Practice No. 11: The Texas A&M football team worked out in full pads at the Coolidge practice fields Tuesday morning for 2 hours, 25 minutes.
The temperature reached 90 degrees by the end of the workout, with the heat index much higher.
"I thought we were a little sluggish today," A&M head coach Mike Sherman said. "The lack of numbers got to us a little bit today. We have a lot of guys banged up and some guys had to do double duty, [but] we didn't necessarily cut back the work load."
Sherman said they've been stacking good practices, so if the team can rebound Wednesday with two good workouts, "we'll be all right."
A&M has had several key players miss practice time with minor injuries. Some workouts have had as many as 10 missing.
*
The reasons for the spread punt formation: A&M stations three players in front of the punter, which works somewhat as a shield. Sherman said eight of the teams in the Big 12 use a variation of the formation.
Sherman's reasons for using the formation are:
* It takes pressure off the long snapper, who doesn't have to be a blocker and can concentrate on getting the ball back to the punter.
* It allows for a less-than-perfect snap to get the punt off.
* It also allows A&M to get players down field.
*
Weighing Scales: Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Rhontae Scales (6-foot-6, 317 pounds) was moved to defense at the start of fall camp. Sherman said the coaching staff would talk about Scales, and if he isn't going to be in the two-deep chart he'll be moved back to offense.
*
More than just DeRuyter: Sherman said first-year defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter has lived up to expectations, but his knowledge of the 3-4 package that's being installed and the assistants working under him have also been a huge plus in the defense's strong showing.
"I think it's a collective effort with Tim at the helm," Sherman said.
*
A kickoff return for every sack?: All-American Von Miller, who led the nation in sacks last season with 17, returned kickoffs Tuesday.
"He did it in high school and he asked to do it," Sherman said. "So we just gave him a chance."
Did Miller look good?
"Practice is one thing," Sherman said. "Games are something else."
*
Et cetera: Faces in the crowd included Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Famer "Mean" Joe Greene, who scouts for the team, and former A&M defensive back Alton Dixon (2005-08).
*
Next up: Practices No. 12/13 will be Wednesday at 8:25 a.m (Coolidge) and 4 p.m. at the McFerrin Center (closed). The rest of the week's practices will be Thursday at 8:25 a.m. (Coolidge); Friday at 8:25 a.m (Coolidge) and 4 p.m. at the McFerrin Center (closed); and Saturday at 8:55 a.m. (Coolidge).
Outside practices are open to Aggies. Students, faculty and staff must show their A&M ID. Students and former students also will be admitted with an Aggie ring.
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.