SAN ANTONIO – Following his first season as the new head football coach for Texas A&M, Jimbo Fisher jetted into San Antonio on Thursday night to address the Aggie faithful at their annual San Antonio Aggie Club Coach’s Night.
Before meeting club members at the Freeman Coliseum Expo Hall, Fisher told KSAT 12 Sports that one of his main priorities this year will be winning on the road.
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The Aggies finished with nine wins in 2018, an improvement over Kevin Sumlin’s final year at 7-6, but the maroon and white were just 1-3 on the road in the Southeastern Conference.
The Aggies first road game this year will be against Clemson, the defending national champs, who Texas A&M came close to beating at home last year, 28-26.
Fisher also had to calm the fears of some Aggie fans who did not react well when Scott Woodward left Texas A&M to become the new athletic director at LSU since he was instrumental in recruiting Fisher from Florida State.
“Listen, I’m very happy with where I’m at in A&M,” reassures Fisher. “It’s a destination job. It’s a place in which you want to be and it has all the things that you want to have for the future of this game and where this game is going and look forward to building it here.”
Kellen Mond will once again lead the Aggies on the field as the undisputed starting quarterback this season as a junior.
That’s after the Reagan High School alum threw for 3,107 yards and 24 touchdowns with only nine interceptions his sophomore season, and ran for another seven touchdowns.
“Kellen has been fun to coach because he’s hungry,” said Fisher. “He’s competitive. He’s tough. He comes from a great family and he doesn’t mind being coached, coached hard and challenged and pushed. He wants to be the best and the sky is the limit for the guy.”
Before taking questions from Aggie fans, Fisher also talked about one of his biggest recruits this season in getting Judson High School defensive end DeMarvin Leal to sign with the Aggies.
Even though Leal was unable to participate in the spring game due to a slight cartilage tear in his knee, Fisher was impressed with how Leal responded while recovering with a great work ethic and the way he developed his body.
“For a young guy, a very mature guy for his age not just body wise but mentally,” Fisher pointed out. “I think he’s going to be a tremendous player. I don’t want to put pressure on a guy before that happens, but I think this guy has unlimited potential.
The Aggies kick off their 2019 football season at home against Texas State in a game that was moved up to Thursday at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 29.