Reviewing the Florida contest and looking ahead to SMU

Notes from Jackie Sherrill interview

* Out of the younger guys that saw the field on Saturday, he definitely liked DeVante Harris. He watched him quite a bit because he coached and recruited his father while he was in the coaching business. He was also very impressed with Trey Williams. Those two kids showed a lot of talent. Looking at the team as a whole, there is no question that the team played with a lot of emotion throughout the game. One thing you can’t do if you want to win a game is give it away on silly penalties. The most important part of the game is the first five minutes of the second half, which Florida beat A&M on. Going from the first to the second game, the players will improve and the coaches will get a better feel for the team. Johnny Manziel reminded him of Bucky Richardson in that he is a very tough and physical guy who is also very athletic.
    
* One big difference between Manziel and Richardson is the fact that Manziel has known he was going to start for over a month now. There are a lot of similar qualities between the two, and those qualities are definitely at least part of the reason Kevin Sumlin chose Manziel as his starter.

* There are things more important in football than X’s and O’s, and one of those is player mentality. Most programs around the country try to emulate what is going on at Alabama right now. Nick Saban and his staff spend a good amount of time preparing their players for the game from a mental aspect, and other ways that aren’t related to the X’s and O’s. When he came to A&M in 1982, he thought he was a pretty good coach. He found out very quickly that you have to feed your players a lot more than X’s and O’s in order to be successful. There is a reason that some teams are able to win games by overcoming adversity, and that’s not because of the play that was drawn up on the field. He feels that this team showed that they belong in, and will win in the SEC.

* Damontre Moore has been placed in the right position. The defensive line did a good job of putting pressure on, and getting to the quarterback throughout the game. Putting Moore at the defensive end spot and turning him loose was no doubt a good move for A&M. The linebackers played very well and were towards the top of the tackle charts once the game was over. Anytime you can average almost 50 yards a punt and give up zero in return, you can say that your kicking game did well.

* The next two weeks become very important for A&M. He has always preached winning the games you are supposed to, and letting the others take care of themselves. There is a reason that teams lose to teams they shouldn’t, and it starts from the head coach down. Now is the time to lineup and play with the same intensity and enthusiasm as you did in the season opener. These games become important because it gives the team time to improve as a whole, and for each player on an individual level.

* There will be a dinner on October 19th to honor Coach Gene Stallings. The proceeds from the dinner will go to charity and will be hosted by Paul Finebaum.