Photo by: Evan Pilat/Texas A&M Athletics
Player Media Availability Quotes: LSU
Oct 21, 2025 | Football
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION--Texas A&M wide receiver Terry Bussey and safety Dalton Brooks met with the press after Tuesday's practice during the Aggies' weekly media availability. Select quotes from the session are available below along with full video.
The third-ranked Aggies (7-0, 4-0) head to Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge this weekend to battle 20th-ranked LSU (5-2, 2-2). Kickoff on ABC is set for 2:30 p.m. Fans can also listen to the game along the Texas A&M Sports Network (1620 AM/94.5 FM locally) or worldwide inside the 12th Man Mobile App or at 12thman.com.
It feels like on any given week somebody else gets the highlight if you will...
"Yeah. We've all known that. I mean, we got a bunch of guys on offense that could do anything with the ball on any given day. Everybody is just ready to step up when their number is called."
Have you noticed that opponent's coverages have changed to be more preoccupied with KC and Mario and is that maybe opening up opportunities for you and others?
"I mean, defenses are going to play how they play. And if they don't take away those guys they're going to kill them. So we're just waiting on our time to come. And when it does, we're going to take advantage of it."
What have you seen from LSU's defensive unit as you guys have started to scout them?
"They're one of the best defenses in the league. Everybody knows that. They're fast, strong and big. We've just got to come out there and play our game and do the best we can."
How have you seen Ashton continue to develop this season?
"That's my dawg. We've been kicking it since last year when I got here. I've been knowing what he can do, playing defense at the beginning, guarding him one-on-one and stuff like that. I've been knowing what he can do, everybody else is just now seeing it. I love what I'm seeing from him."
Coach Elko talked about the buy-in and how everybody wants the ball. Why do you think the buy in has been so big this year?
"Because of the brotherhood we've got. We trust each other. We know what each other can do with the ball. Just the love we got for one another that we've built over the Summer and the Spring, going through the conditioning and the workouts. Everybody's out there dying but picking each other up. We all went through it all together, so (it's) just having each other's back."
How much confidence do you have in short yardage situations this season compared to last?
"We've got a bunch of confidence. We know 4th-and-1, 4th-and-3, whatever it is, we feel like we can get it every time. (It's) Just Coach Elko trusting us and putting us in a position to go for it. I feel like we're going to get it every time."
When Coach Elko said we're not going to have a defensive player of the week or anything like that, how was that received?
"It wasn't a bad reaction by anybody on the team. We knew what we did. We knew how the game went. It wasn't our best game. So nobody was really overwhelmed or anything like that. We knew what we had to get done and we didn't complete our job fully."
What do you all have to do moving forward to be the kind of defense that y'all want to be and can be?
"Continue to communicate at a high level. That's really what it takes. As long as we communicate at a high level and really bond together as one as a defense I think we'll be fine."
Coach Elko said he talked to you guys yesterday and gave a tough message for the defense. What was kind of said and how well did y'all receive it?
"It was kind of a real message. He just kind of kept it real with us. We didn't have the game that we should have had, but it is what it is. He gave us a real message, something that we needed to hear, not what we wanted to hear."
When you consider your personal performance this year, what do you feel like you're doing really well and are there any things that you can look at and say okay, this is what I want to get better at?
"For me, I want to grow as a communicator. I want to be more of a leader on the defense, make more of a stand. when all 11 is out there. everybody's looking at me. I'm the safety. I've got to make big decisions for the defense. So I want to be able to do that with more confidence."
The third-ranked Aggies (7-0, 4-0) head to Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge this weekend to battle 20th-ranked LSU (5-2, 2-2). Kickoff on ABC is set for 2:30 p.m. Fans can also listen to the game along the Texas A&M Sports Network (1620 AM/94.5 FM locally) or worldwide inside the 12th Man Mobile App or at 12thman.com.
Media Availability: Terry Bussey
It feels like on any given week somebody else gets the highlight if you will...
"Yeah. We've all known that. I mean, we got a bunch of guys on offense that could do anything with the ball on any given day. Everybody is just ready to step up when their number is called."
Have you noticed that opponent's coverages have changed to be more preoccupied with KC and Mario and is that maybe opening up opportunities for you and others?
"I mean, defenses are going to play how they play. And if they don't take away those guys they're going to kill them. So we're just waiting on our time to come. And when it does, we're going to take advantage of it."
What have you seen from LSU's defensive unit as you guys have started to scout them?
"They're one of the best defenses in the league. Everybody knows that. They're fast, strong and big. We've just got to come out there and play our game and do the best we can."
How have you seen Ashton continue to develop this season?
"That's my dawg. We've been kicking it since last year when I got here. I've been knowing what he can do, playing defense at the beginning, guarding him one-on-one and stuff like that. I've been knowing what he can do, everybody else is just now seeing it. I love what I'm seeing from him."
Coach Elko talked about the buy-in and how everybody wants the ball. Why do you think the buy in has been so big this year?
"Because of the brotherhood we've got. We trust each other. We know what each other can do with the ball. Just the love we got for one another that we've built over the Summer and the Spring, going through the conditioning and the workouts. Everybody's out there dying but picking each other up. We all went through it all together, so (it's) just having each other's back."
How much confidence do you have in short yardage situations this season compared to last?
"We've got a bunch of confidence. We know 4th-and-1, 4th-and-3, whatever it is, we feel like we can get it every time. (It's) Just Coach Elko trusting us and putting us in a position to go for it. I feel like we're going to get it every time."
Media Availability: Dalton Brooks
When Coach Elko said we're not going to have a defensive player of the week or anything like that, how was that received?
"It wasn't a bad reaction by anybody on the team. We knew what we did. We knew how the game went. It wasn't our best game. So nobody was really overwhelmed or anything like that. We knew what we had to get done and we didn't complete our job fully."
What do you all have to do moving forward to be the kind of defense that y'all want to be and can be?
"Continue to communicate at a high level. That's really what it takes. As long as we communicate at a high level and really bond together as one as a defense I think we'll be fine."
Coach Elko said he talked to you guys yesterday and gave a tough message for the defense. What was kind of said and how well did y'all receive it?
"It was kind of a real message. He just kind of kept it real with us. We didn't have the game that we should have had, but it is what it is. He gave us a real message, something that we needed to hear, not what we wanted to hear."
When you consider your personal performance this year, what do you feel like you're doing really well and are there any things that you can look at and say okay, this is what I want to get better at?
"For me, I want to grow as a communicator. I want to be more of a leader on the defense, make more of a stand. when all 11 is out there. everybody's looking at me. I'm the safety. I've got to make big decisions for the defense. So I want to be able to do that with more confidence."
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