Gus Malzahn transcript
Opening statement…
"We are turning the page from last week. We have a very good Texas A&M team coming in and they are top five in the country and fighting for a College Football Playoff berth. We are excited to get that opportunity to play them at home. It will be senior day – we have 16 seniors and they are really looking forward to playing their last home game here on our field. Looking at Texas A&M, they are fourth in the league in points with an experienced quarterback, probably the most experienced quarterback in the league. Looking at them defensively, they are first in our league. They've got nine starters back and are very impressive when we watch them on film. It's a top five team at home, and our guys are looking forward to playing them and getting a chance to come back and play the last home game, specifically for our seniors."
Injury update…
"Brodarious Hamm and Tank Bigsby will be similar from last week. Alec Jackson had surgery on his hand yesterday so he will be out. We will see about the other two, along with Jaylin Simpson – he wasn't able to play last week. We will see how they progress during the week."
On Texas A&M's defensive front…
"They're very disruptive up front. They've got a lot of guys that play a whole lot of games. They're athletic. They do some things scheme-wise that are a little bit different with all their twisting, moving and pressures. They don't just have one, but just about all of them up front have the ability to do a good job rushing the passer, too. They've done a good job against the run like we've talked about before. We've got to be balanced. We have to run the ball effectively to be our best. I think that'll be a big key to this game."
On the senior class…
"This senior class – a bunch of special people, first of all. They've been here a long time and they're part of our family. It means a lot to send those guys out with a victory. We're pretty fortunate to be good on senior day. We need to do the same thing this game."
On Texas A&M's linebackers…
"Like I said, they have most of their guys back from last year. I thought they were pretty solid on defense last year, so we're going to have to do a good job of being balanced. We need to have some explosive plays. You watch them on film, they do a really good job keeping offenses contained. Any time they stop the run, they pin their ears back and they get after the quarterback."
On Nehemiah Pritchett's progression…
"Nehemiah, you can see him getting more and more confidence. A guy that played a little bit last year, you've seen him get better and better. He's got a really good skill set. He's been playing more physical, so we're really happy with his progress."
On playing more regular season games after the Iron Bowl…
"I think it's a positive. We are all programmed when the Iron Bowl is over with, you're thinking about postseason, whatever that means. The unique thing this year is obviously we came off of a tough loss, but we have a top five team coming in. We have a chance to redeem ourselves. So that is different and that should be a positive this week compared to normal seasons. That's the way we've got to look at it. That'll be a big key for our guys to get ready to play a really big game at home, the highest-ranked team we will play at home all year."
Are any of the seniors talking about coming back next season?
"We will talk about that at the end of year, but we may have a few that want to."
About Kellen Mond…
"We recruited Kellen, so we know him very well. We knew he had a chance be a really good quarterback. We've faced him numerous times, and he always presents challenges. He can throw the ball vertically down the field, he can extend plays, and he can run the football. He's a tough guy, too, but a guy we know a lot about and a very talented young man."
About Isaiah Spiller…
"He runs hard; you've got to gang tackle him. I'm impressed with the offensive line up front. They are leading the league in sacks given up, and I think that has a lot to do with the guys up front and has a lot to do with Spiller's ability to run the football. I know he had another real explosive run Saturday that helped win that game. He's a guy you've got to focus on and try to stop the run to make them one-dimensional. We've got to gang tackle him."
Status of D.J. Williams…
"I should have put him on that list. He had an ankle injury, so we'll see how he is this week, too. It's been a tough year for him. I don't know if he's been healthy any game so far, so hopefully we'll get him back."
On the offensive line…
"We really haven't practiced other than the 20-minute deal on Sunday. It's a group like it was just a few weeks ago, just getting used to playing together since we have two new tackles we plugged in. I am really confident that group will continue to get better the more they play together, the more they practice together."
On Auburn having no players opt out…
"It's an unusual year, there's no doubt. We've got a really close bunch. I think it says a lot about our guys."