Practice No. 14: The Texas A&M football team worked out in full pads at the Coolidge practice fields Thursday morning for 2 hours, 35 minutes.
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Time for line play to move ahead: Head coach Mike Sherman said the practice finalized the installation of the playbook for the offensive and defensive lines.
The lines are where the team is shortest on experience.
"Now what we do is scale back from here and fine-tune things and detail things," Sherman said. "We'll see a bigger improvement tomorrow and the next day and next week."
He cited junior left defensive end Tony Jerod-Eddie, junior defensive lineman Eddie Brown and senior defense lineman Lucas Patterson for strong play. Offensively, senior center Matt Allen and sophomore guard Patrick Lewis have been solid in camp.
Patterson has taken snaps in the middle and on the end.
"He's bounced around a little bit," Sherman said. "To his credit, he just wants to help our defense be the best defense."
A&M can play Jerod-Eddie (6-foot-5, 300 pounds) at nose guard when Patterson (6-4, 295) plays end. Sherman said those two along with Brown are the unit's top three linemen
"To keep Lucas strictly at nose guard and have Eddie there, too, may not be putting our best 11 on the field," Sherman said. "So we're just experimenting with that."
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McCoy TDs: Quarterback Jerrod Johnson teamed up with fellow senior Terrence McCoy for about a 50-yard touchdown pass. McCoy looked back in stride and caught the perfectly thrown ball as it came over his right shoulder with freshman defensive back Toney Hurd Jr. almost on his back.
A wide-open McCoy caught an earlier TD pass from Johnson in 11-on-11 scrimmage action.
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Harrison takes snaps on defense: Freshman offensive lineman Jarvis Harrison played defense Thursday, which had been the plan -- 10 days on offense, then a shift to the other side for the former Navasota Rattler.
Harrison might stay on defense for another day before the staff makes a decision on which side suits him best, Sherman said.
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Quote of the day: "We don't let a freshman start a drill. No offense. Your time will come." -- A&M running backs coach Randy Jordan to Mister Jones, who stepped aside and allowed one of the upperclassmen to go through a ball-security drill first.
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Next up: Practice Nos. 15 and 16 will be at 8:25 a.m Friday outside and at 4 p.m. in the McFerrin Center. Camp's second scrimmage will be at 8:55 a.m. Saturday at Kyle Field. Sunday is an off day.
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.
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Childress, Stallings to be honored before Tech game: DALLAS -- Former Texas A&M defensive lineman Ray Childress and coach Gene Stallings will be honored at an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute at the A&M football game against Texas Tech on Oct. 30 at Kyle Field, A&M and The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame announced Thursday.
Childress and Stallings are members of the College Football HOF's class of 2010.
The NFF has held On-Campus Salutes for Hall of Famers since 1951 and the inaugural class.
Childress (1981-84) finished with an A&M lineman record 360 tackles and earned first-team All-America honors in 1984.
Stallings played for A&M under Paul "Bear" Bryant in the 1950s then returned as head coach from 1965-1971.
Childress and Stallings will be the 13th and 14th Aggies inducted into the Hall of Fame and the first in more than a decade. Former A&M players John David Crow (1976), Dave Elmendorf (1997), Joel Hunt (1967), John Kimbrough (1954), Charlie Krueger (1983), Jack Pardee (1986), Joe Routt (1962) and Joe Utay (1974) and former A&M coaches Matty Bell (1955), Dana Bible (1951), Bryant (1986) and Homer Norton (1971) are in the Hall.
-- Robert Cessna
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