Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher on Monday stood by his grabbing of linebacker Tyrel Dodson's face mask -- an action that drew much reaction and some criticism following the Aggies' win over Arkansas on Saturday -- during his weekly news conference.
Fisher, who was seen on video grabbing Dodson's face mask and yelling at him late in the third quarter of Texas A&M's 24-17 win over the Razorbacks, was asked Monday by local reporters if, after seeing some of the comments in the aftermath, he had any regrets about the incident.
"Listen, I was trying to get a young man's attention is all we were doing," Fisher said. "I didn't grab it, I didn't jerk it, and to keep him from trying to make a ... football is an emotional game. He was caught up in the emotions of the game and [I was] trying to get him to [listen] up."
After his news conference Fisher later came back to clarify his words, saying he misspoke when noting that he "didn't grab" the face mask.
"I grabbed it, I didn't grab it to jerk it," Fisher said. "I was just trying to get his attention and I apologize for saying that. I misspoke when I said that."
Throughout his explanation, Fisher emphasized the close-knit relationship he has with Dodson, a junior who is a team captain and one of the team's best players. On Saturday, following the game, Dodson took to his personal Twitter account to defend Fisher, saying the coach "did the right thing."
I'm in. Coach fisher is an amazing coach, he did the right thing. I let my emotions get the best of me at that certain moment. My teammates and this University needs me. That's why he was so upset! He'll have my back no matter what.
— Tyrel Dodson (@tdots25) September 29, 2018
AGS WIN 👍🏽
Dodson was seen butting heads and exchanging words with Arkansas linebacker Dee Walker after a punt and Fisher came sprinting over to confront Dodson afterward.
"Listen, he and I have a relationship that's second-to-none," Fisher said Monday. "He's my unity council guy, he's a guy that's in my office once or twice a week as I discuss problems with our team, the way we're going to do things and he understood exactly, because I told him, I said 'I can't lose you. You're our team leader, you're our team captain, you're our leading tackler ... I mean, you call all the signals, you do everything.' And I was just trying to get his attention, to get his attention to keep him back in the game and not make a critical mistake and lose him in the game.
"I was not trying to berate him, and if you look at the film when I did it, I pushed him, I tapped him right on the head and said 'Now, we can't have you out of here buddy, we've got to keep you in this game,' and we go and I turned and walked away. And he understood that. And that's exactly what it was and all it was."
Fisher said that for those who disagree with his actions, he "respects that totally." He said he and Dodson have talked about it several times since.
"Oh yeah, I did right afterward," Fisher said. "I actually did it on the sideline, in the locker room and he sits behind me on the bus. We travel on the bus and he sits (points thumb behind his back) right there. We talk about everything under the sun."