August 12, 2004
The Texas A&M football team drilled for over two hours in shorts and shoulder pads on an unseasonably cool Thursday at the grass practice fields.
A&M head coach Dennis Franchione said he thought the Aggies were able to get more work done in the cool weather.
"I don't think there's any doubt that these type of weather days, which are seldom around here this time of year, are certainly more conducive to learning," Franchione said. "But we have to play in this type of weather, so we have to learn to focus and learn to play through fatigue in this weather."
Franchione commented on the size of the Aggies' defensive line, which feature multiple 6-foot-5 plus players.
"I think we should be able to knock some balls down this year," Franchione said. "Red (Joseph Bryant), Jorrie (Adams) and Jason Jack are 6-5, 6-6 guys. Jorrie may even be 6-7, and then you put that reach on them. You would like to think they would be able to tip some balls. Jorrie usually gets one or two a day."
Franchione also singled out Red Bryant, who is the only redshirt freshman on the Leadership Council.
"When we voted for the Leadership Council, we voted for the 10 best and we ranked them in order one through 10," Franchione said. "And Red gets voted on. That's the first time in my tenure of using the Leadership Council that a player that has never played a down - a redshirt freshman - has gotten voted on. When we meet, Red doesn't say a lot but when he talks it's a little bit like E.F. Hutton - they all listen and respect him."
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