Following an upset of Florida and ahead of the Aggies’ second road game of the season on Saturday, Oct. 17, Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher and players met with the media to discuss the matchup with Mississippi State.
Here’s what we learned:
Faith in young talent
So far this season, A&M has had numerous young players step up in big ways. A few noteworthy underclassmen to date have been freshman wide receiver Chase Lane, freshman tight end Jalen Wydermyer, sophomore wide receiver Caleb Chapman, sophomore running backs Isaiah Spiller and Ainias Smith, and freshman defensive back Jaylon Jones. Lane has especially made waves in the receiving corps with 14 catches for 152 yards and one touchdown.
Fisher said he has great expectations for his young players for the remainder of the season.
“I had really high hopes for [Chase Lane] coming into the season, all those young guys,” Fisher said. “They’ve done a great job so far and you can see that they have a chance to be great players.”
Kellen Mond
Senior quarterback Kellen Mond is now A&M’s all-time passing leader after surpassing the record previously held by Jerrod Johnson. Mond set the record against Florida with 8,224 passing yards. In the latest game against the Gators, Mond connected with six different receivers for 338 total passing yards and 12 rushing yards. The signal caller was also named a co-SEC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.
Sophomore tight end Jalen Wydermeyer said this accolade shows the improvement of Mond and the offense.
“It showed that our offense is really growing, even all the young players we have are really stepping up to the plate,” Wydermeyer said. “Kellen has grown a lot, I knew he had it in him to have that performance, we really needed it. He’s a leader, he has so much passion for the game and I’m so happy to have him as my quarterback.”
Future SEC play
Although A&M has been in the SEC for quite some time now, the Aggies’ record in their tough conference was discussed during the press conference. Including the wins so far this season, A&M has 70 wins and 37 losses during its tenure in the SEC. A&M’s best year in the SEC was the year it joined in 2012.
Senior offensive lineman Ryan McCollum said the team hopes to continue improving in the conference.
“We play in the SEC, [where] you can lose any game,” McCollum said. “If you don’t come prepared to play, you’re either going to be in a dog fight or you’re going to lose. We just have to keep progressing and focus on attention to detail.”