Bohls: Much to Nick Saban's chagrin, Jimbo Fisher's Aggies have arrived in the SEC

ATLANTA — The Aggies have arrived.

Figuratively more than literally.

They came to SEC media days on Thursday absent their outstanding wide receiver Ainias Smith after his suspension for an arrest on driving while intoxicated charges, possessing a small amount of marijuana and illegally carrying a weapon.

While Jimbo Fisher declined to comment specifically on Smith’s absence in a private scrum of reporters or at the podium, he did address the bigger elephant in the room. A very large elephant.

On this day, however, Fisher backed way off from his vitriol toward Alabama's Nick Saban after being accused by his former boss of buying his No. 1 recruiting class.

“Listen, we’re great. Just two competitive guys that go at it on a topic that is everywhere,” Fisher said. “There’s no rules in this thing. … I have great respect for Nick. Unfortunately, our thing went public. Nothing is private anymore, is it? But we move on. I have great respect for him and their program like always.”

Uh, Jimbo, you called a press conference to blast him.

Thursday was a far cry from May when Fisher blasted Saban as being “narcissistic” and labeled him “the czar of college football” and basically questioned the Crimson Tide’s ethics.

Needless to say, both are trying to defuse the situation until Oct. 8 when they meet again in Tuscaloosa when the feud, uh, might come up again.

Better yet, there will be much on the line then beyond bragging — and ragging — rights.

BohlsSEC ready to welcome Texas, OU with open arms and checkbooks

Entering his fifth season in College Station, Fisher is anything but shy about the strength of his program, no matter how much a czar questions how he’s constructed it. When I asked if he feels his team is one of the favorites to win the SEC for the first time, Fisher said bluntly, “I do.”

“I feel like we’re going to win every game,” said the 56-year-old coach who has a so-so 21-12 record with the Aggies. “That’s our goal.”

With good reason. And with a realistic chance to do just that.

And why not? LSU’s breaking in a new coach after a 6-7 season and a tie for last place in the SEC West. Auburn’s trying to look for loopholes to replace Bryan Harsin with a Hugh Freeze or a Lane Kiffin. Ole Miss has to find a new quarterback as do Auburn and LSU. Mississippi State seems to have A&M’s number, but Mike Leach is only 11-13 in his two years at Starkville.

Yes, there’s Alabama, but A&M whipped Saban last year and Fisher is clearly getting under his former mentor’s skin.

Just don’t look for the Aggies to crow too much since they haven’t won a national title in 83 years.

Fisher and his players seem to be approaching this season with equal parts confidence and humility.

“We won eight games last year. That's not enough for us,” Fisher said. “We didn’t finish our last two games. We’re not satisfied with that.”

To improve upon that, the Aggies need to upgrade a passing attack that ranked 12th in the SEC last season, work in new receivers like the gifted Evan Stewart and hope Smith minds his P's and Q's and find some replacement pass rushers to address the loss of players who had 29 of the team’s 39 sacks in 2021.

BohlsTexas-Alabama game to pit Nick Saban against his former assistant Steve Sarkisian

Layden Robinson, A&M’s impressive guard and a future high NFL draft pick, isn’t worried about the latter under the direction of new defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin.

“I can’t wait for our defensive line to shock the SEC,” Robinson said.

Just two years ago, the Aggies went 9-1 and were unjustly bumped from the College Football Playoff by brand name Notre Dame. They might have followed that season up with another equally dominant year, but injuries stripped them of their best quarterback, Haynes King, for almost the entire season and put a dent in their offensive line and secondary.

A&M should be in position to start the season high in the top 10 and have enough talent and depth to withstand injuries and make a run for its first conference title since knocking off Kansas State for the Big 12 crown in 1998.

The Aggies served notice they're not going away when they stunned Alabama last October after back-to-back losses to Arkansas and Mississippi State.

Asked if the upset of the Crimson Tide has elevated A&M’s street cred and announced the Aggies’ status as a big-time contender, Robinson didn’t bite.

“Probably not yet,” Robinson said. “But we’re not worried about that.”

Their protestations aside, it seems the Aggies have established themselves as budding SEC contenders.

Now can they remain there?

GoldenSteve Sarkisian's second season could hinge on his QB call

Few would argue that Fisher doesn’t have A&M in position to climb into the No. 2 spot in the SEC West now that there may be a void in that spot for the moment. He said he thought they have everything in place to be a top 10 team every year, and he’s probably right.

Save for an occasional Ainias Smith deviation — and most think he’ll sit one game or two with Miami coming to town on Week 3  — the Aggies have it all going their way:

∙ They have a proven winner in Fisher, who has had just one losing season in 12 years and has a national title from 2013 in his pocket; he's one of only five active head coaches with such although two of the others are in his league with Saban and Georgia’s Kirby Smart.

∙ They have stability in that Fisher feels at home in College Station, loves to hunt and fish and is approaching Year 2 of his new 10-year deal paying him $9 million a year. If LSU and former Aggies athletic director Scott Woodward couldn’t pry him out of College Station with offers estimated in the $13 million neighborhood, Fisher’s probably where he wants to be for the long haul.

∙ They just signed the No. 1 recruiting class of all time with six five-star prospects and 20 four-star players, many of whom will contribute immediately like wide receiver Evan Stewart, the MVP of the spring game, and defensive lineman Walter Nolen. Eleven enrolled early.

∙ They beat Alabama, handing the Tide their only regular-season loss in the last two years.

∙ Save for last season, they have owned Arkansas, which had lost nine straight to the Aggies before last year.

∙ Lastly, they have 11 starters back and an infusion from four top recruiting classes and should start the season as a top five team with legitimate national championship aspirations.

“I’m as excited as I’ve ever been,” Fisher said. “I’m excited about where we are and the future of our program.”

And excited that he and Nick have buried the hatchet ... somewhere besides in each other’s back.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Fisher putting bad blood with Saban, last year's 8-4 record behind him