March 23, 2004
The Texas A&M football team drilled for two-and-a-half hours in short and helmets on Tuesday at the grass practice field.
Second-year head coach Dennis Franchione said he was pleased with the Aggies' effort.
"We had a good work day, a good effort day," Franchione said. "We've installed a lot in the first two days and there's been good carry-over. The young guys were a little overloaded today, but that's to be expected. We had good work all the way through practice."
Franchione said he's been impressed with the development his first signing class, which redshirted 17 of its 20 members last fall.
"Spring is for young players to become players and for older players to become better players," Franchione said. "Every one of them have chances to make an impact for us next year. I'm excited about them and they've had a tremendous mission and purpose in the offseason. They're hungry to play and some of them are talented enough to play and help our football team."
He also praised the redshirt freshmen's progress in the weight room.
"All of our young players made tremendous gains," Franchione said. "One of the advantages for the players who redshirted last year was that they lifted three times a week during the season. On Friday when the team was traveling, they got a heavy lift. They were almost in an offseason program during the season. When they lifted (this spring), their personal bests were exceptional. Red (Joseph) Bryant, Kirk Elder, Cody Wallace ... you can just about go name for name down through that group that really made strides."