8th victory would be just fine with A&M
Amid program’s upheaval, Banks aims for continuity
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Five years ago, John Wolford had a rigid weekend schedule, one that included a television date with Johnny Manziel at every opportunity.
“On the weekends, I’d play on Friday nights and then watch him tear it up on Saturdays,” Wolford said Thursday with a smile.
Wolford was in high school at the time and is now Wake Forest’s senior quarterback. The Texas A&M program Wolford and the Demon Deacons will face at noon Friday in the Belk Bowl, however, is a far cry from the Manziel-led Aggies of four and five years ago.
This A&M team no longer has the dazzling offensive numbers or even the coach from the Manziel era. Kevin Sumlin was fired a month ago based on the Aggies’ inability to win more than eight games since Manziel left.
In so many ways, A&M (7-5), in simply trying to reach eight victories for a fourth consecutive season, is trying to get this season over with under interim coach Jeff Banks and finally move on under new coach Jimbo Fisher.
“What we’ve been thinking about is getting the morale back of the team,” Banks said Thursday as the Aggies prepared a final
time for the bowl. “Obviously, this is a tough transition, seeing that every guy in the building had been recruited by Kevin Sumlin. And now he’s not there.
“I didn’t come in trying to run my own program. I’ve just carried on what Kevin has done and really just tried to make this about the players.”
One of those players, junior wide receiver Christian Kirk, is expected to play his final game with the Aggies and declare for the NFL draft in the coming days. He has held off on that declaration out of respect for A&M’s playing one more game — and the coaching staff he flourished under leading one more game.
“They have families, and this is how they feed their families,” Kirk said. “At the same time, they’re trying to coach us to the best of their abilities while also looking for a new job. To be able to do that and balance that, I can’t even imagine the stress they have to go through.
“But they’ve all been awesome. They’ve been giving us their 100 percent and coaching the heck out of us for our last game together.”
One player who won’t be on the field a final time for the Aggies is senior allSoutheastern Conference safety Armani Watts, who has a rib injury, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Watts has started all 12 games this season and has four interceptions, but the recurring injury has flared up and will keep him out of the bowl.
Watts, who hasn’t practiced for the bowl, is expected to be selected in the first couple of rounds of the NFL draft.
“Just his presence alone throughout the preparation of this bowl game and this transition through a coaching staff has been vital to our football team,” Banks said. “Him being there and him playing any amount of snaps or not, his presence alone helps this football team.”
It appears that Fisher, hired from Florida State to try to get the Aggies over the eight-win hump, will retain defensive line coach Terry Price and offensive line coach Jim Turner — and perhaps Banks once his interim duties are complete.
“I’ve got a wife and three kids, and we’ve got decisions that we have to make,” Banks said. “Certainly, there are options that come up this time of year. We’ve loved our time at Texas A&M. That’s for sure. We think it’s a special place, and College Station is a great place to raise our kids.”
Fisher has been on the road recruiting for much of his first few weeks at A&M and has been a mostly silent observer of the bowl practices in analyzing the players he has returning in 2018.
“You’re just evaluating guys and watching them play,” Fisher said Thursday. “It’s their team; they went through the whole year with the schemes that they’ve done and had good success. It’s my job now just to be the head coach and be supportive and watch what they’re doing.”
Defensive coordinator John Chavis isn’t expected to return — he’s been linked to Arkansas and new Razorbacks coach Chad Morris once A&M’s bowl is complete — and Fisher said he’s in no rush to hire a defensive coordinator.
“When the time is right,” he said. “We’ve got plenty of time. That’s one thing about this dead period now (in recruiting) — you have no rush to do things. You have all the way until the 12th (of January) to do so, because you can’t get back on the road.”