By ROBERT CESSNAOne thing both want to see is the return of key performers who are nursing injuries, which has been the biggest thorn in an otherwise upbeat fall camp. But even with more than 10 key players missing, the coaches had plenty to digest from a 99-97 victory by the defense in a 90-minute scrimmage that ended 13 straight days of practice.
The offense started fast by scoring on two of three possessions.
Senior quarterback Jerrod Johnson completed a 3-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Terrence McCoy, capping a 14-play, 70-yard drive. It was the second fourth down converted. The first was a 20-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Uzoma Nwachukwu, who added a 12-yard reception on the next play.
Sophomore inside linebacker Kyle Mangan sacked freshman quarterback Matt Joeckel to stop the offense's next possession, but Joeckel and the second unit bounced back to score in five plays. Redshirt freshman Gaston Lamascus from Navasota caught an 11-yard pass to start the drive. Michael Walker, also a redshirt freshman, hauled in a nifty 39-yard pass followed by a 17-yarder to set up a short touchdown run by Joeckel.
That gave the offense a 36-17 lead in a modified scoring system where every play had the potential to earn or lose points for either side.
Johnson completed a pair of passes to sophomore wide receiver Ryan Swope and a third-down throw to junior wide receiver Jeff Fuller moved the chains, but sophomore Kenric McNeal dropped a third-down pass. Drops were repeated in the scrimmage even by Fuller and senior Terrence McCoy, who have been among the camp's most sure-handed receivers.
"We made some good catches, but sure as heck, we dropped about six balls," Sherman said. "You can't function on third down if you're going to be dropping footballs.
"We spend a lot of time on the jugs machine and a lot of time just catching balls. It's obviously not enough, so we'll give that due diligence in practice when they come back Monday."
After McNeal's drop, Randy Bullock missed a 45-yard field goal. The junior kicker also missed a 47-yarder just before the half after Johnson had completed four straight passes in a one-minute timed session to get the team in field-goal range.
"Randy missed a couple of field goals that I would have liked him to make," Sherman said. "He came back and made a couple after that, but he's got to make them right from the get-go."
A big play by the defense in the second half was an interception by junior cornerback Lionel Smith, which came after Johnson had taken the first unit into the red zone.
"He's been hurt a little lately," Sherman said of Smith. "He really came on strong in the spring and came on strong when the preseason started. And then he digressed a little bit because of the injuries he was favoring. He seemed like he was healthy today and made some good decisions on some balls."
A&M did a lot of live kicking, with Cyrus Gray starting the scrimmage with a kickoff return that excited the fans who caught a break from the hot temperatures with a gentle breeze and occasional cloud cover. Punting also was a big objective in the scrimmage for Sherman, who implemented simulated television timeouts and took the team into the dressing room for halftime in preparation for the season opener in two weeks against Stephen F. Austin.
"I thought we did decent with punting and protection," he said. "That seemed to look pretty good."
Sherman also was pleased with the second-half running of freshman running backs Ben Malena and Mister Jones after sophomore Christine Michael had a couple nifty runs in the first half.
"We're still not clean in our run fits," DeRuyter said. "There were a couple of times we had [runners break free]. I know we've got good backs and they're going to make guys miss, but we had a couple of plays in there that we weren't clean."
Malena had a 1-yard touchdown run after Joeckel keyed the drive with a 26-yard pass to freshman wide receiver LaKendrick Williams and a 15-yarder to sophomore transfer Seth Gardner.
Malena, though, banged his ribs later and missed the last couple of series, with Jones taking all the carries.
"I think Ben showed us something [and ] I think Mister showed some things, too," Sherman said.
Sherman just would rather not see Malena's name on Monday's injury report.
Several workouts in the past week had at least 10 players limited by injuries, including Saturday. Backup quarterback/wide receiver Ryan Tannehill joined the group with a foot injury but is expected back Monday along with outside linebacker Sean Porter (ankle/foot). Sherman said it was a good time to rest Tannehill, giving the younger players more snaps. The Aggies did the same with All-American Von Miller, resting him in the second half and freeing more work for the other outside linebackers.
Junior cornerback Coryell Judie, who is having a solid fall, sprained his ankle in the first half and did not return. He joins junior starting strong safety Trent Hunter, who missed much of the week, and sophomore free safety Steven Campbell, who has yet to practice because of a mid-foot sprain. Starting defensive lineman Tony Jerod-Eddie didn't have contact for the second straight day, and Sherman wasn't sure about the timetable for the junior returning.
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Quote of the day: "I don't think it would be a good idea to go walk around the mall or go for a marathon or shopping with their mothers and girlfriends." -- Sherman on wanting his players to stay off their feet on Sunday, the first off day of camp.
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Assessing the freshman QBs: Tannehill's absence allowed Joeckel and Jameill Showers, who took part in spring drills, to get more snaps.
"You have to understand it's kinda a hodgepodge unit when they get in there," Sherman said. "So, it's a little bit difficult to function at full speed. But they've had some good practices. I don't think today was particularly as sharp as they've been. You get on the game field, the tempo's a little faster. You get a little bit of the crowd going. You get a little bit of a single camera on you. I didn't think they [did] as well as they have in practice. But they are going to be fine, they just need to work out some kinks."
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Nice transition: Sophomore tight end Michael Lamothe, who is making the transition from linebacker, had a 16-yard catch on the first scoring drive. He's been catching more passes in practice, and the 6-foot-3, 231-pounder is often used in goal-line situations.
"He's a real smart kid," Sherman said. "He's not always the prettiest guy doing the job, but he gets it done, almost consistently. He did have one drop today, but other than that he's been pretty consistent. He knows his position extremely well."
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Next up: After taking Sunday off, A&M's final two-a-day session will be Monday (8:25 a.m. at the Coolidge practice fields and 4 p.m. at McFerrin, which is closed to the public). The rest of the week's practices, tentatively, will be 8:25 a.m. Tuesday (outside), 3:30 p.m. Wednesday (inside), 12:20 p.m. Thursday (outside) and 9:15 a.m. Friday (outside).
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