Two days after the allegations from former Texas A&M linebacker Santino Marchiol against the current A&M coaching staff were brought to light, both players and coaches are keeping their focus solely on the season opener Thursday against Northwestern State.
Marchiol released a statement to USA Today on Tuesday stating his former A&M coaches broke several NCAA rules, including, giving him hundreds of dollars to entertain recruits and keeping players past scheduled practices and meetings.
A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher did not have a comment prior to the statement being released on Tuesday, but now says the team is open and willing to cooperate with any investigation.
“We take it very seriously. We’re open to all enquiries. We’ll be very open in our records of everything we have,” Fisher said. “We feel very confident in the things in which we have done…we’ll corporate in any way, shape, or form…”
With A&M’s first game of the season being one week away, former teammates of Marchiol are only concerned with one thing. Facing the Demons.
Senior defensive lineman Kingsley Keke said his only worry is playing in the game against Northwestern State next week.
“That sort of stuff I don’t really pay attention to,” Keke said. “I’m not really worried about all that stuff. I’m just worried about playing this game that’s coming up. That’s all I’m worried about.”
Junior running back Trayveon Williams stressed the effect accusations like Marichol’s can be to a team and how important it is to not lose focus this close to a season opener.
“I mean it’s detrimental when things happen like that, but at the same time you can’t lose focus. We have a game in seven days and whatever is going around outside we can’t control.
Tyrel Dodson, junior linebacker, echoed the importance of staying focused on their game.
“We’re not worried about that right now, we’re just playing football,” Dodson said. “We’re seven days away from the game. We are ready to play some football.”
Despite the allegations against A&M coaching staff, Williams said the team is comfortable with the coaches and also highlighted how close the players have become this season.
“This team has been the tightest it’s ever been. We’ve grown together so much as brothers. We’ve grown together and did all the little things. We’ve had our hard practices and everything. When you go through it with your brothers, you find out who you can really trust,” Williams said.
RELATED LINKS:  Former A&M football player accuses coaches of multiple NCAA violations
Jimbo Fisher ‘confident’ with either Starkel or Mond as starting quarterback
A&M DC Mike Elko emphasizes fundamentals in new defensive system