A&M RB coach Clarence McKinney discussing UCLA victory
Key quotes from Clarence McKinney's comments
“It was a huge win and a total team effort. Defensively we played very well and we were very solid in special teams and although the offense sputtered a few times there, we got points when we needed them.”
“There is definitely some feeling out. We are trying to see what the other team’s attack is to us and what we feel like works best against that. As the game goes on you start to feel that the other team is trying to do defensively and they cant take away everything, so you then find what you can be successful at.”
“Part of getting the running game going was finding what would work. A big reason we got the running game going was that the offensive line began to gel and come together. Those guys haven’t worked a lot together and eventually they figured out who they were targeting and got it done right, and thanks to Erik McCoy and those guys up front they opened up some holes for us.”
“There is no doubt that Erik McCoy had a great showing in his first game at Kyle Field. If that is a preview of what is to come, we feel like he can be a really good offensive lineman. Getting the run game together hinged on the offensive line. Those guys had not played together at all and we had one guy who had played significant time in Avery Gennesy. For Colton Prater to come in as a true freshman and McCoy being a redshirt freshman was big. Then you have Jermaine Eluemunor who has been playing inside as a backup, was moved outside to tackle. For those guys to get together and help us rush for over 200 yards and didn’t give up any sacks, I would say that is a successful outing by that unit.”
“Trayveon Williams came out and as a true freshman in his first game and played like a veteran. He has exactly what we didn’t have last year with Tra Carson, which is the ability to be a homerun hitter. He is a patient runner who can make guys miss, and he impressed us with his physicality in the protection game.”
“Trayveon has been brought up well in the football family. They have taught him about studying the game and he came in here with the mentality that he wanted to be a guy who contributed even if he didn’t become the starter. He has always worked hard in the weight room and Larry Jackson has always had great things to say about him and his work ethic. He treats practice like it is a game and he is always in the film room or my office asking questions about the game plan or the practice plan. He just wants to be the best player he can be.”
“Keith Ford actually gave us a spark on special teams with his big kick return. We feel like he was ready to find the groove and he went out there and jump-started our running game. Once he jump-started the running game, that allowed Trayveon to do the things that he did.”
“A big return from Keith let me know that he was ready to get out there and go play. He went out there and jump-started our run game. With any of those guys, it could be James, Keith, Trayveon, or any of them, whoever has the hot hand is who we want to go with. Each of those guys brings something different, even the two guys that didn’t see the field this past weekend. Whichever guy that is out there with the hot hand is the guy we are going to roll with.”
“We want to be able to be more successful on third downs. We have to be able to keep the chains moving on third and short. I remember vividly on third and one when we didn’t pick up the first down to keep the chains moving. We also need to protect the ball better. We had the ball knocked out of our hands and there was an interception and a fumble. Those are definitely things that we need to work on.”
“Trevor Knight has been really good for our team from the moment that he arrived in Aggieland. He knew we needed a leader and he stepped into that role on day one. His performance yesterday, although it may not have been great, you still have to remember that he hasn’t played a whole lot of football in the past year. For him to come in here with a new offense and lead us to an overtime victory, we are excited to have Trevor and we are looking forward to him having great games as we move forward this season.”