Game Changer

The Eagle

SPRING FOOTBALL PREVIEW

GAME CHANGER Jimbo Fisher aims to bring championships to Aggieland

• How Fisher made his way to Texas A&M • A look at A&M’s recruits and upcoming schedule • Expectations and pressure come with the A&M job

April 13, 2018

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The Eagle • 3

index

The road to Aggieland: Jimbo Fisher’s path from West Virginia to College Station. 6 QB roots: Fisher starred at quarterback and began his coaching career at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. 10 A history of winning: Each stop of Fisher’s career, including his successful years at Auburn, LSU and Florida State. 13

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The ‘guru’ label: How Fisher became known for his work with quarterbacks. 14 Coaching debuts: A look at how A&M coaches have fared in their first year. 18 Under pressure: Former A&M coaches R.C. Slocum and Jackie Sherrill weigh in on the expectations put on Fisher. 19 The next level: Fisher’s players have gone on to successful NFL careers. 21 Support staff: Meet the new assistant coaches, who join holdovers Terry Price and Jim Turner. 22 Returning players: A&M brings back experienced lineups on both sides of the ball. 24 Class of 2018: The newest members of the A&M football team. 26 Looking ahead: A&M faces two difficult matchups early in the 2018 season. 29 A new hope: Robert Cessna writes that Fisher is a perfect fit in Aggieland. Now he has to win. 30

STAFF Crystal Dupré PUBLISHER

Rob Clark MANAGING EDITOR

Darren Benson EDITOR

Linda Brinkman ADVERTISING MANAGER

Sean Lewis SALES DIRECTOR

Robert Cessna EXECUTIVE SPORTS EDITOR

Kelli Weber Matt Weber DESIGNERS Dave McDermand Laura McKenzie PHOTOGRAPHERS

ON THE COVER Jimbo Fisher at Kyle Field. Eagle photo by Laura McKenzie.

4 • The Eagle

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The Eagle • 5

new era begins Jimbo Fisher’s journey from West Virginia to Aggieland

By ROBERT CESSNA

T

robert.cessna@theeagle.com

here’s plenty for Aggies to like about Jimbo Fisher.

He grew up in a loving family on a West Virginia farm, where he was taught the value of hard work and the benefits of getting an education. He has an engaging personality and a burning desire to be successful.

He’s embraced Texas A&M and everything it has to offer, as if he’s lived here his whole life.

And he plans on being here a long time and building something special.

“It is truly a great honor and privilege to be standing in front of you in Aggieland today,” he said at his introductory press conference in December. “It really is. I’ve always admired Texas A&M from afar and appreciated what it had. I’m extremely grateful to be here at Texas A&M.” Eagle photo by Dave McDermand

6 • The Eagle

Friday, April 13, 2018

Jimbo Fisher’s ties to the Bowden family led him to Florida State in 2007. He succeeded Bobby Bowden (right) as coach in 2010.

The early years

Fisher was born as John James Jr. in 1965. He went by Jimmy and J.J. in his childhood, but because the family had so many Jims and variations of the name, his great aunt came up with Jimbo.

“And that’s what stuck,” Fisher said.

He grew up in Clarksville, West Virginia. It’s the county seat for Harrison County, which is 40 miles southwest of Morgantown. The town put up a sign in July 2016, recognizing the 52-year-old Fisher’s roots there.

“Growing up here, I learned the choices you make will make you who you are,” Fisher said at the unveiling. “If you control your choices, don’t follow the crowd and want to work extra hard and do more than the other guy does, good things will happen to you.”

That has certainly been the case for Fisher, who A&M signed to a 10-year, $75-million guaranteed contract to replace Kevin Sumlin. Fisher credits his

Friday, April 13, 2018

parents for providing an environment that helped him make the right choices.

His father, John James Fisher, was a farmer and a coal miner who was in a mine explosion when Fisher was 2 years old. He suffered severe injuries, but battled back to return to work, an ordeal Fisher recalled during a speech at Samford University earlier this year. He eventually developed black-lung disease, suffered several strokes and died from a heart attack in 1992 at the age of 62.

Fisher’s mother, Gloria, was a longtime chemistry and physics teacher in three Harrison County schools. She retired at age 76, though she’s back teaching as a full-time, 81-year-old substitute.

“I was blessed to have two hard-working, very down-to-earth people,” Fisher said of his parents.

Fisher earned all-state honors at Clarksburg’s Liberty High School in football, basketball and baseball. He went to Clemson on a baseball scholarship, but returned home after a semester, then

played quarterback at nearby Salem College. He stayed there three seasons before transferring to Samford in Birmingham, Alabama. Fisher earned NCAA Division III All-America honors in 1987, and was inducted into Samford’s Hall of Fame in February.

“None of us ever got into athletics thinking we’re going to be in some hall of fame,” he said during his acceptance speech. “We did it because we loved what we were doing. I just loved to play.”

Fisher also discovered playing and coaching made him a better person and allowed him to help others.

“I think athletics is a just great buffer to teach kids how to compete and do things in life,” he said. “And if you can take those same qualities on the field the coaches give you, and take them to the classroom, take them to the business world … I think you’re 10 steps ahead of everybody else in the world, because you know how to work and compete and do things.”

AP file photo

Career path

Fisher spent 17 seasons playing for or coaching with the Bowden family.

He played for Terry Bowden at Salem and Samford. Terry’s brother, Jeff, was offensive coordinator at Samford during Fisher’s years there.

Fisher moved with Terry to Auburn in 1993, where he served as quarterbacks coach. And he was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Florida State under coaching legend Bobby Bowden — Terry and Jeff’s father — from 2007 to 2009, before succeeding him as head coach.

“I mean, for years people thought I was a Bowden,” Fisher said. “Because growing up, I would go stay at their house when I was playing, or when I was at [Salem] I’d go down and be with Jeff, Tommy and Terry and stay at their house.”

Continued on Page 8

The Eagle • 7

“If we do something wrong, he’s on us. If we do something right, he’s on us, because there’s a better way to do stuff. He’s trying to hold us accountable, trying to depend on us to lead the whole entire offense, the whole entire team.”

Kellen Mond, A&M quarterback Continued from Page 7

When Fisher started coaching, he’d go to the bowl games with the Bowdens, sitting in on the meetings, listening to Bobby’s directions.

“That’s when he was still calling the games, calling plays,” Fisher said. “I’d sit and listen to him call games on the headset … I’d be in the box, and listen to him call games. [He] had a tremendous football mind, tremendous offensive mind. One of the greatest coaches in the history of college football, if not the greatest.”

But what impressed Fisher most was how Bowden carried himself and the way he treated people.

“He could make you feel like you knew him for 20 years in the first five minutes, and it wasn’t fake,” Fisher said. “It wasn’t made up, like, ‘I’m trying to do this.’ It was just who he was and the way he was.”

After leaving Auburn, Fisher spent the 1999 season on Rick Minter’s staff at Cincinnati as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Fisher then moved to LSU from 2000 to 2004 for Nick Saban, helping the Tigers win a pair of Southeastern Conference championships and a national title in 2003.

Saban bolted to the NFL after the 2004 season, but Fisher remained in Baton Rouge for two more years under Les Miles. In Fisher’s seven seasons at LSU the Tigers were 70-20, including 41-15 in league play and a 5-2 bowl record.

Fisher said he and Saban “looked at the game very similar” during their LSU days.

“I learned a tremendous amount about him,” Fisher said, “about his team resources, development, organization, a lot of X’s and O’s.”

Fisher left LSU to become offensive coordinator under Bobby Bowden at Florida State in 2007, and was named the head coach in waiting the following year.

Bowden turned the Seminoles into a national power in the 1980s, including a string of 14 straight 10-plus-win seasons, and national championships in 1993 and 1999. But from 2005 to 2009, Florida State took a step back, going 38-27.

The transition of power wasn’t a smooth one. Florida State wanted the change to happen

8 • The Eagle

before Bowden was ready to retire. He eventually was forced to step down after the 2009 season, something Fisher said he had no hand in because of his respect for Bowden.

Bowden expressed optimism for Fisher in the 2010 Florida State media guide: “I really have a lot of confidence in Jimbo. He is one of the sharpest coaches, young coaches I have seen. He will hire well and he will recruit well.

I think he will do good.”

Fisher paid tribute to Bowden during his introductory press conference at A&M: “And a special thank you to Coach Bowden. He gave me an opportunity 11 years ago to come there and then gave me an opportunity to be a head football coach.”

Florida State quickly ascended under Fisher, who revamped the coaching staff, bringing in five new assistants along with a new strength and conditioning coach. His assistants included Dameyune Craig, a former quarterback he had coached at Auburn, as recruiting coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Mark Stoops was his defensive coordinator. Craig is now with Fisher at A&M, and Stoops is head coach at Kentucky.

Fisher won at least 10 games in six of his first seven seasons, with three conference championships and a national championship in 2013.

Quarterback focus

Fisher is most demanding on his quarterbacks. His college success stories include two players selected first in the NFL Draft, JaMarcus Russell and Jameis Winston.

“I think when you’ve got a great quarterback, you really have a chance,” Fisher said.

At A&M, Fisher inherited two sophomore quarterbacks with starting experience. Nick Starkel, a redshirt sophomore, started the 2017 opener and the last four games of the season, with Kellen Mond starting the rest. They’re adapting to Fisher’s hands-on approach in the quarterback room and the practice field.

“If we do something wrong, he’s on us,” Mond said. “If we do something right, he’s on us, because there’s a better way to do stuff.

He’s trying to hold us accountable, trying to depend on us to lead the whole entire offense,

AP file photo

Jimbo Fisher hoists the National Championship trophy after Florida State defeated Auburn on Jan. 6, 2014.

Friday, April 13, 2018

“It’s one of the best conferences in all of college football. It’s one of the best divisions in all of college football. We understand everything that goes with it.

That’s the challenges I like.

That’s what I want to be.”

Jimbo Fisher

Jimbo Fisher encouraged the Reed Arena crowd at Texas A&M’s basketball game on Dec. 9 to attend the Maroon & White Game, which is Saturday at 4 p.m. at Kyle Field. the whole entire team.”

Fisher said A&M will run the football and have a balanced attack, but it starts with the guy under center.

“That quarterback is the key,” Fisher said.

“He and I have to be able to finish each other’s sentences, think alike, know alike. When I call certain plays, certain downs and distance, certain field positions, how it means different things.”

Fisher’s knack for calling plays started as a player. Tommy Rohling is a former teammate and coach at Samford, and the school’s current strength and conditioning coach. He recalled the team’s first play in the 1987 home season opener.

“We come out, and I want to say Terry called the play off-tackle or off-guard,” Rohling said. “Well, Jimbo comes up and sees man-press, and he checks out of it, and he calls a fly pattern. And sure enough, with playaction, it’s an 80-yard touchdown.”

The blueprint

Fisher is taking over a program that hasn’t won a conference championship since 1998

Friday, April 13, 2018

and a national championship since 1939.

“I talk about building our program at Texas A&M,” Fisher said. “I had to do it at Florida State. … You have to create your own culture and what you want your culture to be. How you want your people to be, how they think and believe.”

He twice turned down overtures from LSU to leave Florida State. But A&M was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down. Fisher had worked with current A&M athletic director Scott Woodward at LSU. Fisher believes A&M has all the pieces in place to win. He just needs to make it happen.

That encompasses physical and mental development, educating the players on and off the field and dealing with expectations.

“We want to be hungry to win, but we’ve got to make sure we prepare to win,” Fisher said. “The power of preparation and the ability to put things in place to win are much more important than saying we’re going to win. Two plus two always equals four. If you put the right things in place, you’re going to get the results you have to have.”

Though the SEC West is one of college

football’s toughest divisions, Fisher reminded Aggies in his introductory press conference that he “grew up in this league.”

“I coached 13 years in this league,” he said.

“I understand this league. I was six years at Auburn. I was seven years at LSU. I achieved national champions in this league, conference championships in this league. It’s one of the best conferences in all of college football. It’s one of the best divisions in all of college football. We understand everything that goes with it. That’s the challenges I like. That’s what I want to be.”

Feeling at home

Fisher has said on multiple occasions that the most surprising thing about Aggieland has been the people.

“I’ve never been anywhere where the people genuinely lived the culture of the university in the area and they want to give back,” Fisher said. “The people are genuine, they’re honest, they’re helpful. They’ll say, ‘What can I do?

What can I do?’ I’ll say, ‘I’m not sure, but just keep that thought. When I figure it out, I’ll ask ya.’”

AP photo

Fisher looked like a native Texan at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in March, when he rode a horse as a celebrity judge. His grandfather on his father’s side bought him a horse before he was born, and Fisher was barrel racing when he was 4 and 5 years old.

“Matter of fact, that’s how my mom met my dad, was at a fair,” Fisher said. “He rode up to her on a horse and started talking to her, believe that or not.”

Rohling, who saw Fisher at Samford’s Hall of Fame ceremony, said that he is still the same after all these years.

“Now, some of the West Virginia is gone,” he said, “but Jimbo is still the same hard-nosed guy who is the son of a coal miner who almost lost his life in a mine explosion, and his mother is a chemistry teacher.”

Rohling said he was surprised Fisher left Florida State, but he has no doubt Fisher is at home in Aggieland.

“He’s not a teasip, I know that,” Rohling said. “He’s not a high-browed teasip.”

That’s always a great starting point for any Aggie.

The Eagle • 9

Quarterback roots

Fisher’s days at Samford played key role in career development

By ROBERT CESSNA robert.cessna@theeagle.com

Photo courtesy of Samford

Jimbo Fisher was the 1987 Division III National Player of the Year, leading Samford to a 9-1 record.

10 • The Eagle

Jimbo Fisher became one of the nation’s best coaches at Florida State, but the foundation for that success was nurtured at Samford University, where he played quarterback and started his coaching career.

“One of the best choices I ever made was the day I transferred to Samford,” Fisher said during his induction speech in February as part of the school’s second Hall of Fame class. “Samford has been so intertwined in my life so much, in my athletic life, my coaching life.”

The university in Birmingham, Alabama, was Fisher’s third stop in college. He started at Clemson for one semester, then Salem College in his home state of West Virginia in 1985. Coach Terry Bowden left for Akron during Fisher’s career at Salem, and then moved to Samford.

Fisher followed Bowden to Samford in 1987.

In Birmingham, Fisher became an NCAA Division III All-American, leading the Bulldogs to a 9-1 record.

The success was part of a big turnaround for Samford, which suspended the football program from 1974 to 1983, and then was 6-21 in the three seasons before Bowden became coach. Bowden brought in several transfers who made an immediate impact, none bigger than Fisher, who passed for 2,394 yards and 34 touchdowns and was named the Division III National Player of the Year.

“He was the best athlete I ever had at quarterback,” Bowden told USA Today in 2014. “He had a strong arm, he had great leadership. But he was just 5-foot-8. He was never limited in talent. He was limited in height only.”

Fisher was Samford’s second quarterback to earn All-America honors. The first? Bobby Bowden,

father of Terry, who would go on to win two national championships at Florida State. Bobby Bowden brought Fisher on staff in Tallahassee in 2007, and Fisher would succeed him as coach in 2010. Fisher’s first game that year was against Samford. Even his first collegiate game at Salem was against Samford.

“You don’t think the good Lord doesn’t work in funny ways?” Fisher said at his induction. “The choice to come to Samford was one of the top choices of my life. And I pray to God the one I just made is just as good, I promise you that. I hope that is just as good.”

Tommy Rohling, a teammate of Fisher’s who is Samford’s strength and conditioning coach, said Fisher provided leadership from the first day he walked on campus by hitting the weight room.

“You gotta understand, this is 1987, and Jimbo was what I would call the first ‘weight room guy’ that was the quarterback,” Rohling said.

“He got in there and he didn’t do his own thing. He got in there and he did the heavy dips, he did the heavy bench press, he did the heavy squat and the heavy power cleans, and he did all the conditioning.”

Fisher showed his moxie in Samford’s 1987 season opener, guiding the team to a come-frombehind 28-23 victory at Cumberland (Kentucky).

“We were down,” Rohling said, “and it was that point in the fourth quarter where, in the last three years, basically we would have said, ‘Well, we came up here and we gave it our best try. Hey, we got Hampden-Sydney [at home] next weekend.’ Well, Coach Bowden and Jimbo were like, ‘Well, the hell with that, we can still win this game.’”

Fisher led the Bulldogs on a game-winning drive. More than

Friday, April 13, 2018

three decades later, a fourth-and-6 conversion remains etched in Rohling’s mind.

“The irony is Jimbo completed a pass to Jeff Walters,” Rohling said.

“Well, the year before, Jeff Walters had been our quarterback. Jimbo comes in and Terry tells [Walters] the lay of the land. Well, he moves to tight end, and the irony is Jeff ends up becoming one of Jimbo’s favorite targets that year.”

After a year playing for the Chicago Bruisers in the Arena Football League, Fisher returned to Samford as a graduate assistant. The Bulldogs were making the transition from Division III, with no athletic scholarships, to Division I-AA (now known as FCS, for Football Championship Subdivision).

In 1991, Fisher was elevated to offensive coordinator, helping the Bulldogs improve from 6-4-1 to 12-2, and making the I-AA playoffs. Rohling, who became a graduate assistant in 1990, gives much of the credit to Fisher, who had to replace three-year starters at quarterback and running back. Fisher molded former backup

quarterback Ben Wiggins, who threw for 5,096 career passing yards, which is still eighth in school history. He signed running back Surkano “Tank” Edwards from Marine Military Academy, who rushed for 2,094 career yards, which ranks sixth in school history.

Terry Bowden was hired at Auburn after the 1992 season, and he took Fisher with him. That started a path — Auburn, Cincinnati, LSU, Florida State — that would eventually bring Fisher to Aggieland.

But it all started at Samford, because it afforded Fisher the opportunity to play in the South and be a part of reviving a program.

“It was as much fun as I’ve ever had in football maybe, because it was a school that was building football back, and you were able to be the first, part of having a tremendous season, setting the records we did, playing like we did,” Fisher said. “Being part of that team, that’s something no one Photo courtesy of Samford can ever take away. And that’s what Jimbo Fisher threw for 2,394 yards and 34 touchdowns as Samford’s quarterback in 1987.

After a year playing for I tell our guys. When you’re one of the Chicago Bruisers in the Arena Football League, Fisher returned to Samford as a graduate assistant, beginning a those teams that did it first, there’s just a great feeling of accomplishment.” coaching career that eventually led him to Texas A&M.

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a history of winning Jimbo Fisher, from Samford to Aggieland

By ROB CLARK rob.clark@theeagle.com

2000-2006

• Samford: Started as graduate assistant coach, then quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator under head coach Terry Bowden.

• Record: 36-22-1, including 12-2 in 1991, when the Bulldogs made the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs semifinals.

• LSU: Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under head coaches Nick Saban and Les Miles.

• Record: 70-20.

• Went 13-1 in 2003 and won the national championship under Saban.

• Won two SEC titles.

• Made three BCS bowl games.

• Fisher’s 2003 offense set program records for points in a season, total yards and passing touchdowns.

• Coached six quarterbacks who would be drafted into the NFL: Josh Booty, Rohan Davey, Craig Nall, Matt Mauck, JaMarcus Russell (first overall, 2007) and Matt Flynn.

1993-1998

2007-2017

Jimbo Fisher’s first coaching job was at Samford, his alma mater, where he also played quarterback. Samford’s home field, Seibert Stadium, has a stadium capacity of 6,700.

Thirty years later, Fisher will coach in front of 102,733 people at Kyle Field, the fourth-largest stadium in college football.

In between those two stops are successful years at two SEC powers, and a remarkable run at Florida State.

Here’s a look at Fisher’s coaching path.

1988-1992

• Auburn: Quarterbacks coach under head coach Terry Bowden.

• Record: 49-20-1, including an undefeated season (11-0 in 1993) and a 20-game win streak from 1993 to 1994.

• Tigers were ranked in the final AP Top 25 poll from 1993 to 1997, including No. 4 in 1993 and No. 9 in 1994.

• In 1997, quarterback Dameyune Craig threw for a program record 3,277 yards. Craig is now A&M’s wide receivers coach.

1999

• Cincinnati: Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under head coach Rick Minter.

• Record: 3-8. The Bearcats set a program record for total offense with 4,668 yards.

Friday, April 13, 2018

• Florida State: Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2007 to 2009 under head coach Bobby Bowden; head coach from 2010 to 2017.

• FSU’s record under Bowden (2007 to 2009) was 23-16.

With Fisher as head coach, FSU went 83-23, including six 10-plus win seasons.

• FSU went 14-0 in 2013 and won the national championship.

• 5-2 in bowl games under Fisher.

• Won 29 consecutive games from 2012 to 2014.

• Ranked in the final AP Top 25 from 2010 to 2016.

• Three consecutive ACC titles from 2012 to 2014.

• 42 players drafted in the NFL under Fisher, 19 in the first or second round.

• Fisher coached three quarterbacks who were drafted in the first round: Jameis Winston (first overall, 2015), E.J. Manuel and Christian Ponder.

• Coached 12 consensus All-Americans and one Heisman Trophy winner (Winston).

• At the start of the 2017 NFL season, 40 Florida State players were on NFL rosters.

• FSU ranked third in recruiting classes from 2013 to 2017, according to Rivals.

Photos courtesy of Auburn, Cincinnati and The Associated Press

The Eagle • 13

Expert advice

Fisher has earned strong reputation for developing QBs

By TRAVIS L. BROWN travis.brown@theeagle.com

Jimbo Fisher has been labeled a “quarterback guru” in his three decades as a coach. Since his days as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at LSU in the early 2000s, Fisher has placed nine quarterbacks in the NFL by way of the draft.

Three of his signal callers at Florida State were selected in the first round: Christian Ponder, E.J. Manuel and Jameis Winston, the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner.

Winston was the No. 1 overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Winston commented on his relationship with Fisher in a 2013 interview with the Orlando Sentinel: “ … Having somebody that I can relate to and somebody that he can relate to, that just makes the head coach and quarterback situation more genuine. That’s how you have a successful team, when the head coach and quarterback get along.”

At LSU, Fisher managed a competitive quarterback room.

Josh Booty started the majority of games in 1999 and 2000, beating out Craig Nall and Rohan Davey.

Fisher entered the picture in 2000, under head coach Nick Saban, and installed a practice system that provided equal reps to all three quarterbacks.

An injury at the end of fall camp in 2000 took Nall out of contention for the job and he ultimately transferred to Northwestern State.

He would be selected by Green Bay in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft.

Booty left after his sophomore season to enter the draft, and was selected in the sixth round by the Seattle Seahawks in 2001. As a senior, Davey took

14 • The Eagle

While at Florida State, Jimbo Fisher coached quarterback Jameis Winston to the 2013 Heisman Trophy and eventually the top spot in the 2015 NFL Draft. the reins and was then drafted in the fourth round by the New England Patriots in 2002.

“Two of them ended up being great players for us at LSU,” Fisher said. “[Nall] was a great player. …

I’m still friends with him, and he played in the NFL.” Fisher also coached JaMarcus

Russell at LSU, who won the Manning Award and made the AllSEC team in 2006, and was the first player selected in the 2007 NFL Draft.

Fisher takes over an A&M program with a quarterback race that could see four players competing for the starting job: redshirt sopho-

more Nick Starkel, sophomore Kellen Mond, redshirt freshman Connor Blumrick and true freshman James Foster.

To help create a future at A&M, Fisher often calls on the past, Starkel said.

“We’ve been watching the LSU offense with JaMarcus Russell and

AP file photo

we’ve been watching Jameis do it and we’ve been watching [current Florida State quarterback] Deondre Francois do it,” Starkel said. “He’s showing us everything. He does not forget anything, that’s for sure.

We’ve been watching those guys, how they do it, and incorporating it in what we do.”

Friday, April 13, 2018

Mond says of Fisher, “It’s been insane how much I’ve learned from him.” He’s studied Winston on film to help his throwing form.

Fisher “has been trying to get us to hold the ball a lot higher so we can get it out a little bit quicker and it comes out a lot faster,” Mond said. “Jameis — Heisman Trophy winner, and also great footwork … great mechanics — it’s kind of a guy who I’ve been watching. Running the exact same offense, you can learn basically what he’s been doing.”

Throwing accuracy and the ability to make quick, correct decisions are the hallmarks of what Fisher looks for in a quarterback, Mond said. The Aggie that best demonstrates those qualities might have the opportunity to become the next quarterback drafted under the tutelage of the “quarterback guru.”

“It’s always nice that people think that you do a nice job with them,” Fisher said. “I’ve been blessed to have coached some great guys who have really worked their tails off to be good.”

Friday, April 13, 2018

New Texas A&M football coach Jimbo Fisher has a reputation for developing top quarterbacks.

While at Florida State, Fisher had three signal callers — Christian Ponder (pictured at left), E.J. Manuel and Jameis Winston — taken in the first round of the NFL Draft.

AP file photo

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The Eagle • 17

grand entrance How first-year A&M coaches have fared

Courtesy of Aggieland yearbook

1.000 DANA X. BIBLE Years at A&M: 1917, 1919-1928 Debut year: 8-0 (1.000 winning percentage) Best years: 1917; 1919 (10-0); 1927 (8-0-1); three one-loss seasons Overall A&M record: 72-19-8 Notable: The gap year of 1918 was when Bible served as a pilot in World War I. His undefeated 1919 team didn’t give up a single point.

Bible’s actions in the 1922 Dixie Classic against Centre College — calling E. King Gill down from the stands after multiple players were injured — led to the birth of A&M’s 12th Man tradition.

Two of Bible’s teams (1919 and 1927) were retroactively named national champions by the National Championship Foundation and the Sagarin Ratings, respectively, but the 1939 title is regarded as A&M’s lone championship. Bible later coached at Nebraska and Texas.

He is a member of the A&M Athletic Hall of Fame, College Football Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

18 • The Eagle

By ROB CLARK rob.clark@theeagle.com

There have been several notable quick starts for new Texas A&M football coaches. But many coaches have stumbled at the starting line, and that list includes some of A&M’s bigger names.

Homer Norton, who led A&M to its lone football national championship in 1939, went 2-7-2 in his first season (1934). The legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant had a rough beginning in his 1954 debut, going 1-9.

Emory Bellard, whose 1975 team reached No. 2 in the rankings, went 3-8 in his first season (1972).

Those coaches turned their programs around.

Aggies will hope Jimbo Fisher can join the ranks of the more successful debuts, and for that success to be long-lasting.

Here’s a look at A&M’s best first seasons by winning percentage, with a minimum of four years of coaching in Aggieland.

Courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics

.938 CHARLEY MORAN

Eagle file photo

.846

Years at A&M: 1909-1914 Debut year record: 7-0-1 (.938 winning percentage) Best years: 1909; 1910 (8-1); 1912 (8-1) Overall A&M record: 38-8-4

KEVIN SUMLIN

Notable: The University of Texas complained that Moran was using ineligible players in 1911, and declared the two schools would cease further competition. After Moran left A&M in 1914, the two schools resumed playing. In A&M’s 1914 yearbook, a song called “Coach Moran” (to the tune of “Grand Old Flag”) is listed among other songs and yells: “He’s a grand old man / Though we don’t like to brag / And his worth he will prove to you soon / He’s the idol of the team we love / That fights for dear old maroon …” He coached Centre College in the 1922 Dixie Classic, the same game in which A&M’s 12th Man tradition was born. Moran was inducted into the A&M Athletic Hall of Fame in 1968.

Notable: Sumlin led the Aggies as the university moved into the Southeastern Conference. His debut season was A&M’s first 10-plus win year since 1998, and included an upset of No. 1 Alabama. Quarterback Johnny Manziel became the first redshirt freshman to win the Heisman Trophy that same year. The Aggies finished the season with a Cotton Bowl victory and a No. 5 AP ranking. Sumlin was named SEC co-coach of the year, along with Florida’s Will Muschamp.

During his time at A&M, Sumlin led the team to bowl games each year, picking up wins in 2012 (over Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl), 2013 (over Duke in the Chick-fil-A Bowl) and 2014 (over West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl).

He did not have a losing season in his tenure.

Years at A&M: 2012-2017 Debut year: 11-2 (.846 winning percentage) Best years: 2012; 2013 (9-4) Overall A&M record: 51-26

AP photo

.667 R.C. SLOCUM

Years at A&M: 1989-2002 Debut year: 8-4 (.667 winning percentage) Best years: 1991 (10-2); 1992 (12-1); 1993 (10-2); 1994 (10-0-1); 1998 (11-3) Overall A&M record: 123-47-2 Notable: Slocum is A&M’s all-time winningest coach. His teams won three Southwest Conference titles and one Big 12 title. The Aggies had a 29-game win streak at home during the 1990s, and won 94 games during the decade. The undefeated season in 1994 was A&M’s first since 1956. He is a member of the A&M Athletic Hall of Fame, the College Football Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

Courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics

.556 MADISON BELL Years at A&M: 1929-1933 Debut year: 5-4 (.556 winning percentage) Best year: 1931 (7-3) Overall A&M record: 24-21-3 Notable: In yet another A&M connection to Centre College, Bell was a graduate of the Kentucky school. Prior to his A&M years, Bell coached at TCU. He would later coach SMU from 1934 to 1942, and 1945 to 1949 (he served in the Navy Reserve in World War II during that gap). The Mustangs went 12-1 in 1935, and were undefeated in 1947. Doak Walker won the Heisman Trophy in 1948.

Bell is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

Friday, April 13, 2018

R.C. Slocum, Jackie Sherrill photos by Associated Press; Jimbo Fisher photo by Dave McDermand/The Eagle

R.C. Slocum (left) won four conference championships at Texas A&M, and Jackie Sherrill (right), won three. Jimbo Fisher won three ACC titles and a national championship at Florida State.

Under pressure

Former Texas A&M coaches talk expectations for Jimbo Fisher

By ROBERT CESSNA robert.cessna@theeagle.com

The greatest pressure Jimbo Fisher faces is that which he puts on himself. It’s not living up to his $75 million contract, or what other people want. At least that’s the thinking of the last two Texas A&M football coaches to win conference championships.

“You cut Jimbo’s salary in half right now, the pressure’s exactly the same,” said R.C. Slocum, the school’s winningest coach. “Or cut it in a fourth, the pressure’s exactly the same. Because the pressure he feels is what he’s putting on himself to do a good job.

And all the other stuff, the expectations, all that, that just goes along with the profession he chose. And if you can’t deal with that, he would have never gotten to where he is now if he couldn’t deal with it, the external expectations.”

There’s no doubt A&M has raised the pressure in recent years by joining the Southeastern Conference, renovating Kyle Field and adding all the other ingredients to complement it, said Jackie Sherrill, who coached at

Friday, April 13, 2018

A&M from 1982 to 1988, winning a trio of Southwest Conference championships.

“A&M has put an awful lot of pressure on to win,” Sherrill said. “Now the good thing about it is Jimbo can handle it. That’s one thing you have to give him credit. His contract is security in a lot of different ways, but I don’t know if that’s the driving force for Jimbo. The driving force for Jimbo is having a championship program and winning.”

Fisher tackled expectations head-on during his introductory press conference, saying, “Listen, I’m not a very patient guy.” He said that a reasonable time to turn a good college football program into an elite one is to have done it by yesterday.

“There’s nobody anywhere who wants to win at A&M more than Jimbo Fisher,” Slocum said. “Nobody. And the expectations to change jobs, move your life, move your family, do all that stuff, go through hiring coaches, you don’t do all that unless you have high expectations for what that means.

It goes way beyond that.”

Sherrill was in a similar position after A&M’s splash hire in 1981, getting a then-

record six-year, $1.7 million deal to leave Pitt. But everything now is more magnified.

“There’s a lot more pressure today because of the national press and because what Jimbo’s salary is and what the contract is,” Sherrill said. “Naturally, you have more people’s interest, because what [Kevin] Sumlin was making wasn’t any different than what an awful lot of other coaches were making.

But right now, because of it and because it’s a 10-year guarantee, that puts you in another stratosphere.”

As for offering Fisher advice, there’s no need — he’s well-prepared for the challenge, Sherrill said.

“I’ve known Jimbo for a long time,” he said. “I tried to hire him years ago [at Mississippi State]. He was handpicked to take Bobby Bowden’s place, and he did and he was successful. So he’s been in some situations where it’s about winning. It’s not about anything else.”

Slocum said Fisher has prepared for this challenge for decades: “You look at the progression of coaches. Almost all coaches were players. So when you’re a player, there’s

pressure on you to perform at your position.

So then when you get into coaching, whether you are a defensive ends coach or linebackers coach, there’s pressure for your guys to play well. Then when you become a defensive coordinator, you’re dealing with pressure for your defense to play well.”

A couple of years ago, Slocum was asked at the San Antonio Quarterback Club if the escalating salaries were putting more pressure on coaches.

“I said no, and they had a couple high school coaches there, so I said, ‘Go ask those guys,’” Slocum said. “‘They aren’t making millions of dollars. Ask them about the pressures and the expectations.’ In our area, go over to A&M Consolidated and ask them about the pressure and expectations. People expect to be good and they want to be good.

And you can go to Milano High School or wherever, and it’s the same. It’s all relative, but the point I’m making is for the coach, none of that has more meaning to him than the pressure he puts on himself.”

The Eagle • 19

20 • The Eagle

Friday, April 13, 2018

THE NEXT

Fisher’s players have gone on to star in the NFL

LEVEL

By ROB CLARK rob.clark@theeagle.com

A college football program’s stature can often be reflected in the success its players achieve in the professional ranks.

During Jimbo Fisher’s eight-year run as head coach at Florida State, 42 Seminoles were drafted by NFL teams, including eight in the first round and 11 in the second.

Fisher has coached nine quarterbacks who were drafted, six at LSU (Josh Booty, Rohan Davey, Craig Nall, Matt Mauck, JaMarcus Russell and Matt Flynn) and three at Florida State (first-round picks Jameis Winston, E.J. Manuel and Christian Ponder). That matches the total number of quarterbacks drafted in Texas A&M history: Marion Pugh, Elwood Kettler, Charlie Milstead, Ed Hargett, Gary Kubiak, Bucky Richardson, Stephen McGee, Ryan Tannehill and Johnny Manziel.

(Reggie McNeal was drafted as a receiver.)

Here’s a look at some of Fisher’s former players from Florida State and LSU that have gone on to NFL heights.

AP photos

JALEN RAMSEY

JAMEIS WINSTON

DEVONTA FREEMAN

XAVIER RHODES

DB

QB

RB

DB

• Florida State (2013-2015) • First-round pick (No. 5) by Jacksonville in 2016.

• All-Rookie Team, 2016; first-team All Pro and Pro Bowl, 2017.

• Florida State (2013-2014) • First-round pick (No. 1 overall) by Tampa Bay in 2015.

• Pro Bowl, 2015; 2015 All-Rookie Team.

• Florida State (2011-2013) • Fourth-round pick (No. 103)

by Atlanta in 2014.

• All-Pro secondteam, 2015; Pro Bowl, 2015 and 2016.

• Florida State (2010-2012) • First-round pick (No. 25) by Minnesota in 2013.

• All-Pro first first team, 2017; Pro Bowl, 2016 and 2017.

RODNEY HUDSON

DWAYNE BOWE

JOSEPH ADDAI

ANDREW WHITWORTH

OL

WR

RB

OT

• Florida State (2009-2010) • Second-round pick (No. 55) by Kansas City in 2011.

Signed with Oakland in 2015.

• Pro Bowl, 2016 and 2017.

• LSU (2003-2006) • First-round pick (No. 23) by Kansas City in 2007.

• All-Rookie Team, 2007; Pro Bowl, 2010; All-Pro second team, 2010.

• LSU (2001-2005) • First-round pick (No. 30)

by Indianapolis in 2006.

• Pro Bowl, 2007.

• LSU (2002-2005) • Second-round pick (No. 55) by Cincinnati in 2006.

• All-Pro first team, 2015 and 2017, second team, 2014; Pro Bowl, 2012 and 2015-2017.

Friday, April 13, 2018

The Eagle • 21

Jimbo Fisher brought defensive coordinator Mike Elko (left) from Notre Dame and offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey (right) from Memphis.

Eagle photos by Dave McDermand (left) and Laura McKenzie (right)

Support system

New assistant coaches join holdovers Price and Turner

By RICHARD CROOME richard.croome@theeagle.com

The highest form of flattery for an assistant coach is to be a holdover for an incoming head coach.

Terry Price and Jim Turner fall into that category for Texas A&M with the arrival of Jimbo Fisher. Both are line coaches, Price on defense and Turner offense, and both have enjoyed success at A&M. Price had more of a history with Fisher, while Turner made an impression on Fisher after he was hired in December.

“First of all, when you are going to hire guys, hire guys you know you hated coaching against,” Fisher said. “Coach Price, he was at Auburn when I was at LSU years and years ago. We were in the SEC for a long time. I knew him as a great recruiter, knew him as a person, a tremendous guy and a heck of a coach.”

Price, who played at A&M from 1986 to 1989, returned in 2012 as defensive line coach under Kevin Sumlin. Before that, he had two stints at Ole Miss and one at Auburn.

22 • The Eagle

PRICE

TURNER

“… Knowing his background, knowing the league, plus he played here at A&M, was a great player here, understood the great traditions and history and he bleeds Aggie,” Fisher said. “I mean, he is an Aggie through and through, and to keep a guy like that on the staff is a no-brainer.”

Fisher didn’t know Turner as well as Price, but was aware of the players he developed that made it to the NFL, and how well his offensive lines performed.

“Jim, I have great, tremendous respect for him and what his lines have done,” Fisher said.

In his first stint at A&M (2008 to 2011),

Turner helped recruit and develop NFL firstround picks Luke Joeckel, Jake Matthews and Cedric Ogbuehi. Other linemen to make it into the NFL included Patrick Lewis and Jarvis Harrison. In his second stint, Turner added two more linemen to the pro ranks, Jermaine Eluemenor and Avery Gennesy.

“I’ve sat down and researched his offensive lines, and I waited and got to meet him for a week and work with him for a week, and after I got to understand him, he knows what he is doing,” Fisher said. “He is one of the best line coaches in the business.”

Here’s a look at the new assistant coaches.

Darrell Dickey, offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks: Dickey was the offensive coordinator for Memphis the past six seasons.

He was the North Texas head coach from 1998 to 2006, where he won the Sun Belt Conference title four times and directed the Mean Green to its first bowl win in 57 years.

He was 42-64 in Denton.

At Memphis, Dickey took the Tiger offense from 120th to fourth nationally in total yards.

Dickey was the starting quarterback for four years at Kansas State. After two years in the NFL, Dickey worked as a grad assistant at Texas A&M under Jackie Sherrill in 1985.

Tim Brewster, tight ends: Known as one of the top recruiters in the nation, Brewster helped Fisher’s Seminoles to the No. 1 recruiting class in 2016, and to finish in the Top 10, according to ESPN, all five years he was at Florida State. Brewster was a tight ends coach with the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos from 2002 BREWSTER to 2006. He was the head coach of the Minnesota Gophers from 2007 to 2010. He also coached for Mack Brown at North Carolina and Texas before going to the NFL. Brewster was an accomplished tight end, earning All-Big Ten honors at Illinois.

Friday, April 13, 2018

Dameyune Craig, wide receivers: Craig was with Fisher at Florida State, where he was an offensive analyst. He has four years experience in the SEC, three as co-offensive coordinator at Auburn and one as a receivers coach at LSU. He had two stints at Florida State, the first as quarCRAIG terbacks coach and recruiting coordinator from 2010 to 2012. He recruited 2013 Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston. Craig starred at quarterback for Auburn with Fisher as his quarterbacks coach. He was on the Carolina Panthers’ roster from 1998 to 2001.

Jay Graham, running backs: Graham follows Jimbo Fisher to A&M after five years at Florida State.

His SEC experience includes a threeyear stint at South Carolina and one year at Tennessee, where he started as a grad student. Graham ran for 2,609 yards at Ten- GRAHAM

nessee, including 14 100-yard games, from 1993 to 1996. He was second team All-SEC as a junior and senior. He was a third-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens and spent six seasons in the NFL.

falo for two years each. He coached safeties for three years at James Madison. Linguist played at Baylor, where he was the team’s 2006 defensive player of the year as a safety, and where he started his coaching career.

Mike Elko, defensive coordinator/safeties: Elko arrives after one year as defensive coordinator at Notre Dame, which followed three seasons with Wake Forest. His first job as defensive coordinator was at Bowling Green, where in his fourth season the Falcons were sixth in total defense, and in his last season they were 10th. Elko played safety for Penn in the late 1990s and has also worked at Hofstra, Richmond, Fordham, Merchant Marine, Penn and Stony Brook.

Bradley Dale Peveto, linebackers: Peveto was the head coach at Northwestern State for four seasons and has been an assistant at Kentucky, LSU and Ole Miss. He has 30 years of coaching experience, the most recent as linebackers and special teams coach for Ole Miss.

He was the special teams coach with LSU when the Tigers won the 2007 national title. When Les Miles took over in Baton PEVETO Rouge, he moved up to co-defensive coordinator. He was also a defensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee and Northwestern State and a co-defensive coordinator at Houston.

Maurice Linguist, cornerbacks: Linguist comes to A&M after one season at Minnesota, where he helped the Gopher defense to a No. 11 ranking in pass defense. Before that he spent a season at Mississippi State as safeties coach, and prior to that year he was the defensive passing game coordinator at Iowa State and BufLINGUIST

Elijah Robinson, defensive line: The youngest of the assistants hired by Fisher, Robinson had his playing career cut short in 2006 after suffering a neck injury in his

sophomore season at Penn State. He coached the last four seasons, three at Temple and one at Baylor, in the same position under Matt Ruhle. At Temple in 2015, the Owls recorded 32 sacks and led the AAC in scoring defense (17.5) and passing defense (186 yards) ROBINSON per game.

Jerry Schmidt, strength and conditioning: Schmidt comes from Oklahoma, where he had been under Bob Stoops and Lincoln Riley. Before that he was at Florida, Notre Dame and Oklahoma State. He has national championship rings from Oklahoma, Florida and Notre Dame, and was selected the Collegiate Strength SCHMIDT Coach of the Year in 1991. The Nebraska native also worked for Steve Spurrier and Lou Holtz, and learned his craft under Tom Osborne.

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The Eagle • 23

COMING BACK

A&M returns experienced lineup on both sides of ball

By JEFFREY PERKINS jeffrey.perkins@theeagle.com

Texas A&M won’t lack experience in 2018. Just three starters have to be replaced on offense and three on defense. The Aggies will feel the departures of receiver/ returner Christian Kirk and safety Armani Watts, who are both set to be selected in the upcoming NFL Draft.

With the dynamic Kirk gone and former special teams coordinator Jeff Banks now at Alabama, A&M’s special teams unit has two big holes to fill.

Here is a look at five key returners on offense and defense.

OFFENSE Nick Starkel

Redshirt sophomore, quarterback

Kellen Mond

Sophomore, quarterback • Splitting time at quarterback because of injury and inconsistent play last season, Starkel and Mond will once again vie for the starting gig in 2018. Starkel played well in the Belk Bowl, throwing for 499 yards and four touchdowns in a 55-52 loss to Wake Forest. The battle will likely come down to which player masters Jimbo Fisher’s offense the quickest.

Jhamon Ausbon

Sophomore, wide receiver • With Christian Kirk and Damion Ratley

24 • The Eagle

Eagle photo by Dave McDermand

Mastery of Jimbo Fisher’s offense likely will decide if Kellen Mond (11) or Nick Starkel (17) is the Aggies’ starter at the beginning of the 2018 season.

pursuing NFL dreams, Ausbon is the Aggies’ leading returning receiver. He had 50 catches for 571 yards and three touchdowns, and made the SEC AllFreshman Team. The sophomore will be the top option on a young and talented receiving corps that includes Camron

Buckley and Roshauud Paul.

Trayveon Williams

Junior, running back • After a freshman campaign in which he rushed for 1,057 yards and averaged 6.8 yards per carry, Williams was

slowed by injuries in 2017, rushing for 798 yards and 4.6 yards per carry. He did score eight touchdowns, the same as he did in 2016. With Keith Ford, the thunder to Williams’ lightning, gone, Williams could take on an even larger role in his junior season.

Friday, April 13, 2018

Eagle photos of Ausbon and Alaka by Laura McKenzie; Wilson photo by Associated Press

Also returning for the Aggies for the 2018 season are, from left, sophomore wide receiver Jhamon Ausbon, senior defensive back Donovan Wilson and senior linebacker Otaro Alaka.

Erik McCoy

Junior, center • A mainstay in the middle of an otherwise revolving door on the offensive line in 2017, McCoy has started all 26 games over the past two seasons. The line’s inconsistent play contributed to less production in the run game last season, so McCoy’s leadership will be vital for a potential turnaround.

Koda Martin

Senior, tackle • Martin played in 13 games, starting 12, in taking over at left tackle for Avery Gennesy last season. It’s no secret that the SEC is a line-of-scrimmage league, so Martin’s play in both the run and pass game will play no small part in determining the success of the Aggie offense.

Friday, April 13, 2018

DEFENSE Tyrel Dodson

Junior, linebacker • Dodson is coming off a breakout sophomore season. He led the Aggies with 105 tackles, including 11 for loss, and recorded 5.5 sacks, three interceptions and eight pass breakups. The junior, part of a much-improved linebacker unit last season, returns in the middle for a group that could take another significant step forward in 2018.

Otaro Alaka

Senior, linebacker • Teaming with Dodson to form a daunting 1-2 punch at the second level, Alaka led A&M with 12 tackles for

loss last season and had 5.5 sacks and 78 total stops. The Aggies struggled at times against the run, but Alaka showed the ability to be a disruptive force in the backfield.

Donovan Wilson

Senior, defensive back • Wilson returns for a second take on his senior year, after suffering a seasonending injury in last year’s opener against UCLA. The versatile playmaker can handle safety and nickelback, which will allow new defensive coordinator Mike Elko to put the Aggies in the optimal alignment in any situation.

Derrick Tucker

Sophomore, safety • Tucker came on strong at the end of

his freshman campaign. In the final three games, he recorded 36 tackles, a forced fumble, four pass breakups and an interception return for a touchdown, all against Power 5 opponents. The sophomore will look to build on that breakout stretch as he helps anchor the back end of the defense.

Kingsley Keke

Senior, defensive tackle • Keke may not have had flashy sack numbers in 2017 (one), but the 6-4, 305-pounder recorded 54 tackles, second among linemen, and helped keep blockers off the linebackers. If A&M is going to make noticeable improvement defending the run, it’s going to start in the trenches, led by Keke.

The Eagle • 25

CLASS OF 2018

Fisher pleased with initial group of recruits

By TRAVIS L. BROWN travis.brown@theeagle.com

With little time to form relationships, Texas A&M’s coaching staff hit the ground running through the 2018 recruiting season. The new staff also had to deal with the sport’s first early signing period, days before Christmas.

The Aggies still pulled off the 16th-best recruiting class, according to Rivals.com and ESPN. “I thought our staff did a tremendous job of selling our message of what we’re trying to do here at Texas A&M,” Fisher said on signing day in February. “And also trying to help sell the culture about the future of how we want to do things and where we want to go.”

Of the players signed, Fisher said, “We met a huge area of need with a lot of great players. I think Texas A&M got a lot better today.”

Here is a look at the next wave of Aggies arriving on campus this year.

Eagle photo by Dave McDermand

Tight end Jace Sternberger, a junior college transfer, is an early enrollee this spring.

Bobby Brown

James Foster

Luke Matthews

Jace Sternberger

Leon O’Neal Jr.

• Brown may have been the crown jewel of the Aggies’ 2018 haul, not just because of his potential, but because A&M was able to nab the consensus four-star recruit away from Alabama.

During his senior season, Brown recorded 40 tackles, including six tackles for loss and three sacks. He earned an honorable mention nod in District 4-6A. “For a guy that size that can play on the edge, you don’t see those guys,” Fisher said. “He’s a very unique talent in so many ways.”

• Foster was hit by a car in the summer before his freshman season and completed a rehabilitation program that allowed him to return to the field and eventually become an ESPN four-star recruit.

Foster passed for 2,912 yards and 31 touchdowns during his senior season.

“We were very close and spent a lot of time talking,” Fisher said of Foster. “Our goals and his goals matched up, and it’s something he wanted to bring out here to Texas A&M, and we’re extremely glad he did.”

• Matthews is the fourth Matthews brother to play for A&M, following Kevin, Jake and Mike. Their father, Bruce, was a Hall of Fame player for the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans.

Luke, a consensus four-star recruit, enters Aggieland as a U.S. Army All-American who averaged three pancake blocks per game during his senior season. “You know his lineage and all that, but he’s making his own way,” Fisher said. “He’s a heck of a football player.”

• On national signing day, Fisher said the tight end group was the biggest focus for the new coaching staff.

“We’ll use tight ends, and there wasn’t an abundance as far as a number to be able to practice,” he said.

“I think that was a very critical need.” Sternberger, a junior college transfer from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, enrolled in January, and was rated the No. 2 JUCO tight end in the nation by 247Sports.com.

• After a long commitment with the Aggies, the U.S. Army All-American decommitted when Fisher took over the program. A few days prior to signing day, the consensus four-star recruit rejoined the 2018 class.

O’Neal recorded 78 tackles and forced five fumbles during his senior season.

Before recommitting, O’Neal hosted home visits from Alabama head coach Nick Saban and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and held 34 offers, according to 247Sports.com.

Defensive end, 6-4, 282 lbs., Arlington Lamar

26 • The Eagle

Quarterback, 6-3, 210 lbs., Montgomery Lanier (Ala.)

Offensive lineman, 6-4, 305 lbs., Fort Bend Elkins

Tight end, 6-4, 240 lbs., Northeastern Oklahoma A&M

Safety, 6-1, 190 lbs., Cy Springs

Friday, April 13, 2018

Caleb Chapman, WR, 6-5, 210 lbs., Friendswood Clear Brook: The Houston Touchdown Club offensive player of the year finalist recorded 43 catches for 626 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Other members of the incoming class: Glenn Beal, TE, 6-5, 265 lbs., New Orleans John Curtis: The consensus three-star recruit was named to the firstteam All-Louisiana team by USA Today.

Jashaun Corbin, RB, 6-0, 191 lbs., Rockledge (Fla.): Had 2,252 all-purpose yards and 23 touchdowns as a senior.

Barton Clement, OL, 6-3, 315 lbs., Fort Bend Marshall: A consensus four-star recruit who earned a first-team AllGreater Houston nod by the Houston Chronicle.

Marcus “Tank” Jenkins, OL, 6-3, 325 lbs., Montgomery Park Crossing (Ala.): First-team all-state selection and a consensus four-star recruit.

Mohamed Diallo, DT, 6-4, 320 lbs., Arizona Western (JUCO): Ranked the No. 15 JUCO defensive tackle by 247Sports.com.

Debbie Wilson/Alvin Sun Media

Brian Johnson, ATH, 6-2, 185 lbs., Manvel: The three-star recruit made 58 tackles and two sacks his senior year.

Jalen Preston starred for Manvel in 2017.

Jeremiah Martin, DE, 6-5, 240 lbs., San Bernardino Cajon (Calif.): Ranked the No. 9 weak-side defensive end by Rivals.com.

Charles Strong Jr., RB, 6-1, 220 lbs., Lake Butler Union County (Fla.): Strong nearly reached the 4,000-yard mark in his career and scored 48 touchdowns.

Jalen Preston, WR, 6-2, 212 lbs., Manvel: The 2017 District 23-5A MVP had 1,096 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior and three touchdowns in the state title game.

Tyree Wilson, DE, 6-6, 230 lbs., West Rusk: Earned the District 9-3A defensive MVP award as a senior after he made 126 tackles, including 38 for a loss.

Deneric Prince, RB, 6-1, 196 lbs., Manvel: A second-team all-district selection as a senior and a unanimous threestar recruit.

Colten Blanton, OL, 6-7, 285 lbs., Cy Ranch: The U.S. Army All-American was a unanimous four-star recruit.

Friday, April 13, 2018

Jordan Moore, CB, 5-11, 192 lbs., Yoakum: Had 117 tackles, 11 pass breakups and seven interceptions in his senior season.

Montel Parker, WR, 6-2, 185 lbs., Dickinson: The consensus three-star recruit had 2,400 all-purpose yards and 24 touchdowns during his career.

Seth Small, K, 5-11, 190 lbs., Katy: Hit 30 of 43 field goals in high school and a career-long kick from 50 yards.

Max Wright, DE, 6-4, 270 lbs., Katy Taylor: Spent most of his senior season recovering from injury, but had 70 tackles and nine sacks during his junior year.

The Eagle • 27

proudly welcomes CoaCh Fisher and staFF to aggieland!

Show the SEC what football is all about!

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Friday, April 13, 2018

THE ROAD AHEAD

By MARIA McILWAIN maria.mcilwain@theeagle.com

Texas A&M faces a tough start to the 2018 season. The Aggies will face the past two national champions, Alabama and Clemson, in September.

Here’s a look at what’s ahead for the Aggies in the fall.

NORTHWESTERN ST. AUG. 30 (2017 record: 4-7) Texas A&M begins the Jimbo Fisher era with Northwestern State, from Natchitoches, Louisiana. The Demons struggled on the road last year, winning one game away from their home Turpin Stadium. It will be Brad Laird’s debut as head coach, the Demons’ third in seven years.

CLEMSON SEPT. 8

AT ALABAMA SEPT. 22

LOUISIANA-MONROE SEPT. 15 (4-8) Before SEC play begins, the Aggies will face a Louisiana-Monroe team that ended 2017 on a three-game skid, capped by a 42-10 loss to Fisher’s Seminoles. (Fisher had already jumped to A&M; Odell Haggins was Florida State’s interim coach.) The Warhawks return 18 starters, including quarterback Caleb Evans, who completed 61 percent of his passes for 2,878 yards.

Friday, April 13, 2018

OCT. 27

UAB NOV. 17

(13-1)

(9-4)

(8-5)

The Aggies open SEC play against the defending national champions. Alabama beat A&M 27-19 last year, though A&M’s defense performed well against the Crimson Tide. Alabama returns plenty of skill players, including dual threat QB Tua Tagovailoa, the offensive MVP of the national championship game. The Aggies are 1-5 against the Tide since joining the SEC.

Joe Moorhead, formerly Penn State’s offensive coordinator, takes over in Starkville after Dan Mullen left for Florida. A big factor for the Bulldogs will be how quarterback Nick Fitzgerald returns from the ankle injury suffered against Ole Miss last year. The Bulldogs return a 1,000-plus-yard rusher in senior Aeris Williams. A&M fell at home in this game last year, so this will be a challenge through the cacophony of cowbells.

UAB had a solid return to football in 2017 after dropping the program for two years. This could be an interesting break from SEC play for the Aggies. The Blazers’ offense returns 10 starters, including running back Spencer Brown, who was third in Conference USA with 1,329 rushing yards on 250 carries as a freshman last year.

VS. ARKANSAS SEPT. 29 (4-8) in Arlington It was a disappointing 2017 – the Razorbacks won one SEC game. New head coach (and A&M grad) Chad Morris looks to inject some energy into the program, and he hired former A&M defensive coordinator John Chavis. A&M has won each of its games against Arkansas since joining the SEC in 2012.

(12-2) As head coach at Florida State, Jimbo Fisher went 4-4 against the Tigers, last beating them in 2014. Clemson, which fell to eventual national champion Alabama in the playoff semifinals, returns several players who have only lost three games over the past two seasons. That includes quarterback Kelly Bryant, who threw for 2,802 yards last year, as well as receivers Hunter Renfrow, Deon Cain and Ray-Ray McCloud.

AT MISSISSIPPI ST.

KENTUCKY OCT. 6 (7-6) The Aggies and the Wildcats are squaring off for the first time as SEC opponents. Kentucky ended last season on a three-game losing streak, but has made bowl appearances and finished above .500 in consecutive years. The Wildcats return 10 starters on defense.

AT SOUTH CAROLINA OCT. 13 (9-4) South Carolina fifinished nished second in the SEC East behind Georgia in 2017. One of those losses was at Kyle Field, when the Aggies came back to beat the Gamecocks 24-17. Junior quarterback Jake Bentley threw for 2,794 yards last year.

He’ll have plenty of targets, as the Gamecocks return receiver Deebo Samuel, who was injured for most of last season, along with OrTre Smith, Bryan Edwards and Shi Smith.

AT AUBURN NOV. 3 (10-4) Baylor transfer quarterback Jarrett Stidham wowed Tiger fans, leading Auburn to wins over Georgia and Alabama. Though Auburn returns plenty of skill players, running back Kerryon Johnson is NFL-bound, and its offensive line lacks experience, which could be to A&M’s advantage.

The Tigers beat A&M 42-27 at Kyle Field last year.

OLE MISS NOV. 10

LSU NOV. 24 (9-4) Last year’s 45-21 loss to the Tigers was a disappointing end to the regular season for A&M, but there won’t be the same coaching distractions this time around. Playing at home should help, too, though the Aggies are winless against the Tigers since joining the SEC. LSU is undergoing change offensively under a new coordinator – onetime A&M assistant Steve Ensminger – and the Tigers have plenty of question marks at the skill positions.

In September, the Aggies face Nick Saban’s (left) Alabama squad,and Clemson,led by Dabo Swinney.

AP photo

(6-6) Matt Luke is now the head coach after an interim year. The Rebels’ NCAA troubles under former coach Hugh Freeze will keep them out of postseason play this season. The Aggies beat Ole Miss 31-24 last year in Oxford. The Rebels return four starting defensive backs and much of their starting offensive line.

Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu showed promise last year after taking over for Shea Patterson, throwing for 1,682 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Patterson transferred to Michigan.

The Eagle • 29

A new hope

Fisher’s arrival has Aggies dreaming of championships

I

t’s not if Texas A&M becomes a Top 10 program under Jimbo Fisher, but when.

It might not be this year or next year, but it’ll happen.

Fisher is too good of a coach, and Texas A&M affords him all the ingredients. It’s a perfect match, but can he win a national championship? That has to happen in order to validate Fisher’s contract. You make big noise, you better produce big results.

Right now, optimism is high and it’s only going to climb. The Aggies are coming off a 7-6 season, losing four of their last six games. But A&M has the swagger of a winner — a big winner.

That’s because Fisher has a $75 million air of confidence about him that’s contagious.

Previous A&M Robert Cessna coaches brought varying robert.cessna@ theeagle.com degrees of optimism, but none of them had won a national championship. Dennis Franchione, Mike Sherman and Kevin Sumlin each gave the Aggies hope that they’d do great things, but they couldn’t even win a conference championship. The expectation with Fisher is for A&M to be included when the average fan talks about the country’s five best programs. A&M hasn’t won a conference title since 1998, so that’s an unrealistic goal. Yet that’s the expectation.

The bottom line is Fisher has to be great, the best coach the program has had since Homer Norton won the national title in 1939.

Fisher can’t afford to be pretty darn good, that just won’t cut it. Jackie Sherrill and R.C. Slocum were darn good and they eventually were let go.

Two years ago, Slocum and Sherrill made fanside.com’s list of best college football coaches never to win a national title. Slocum was 12th and Sherrill 22nd. They combined for seven conference championships, averaging one every three years. That’s impressive, considering A&M has zero league titles in the last 19 years. But they couldn’t deliver a national title.

30 • The Eagle

AP file photo

Florida State players and head coach Jimbo Fisher react after winning the national title against Auburn on Jan. 6, 2014, in Pasadena, California.

They elevated the program, but didn’t take it high enough, with neither having a team finish in the top five. Fisher has to be better than that. It’s like the Three Dog Night song, One Is the Loneliest Number. It’s the only one that matters.

You know who else made that list of best coaches never to win a national title? Washington’s Chris Petersen, who was lured away from Boise State by Scott Woodward, now A&M’s athletic director. Surely, Woodward again could have hired Petersen, who has won six conference championships with three top-five finishes, but he wasn’t the best

possible hire. A&M wanted the best coach to bring a national championship to Aggieland.

A&M System Chancellor John Sharp reflects many Aggies who have grown tired with so-so results. He set his sights on Fisher and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney when it became obvious Sumlin wasn’t working out. Sumlin averaged eight and a half wins per year — good but not good enough, especially for Sharp and the powers that be.

They’ve sat in Kyle Field through too many unsatisfying seasons, too many ugly, embarrassing losses, especially since joining the Southeastern Conference.

Granted, the 2012 season was special — winning at Alabama, Johnny Manziel’s march to the Heisman Trophy, the thrashing of Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl — but that just teased everyone. And now it seems so long ago. I mean, this program lost to Wake Forest in its last game. That’s just unacceptable.

And one thing Sharp and his fellow powerbrokers don’t have is patience. They are banking on Fisher, giving him a 10-year guaranteed contract. It’ll be a bargain if he wins a national championship. Anything else will not be good enough.

Friday, April 13, 2018

If you want to coach you have three rules to follow to win.

One, surround yourself with people who can’t live without football. I’ve had a lot of them. Two, be able to recognize winners. They come in all forms. And, three, have a plan for everything. A plan for practice, a plan for the game. A plan for being ahead, and a plan for being behind 20-0 at the half with your quarterback hurt.

-Paul Bear Bryant, Head Coach of Texas A&M Football 1954-1957 Best wishes to Coach Jimbo Fisher, the Coaching Staff, and the Texas A&M Football Team for a successful 2018 football season!

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Friday, April 13, 2018