By ROBERT CESSNAFinal fall camp practice: The Texas A&M football team worked out in shells in the McFerrin Center early Friday morning for 2 hours, 30 minutes.
"I thought the fall camp went well," A&M head coach Mike Sherman said. "The kids have a great attitude, they've worked hard. We had a couple clunker-type practices, which I think everybody does. But for the most part, I thought we had good practices."
Despite the heat, none of the players had dehydration problems. Sherman also adjusted the work schedule, which resulted in very little cramping.
The team did more individual tackling than Sherman's previous two camps, which led to some injuries, which "was a little disappointing but nothing too debilitating that we haven't been able to get most of the guys back," he said.
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Fine-tuning the offense: A&M did a lot of drills in camp on down and distance, especially inside the opponent's 20-yard line.
A&M had some gaudy offensive numbers last year -- fifth in total offense and 19th in scoring offense -- but was 87th in red zone offense. And the Aggies scored 20 points or less in four of their losses.
"The perception was we did some pretty good things on offense, but the reality was we didn't score enough points in a number of ballgames," Sherman said.
The offense, which graduated three starting linemen, was hampered by several players missing time. Tight end was hit hardest, with redshirt freshman Hutson Prioleau, sophomore Michael Lamothe and freshman Nehemiah Hicks each missing scrimmage time. At wide receiver, sophomores Uzoma Nwachukwu, Ryan Swope and Brandal Jackson missed time, while junior running back Cyrus Gray also was held out of contact a few days.
"We're trying to get everybody on the same page, [that] is really what we're trying to accomplish," Sherman said.
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Quote of the day: "We probably ought to give him a week's vacation every week because he threw the ball about as good as you can throw it today." -- Sherman on junior quarterback Ryan Tannehill (foot), who had been held out of contact drills for five days.
Sherman, though, said that Tannehill's interception in the workout-ending red zone session still bothered him.
Junior linebacker Garrick Williams made an easy interception as Tannehill locked in on junior Jeff Fuller, who had beaten the cornerback on a slant.
"But other than that, [Tannehill] did a pretty good job," Sherman said.
Williams, who also was cited several times by Sherman in fall camp for strong play, also had an interception of freshman quarterback Matt Joeckel during 11-on-11 drills.
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Johnson takes a break: Junior starting quarterback Jerrod Johnson participated in only the first two team drills, resting his arm, which also gave more work to Tannehill and the freshmen.
"He'll be throwing a lot of balls [next week] between Monday and Saturday," Sherman said. "So, I just thought he needed a day off. ... I just wanted to hold him back."
Sherman did the same with All-America linebacker Von Miller last week and sophomore free safety Steven Terrell earlier this week.
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Injury update: Prioleau (high ankle sprain) didn't take part in drills, but was running on his own, while Lamothe (rib) took part in all drills.
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Et cetera: Junior strong safety Trent Hunter, who just returned from a foot injury earlier this week, intercepted a Johnson pass intended for senior wide receiver Terrence McCoy during a 7-on-7 drill. ... Junior defensive lineman Tony Jerod-Eddie knocked down a Tannehill pass during red zone action. ... Joeckel threw a touchdown pass to sophomore Kenric McNeal during red zone reps. ... Sherman said the players did a great job practicing faster without pads on this fall. ... The players left after brunch and will return Sunday night to prepare for classes and the home opener Saturday against Stephen F. Austin. Sherman said he didn't want to hear about any player water skiing over the weekend.
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La. Tech suspends four: RUSTON, La. -- Louisiana Tech, which plays at A&M on Sept. 11, has suspended four players indefinitely for violating a team rule.
Wide receivers Tim Molton, R.P. Stuart and Cruz Williams and linebacker Kiamni Washington were suspended retroactive to Aug. 23. None of the players have participated in any team meetings or practices since.
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 LSU.
First-year head coach Sonny Dykes, in Friday's announcement, did not specify what rule was violated.
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