Practice No. 4: The Texas A&M football team worked out in helmets and shorts for 2 hours, 30 minutes in the McFerrin Center on Thursday.
"I thought we competed," A&M head coach Mike Sherman said. "We made some progress."
*
Great ending: For the second time in three days, the practice ended with an interception return for a touchdown.
Sophomore linebacker Jonathan Stewart intercepted a pass by junior quarterback Ryan Tannehill intended for sophomore Brandal Jackson. Stewart, who was moving to his right, reached high to grab the pass and had a clear path to the end zone.
Sherman said Stewart didn't have a good first day of practice, and they talked about it afterward.
"He's come back the last couple of practices and picked it up," Sherman said. "We're really counting on him stepping up and being the player we recruited to come here, and I believe he is headed that way. We're not quite there just yet."
Stewart came out of spring drills as the backup to senior Von Miller at outside linebacker, but A&M also is looking at the 235-pound Stewart at inside linebacker.
Sherman said the players who end up being the team's third-best inside and outside linebackers each needs to be able to play both inside and out.
*
McFerrin helps: A&M worked out inside Wednesday night and Thursday morning to cut down on cramping, which was an issue last season when the Aggies had six straight workouts outside before heading indoors.
"Today was much, much better," said Sherman, who made the switch after looking at his notes from last year's workout schedule.
The Aggies opted not to wear shoulder pads.
"They need to learn how to practice with their shells on because of a lot of tackling going on below the waist," Sherman said. "We don't want to lose any players because they're not smart."
*
Quarterbacks struggling: "There were some bright spots," Sherman said of his quarterbacks Thursday. "[But] we threw two interceptions and the defense won the last drill to win for the day. I thought we threw two interceptions we shouldn't have thrown. So I'm not real pleased with them at this point."
Sherman said the defense played to down and distance well, but as offensive coordinator, he said the quarterback made bad decisions.
"It doesn't matter who we play," he said. "If we make a bad decision, we're going to turn the ball over. We can't make bad decisions."
*
Injury update: Sophomore linebacker Sean Porter, who had thumb surgery for a torn ligament, is attending his grandmother's funeral in Alabama. He'll practice with a cast on when he returns.
Sophomore wide receiver Ryan Swope (quad) should be back Monday or Tuesday.
Junior linebacker Garrick Williams was back after missing much of Thursday after banging his shoulder.
*
I got it coach: Sophomore defensive back DeAndre Thompson caught an earful from defensive backs coach Charles McMillian, then made an interception on the next play during 7-on-7 drills. Thompson also made an interception later during 11-on-11 drills.
McMillian and inside linebackers coach Dat Nguyen at times were almost whispering to players because they've lost their voices from barking out instructions for four days.
"It's crazy," Nguyen said with a big smile. "I think all of the coaches have lost their voice. It's part of the deal. I don't think it's mean to yell. We're just out there trying to make sure they get our undivided attention."
*
Et cetera: Young defensive linemen showing promise have been freshman Ivan Robinson (6-3, 270), junior Ben Bass (6-5, 280) and junior transfer Jonathan Mathis (6-2, 285). Bass sat out last year for academic reasons. "I think our defensive line has had a pretty decent camp thus far," Sherman said. ... Sophomore Tommy Dorman, who was moved from tight end to inside linebacker at the start of fall camp, came up with an interception during 7-on-7 drills. Junior defensive back Coryell Judie and sophomore defensive back Dustin Harris also had interceptions. ... Players set to graduate Friday are defensive back Chris Caflisch and defensive linemen Lucas Patterson and Cody Williams. Quarterback Jerrod Johnson, linebacker Michael Hodges, wide receiver Cody Beyer and defensive back DeMaurier Thompson already have their degrees. Former football players who will receive their degrees Friday include Arkeith Brown, Pierre Fleurinor, Howard Morrow, Matt Moss and Antonio Perry.
*
Next up: Practice No. 5 will be at 8:25 a.m. Friday and is scheduled for the Coolidge practice fields. A&M will wear full pads for the first time. Saturday will be the first two-a-days with an 8:25 a.m. workout on the grass practice fields and a 4 p.m. workout in the McFerrin Center, which will be closed to the public. A&M will scrimmage at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at Kyle Field. Outside practices are open to Aggies. Students, faculty and staff must show their A&M ID at the Coolidge practice fields. Students and former students also will be admitted with an Aggie ring.
*
Blog: Who is A&M's best player, Johnson or Miller? See Robert Cessna's blog at aggiesports.com.
-- Robert Cessna
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.