July 31, 2004
When the offense rolled in '03 it usually spun around the versatility of QB Reggie McNeal, the shiftiness and surprising durability of new tailback Courtney Lewis, and the big-play spark of receiver/returner Terrence Murphy. All are back. That's the better news. The good news of spring was the unveiling of some potential help in a broader supporting cast, mostly embodied in an aggregate of 11 new players and the return of one from season-ending injury. Additionally, signs of maturation, aggressiveness, team unity, and emerging leadership added to the highly-spirited and rambunctious spring practices. When the offense seemed like it was churning in quicksand, all too frequently, the problems manifested themselves many ways - fumbled snaps, fumbled punts, fumbled just about anything....lack of depth....and inability to protect on the pass or blow open gaps for the run. Often, the offense had to operate out of a hole, dug either by its stutter-stepping inconsistency or by the opponent's upper hand on the scoreboard. The 'O' played from behind most of the year, which is draining and numbing and causes pressing, forcing, and desperate measures. Offensive coordinator Les Koenning, who works hand-in-glove with head coach Dennis Franchione on how to move the football and light up the scoreboard, outlined several areas to concentrate on after last season and came away from the spring encouraged. With a slightly-revised attack featuring some new wrinkles, Aggie offense takes aim on better balance between run and pass, stronger protection schemes up front, elimination of turnovers, development of depth in the line, spreading the air game to more receivers (including tight end), and playing more aggressively with attitude and oneness. Diversification becomes essential to keep defenses from jamming up just 2-3 people and thereby keeping the Aggies behind on down-and-distance and struggling to reach the red zone. A major theme of the off-season, Koenning said, was to "play on the defense's side of the ball...we've simply got to be more physical." Communication in the huddle and just before the snap received a lot of attention, as did ball protection during both Aggie drills and specific takeaway drills. Another major teaching point was identifying blitzes and redirecting protection.
Some trends from last year that Koenning and Franchione intend to eliminate: Coming out of spring, Koenning noted, "We helped ourselves in depth up front and at quarterback with young freshmen stepping up." As many as 22 names could appear on the two- and three-deep offensive chart that were not on last year's, including junior college transfer receiver DeQawn Mobley, juco transfer o-lineman Grant Dickey, and massive lineman Jami Hightower who could not play because of a severe infection. Therefore, color the offense Eager Green. "All the young players believe they are ready to compete," Franchione said. "They are talented and their enthusiasm helped push the older players in the spring. But it's still their first time to put their foot in the water at this level, and a lot depends on how they handle that." An closer look at the Aggie offense, position-by-position: |
