting lineup looks like, other than the quarterback position…

“Yeah. Pretty much. We’ll talk about that later. We got another week. You may figure it out, just because of who we’re practicing right now. And that’s why you start giving reps to people who are going to play and play significant roles and play significantly. And that’s why I’ve utilized this time frame for a while now, just because it’s been, it’s been successful. It’s gotten people ready to play for that first ball game, whether they’re first year players or fourth year players.

"So, yeah, we have to have a pretty good idea of who’s in that two deep. And, there will be some guys who slide in and out, but maybe not many.”

On this season's schedule…

“Our player’s parents are happy, they’re not having to go very far. For recruiting purposes, I think the big take away is what we’ve talked to people about. You know, Kyle Field, now, is going to be the finest collegiate football facility in the country.  It will just be an incredible experience for our fans and our players.

"We’re opening at NRG, which hosted the Super Bowl, which is another great, great facility.  We go up to AT&T, which a lot of people say is the best football facility in the world. So, those games are in the state, but from a recruiting, from a player, and fan, and parent standpoint, you’re going to be in three of the best venues in the country that play the game of football and that’s hard to beat.”

On The Captains…

“2015 Captains:
Offense: Germain Ifedi, Mike Matthews. Defense:  Myles Garrett, Brandon Williams. Special Teams Captain: Sam Miller, and 12th Man, as voted on by his teammates. That ought to tell you something.”
 

On whether or not he was in favor of the SEC banning transfers who have serious misconduct charges and whether he will be implementing that…

“Yeah, I think what you’re gonna see is, you know I can’t speak about anyone else, but I think what you’re gonna see is more and more attention paid to, not just transfers, but to domestic violence and sexual assault. And, I think, our new commissioner brought that up as one of the first things, one of the first actions that he has taken is to bring that to the forefront, talk to us about it, discussion in the league about what’s coming down the road, in terms of that.

"But, certainly, our league’s made a statement about transfers and conduct. And I don’t think there’s any coincidence that the football league’s headed that way and things are gonna change. So, yeah, I don’t disagree with our league’s policy at all.”