North Carolina A&T is 0-2, but Shawn Gibbs doesn’t believe the Aggies need to panic.
They just need to stop beating themselves.
After being outplayed during a 49-21 loss to Georgia State, Gibbs said A&T’s biggest problems have been self-inflicted. Now, with rival North Carolina Central waiting Saturday, the Aggies have an opportunity to change the narrative.
“We’ve got to stop worrying about trying to prove that we belong anywhere and we just got to get back to being who we really are,” Gibbs said on Monday.
That starts with discipline.
A&T committed nine penalties for 90 yards against Georgia State, a figure that exceeded the Aggies’ rushing total. The team also allowed a blocked kick for the second consecutive game.
For Gibbs, those mistakes are more than statistical footnotes.
“Culture is not what we do, it’s what we allow,” he said.
The penalties have consistently put A&T behind the chains, making it more difficult for the offense to establish the run and stay efficient on third down. The Aggies have committed 18 infractions through the first two weeks.
“We’re killing ourselves,” Gibbs said.
Gibbs wants his team to return to the fundamentals — proper footwork, hand placement, leverage and head positioning. Defensively, the Aggies must tighten the box, eliminate running lanes, set better edges and do a better job getting off blocks.
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NC Central presents another challenge.
The Eagles will be led by quarterback Nelson Lane, a player A&T recruited before he landed with its rival. Gibbs called Lane “a really, really dynamic player” capable of hurting defenses with both his arm and his legs.
A&T’s answer, Gibbs said, is to play its own style of football.
Offensively, that means becoming more efficient on first down, finding a way to run the ball and taking more shots downfield to force Central’s defense to back off.
Despite the 0-2 start, Gibbs remains encouraged because he believes many of A&T’s problems can be corrected.
“This isn’t the start that we wanted, but everything that we want is still in front of us,” he said.
He wants them focused on the details.
“Everything that we do matters,” Gibbs said.
For the Aggies, Saturday against rival North Carolina Central offers a chance to prove that those details can finally start producing a different result.
