The Aggies are focused, and it shows.
Quarterback Jerrod Johnson didn't know he'd thrown for 300 yards in the season opener Saturday against Stephen F. Austin until his cousin told him. Wide receiver Jeff Fuller wasn't aware that he's a touchdown reception away from being the school's career leader in receiving scores until a teammate told him after his 6-yard touchdown grab against the Lumberjacks. Heck, Fuller, for the life of him, couldn't even remember which teammate had said it.
Is that just coach-speak coming through the players?
Maybe, until you examine how the offense performed. It had one penalty in 99 plays, a false start by guard Patrick Lewis. The other two flags were on the defense -- offside by freshman outside linebacker Demontre Moore and a substitution infraction.
A&M was one of 18 FBS teams that didn't have a turnover over the weekend, but the Aggies had the most snaps among 109 teams, four more than Oregon had in a 72-0 victory over New Mexico.
A&M's 539 total yards was 13th best in the country. So when you add that along with penalties and turnovers, the Aggies by far had the best combined numbers in the nation.
Another telling statistic is comparing the effort to last year's 41-6 season-opening victory over New Mexico. A&M's offense had eight penalties for 70 yards in that one -- five holds, two motions and a grounding.
*
A&M head football coach Mike Sherman said it's too early to tell if Von Miller (sprained ankle) will play against Louisiana Tech on Saturday night.
"He's getting treatment early in the mornings and in the afternoons," Sherman said. "We're trying to get him ready to go."
Miller, who typically talks at Monday's press conferences, was getting treatment during the interviews.
Senior defensive back DeMaurier Thompson tore his ACL and is likely out for the season. Redshirt freshman tight end Hutson Prioleau played against SFA despite a gimpy ankle. Sophomore tight end Michael Lamothe (cartilage bruise) could have played if needed, but was held out. Junior backup quarterback/wide receiver Ryan Tannehill was banged up but should be OK, Sherman said.
*
After further review, A&M sophomore wide receiver Ryan Swope leads the nation after one week with 13 catches.
Swope was initially credited with eight catches for 62 yards -- which several outlets reported. Five bubble screen tosses to him for 44 yards were originally recorded as runs. But after conferring with game officials who said they would have ruled incomplete passes had Swope not caught them, the plays officially became pass receptions after also checking with the Big 12 office.
Swope's 13-reception effort was matched by Missouri's T.J. Moe.
Swope, who has been timed at 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash, said either he or junior running back Cyrus Gray is the offense's fastest, with sophomore running back Christine Michael also in the mix.
*
Offensive left tackle Luke Joeckel was the first true freshman to start at that spot in 17 seasons for line coach Jim Turner.
"One of the toughest things was playing in front of 81,000, obviously I've never done that," Joeckel said.
Joeckel said the biggest crowd while playing at Arlington High was probably 10,000 in the playoffs.
*
Sherman said place-kicking will be a concern until he sees consistency.
Junior Randy Bullock missed a 24-yard field goal. Sherman said after reviewing the tape the hold wasn't perfect, but the snap wasn't as bad as he first thought.
Bullock did bounce back to hit field goals from 27 and 32 yards.
SFA got the ball at the 40-yard line to start the game when Bullock's kickoff went out-of-bounds. Bullock had been sailing them out of the end zone in warmups.
*
A&M opened as a 17-point favorite for Saturday's game against Louisiana Tech, and the line was 18 1/2 at press time. ... After reviewing the tape, A&M used 67 players against SFA, nine of them true freshmen. Sherman used 28 true freshmen in his first two seasons. Along with Joeckel, tight end Nehemiah Hicks was the other true freshman to start. He took advantage of the extra reps in practice with Prioleau and Lamothe injured.
*
Louisiana Tech has reinstated wide receiver Tim Molton after an 11-day suspension but dismissed the three players who were suspended with him, and defensive lineman Jared Barron has quit the team.
Molton, linebacker Kiamni Washington, and wide receivers R.P. Stuart and Cruz Williams were suspended Aug. 27 for violating an unspecified team rule.
Stuart, a junior, played in nine games last year with 17 catches for 249 yards and a touchdown. Williams, a sophomore, played in 12 games, getting 15 catches for 259 yards and three scores. Washington, a senior, had 10 tackles in eight games as he battled injuries. Molton is a transfer from Louisiana State.
Barron played in 13 games as a redshirt freshman in 2008 and was credited with 33 tackles, 13 solo. He left the team before preseason camp in 2009.
*
Former Texas A&M place-kicker Matt Szymanski, who transferred to Southern Methodist after two years with the Aggies, is this week's Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Week.
Szymanski, who starred at A&M Consolidated, had a school-record 61-yard field goal in the season opener at Texas Tech. He also hit a 24-field goal and three extra points in a 35-27 loss.
The senior averaged 49.3 yards on four punts.
Notice about comments:
Theeagle.com is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. theeagle.com cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not theeagle.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website. Full terms and conditions can be read here.
Aggiesports.com is proud to offer our users enhanced commenting features. You can now build user-to-user connections, follow friends’ recent posts, add an avatar that fits your personality and more. If you have posted here before you’ll need to sign up again, and if you’ve never posted start now by signing up! If you've already registered for the new comments on www.theeagle.com then just use your Eagle username to log in and start commenting.