Fisher focused on intangibles, improvement ahead of Saturday's scrimmage

As spring football approaches the halfway point, Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher had good reviews Friday on two key players returning from injury and revealed a once highly-regarded recruit’s status on the team is uncertain. 

Fisher said tight end Baylor Cupp and center Luke Matthews have performed admirably in the six practices thus far.

Cupp has missed the last two seasons with a broken foot and a shoulder injury. He’s also dealt with a sore hamstring but has been productive.

“He’s been back practicing full speed the last couple of days and made some nice plays yesterday,” Fisher said. "He hasn’t played football for a long time. The next couple of weeks will be really important for him.”

Matthews struggled with a shoulder injury last season but is healthy and impressing the coach.

“I've been pleased with Luke,” Fisher said. “We practice him and give him little breaks and rest because we don't want to tear that (shoulder) up.”

“But his knowledge of what's going on up front, a really good anchor. He's making really good calls. He’s understanding what's going on on the defensive side of the ball to get us in the right blocking schemes, doing a good job with his physicality inside.”

The report wasn’t as positive for tackle Chris Morris. Morris was one of the prizes of the 2020 recruiting class but has had off-field issues.

Fisher acknowledged Morris’ place on the team is tenuous.

“Chris is not out there with us right now,” Fisher said. As of right now (he’s part of the team). We’ll see what happens at the end of the semester.”

Fisher is eager to see what happens in a scrimmage on Saturday. No doubt, he’d like to see more positive play from Cupp, Matthews and others, but indicated he’s more focused on intangibles.

“I hope we can go out and execute like taking signals, lining up, have alignment, assignments, our techniques are very good,” he said. “We play with great toughness. We play with great effort. We play with discipline. We play with pride, and we have grit in how we play.”

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Haynes King will battle for the starting quarterback job with Zach Calzada and Eli Stowers, but Fisher does not expect the competition to be wrapped up this fall.

“Those are intangibles that are non-negotiable. The first thing you’ve got to do before you let your talent show is have those intangibles. Hopefully, we don’t have a lot of self-inflicted wounds. We don’t have pre-snap penalties. We don’t turn the football over. The first thing to do before you win is to learn not to beat yourself.”

Of course, Fisher figures to have a close eye on the quarterback competition between Haynes King, Zach Calzada and Eli Stowers. They’re all vying to replace departed Kellen Mond, who left A&M with several school passing records.

Fisher acknowledged that Mond set a high standard for them to reach.

“The guys around them have to do their job, especially when it’s a new quarterback. They (new quarterbacks) don’t have time to worry about everybody else. They have to worry about themselves getting their job done,” Fisher said.

“Hopefully, we can continue to play, understanding the standard which Kellen has set for us to play at and the things that we were able to do. And they understand from watching his preparation, his work ethic, his demeanor and his competitive nature on the field. That's the level we play at, and hopefully what one guy can do that. Hopefully, the next guy can push that standard up and more.”