Press Conference: Fisher address halt of practice ahead of A&M's trip to Knoxville

On Monday afternoon, Texas A&M football was forced to halt practice following a couple of positive COVID-19 cases within the program. Head coach Jimbo Fisher discussed the situation with the media as he and the Aggies continue to feel optimistic about playing this Saturday.

NOTE: The first two minutes is audio-only. The video is not frozen and picks up following the first two minutes. Video courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics.

The following are live, paraphrased notes from head coach Jimbo Fisher's media availability on Monday.

• We have paused our practices for the day. We had a positive couple of COVID cases after getting back. We are going through our protocols. We will retest our team today. We are in those processes now. If there is a spread, we want to stop that. We will do everything off of Zoom today and go forward.
   
• I’m proud of our team for going on the road to South Carolina and playing well. I was proud of our defense. Everyone did a great job. Got them off the field on third downs. Two big turnovers as well.
   
• Offensively, we operated very efficiently. We were fantastic in the red zone. We had a good balance with Kellen Mond and Isaiah Spiller.
   
• We kicked the ball well. Punted twice. The kickoffs were good. Punt returns did a nice job. We missed a PAT, which was uncharacteristic.
   
• I am confident we will play this week. Right now, everything is full go. You plan for that and make adjustments as you go.
   
• I felt we had good players, and we’re all on the same page. Guys are grinding stuff out and are confident in what we’re doing. There’s no surprise, but you’re always fighting for success. The guys are playing well, but they’re also preparing well.
   
• You’re always concerned the players are going to buy into the “poison.” It’s human nature to be doing well and relax. That’s how complacency sets in. You’re always fighting that as a coach. There are things we are constantly addressing. Hopefully, the maturity of this team does not allow that to happen.
   
• We’re doing everything today as if we’re playing this week. We usually have a light Monday practice, but we will still have the film portions of our normal schedule. We will speak to the SEC offices about how to proceed.
   
• The depth at running back, the secondary, and the offensive line is huge. You have to have guys step up. I’m very proud of our guys, and they’re stepping up, contributing and developing well. That’s a huge testament to our coaches too.
   
• Kellen Mond has always had great character. It’s a reflection of him and his upbringing. He has a burning desire to be very good. He puts it all in. It’s a great sign of who he is as a person.
   
• Our program looks like an SEC team. We’re getting the size, speed and athleticism. We’re turning into it. You have to have those certain abilities to perform in this league day in and day out.
   
• Tennessee is big and strong. They have guys who can rush. They’re physical. In the secondary, they can cover well. They bring exotic blitzes at you on third down. Their offensive line is physical, and they can run the ball. The backs and the quarterback can run. They have good skill guys. They’re a sound football team that is very physical.
   
• Isaiah Spiller is good to go.
   
• Demani Richardson is not cleared. He has to go through the protocols. I do not think he meets the 10-day protocol to be available this week.
   
• Jared Hocker should be fine. He thought he could go back into the game. Nothing from the MRI jumped out.
   
• Micheal Clemons had surgery on his ankle this week. He’s out for however long it takes to recover. They did not put a timetable on it. When he gets back, we’ll put him in there.
   
• Our guys did a great job disrupting on the defensive line. It was huge, and I thought they played an outstanding game. I am not surprised that they can shut down running games. They have the size and ability to do that.
   
• We’re going through the contact tracing to get things under control.
   
• If you still get social media, you can still read every comment. As long as you’re getting cell reception and service, that poison can still come in.
   
• Tennessee has always had good teams, good players and loud fans. After you get out of there, you hear “Rocky Top” for two weeks. It echos in your head.
   
• Hez Jones brings a lot of experience to the table. He’s a very fast guy who is multi-positional. He is a leader. Even when he was out, he did a great job of leading.
   
• When you get in the red zone, things happen faster, tighter and quicker because it’s a limited amount of space. When you get in that tight zone, someone is always unblocked. I like that our backs are running well, and we can run with the quarterback. Our receivers are running good routes. The balance and phsyciality of our team have a lot to do with our success. We’ve been staying in a bunch of positive situations as well.
   
• When you have negative plays, that hurts you. Sometimes you get beat. However, most times, it’s because of a mistake. We’re experienced and mature. We’re able to block those mistakes out. It comes with maturity. Most mistakes come from a lack of focus, and I think our guys are learning to be more mature and playing a lot more consistently.
   
• One of our positive tests was a player. The other was a staff member.
   
• If you have studied this league over time, a couple of teams always stay at the top, but it rotates. There are too many good coaches and players in this league for that not to happen.
   
• I do not think about the College Football Playoff rankings. It’s clutter to me. I want to play well at Tennessee and then do it again against Ole Miss. It’s not permanent. You can move up and down based on your psychological disposition. If you want the scoreboard and your season to be where you want it in the end, you have to focus on the next opportunity. That’s how I believe you get where you’re going.
   
• You feel comfortable calling plays knowing you can go to certain things - a play, a formation, a player - and have success. When you have things to go to, it lets your game fall into place.
   
• We do have go-to receivers. I think they all are because we’re going to them in the right coverages and matchups. You can mix and match guys. The versatility of our guys helps. We also have backs and tight ends to throw to it. We love to distribute the ball because it makes you hard to defend.
   
• I think we’re developing an identity for guys as they play more often. The confidence is growing, and the young guys are having more success.
   
• When you can go on the road and win, it’s a very good sign of where you’re going as an organization.
   
• Spiller’s ability to see and get his body in position to get around guys has been great. He can change directions and accelerate too.
   
• It’s extremely difficult to handle the COVID situation. You’ve had to handle it constantly, but you can still come into contact without you even knowing. It can just happen. That’s the unfortunate thing about it.
   
• Devon Achane has been excellent. I’ve felt good about him for a long time, and we just had to find the right time to get him in. He’s a very smart and quiet young man. He’s a strong-bodied guy to run the football. Watch him in pass block. He’s doing an excellent job, and he’s becoming a complete back. That’s very hard to do as a true freshman.
   
• We’ve come more consistent as an offense running and throwing it. We’re more experienced in what we want to do, and we have five guys we feel comfortable throwing it to. Our defense and special teams are playing better, so I feel more comfortable going for it on fourth down with where we're at. It always depends on what kind of team you’ve got. It changes from year to year and the identity of the game. My philosophy is always about doing the things that give you the best chance to win the game.
   
• The balance to the offense is huge. When defenses have to worry about both, that’s two problems. You’d rather be able to focus on just one thing, but they can’t. It’s a huge part of what we do.
   
• I definitely feel comfortable with the SEC and their plans for the unexpected. That’s a hard thing to do, and the forethought that our commissioner and our league had to do that is amazing. There’s a lot that goes into, and that’s a very hard job for them to do. If you have to cancel a game, it’s tough. They’ve done it already and have things in place, and it’s excellent.
   
• The first full-time Division I job Jeremy Pruitt had was with us at Florida State, and he did a great job with us there. You hate playing guys like that because they’re friends.
   
• Canceling practice today is so we can get retested and see where we are. It’s the safest thing to do for us and our players. We’ll discuss how much practice time we can miss and still play, but I’m more concerned with the players and how the tests come back.