Photo by: Julianne Shivers/Texas A&M Athletics
Player Press Conference Quotes: Utah State
Sep 02, 2025 | Football
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION--Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion and safety Marcus Ratcliffe met the press following Tuesday's practice during the Aggies' weekly player media availability.
No. 19 A&M (1-0) is set to host Utah State Saturday at Kyle Field. SEC Network will broadcast the game nationally with kickoff set for 11:45 a.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.
(Were you able to recognize the three blocks that EJ Smith threw for you?) "Yes, most definitely. I thank that man so much for that block, man. For all those blocks. The effort that he saw on that play was just truly amazing. I can't thank him enough for that, man."
(What was the whole entire gameday experience like for you?) "It was amazing, man. From the night before, the meals we had were amazing. The movie we watched the day before the game...I was never really used to any of that. And then just waking up, hopping on that bus, hopping off the bus, seeing everybody out there, and then finally able to get inside that stadium...it was a blessing man. Just to be here, be around the Aggie Nation, the 12th Man and just and just able to perform for you guys."
(Everybody was just wowed by all the big plays, but one of the things that stood out was all the receivers downfield blocking. Why is that apparently such an emphasis?) "That was just something that I was taught as a kid. If you don't block, you don't get the ball. You know, Ashton (Bethel-Roman), (Terry) Bussey, Rio (Mario Craver), me...we all want to see each other win, you feel me? So if we can go out there and put our body up on the line for our brothers to get us to the end zone, we're going to do whatever we can to get one of our brothers to the end zone. And that goes for the running backs also."
(How much progress do you feel like you've made personally?) "I think I've made progress from last year. I think my second year being the SEC, I feel a lot more comfortable. I feel like I'm playing faster, my reads are faster. But like I said, even for myself, there's there's levels I can get to with my tackling, my pursuit to the ball, leverage...there's levels to it."
(It seemed like from your first snap to your last you brought so much energy (Saturday). Do you feel like you went out there just with a new perspective?) "Yeah, honestly, I just went out there and had fun. Like I said, I think in the offseason I really, really worked hard to get stronger, get faster, and (Strength) Coach (Tommy) Moffitt and his staff did a great job of developing me the entire offseason. So when I went out there, I just went out with full confidence, knowing I've been trained to do it. I needed to do it."
No. 19 A&M (1-0) is set to host Utah State Saturday at Kyle Field. SEC Network will broadcast the game nationally with kickoff set for 11:45 a.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.
Quotables: KC Concepcion
(Walk us through the punt return...) "So me and Trooper Taylor and the returners, we've been working on this literally the whole summer. I saw that he had kind of out kicked his coverage and I had to come up a line. So whenever I caught the ball, I saw an open seam. And Trooper, he always tells me, get vertical and then the rest is you. So I had a little gap, I got vertical, and then I had peeked outside and I saw there was nobody out there. I was a little tired, but I stuck my foot in the ground and the rest is history."(Were you able to recognize the three blocks that EJ Smith threw for you?) "Yes, most definitely. I thank that man so much for that block, man. For all those blocks. The effort that he saw on that play was just truly amazing. I can't thank him enough for that, man."
(What was the whole entire gameday experience like for you?) "It was amazing, man. From the night before, the meals we had were amazing. The movie we watched the day before the game...I was never really used to any of that. And then just waking up, hopping on that bus, hopping off the bus, seeing everybody out there, and then finally able to get inside that stadium...it was a blessing man. Just to be here, be around the Aggie Nation, the 12th Man and just and just able to perform for you guys."
(Everybody was just wowed by all the big plays, but one of the things that stood out was all the receivers downfield blocking. Why is that apparently such an emphasis?) "That was just something that I was taught as a kid. If you don't block, you don't get the ball. You know, Ashton (Bethel-Roman), (Terry) Bussey, Rio (Mario Craver), me...we all want to see each other win, you feel me? So if we can go out there and put our body up on the line for our brothers to get us to the end zone, we're going to do whatever we can to get one of our brothers to the end zone. And that goes for the running backs also."
Quotables: Marcus Ratcliffe
(How predictable do you think that performance from the secondary was the other night?) "Yeah, I think we wanted to clean up our communication and our pass defense for sure, it's something we've been hammering in the entire offseason. And I thought we did a good job of cleaning up the communication, being super demonstrative as safeties, getting the call to the corners. But, I mean, I think there's levels to it. There's always another level we can take for next week and the week after that."(How much progress do you feel like you've made personally?) "I think I've made progress from last year. I think my second year being the SEC, I feel a lot more comfortable. I feel like I'm playing faster, my reads are faster. But like I said, even for myself, there's there's levels I can get to with my tackling, my pursuit to the ball, leverage...there's levels to it."
(It seemed like from your first snap to your last you brought so much energy (Saturday). Do you feel like you went out there just with a new perspective?) "Yeah, honestly, I just went out there and had fun. Like I said, I think in the offseason I really, really worked hard to get stronger, get faster, and (Strength) Coach (Tommy) Moffitt and his staff did a great job of developing me the entire offseason. So when I went out there, I just went out with full confidence, knowing I've been trained to do it. I needed to do it."
Players Mentioned
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