Coachspeak

Here’s what Texas A&M coach Mike Elko had to say about this weekend’s opponent, the Auburn Tigers, and what Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said about the Aggies:

Freeze on the Texas A&M offense:

“They’ve got a great running game, the best running game we’ve seen,” Freeze said in the presser. “I haven’t watched as much film (on the receivers), but I have seen enough to know that those two receivers (Mario Craver and KC Concepcion) are dynamic. And obviously Marcel Reed, we saw him last year, he’s super twitchy and throw and run it.

Freeze on A&M’s running game:

“This will test our run defense for sure because as soon as you commit too many people to it, they’ve got people that can really make you pay. It’s an excellent football team, and one that will be in the playoff discussion for sure.”

Freeze on A&M’s defense:

“[Texas A&M] is more just, ‘We’re going to play base defense with great technique until third down, and we’re really, really good at it.’ Which, they are. Having an open week before us and time to do other things, do they have the capability of doing more stuff like Oklahoma did? I’m quite sure they do. Mike Elko is an incredible defensive mind. To this point, they’re just really dang good. They’re one of those teams where [it’s like], ‘We can get in four-down and we can play our base defense. Our guys can put hands on you, play our gaps, and not have to muddy the picture as much as some others may have done.’ It’s not that they can’t, but they haven’t had to, and they’ve had great success doing what they do. We’ll see what their game plan is for us, but to this point they haven’t had to do a ton of things to stop people.”

Elko on Auburn’s defense:

“Obviously, they have a tremendous amount of athleticism and twitch on the front line. They’ve got probably one of, if not the best, defensive end in the country. They’re really athletic at linebacker, and I think they’ve really gone out and made some some really good additions and development in their secondary. And so I think it’s a really, really talented group. DJ Durkin is obviously a phenomenal defensive coordinator and does a great job with those guys.”

Elko discussing Auburn’s offensive line, which gave up nine sacks ot Oklahoma:

“I think they’re extremely talented up front. I think it was a little bit of an anomaly on Saturday. We have plenty of respect for them. And I think human psychology, I said this little guys this morning, human psychology says, absolutely, without a doubt, the best unit on the field Saturday will be the Auburn offensive line.”

Elko on Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold:

“A really counted kid, I think he can make a lot of throws. He’s got really good arm talent. He’s got the ability to beat you with his legs and run around and do some things. And I think obviously that was, that was probably a really challenging environment for him Saturday (he transferred from Oklahoma in the offseason), just going back there and all of the emotions that come with that. And so I’m sure he’s going to be very hungry to come out and play really, really well Saturday.”

Elko on Auburn wide receivers Cam Coleman and Eric Singleton:

“You’ve heard my story on matchups. I’d way rather be playing guys who weren’t big, athletic, fast, and 10.2 in the 100 meters. This is a really, really talented wide receiver corps. We’ll see how we do on Saturday. But there’s a lot of other teams I would rather try to match up with on Saturday at wide receiver than this group.”