Improved defense among the reasons Sumlin ‘can’t wait’
Texas A&M fifth-year coach Kevin Sumlin figures the best way to handle rumors, whispers and hot-seat talk concerning his program is to wait for the first whistle — and then blow off some steam.
“Based on some things out there right now,” Sumlin said Wednesday during a Touchdown Club of Houston gathering, “we can’t wait to play our first game.”
Sumlin rarely is demonstrative and emotional in public and with the media, but he emphatically pounded the podium while claiming “we can’t wait.”
For their part, A&M fans can’t wait for a program that will compete for a Southeastern Conference title after three consecutive finishes in the bottom half of the West division. A big part of the Aggies’ problems have been rooted in poor defensive play, and Sumlin stuck out his neck like never before in vouching for that side of the ball. Top-15 potential
In 2014, A&M finished 102nd nationally in total defense. Last year, in coordinator John Chavis’s first season, the Aggies finished 51st. This season? Sumlin told the crowd in a JW Marriott banquet room the Aggies have the potential to be a top-15 defense — which would mean at least a 36-spot jump from last year.
“No. 1, we were improved on defense,” Sumlin said of the difference under Chavis, hired from LSU, and cutting the total defense ranking in half. “We’ve got to get better in our run defense, and I think we have the personnel to do that. Our defensive front will be as good as anybody in the country. Our linebackers take a lot of heat, but they’re better than people think they are.”
On the flip side, during spring drills, Sumlin named senior Trevor Knight, a transfer from Oklahoma, as starting quarterback over junior Jake Hubenak. Sumlin recounted that upon telling Knight he’d earned the nod, the former Sooner turned to Hubenak.
“He said, ‘I’ve been where you are … (but) I can be done in one play. We need your leadership, too,’ ” Sumlin said.
Meanwhile, the Sumlin hotseat talk has ramped up this offseason following the abrupt transfers last December of Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray — each the starting quarterback at the time — and the Aggies failing to build upon a 11-2 record posted in their first season in the SEC in 2012. New coaching blood
Sumlin, who earns $5 million annually and has four years remaining on his contract, said his program made some big changes at the beginning of the offseason that improved its stability. He parted ways with offensive coordinator Jake Spavital and replaced him with Noel Mazzone, who held the same position at UCLA.
Sumlin also fired offensive line coach Dave Christensen and replaced him with Jim Turner, a highly regarded assistant during Mike Sherman’s A&M regime. Sumlin also brought onboard David Turner from Mississippi State to coach the interior defensive line, after Mark Hagen returned to his alma mater.
“We hired three veteran coaches, and anybody who watched spring practices or the spring game can see that there’s already a difference,” Sumlin said.
Junior defensive end Myles Garrett is the program’s marquee player, but Sumlin insisted there’s plenty of talent around him to give the Aggies a chance to compete in the SEC West.
“Talent-wise, we’re going to stack up with anybody,” he said. “And we’ve got some guys who are hungry, with something to prove.”
“Talent-wise, we’re going to stack up with anybody. And we’ve got some guys who are hungry, with something to prove.” Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin