Q. Shemar, there's been a lot of talk today about Mike Elko's first year kind of bringing accountability within the program. What would you attribute kind of your guys' mentality of holding each other accountable and kind of putting your heads down and going to work, that kind of mentality?
SHEMAR TURNER: So, yeah, our mentality switched a lot from the beginning because at first we was, like, man, why is he doing all this? But once we started to see the big picture behind it, our mentality switched.
So we've been on each other heavy about everything. It could be the smallest, hey, nobody is missing breakfast, nobody is missing dinner, nobody is missing none of that. No matter how minuscule you think it is, get there.
I feel like we've been doing a pretty good job of keeping that mentality, staying consistent with the accountability.
Q. Do players like to be coached that way?
SHEMAR TURNER: Yes, yes, yes. If you are a guy that loves the sport of football, you love being coached hard. It don't matter what it is. It can be on and off the field.
Like I said, it can be missing breakfast. I want a coach on me if I miss anything, and I don't miss nothing.
Q. I heard earlier you call Coach Elko a magician. Can you expand on that, why you call him that and what he has done to this defense?
SHEMAR TURNER: Just how smart he is and the plays and stuff like that he is able to draw up to create certain one-on-ones and to get one-on-ones across the board. Sending one or two extra guys or maybe even not sending them. Twisting into a one-on-one. Something like that. Just his ability, like his defensive-minded ability to set stuff up.
Q. You talk about getting accustomed to the new coaching staff. What is it like meshing with the new transfers on the team? Of course, there's a lot of them. How has it been getting accustomed to them and getting them part of the team?
SHEMAR TURNER: I feel like the transition was pretty easy because all of them came in. Everybody was pretty much cool. Nobody came in like hostile and nothing like that. Everybody was talkative. Nic, Cashius, all of them, it wasn't nothing to bring them and treat them like family from day one.
Q. What are some of the major differences in the overall attitude of the locker room this season compared to last?
SHEMAR TURNER: Man, just, I would say the work ethic. It's changed in everyone. It's not just a handful of people on both sides of the ball that really, really want to win and really, really want to be great at the sport of football. I feel like everybody's mentality is switching over now because Elko harps being hardworking and he harps relationships and stuff like that with your teammates so much. I feel like it's made everybody work harder for each other and not only for themselves. You're not there for yourself no more.
Q. It seems pretty rare that you find a true sophomore that's a captain. What do you notice about Taurean in practice and on game day and how much he's meant to the team, just in a year-and-a-half or so?
SHEMAR TURNER: Man, the respect he got since he was a freshman is crazy. Just the way he approaches the game, he loves the sport of football. He watches film. He's always in his playbook. He attacks workouts like it's the Super Bowl.
Just having a guy like that at that young of an age is crazy. He gained the respect of everybody quickly.
Q. One of your former teammates transferred to Auburn. Isaiah Raikes. What kind of player is Auburn getting in your former teammate, Isaiah Raikes?
SHEMAR TURNER: They're going to get somebody that's going to go every day. I love Raikes to death. Raikes is going to work his butt off every day, and Raikes is going to give his all every day. They can expect a guy that's going to come out there and produce for them at a very high level consistently.
Q. Your defensive line is a deep talented unit. You all pride yourselves on the rest of the defense can do their job, but as a unit taking on maybe responsibility that we can keep single-handedly our team and games -- if we can do our job, it makes all the other units being able to flourish even more and kind of taking on that burden a little bit as a group with how talented you are?
SHEMAR TURNER: Oh, yes, sir. We take that full-on. We love having that on our back, man, being able to go in and you can really cancel a team out just with your defensive line. It's crazy.
So, yes, sir, that's one thing we do love about being here at A&M having all these guys with us, being able to have that mentality of we can go in this game and win this game right here. We can do it. We love it.
Q. What are your first impressions of the EA Sports video game?
SHEMAR TURNER: (Laughing.) It's fun. To me, personally, it's way more realistic than Madden, so that's one thing I did love. Linebackers play everything now.
I love NCAA. Every day.
Q. Coach talked about how this has been a pretty quiet offseason. How do you think this offseason compares to maybe those that you have experienced years past with Coach Fisher?
SHEMAR TURNER: It's a lot of unnecessary talking when you can be working. Just that right there pretty much is just putting your head down and working, grinding, and going 100% every day, getting better.
Q. To go back to the video game, are you happy with your rating?
SHEMAR TURNER: Initially I thought I was going to be a little higher, but I'm not mad with it. Overall it's not bad to me, and it won't be 88 the whole season, so... (laughing).
Q. Who would you say is the best gamer on the team? Are you as competitive in this as you are on the field?
SHEMAR TURNER: The best gamer? Me. Overall, me. Madden, me. NCAA, me, probably. What was the rest of the question? I'm sorry.
Q. (Off microphone).
SHEMAR TURNER: I might be a little too competitive on the game. That's my problem.
Q. What were you big factors in leading you to decide to come back to Texas A&M after all the changes following last season?
SHEMAR TURNER: One, was having a conversation with my mother and how me and her wanted to come up with a plan for me to graduate before I left college. So getting my Aggie ring and my degree was a big part of me coming back here to A&M. And two, was the conversations I had with Elko. Everything he was saying was making sense. I had stuff on and off the field to fix to higher my draft grade. If I can boost my stock in any kind of way, come back and do better, I will. So that's what my mentality was coming back.
Q. What would you give your overall rating as a gamer, if you had to give yourself an overall rating for gaming purposes?
SHEMAR TURNER: One out of ten --
Q. No, out of 99, just like the game. You are 88 overall in the game as a player. How would you rate yourself as an overall rating as a gamer?
SHEMAR TURNER: Oh, as a gamer? Oh, probably like a 98. I think a 98 because when I start games, I'm not as good at them, but I pick up quick on whatever. Probably like a 98 (laughing).
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports