CHANGING IT UP
Kevin Sumlin leaves no stone unturned in A&M’s overhaul.
COLLEGE STATION — What former Florida and South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier once dubbed “Talking Season” is over. Finally. And with the Aggies’ season opener at UCLA on Sunday night at hand, a touchy Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin even ended Talking Season earlier than usual this year.
Sumlin cut off media access for the last week of camp in midAugust, before last Tuesday’s weekly news conference leading to the opener. For the first time in his six seasons at A&M, he’s also not allowing his coordinators to visit with the media.
“I’ve decided to change the process,” Sumlin simply said.
What Sumlin is in search of, and with his gig on the line, is a remedy for the program’s November folds of the past four seasons. And he’s willing to do anything, including changing all kinds of processes, if it means emerging less scathed this November.
“I’m going to do what’s best for us,” Sumlin said, adding that he doesn’t particularly care what anyone outside of his program thinks.
What many outside his program think is that it’s time for the Aggies to compete for an SEC West title, following three consecutive 8-5 finishes and zero SEC championships overall. One of those victories last season came by the skin of the Aggies’ teeth — a 31-24 overtime edging of UCLA at Kyle Field in the teams’ opener.
Now A&M plays at the Rose Bowl for the first time, why the Aggies flew to Los Angeles on Friday, a day earlier than they’d typically travel for road games. With the NFL not beginning play in earnest until the following Sunday, the Aggies and the Bruins have this Sunday’s coveted night slot on national TV.
“They’ve seen palm trees,” Sumlin said this week with a chuckle of so many of his players not having been to the West Coast, “but they haven’t seen ’em like that.”
The Bruins, whose 4-8 finish last season makes A&M’s 8-5 string appear superb, are led by junior quarterback Josh Rosen, who might be the No. 1 overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft.
“He’s one of the top quarterbacks in the nation, if not the top quarterback,” A&M senior safety Armani Watts said. “You can’t just let him sit in the pocket and make throws.”
Rosen exited last season in October with a shoulder injury, and said this month he’s 100 percent and ready to roll.
“I kind of felt like I was my old self on the field,” he told reporters early in camp.
SUMLIN OVERHAULS SQUAD’S PROCESSES AS HE SEARCHES FOR END TO LATE-SEASON SWOONS