‘It is a collective effort. I’ve been calling the plays in practice, and I’ll continue to do that’: Bobby Petrino speaks at Texas A&M’s Fall Camp media day
No need to pinch yourselves, Aggie fans, because this is not a dream: the 2023 college football season is officially kicking into gear. With Texas A&M football’s fall camp underway as of last week, Sunday marked the team’s official media day.
Among the individuals to take the podium were Head Coach Jimbo Fisher, Assistant Head Coach Elijah Robinson, Defensive Coordinator DJ Durkin, and players Max Johnson, Conner Weigman, Noah Thomas, and Bryce Anderson. One of the most anticipated individuals who spoke to the media was the newly hired Offensive Coordinator, Bobby Petrino.
Petrino’s track record as a play-caller speaks for itself, and he’ll be tasked with injecting some much-needed creativity into an Aggies offense that ranked 101st in the nation in scoring (22.8 ppg) last season. On the surface, and from an objective point of view, Petrino’s hiring makes sense and should bear fruit regarding offensive efficiency in the fall.
But this is Texas A&M we’re talking about here: an Aggies team under the helm of Jimbo Fisher, who won’t easily relinquish his duties in calling the plays. So naturally, the topic of discussion was on the table once again as Petrino spoke to the media.
Aside from the Fisher-Petrino play-calling parley, the offense assessment, how the tempo will differ from last season, and the learning curve in returning to the SEC were all notable talking points from Texas A&M’s new offensive coordinator.
Below is Bobby Petrino’s full press conference video from Fall Camp Media Day 2023 and notable highlights from his time at the podium.
Petrino had a hunger for facing SEC competition again
“I always had the itch to get back to this conference and be able to coach at this level. It has been a lot of fun.”
Petrino shed light on working with Jimbo Fisher
“Coach is the boss. My job is to try and keep him happy and make sure everything works the way he wants things to work. I probably understand that more than anybody because of the number of years I’ve been a head coach, but it has been a lot of fun.”
In his short time in Aggieland, Petrino has already improved as a coach
“I’ve improved as a coach, and my knowledge has improved as a coach just in the short amount of time that I’ve been here.”
Petrino loves the talent level on offense
“It’s exciting to see the talent that we have and the weapons that we have. The big part of offense is not the playbook and the things you want to run… You call the plays for players. You have to get all your weapons in the right spots.”
Petrino knows this is Jimbo's program, and it's a key reason for him joining
“I work for Coach Fisher. This is his program. I am very, very impressed, and that’s part of why I came here… It’s my job to make sure I’m working hard every day. It has been fun though.”
Petrino noted that the QB competition has been neck-and-neck
“Both guys have been working hard… The competition is so good. The minute we get done with one practice, they’re in the playbook getting ready for the install for the next practice… They make each other better.”
Looking back on 2022, Petrino was impressed on how the team improved by the end of the year
“Sometimes you can go your best job of coaching and the wins still don’t stack up to where you want them to be. When I was watching film and looking at it, I was impressed at how they got better as the year went on and how they stuck together.”
Will Petrino be on the field, or in the the press box this season?
“I haven’t made the complete decision, but I’m leaning towards being in the press box. It’s going to come down to how comfortable I am with the temperament of the quarterbacks.”
The answer we've been waiting for: who will be calling the plays?
“It is a collective effort. I’ve been calling the plays in practice, and I’ll continue to do that. A lot of times, the calls are made throughout the week. You have to be able to be disciplined to be able to do what you did in practice.”
Petrino noted that the hiring process was unique
“It was a little bit unique, no doubt about that. Jimbo is a guy that takes his time and wants to do his research… We had talked early. I thought we had good talks.
When Mark (Robinson) called me, the first thing I said was, ‘Are you kidding me?’ It wasn’t a hard decision. It was something we had talked about and something I was looking forward it. It came through.”
The tempo of the offense will be predicated on creating advantages
“We’re not going to be Helter Skelter and go as fast as we can. The ability to change tempo and how we do things has a bigger effect on defenses. The thing I want to do is create advantages… Our tempo will be used to create advantages.”
The key to unlocking the offense is understanding every little detail
“The key is allowing guys to play freely to perfection. We’re working at being experts of what we do and understanding every little detail of our position and then understanding the other side of the ball. It’s really about perfecting your craft.”
The weapons and talent are there. Now it's about building consistency
“We’ve got the weapons there. Now we have to get consistency. We’ve got to get our guys that create plays to have the competitive spirit of ‘Nobody can stop me.'”
Petrino noted that Conner Weigman and Max Johnson have each been tremendous leaders
“Both of them have been doing a good job of leading, and that’s important to both of them. They’re a little bit different. Right now, we’re working on finding out more and more about them each day.”
Is Petrino channeling a "Zen" mindset in 2023?
“I did smile when you said that. It’s the role I’m in. My job is now as a teacher. My job is to teach and get to know how they learn. I’m truly enjoying it. Being in the classroom each day with the quarterbacks is a lot of fun.”
The motto for 2023: "FTS" which means "Feed The Studs"
“I always say ‘FTS,’ which is ‘Feed The Studs.’ The quarterbacks need to understand how we get the ball to our best guys. How do we get the ball to them? Where is the matchup at? Our quarterbacks are learning that right now.”
Petrino's transition to Texas A&M has been hard work, but enjoyable nonetheless
“Hard work, and that has been fun about it. We have a great staff, and we’re putting the Texas A&M Aggie offense together… It really has been enjoyable. Working with Coach Fisher, my respect for him has gone even higher.”
Petrino applauded Jimbo's football knowledge and ability to motivate his players
“This has been a lot of fun. I’ve learned a lot of football since I’ve been here. I’m fortunate for my years as an assistant… It has been a lot of fun, and Coach Fisher has been great. He really knows football and how to motivate young men.”
Petrino relishes the opportunity to affect players' lives in a positive manner
“My biggest thing is having the opportunity to work with young men and doing everything I can to give them confidence… I get to affect their lives in a positive manner, and that’s really what I’m enjoying most.”
There's no ego with Petrino, it's all about helping the offense succeed
“It’s not about me. It’s about the offense. We mold it together. We work hard on game planning, and then I get to go out in the game on which play to call… I’m excited about it.”
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Pete on Twitter: @PeteThreee.
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