WATCH: Jimbo Fisher pleased with early returns in first week of Fall Camp

Fall Camp has been underway for less than a week, and the Aggies only have a handful of practices under their belt. Head coach Jimbo Fisher spoke to the media about the first few practices and explains why he's pleased with what he has seen so far.

Video provided by Texas A&M Athletics.

The following are live, paraphrased notes from head coach Jimbo Fisher's press conference on Tuesday.

• Devon Achane is playing running back and playing in the slot. He’s doing the things he did in high school. He’s a very smooth, outstanding ballplayer. We’re looking forward to utilizing his skills.
   
• I see more urgency from this team. We have a veteran football team. With the quality and quantity of leadership, it has made an enormous impact on the guys as much as anything.
   
• Two of our practices were in shorts. It was hard to judge the physicality in shells because they haven’t done any tackling.
   
• There is nobody I am disappointed in. There is a ton of work to do. I’ve seen some of these guys have made some tremendous strides this offseason. We are faster, some of our guys are bigger. As a team, I think we’re bigger. Hopefully, we can play better.
   
• Shells and full pads are basically the same things. When you’re in full pads, you can mix in more tackling drills in stuff, but you can pretty much practice the same from shells to full pads.
   
• Demond Demas is a very intelligent guy. He has great ability. He has had a couple of great practices. It’s too late to determine how early he’ll get playing time, but that’s up to him. He’s very coachable. You point out a mistake, and he learns very, very quickly.
   
• We had broken Vanderbilt down earlier. I’ve gone against their defensive coordinator, Ted Roof, plenty of times in the ACC. They have a very good defense. Todd Fitch, their offensive coordinator, is a very good coordinator. He has done a lot of different things. When you face two new coordinators in your opening game, you never know what to expect. You have to be ready for anything.
   
• I’ve seen Vanderbilt’s news with COVID, and I hate that for them and their kids. I’m trying to focus on our COVID protocols and our kids. I don’t want anyone to ever get COVID. My thoughts and prayers go out to them. I hope everyone is okay.
   
• Our world in this is a new normal. We have to adjust. We have plans and plans and plans. We have to adjust to things that don’t happen. We have to take things one day at a time. We’re doing the best we can with navigating through this pandemic.
   
• Jayden Peevy has done a great job as a leader. He’s practicing very well. A lot of his strides have been in his knowledge of the game of football. He was a basketball player. I can see why he was a very good basketball player. He can move. This game, football, is a very, very technical sport. It takes time to grasp. Each year, Peevy has gotten better and better. He’s extremely driven to continue getting better. He’s doing an excellent job for us.
   
• I’ve been in the south for a long time, and this is the first time I can remember that two tropical storms are in the Gulf of Mexico at the same time. I was worried about them getting together, but it sounds like it’ll weaken them. I wouldn’t want to predict the weather. That’s got to be a hard job.
   
• I think the NCAA approving eligibility relief is the fair thing to do for our kids. We don’t know about all of it right now. We’re focused on practice and recruiting. I’ll put more thought to it here on some of our off days, but I do think it’s the right thing to do for our players.
   
• The shortened season absolutely changes how you prepare. In the SEC, it’s an extremely physical league with grown men up front. Developing depth and developing your young players is very critical. The older guys teaching the younger guys how to take care of their bodies is important when playing a schedule like this.
   
• With the way things are this year, almost everything is going to be on the table. Freshmen could lose playing time because of all of this. I don’t want to play guys before their ready. We’re going to live in this world daily and try to figure things out.
   
• I’ve seen tremendous growth in confidence in Kellen Mond. This guy is maturing. You use to see guys develop when they would stay in school in the old days. You’re seeing that with him. His confidence. His awareness. His understanding with the team and the coaches. He’s really grasping it all. I’m really proud of him. He’s practicing well too, but he’s also communicating and leading the other guys. He’s handing that “fear of failure,” but there is nothing wrong with having that. Most great athletes fear failure. There’s nothing wrong with that. I deal with it too. It motivates me. A lot of people are motivated that way.
   
•  I need to see more of Devon Achane. I’ve gotten to know Ainias Smith, and his skill set is incredible. Achane has those same skills. Ainias has a better understanding of what to do. Those guys will play at running back along with Isaiah Spiller. Ainias was a polished receiver. We haven’t seen that from Achane yet. We will see. It’s exciting to have two of those guys with that kind of ability.
   
• I see a more explosive guy in Jhamon Ausbon. He gets in and out of his cuts more quickly. He’s faster. He might be lighter footed. Mond and Ausbon are very close. They discuss a lot of things together with our team. They are driven together. They’re doing an excellent job of leading.
   
• DeMarvin Leal will hopefully keep improving. I see an unbelievably competitive nature. I never see him loaf. Not even for a second. He learns extremely well. He’s a great teammate. He has all of the size and strength to compete. God has blessed him with all of the intangibles. He has the intangibles that all great football players have.
   
• Baylor Cupp is good. He’s running well. We mix him with the ones and twos. His ankle is giving him no problems, and if it were, he wouldn’t tell you. That’s one tough son of a gun. He runs hard and players hard. If he makes a mistake, he is hard on himself because he doesn’t want to let you down as a coach. He is absolutely wired right.
   
• It is early, but I like this football team. I like the attitude, the work ethic and energy at practice. The old guys and new guys have mixed well with their personalities.
   
• Everybody is moving in and out of nickel and corner. I’ve been extremely happy with Myles Jones. Elijah Blades is back on the field too. The young guys Jaylon Jones, Brian George and Josh Moten are jumping out at me also. Antonio Johnson is a safety, and I’m pleased with him as well. I don’t want to miss any guys. Clifford Chattman is playing both corner and safety. He’s doing a great job at both and playing a physical brand. We’ve mixed them up and interchanged them because we have to be ready for everything. I’m very pleased with them all.