The must-anticipated restoration of the historic Texas A&M-Texas rivalry has arrived as the Aggies host the Longhorns on Saturday night at Kyle Field. On Monday, Mike Elko, Taurean York, Marcel Reed and Trey Zuhn III addressed the media ahead of the Lone Star Showdown.
The following are live, paraphrased notes from the Monday afternoon media availability:
Mike Elko
- A very disappointing Saturday. We did not get the start we hoped for. We battled. Got the game tied. Took the lead and put ourselves in a position to win the game. It was a disappointing night. The football gods blessed us with another chance. You guys have been asking about this game since the day I got here.
- This game was always in an isolated time slot. It became a must-watch. You get into coaching, and you lose sight of it. As a defensive coordinator, you understood it without playing the game. For the rivalry to be back, it's great to be a part of.
- When you talk about proximity to school, knowing people on each side adds to it. All the Texas kids that will play in this game. We try to educate them. Making sure they understand the magnitude of what this game means. When you have schools as close as they are, it feels weird not to play. I imagine it will be electric on Saturday.
- Jaydon Hill and Will Lee III are minor deals. I anticipate them being back. It was great to get Chase Bisontis back out there. Rueben Owens is running and moving. We will see.
- I would tell you we have been trying to fix things all year. It's been a lot of different things. It's been the consistency of levering the football and keeping it in front of us. We have given up way too many explosive plays. That is the Achilles heel of the defense and the team. That’s on me. We have to get that fixed quickly.
- Kyle Field is the best environment in college football. A game against your rival for an SEC Championship? It will be the best it's been.
- When I talked to the team postgame, I told them that this game still meant everything. This game was important no matter what, but also for our individual goals of getting to Atlanta. We are in the last game of the year, playing for everything.
- We have to be intentional about how we recover. We got back at 4 a.m. In terms of emotions, we played in big games. We will lean on some of that. This one is bigger. You focus on the things you have to do to be successful. The kids get wrapped up in what things will feel like.
- Texas is extremely talented. Coach Steve Sarkisian has always done a really good job with the passing game and downfield passing game. They can attack you at every phase of it. It will be a challenge.
- There are two levels in my brain. The coach in me is dissapointed in the recent two games. That stings like it should. The CEO part of me knows what it was when I took over. In terms of what we have done with this culture... Putting this thing back in the direction we want to be, we have made a lot of strides.
- When you get into the season, you are so locked in on a week-to-week. You get into a rhythm, and you really don't get out of it. We know we have been chasing something. We know we had goals. This game wasn't in my brain until we got on the plane Saturday night.
- A lot of penalties come from emotion. In games like this, it will be even more important. We have talked about the things that matter. I have not gone against coach Sark.
- *Asked question about A&M not being held in the last 30 quarters* Another coach did this recently, so I’ll try this. Did you see any holds?
- It is the first time we have been in this position since joining the SEC. We can't lose sight of where we have come from. Now, we have to go finish.
- The busted coverages have to be fixable because we have a big game on Saturday. One was a 1-on-1 shot. One was a lack of leverage. One was a busted coverage.
- In the LSU game, I thought we did a good job getting pressure. At South Carolina, we did, but we missed. Sometimes, it's getting the QB to the second and third read, so there is time to get there. When looking at the overall sack number, the most disappointing number is how much we have missed. That number is probably at 15.
- Texas’ defense has talented players and a good scheme. They have been together for four years, and those guys have played a lot of football. They have long, athletic front guys.
- I thought Saturday was our best night with the past game. It wasn't perfect. I thought we took some really positive strides. Marcel Reed continues to get more and more comfortable.
- I'm not in tune with ticket prices, but I know they are high. When I got hired, you knew this would be the last game of the year. You knew it would be a tougher ticket. With GameDay here, primetime and for a shot to Atlanta, I imagine the demand is as high.
- Scooby Williams is good. He came back in.
