What Jimbo Fisher said about South Carolina football

Speaking during his weekly press conference in College Station, Texas A&M head football coach Jimbo Fisher had a lot of good things to say about Shane Beamer’s South Carolina football program.

“Very good football team, playing very well right now at 4-2,” said Fisher. “Doing a great job in all three phases of what they’re doing. They’re tough. This team’s playing very well.”

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The fan performance inside Williams-Brice Stadium was referenced multiple times as making this game a more difficult one for the Aggies.

“They’ll be juiced and ready,” said Fisher. “We need to be ready to bring our ‘A’ game and play well. It’s going to be an extremely tough game. South Caroilna’s always a very tough place to play. It’s a great atmosphere over there, great environment, especially it being a night game.”

South Carolina football began its last contest – the Kentucky game – with a turnover on the Wildcats’ first offensive play and also blocked a punt. Those plays – as well as the fact that the Gamecocks have five total blocked punts on the year – were touched upon by Fisher on Monday.

“They’re very opportunistic in what they’ve done and how they play and have a very good football team. Backers are active. Secondary does a really good job. Receivers are making plays. Experienced offensive line, so good group.”

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Fisher singled out defensive tackle Zacch Pickens and EDGE Jordan Burch on defense, plus Spencer Rattler and MarShawn Lloyd on offense.

“Up front, they have experience on defense,” he said. “Spencer Rattler’s doing a good job at quarterback. The running back, number one, can really run the ball. He’s running really hard.”

In the 2019 recruiting class, Rattler was formerly ranked as the number one quarterback prospect in the country. Fisher remembers watching Rattler then and has seen him grow ever since at the next level.

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“He didn’t make very many mistakes in high school. They were up and down the field and he killed everybody,” Fisher laughed. “In the college games, the reads, the pressures, the different defenses, there’s a maturation process you have to go through. He seems to be doing that very well. He’s leading them and has great arm talent and has a great presence back there playing QB.”

In terms of his own squad, Fisher was adamant that Aggies quarterback Haynes King, who was banged up in the previous game against Alabama and has been the subject of injury rumors, is going to play against the Gamecocks.

He was also asked if true freshman Connor Weigman may play for the first time this season on Saturday.

“Haynes King is going,” he stated. “We’ll wait and see. He (Weigman) will keep practicing. He’s practicing well, and Haynes is practicing well.”  

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Asked about South Carolina’s Shane Beamer and his coaching style, Fisher pointed out that he’s never coached with him, but knows what the second-year head coach is all about.

Said Fisher: “I know him. Very great guy. He’s been around coaching his whole life. His dad was one of the great coaches in college football history. So when you grow up around that, you understand how to relate to people and how to talk to people, and what the game’s all about. The ups and downs. I’m sure he has a lot of life experiences.”

Fisher continued with praise of what Beamer is attempting to build in Columbia.

“Being a coach’s son gives you a lot of vision and understanding sometimes when you’re a young coach that you normally wouldn’t have had because you had those experiences growing up,” he said. “I have great respect for his dad, great respect for Shane. He’s doing an outstanding job with what he’s doing at South Carolina.”

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