COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The most discussed topic in Texas A&M’s football program this offseason has been new Aggies defensive coordinator, John Chavis.

“Chief,” as he’s nicknamed, is someone the Aggies hope injects life into a unit that ranked last in the SEC in total defense and rushing defense the last two seasons. With two decades of SEC defensive coordinator experience and numerous top-flight defenses in that time, expectations are high for an improved unit.

With his Texas A&M debut approaching on Saturday, here’s a look at what various folks in the program have said about Chavis this offseason:

“I didn’t ‘kind of.’ That’s exactly what I did.”

-- Head coach Kevin Sumlin when asked if he “kind of” took the approach of “If you can’t beat him, hire him” with Chavis after the Aggies failed to score 20 points three straight years in losses to LSU.

“I think the immediate difference is probably in ‘attacking personality.’ You know, first day, he walked in, and he said, ‘You do all these workouts and you do all this 7-on-7 in the summer to win a championship. No school in the SEC West should be afraid to say they are doing all this work to win a championship .’”

-- Defensive lineman Julien Obioha on the differences Chavis brought to the Texas A&M defense.

“Oh it’s great. He’s been excited since he’s been here. We’ve had a lot of great conversations. He told me today when I was standing out there before practice and he was looking around at the white helmets and he said ‘Coach, I can’t tell you how excited I am for today.’ I said ‘I can’t tell you how excited I am too’ [laughs].”

-- Sumlin on seeing Chavis out at practice for the first time in spring football.

“We changed [practice] a little bit today to a teaching pace. It was interesting at the end. Before I could say anything he said ‘Coach, that was good, but we can go faster than that.’ I said ‘All right. Be careful what you wish for. We can go real fast here’ [laughs].”

-- Sumlin on the tempo of the offense – which is usually fast for the Aggies – after the first practice with Chavis in March.

“It’s way easier. Press-man is my game. I love that, I’m sure the other corners love it. It’s more competitive. He singles the responsibility. Do what you’re asked to do. Guard the man in front of you.”

-- Cornerback De’Vante Harris on Chavis’ coverage scheme.

“His resume and background speaks for itself. I think we’ve all learned a lot from him.”

-- Defensive tackles coach Mark Hagen.

“You go back to the first time he addressed our players, you could have heard a pin drop. All guys were zeroed in on him and our players have certainly bought in.”

-- Hagen on Chavis’ first meeting with the defense.

“Oh he's just a fun guy in general. I love the way he coaches. He's always pumped, he's always ready. He'll celebrate with you and that gets me fired up.”

-- Defensive end Myles Garrett on Chavis’ personality.

"Swagger. You can see why LSU players play the way they do, because it all starts with Coach Chavis. We just need to go out there and have fun.”

-- Obioha on the attitude under Chavis.

"I was talking to someone the other day and they asked me, 'Who's going to be your best offensive weapon? I said, 'John Chavis,' because of his experience and what he brings to the table. ... He's the first defensive coordinator that has ever told me, 'Hey, I'm going to put in Double Eagle and have the mike [linebacker] blitz today,' before we go out to practice. He doesn't want us to lose reps out of this. ... We're working so great with each other."

--Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital on his relationship with Chavis.