By RICHARD CROOME
Eagle Staff Writer

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Eagle photo/Dave McDermand

Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee is battling for the starting job, according to head coach Mike Sherman.

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The 2008 version of the Texas A&M football team opened practice on Monday, and if new coach Mike Sherman would have given his team a grade it would probably be incomplete.

The veterans proved they caught on to what the new regime wants last spring, but the incoming freshman were feeling their way around. With at least a handful of newcomers expected to play a major role on this season's team, it will be a while before Sherman can make a judgment.

"We looked like this was the first practice. We did some good things, I thought the guys had good retention from the past spring but we've got to clean some things up," Sherman said. "The younger guys kind of bring it down a bit because they don't know what they are doing.

"We'll be a lot cleaner tomorrow," he added. "There were a lot of positives but we've got a long way to go."

The receivers graded out well in the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, which Sherman believes could be credited to the work they did with the quarterbacks on their own over the summer.

"I thought the receivers caught the ball well today and I'm very pleased with that," Sherman said. "Last spring in the first practice I think we had 28 drops and we might have had one or two today with those guys. So that is vast improvement. Route running has to get better, protection has to get better but their were positives."

The McCoys were a big part of the receivers' good day, with wideout Terrence catching passes along the sideline and tight end Jamie making grabs over the middle.

A two-hour practice in helmets and shorts is not enough time for Sherman to make many evaluations of the newcomers, but he liked what he saw on Cyrus Gray's last run when the freshman running back got outside and showed off his breakaway ability. Gray also had a couple of quality runs before the final jaunt in 11-on-11.

Another freshman that proved he wants to play was freshman defensive lineman Eddie Brown. He showed exceptional hustle in 1-on-1 drills.

Freshman tight end K.J. Williams was unable to practice. The Norman, Okla., product still has some compliance issues, but Sherman doesn't expect any problems once the paperwork comes in.

The double horn drill involved rushing on the field and kicking a mid-range field goal within 17 seconds. Both place-kickers -- senior Richie Bean and freshman Randy Bullock -- connected on their only tries.

Sherman paid particular attention to the blocking drills, standing on the back of the sled for most of one drill with the linemen.

"I try to get to every drill if can [and I] spent some extra time over there because we need to get them going," Sherman said. "Jim [Turner, offensive line coach] is doing a great job with them. I just want to be with them, encourage them."

NOTES -- Athletics director Bill Byrne watched the first half of practice. ... Sherman liked what fullback Jorvorskie Lane showed in practice. He had nice catch and made a quick cut on a good run. Sherman said Lane weighs 290 pounds right now, which is at least 20 pounds more than he wants Lane to carry. ... The team practices again at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, as many of the players are still taking finals. ... Jordan Peterson has moved to safety and was running with the first team Monday. He's wearing No. 5 after having No. 27 the past two seasons. Peterson also fielded the most punts, along with Howard Morrow and Bradley Stephens.

• Richard Croome's e-mail address is richard.croome@theeagle.com.

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