Snippets from the presser:
Kevin Sumlin
"Good afternoon. Just like everybody else, we're excited about this season. I think we've had an excellent camp, it's been a bit different for us. New feel, different energy from the players who arrived this summer, new coaches who have blended in well, we're practicing different concepts — from a coaching standpoint, there's a new energy. A team that finished up with a bowl win last year with a number of freshmen starting, coming into the season this year with their own expectations.
"The combination of some new schemes, new ideas, new players, this camp has been highly competitive and our guys are at the point right now where they're tired of running into each other and they're ready to play somebody else. That being said, Arizona State is a fine football team. Todd Graham continues to do a great job and has won everywhere he's been. ... A lot of familiarity in this game. Shawn Slocum is coaching special teams, co-DC Chris Ball and I lived together at Washington State. Coach Graham is very familiar with the state of Texas, has coached and competed collegiately in the state, and will have a lot of pride coming back to Houston.
"That we have a number of players from the Phoenix area becomes particularly important when the two teams have never played each other. ... Playing in NRG, which is as fine of a stadium as there is in the country, if you can't be excited to play in this game, you're probably doing the wrong thing."
On how Kyle Allen has responded to being the starter...
"You've heard me say this before: this season started for us December 31 of last year. Well, it started for him when they handed out that MVP trophy. We challenged him in January to become a better leader and increase his knowledge not only of our offense but the defense, football knowledge, overall IQ. He had an excellent spring, and part of that spring was him being the only scholarship quarterback we had. He got a number of quality reps, probably too many, then Kyler shows up and he's got great competition, and he's accepted that.
"He likes where he is right now from a growth standpoint; his growth has been mentally, but also physically. He was playing the bowl game at 190, 195 — he's 215 now. I think he's come along just fine."
On ASU WR D.J. Foster...
"He's electric. He's dynamic. They do a great job ... creating schemes that benefit the players. This guy is a nightmare. They line him up outside, hand it to him in the backfield, they're going to give it to him 'til his tongue hangs out. It's not the issue of finding him, because they're going to hand him the ball. He's going to touch it. We've just got to be aware. Those space tackles happen — you're going to have to make tackles in space.
"The big thing is going to be how we run to the ball. A guy like that is very hard to tackle 1-on-1, it's going to take team tackling and team pursuit. Chief has brought that, working really hard on getting to the ball. That being said, we have to be disciplined with our eyes, because if you do that they're going to stick it in his belly and then try and throw it over your head.
"Arizona State has really good team speed, always has, and a good scheme. They're going to try to get it to him as soon as they can. He's done it against a lot of people; we're going to see where we are right off the bat."
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On the linebackers...
"I think that we've got a couple young guys that played really well at the end of the year. Josh Walker had some flashes; in the offseason, he's had a really productive offseason. A.J. (Hilliard), we've got to get him back going. Alaka, same thing. Shaan Washington had an excellent camp, first full (healthy) offseason since he's been here. He's the Shaan Washington that we recruited, 230-something pounds, not a safety that was in there playing linebacker and getting his collarbone broken and shoulders operated on.
"We've added three freshmen who are going to play special teams in this game. That takes some stress off these guys having to play both defense and special teams. All three freshmen linebackers will see time on kickoff. Riley Garner is going to start on that. Those guys are playing because game 5, 6, 8, 9, guys get beat up and we can get them out of the game and get in these guys that have experience and help with depth up front."
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On Otaro Alaka and A.J. Hilliard's availability...
"I don't know that they will be. The injury report won't come from here. This is not pro football."
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On Myles Garrett being team captain as a sophomore...
"I used to be a senior-led team guy. You want that. But when you've got a young guy who's taking every snap, like a quarterback, you're saying as a football team that you're trusting this guy with the football every snap, like Kyle. When you've got one of the most dynamic players in the country in Myles Garrett, you're kidding yourself if you think that when he speaks, people don't listen. And they'll look for him to make plays when it counts.
"We took restrictions off who can be captain and it was interesting as a coach to look at who got the votes. There were a number of votes spread out, but obviously the consensus was that our team thinks he's a leader — and that's important to me. If they think he's a leader, like I told him, whether you think you're a leader or not, you're a leader. You need to step outside yourself and become that. And he's made strides this offseason to do that."
On Christian Kirk...
"Just keep handling business. It's hard for freshmen. You can't get caught up in all that (playing a home-state team). The big thing is we're playing a top-20 opponent, at a neutral site, on national television. How a freshman's going to handle that might be a bit different than Kyle Allen. Christian played in some big games but I don't think he's ever played in NRG with the roof closed. Those young guys, I've told them all the time, first time I stepped on the field as a freshman things were happening so fast that I didn't know what was going on.
"So, the quicker we can get him calmed down, the better he'll be. Because talent-wise, physically and knowing what he's doing, he's ready. He's good to go at this level. So we just have to keep him focused and try to get him the ball early."
