August 13, 2004
The Texas A&M football team strapped on full pads for the first time in fall camp Friday for a two-hour workout on the grass practice fields.
Unseasonably cool weather greeted the team for the early morning workout which coach Dennis Franchione said was very spirited.
"I thought it was a really good, very spirited workout," Franchione said. "There was good contact and we are working toward going full scale. I think it takes a day to get fully comfortable carrying pads."
The Aggies will hold their first two-a-day workout on Saturday. NCAA guidelines call for five days of single workouts for an acclamation period before teams can hold two practices in one day.
"This schedule is really good with the changes in scheduling the NCAA gave us," Franchione said. "I think it keeps the players from getting worn down and fatigued."
Franchione addressed questions on if the Aggies have improved their tackling from last season.
"It's difficult to say, but without a doubt we'll be better than last year," Franchione said. "We're going in that direction. If you do a good job in 'thud' you will be a good tackler. It takes a better athlete to do 'thud' tackling. It appears we're better, but we've not scrimmaged one time."
Franchione uses tag, thud, and scrimmage to describe the level of contact at practice. Tag is used while wearing no pads, and thud is used with shoulder pads.
The Aggies kickoff the season at Utah on Sept. 2 in a game being televised by ESPN.