Jimbo Fisher may be the head coach of Texas A&M but in his heart, he’s still just a quarterback.

The former Samford University star and Division III National Player of the Year found his calling early in life under center. That’s where his love of the game was formed and what ultimately led him to a career in coaching. Now that he’s roaming the sidelines in College Station, Fisher has no plans to deviate from what got him his mega-deal from the Aggies.

Before jumping into his thoughts on why he plans to continue to call plays for the Aggies this fall, Fisher was asked about his Texas A&M’s depth chart heading into the season. Kellen Mond and Nick Starkell are both listed as starters heading into the Northwestern State game and Fisher was asked when a decision on a starter would be coming.

“Someone will have to start the game but right now, I feel very comfortable with both guys… Quarterback is down to two things as far as the physical part: decision making and accuracy,” Fisher said during his Thursday media availability. “Can he make the right decision to run or pass? Can he take care of the ball and can he manage crises that don’t have anything to do with him?

“We talk about throwing, and throwing the ball is important, it is but you have to be accurate, but then you have to manage crisis, you have to influence players, you have to manage players, how the team responds to you. The type of things you have to do as a team to move the football.”

Following those series of comments, Fisher was then asked about the playcalling responsibilities in College Station this season. To no surprise, Fisher said he would handle those duties but would lean on his assistants for help during the game between offensive series.

“Coach Dickey will be in the press box giving out things and ideas while going through our gameplan and our thoughts, I’ll send the plays in, but sometimes I’ll say, ‘Yes, that’s what we want to do.’ We will each know what we want to do and other coaches will too. It’s not just always a coordinator,” Fisher said.

No matter how far removed Fisher gets from his playing days at Samford, it’s clear the A&M coach still sees the game as if he was the quarterback on the field. That’s likely played a role in all the success his quarterbacks have had playing under him in college and may explain why they often struggle to adjust to playing the game after leaving him.

When asked why he feels so strongly about calling the plays, the quarterback in Fisher came out.

“Because I think I still love to be involved with the quarterback,” Fisher explained. “That’s something that got me to where I’m going and being able to see as one, and I think that’s very important as a playcaller and something I feel very passionately about and love to do. I think, when you call a game, you call a game through the quarterback’s eyes. There’s times you have to tell him, ‘You have to go out on a limb. It could be something you don’t like or aren’t comfortable with but we have got to have this to win,’ and he understands why. But I understand what he can do, what his strengths are, what his weaknesses are.”

Simply stated, Fisher isn’t ready to be done being a quarterback and having fun on the field.

“I still like coaching,” he concluded. “I still like the fun part of all this.”