March 28, 2005
After taking the weekend off for Easter, the Texas A&M football team returned to the practice field on Monday in full pads. "We had a good practice," head coach Dennis Franchione said after the conclusion of the team's ninth spring practice. "This was a great workout."
The Aggie coaching staff evaluated last Friday's first scrimmage of the spring and noticed some areas needing improvement. The team began to work specifically on those areas Monday.
One was goal line situations. "We had 15 plays of goal line scrimmage today," Coach Fran said. "That was good. We needed that."
Tight end Quinlin Germany, who weighs 280, lined up at fullback and had a few carries into the middle. Coach Fran pointed out that the offense doesn't include many formations with a fullback, but that Germany, Chris Alexander and occasionally tailback Jay Lucas are the three he feels most comfortable with at that position right now.
During those 15 goal line plays, the No. 1 offense was held to a field goal by Todd Pegram; the second unit scored a touchdown on a Ty Branyon quarterback keeper, and the third unit scored on an option pitch to tailback Samson Taylor. "We probably played a little high," Coach Fran said. "We'll have to play lower...."
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The staff continued to use a lot of different players at different positions in the offensive line. The first, second, and third units change almost daily. Monday, the No. 1 offensive line had Corey Clark at left tackle, Grant Dickey at left guard, Christ Yoder at center, Kirk Elder at right guard, and Yemi Babalola at right tackle.
Former tackle Cody Wallace lined up at center with the second unit Monday after starting with the first unit Friday. Two converted tight ends are rotating at tackle - Taylor Schuster and Kevin Bryan.
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After nine practices, Coach Fran pointed out a few areas that have shown improvement since the beginning of spring ball. "The offense is getting a little more fluid. They're catching up a little bit with the defense, which is to be expected," he said. "The young guys are making the most improvement. But, they also have the biggest capacity to improve.
"All of our players get a little bit better each day. We've had a great attitude, great work habits, and a great approach to try to get better. They're a hungry group of guys and they want to do well."
Practice notes:
* Bryant Singleton had the biggest hit of the day, laying out Chad Schroeder on an incomplete pass along the left sideline.
* Stephen Hodge is doing well in his new role of "rover," playing with the first defense.
* Offense lost the "Third-Down Challenge" 3-2 and had to do 50 pushups.
* In an interview with the Bryan-College Station Eagle after practice, Coach Fran made positive remarks about Brandon Leone's conversion from safety to tailback and freshman Jordan Chambless's transition from quarterback to safety and punt returner. "We're not easily surprised, but Brandon has been a pleasant surprise and he looks pretty comfortable there," Coach Fran said. "Jordan is a heady player, a coach's son. He's an athlete. He could probably help us at receiver or tailback if we needed him to."
* The head coach said that the team will practice Wednesday and Thursday in pads again, and then hold the second scrimmage of the spring Saturday. It will take place at Kyle Field starting at 3:30 p.m. in front of more than 100 coaches attending the Texas A&M Coaches Clinic.
Spring practice concludes Saturday, April 9, with the annual Maroon & White Game at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $5 for adults; all students attend free. --- Contributed by Lee De Le?n, Texas A&M