Fisher’s friendly jab at Saban shows hype has no offseason
HOUSTON — Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher considers Alabama coach Nick Saban a good friend and mentor. He also considers Saban beatable — by Fisher’s Aggies.
Fisher spoke to a Touchdown Club of Houston gathering at the Omni-galleria on Wednesday afternoon, and following about a 50-minute rundown of the Aggies program a fan asked Fisher, “What’s the key other than Saban retiring to beating Alabama?”
Fisher smiled and responded in officially kicking off the “Talking Season” of college football:
“We’re going to beat his ass even when he’s there.”
Alabama, the 2020 national champion, handed 9-1 A&M its only loss of last season, and the Aggies finished No. 4 nationally in the Associated Press poll. The Crimson Tide have won their last eight games against the Aggies, and Saban is 3-0 against Fisher with Fisher at A&M.
Fisher, who won a national championship at Florida State in 2013, was Saban’s offensive coordinator at LSU in the early 2000s, and the two title-winning coaches have stayed close through the years. Fisher is 55 and Saban is 69, and Saban is 23-0 against his former assistants.
“I don’t want him to retire,” Fisher said of the iconic coach who has won seven national titles, including one at LSU in 2003 when the two were together and the last six at Alabama. “They’ve got a great team and I respect him. We’ve known each other forever …”
Alabama visits A&M on Oct. 9 in a game already receiving plenty of hype, considering both programs anticipate being undefeated entering Week 6 of the season. Fisher said rising programs must have a target to emulate and strive to oust, and Alabama is that model
under Saban.
“We can do it just as good and be just as good or better, and we will … that’s our goal and that’s what I want,” Fisher said. “We’re going to get there.”
Fisher anticipates doing so with plenty of players from Houston, as the area has been his primary recruiting ground since arriving from FSU in December 2017.
“We joked (driving) down here that our whole offense is from Houston,” said Fisher, adding with a grin, “I tell the (Houston players) all the time, ‘We’ve got to break this up, we’ve got too much Houston in here.’”
He said that having the Greater Houston region (a population of about 7 million) to recruit from only a little more than an hour from College Station has been a big plus in adding solid depth to the A&M roster — a necessity in SEC play.
“When you’re talking about that many people … you’re talking about some states that barely have that many people,” Fisher said. “When you put that many people together it makes more (prospects) because of the competition, and what you’re every day.
“It’s that ‘city effect’ I call it, because you’ve got to be so competitive to play.”
The Aggies wrapped up going against spring drills late last month and open their season on Sept. 4 against Kent State at Kyle Field. A&M athletic director Ross Bjork said he anticipates Kyle Field being back at capacity (102,733) for fans after it was at 25 percent last season during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A&M must replace fouryear starter Kellen Mond at quarterback, and Fisher said freshman Haynes King and sophomore Zach Calzada both had strong springs in competing for the job.
Fisher added that so did receiver Demond Demas, a former five-star prospect who played sparingly last season as a true freshman. In addition, Fisher said backup offensive lineman Chris Morris is no longer enrolled at A&M and likely will transfer.
The Aggies had four players selected in last week’s NFL draft: Mond in the third round and defensive tackle Bobby Brown III, offensive lineman Dan Moore Jr. and linebacker Buddy Johnson in the fourth round.
Meaning A&M managed its highest finish in the AP poll in 81 years despite not possessing a first- or second-round selection in the 2021 NFL draft.
“We’re going to start being able to produce a ton of NFL talent in the near future,” Fisher said of the underclassmen who contributed so heavily to A&M’S success in 2020.
Defensive lineman Demarvin Leal, offensive tackle Kenyon Green, running back Isaiah Spiller and tight end Jalen Wydermyer all project as potential firstround picks in 2022, according to multiple mock drafts, should the foursome bypass their senior seasons at A&M.