August 10, 2005
The Texas A&M football team drilled for two and a half hours in shorts, shoulder pads and helmets on Wednesday at the grass practice fields adjacent to Kyle Field.
"It was the first day of pads, and it was rough around the edges as you would expect," third-year A&M head coach Dennis Franchione said. "In light of all the heavy installation we've done in the last three days, the amount of contact we had today was good. I'm sure we'll look at the film and see a lot of things that aren't even close to where we want them, but that's just the way you are in your third practice."
With the first day of pads over, now the Aggies will face the challenge of an evening practice followed by an early morning practice the following day.
"Our challenge, since summer school is over today, is being able to turn it around and do it again tomorrow morning. That will be a little bit of challenge for our guys, but that's OK. That's what August camp is about - toughness. All in all it was a pretty good day."
Franchione had strong praise for junior running back Courtney Lewis, who could challenge the 2,000-yard level in career rushing yards in the first few games of 2005. In 23 career games (10 starts), Lewis has rushed for 1,766 yards.
"It's the best I've seen him look since I've been here," Franchione said. "Physically, he's stronger - thicker, bigger - than he's ever been. He was an Ironman during the spring at the Night of Champions, which if you would have asked me two years ago if Courtney was going to do that I probably would have said no. So that was very nice to see. He's worked very hard and he's got a good understanding of the offense and he's playing really confident."
Franchione expects Lewis to rebound from an injury-filled 2004 season.
"Last year was a tough year for Courtney," Franchione said. "He played hurt the first half of the year and didn't play as good as he thinks he can play or as well as we know he can play. We have not lost any confidence in Courtney. We understand what he went through last year."
Franchione also noted that Lewis is trying his hand at kickoff returns for the first time at A&M. As a high schooler, Lewis excelled as a return specialist with 11 returns for touchdowns during his career.
When asked if the elusive Lewis looked good fielding kickoffs, Franchione replied, "He always looks good with the ball in his hands."