Following Texas A&M’s worst SEC conference start in history, head coach Jimbo Fisher and players met with the media to discuss the state of the program. On Saturday, Oct. 9, A&M will take on its toughest opponent of the slate, six-time College Football Playoff’s National Championship winners, Alabama.
Here’s what we learned:
King’s status
Redshirt freshman quarterback Haynes King has been sidelined with a fractured tibia for a little under a month following an injury in the Colorado game. Before his injury, King threw 22 completions for 300 yards and two touchdowns. In Saturday’s game, the former starting quarterback was seen on crutches instead of a scooter, suggesting King has made progress in his recovery. While the average recovery period for a fractured tibia is four months, Fisher said King is staying on the playbook and assisting redshirt sophomore quarterback Zach Calzada on the sidelines.
“[King’s] in every practice, he’s in every play,” Fisher said. “If you look, he’s talking to Zach [Calzada] everytime he comes off the field. Gaining information, talking. I mean Haynes is in every meeting, everything we do. He loves it. He’s healing; he has to heal up; he has a broken ankle so it’ll be a long time.”
Responding to adversity
The Aggies have possibly never faced as much scrutiny as they have at the start of conference play in the 2021 season. The last time A&M started conference play with an 0-2 record was exactly 11 years ago, in 2010, when it was still a part of the Big 12 Conference. Many fans have been quite disappointed with how the maroon and white have started conference play, especially with the most recent 26-22 loss in Kyle Field.
Junior tight end Jalen Wydermyer said responding to adversities is the program’s focus.
“It’s all about how you respond to adversity,” Wydermyer said. “It really shows you and your character and your team’s chemistry in how you respond to it.”
Calzada’s confidence
Calzada has been through the ringer. Aggies have not been happy with him, to say the least. Following the conclusion of the Oct. 2 Mississippi State game, a video was released by KAGS showing how upset Calzada was with himself following his performance. It does not take an expert in body language to see how the signal caller was feeling at that moment. Despite this, Calzada had his moments, including a 25-yard rushing touchdown against the Bulldogs and swallowing his pride to pass out donuts to students in line for ticket pull for the upcoming Alabama showdown.
Fisher said a huge detriment to athletes today is social media.
“I think the biggest threat to athletes today is mental health. It’s not physical; it’s mental because of all the scrutiny and social media,” Fisher said.