April 05, 2005
Texas A&M head football coach Dennis Franchione surprised reporters covering Tuesday's practice when he announced, "Reggie won't play Saturday."
Franchione and offensive coordinator Les Koenning, after conferring with returning starting quarterback McNeal, decided that the risk of injury is not worth the potential upside of having him participate in the Maroon and White Game presented by Gallery Furniture. The game kicks off at 2 p.m. Saturday at Kyle Field.
Franchione said McNeal has a minor bruise on his right shoulder that does not affect his throwing and is totally unrelated to the injury that required surgery and kept McNeal out of spring practice last year.
"Reggie doesn't have anything to gain by participating," Franchione said. "We know fully what he can do. He'll be out there with the other quarterbacks and working with Coach Koenning like he was last year."
Stephen McGee and Ty Branyon, the back-ups, have little to no experience in games. In this arrangement they will have more reps and also get the feel of being hit in game conditions.
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Coach Franchione named the players from the Leadership Council who will conduct the draft of the spring game teams Wednesday afternoon. Jaxson Appel, Justin Warren, DeQawn Mobley and Aldo De La Garza will draft the Maroon team. The White team will be picked by Archie McDaniel, Boone Stutz, Johnny Jolly, and Jami Hightower. Since Hightower cannot play, White will draft first.
After the draft the teams will have overnight to conduct trades. The teams will be announced after practice Thursday.
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The coaching staff remains the same as last year: Les Koenning, Jim Bob Helduser, Stan Eggen, Lee Fobbs and Melvin Smith on one side; Carl Torbush, Kenith Pope, Mark Tommerdahl, and Chris Thurmond on the other. The entire rest of the staff -- coaches and support personnel -- will be assigned to a team, too.
Franchione plans to work for the third straight year in the radio broadcast booth providing color commentary alongside play-by-play announcer Dave South and analyst Dave Elmendorf.
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Practice report:
With just one practice remaining before the Maroon and White Game presented by Gallery Furniture, the Texas A&M football team practiced Tuesday in full pads.
The offense shined during the practice, especially running back Courtney Lewis. A junior from Houston, Lewis broke four long open-field runs. "Courtney made some nice runs today," Dennis Franchione said. "The defense had a hard time stopping him."
The offense performed well during the overtime drill, Franchione said, and later won the third-down challenge. The highlight of the overtime drill came on a short pass from Reggie McNeal to L'Tydrick Riley on an out route. Riley caught the ball, stiff-armed safety Japhus Brown to the ground, and sprinted up the sideline for a 25-yard touchdown.
In the third-down challenge, the offense faced five situations of needing 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 yards. They converted the first two situations on a run by Lewis and a pass from Stephen McGee to Chad Schroeder. The offense then went into a frenzy after Lewis broke free for a touchdown to ensure the victory.
Sophomore Cody Wallace has been a significant contributor for the offense lately, according to Franchione. Wallace practiced as an offensive tackle last year, but is now playing center with the first unit. "Cody is doing well. I think that's a good position for him," Franchione commented. "He's athletic - you like your center to be athletic - and he's smart."
Addressing the play of four scholarship tight ends, Franchione said, "I think Boone Stutz and Joey Thomas have both raised their game. Quinlin Germany is a valuable guy because he can play either tight end or fullback. Amos Gbunblee is a young, talented guy who has learned a lot this spring and still has a lot to learn. He has a tremendous upside."
Notes:
* The shortest player on the team, walk-on cornerback Ben Bitner, made the biggest hit of the day. Bitner stands about a foot shorter than Amos Gbunblee, but laid out the big tight end and tipped a pass thrown his way.
* Two other walk-ons have made progress this spring and are now working with the second team - cornerback Trey Brooks and receiver Peter Martin. "They've both got some athletic ability and have worked hard," Franchione said. "Every day you know what you're going to get from them."
* Defensive coordinator Carl Torbush's nephew, Travis Cunningham, attended practice. He looked exactly like a younger version of his uncle, mustache and all. Travis is an assistant coach of linebackers at his alma mater, Gardner-Webb University.
* The goal for attendance to the Maroon and White Game is 50,000.
* The last practice other than the spring game takes place Thursday at 3:45 p.m. on the practice field. Part of the practice will feature full scrimmage work.--- Contributed by Lee De Leon, Texas A&M. For more spring practice coverage and notes, go to www.CoachFran.com.