August 12, 2005
The Texas A&M football team put on full pads for the first time since spring drills and had a spirited two and a half hour workout on the grass practice fields on Friday.
"We had a good first day in pads," A&M head coach Dennis Franchione said. "We had some good, spirited live work today. It went fairly well. I think we're probably a little farther along in that avenue than I might have anticipated. Each side of the ball did some good things. Offensively, I've been a little surprised. We've executed a little better for the fifth day of practice than you might expect this early. That's a credit to a senior quarterback and having eight starters back and how hard they worked over the summer."
After the workout, Franchione was asked about some of the Aggies' seniors that will crucial to the team's success this fall.
Franchione praised the leadership skills of DeQawn Mobley, who is in his second season with the A&M program after transferring from San Francisco (Calif.) Community College.
"It's rare when a junior college transfer can have the type of impact in leadership that he has," Franchione said. "All the players realize how hard he works, where his heart is and how selfless he is. And that's from the day he got here. He's been a special guy all along."
Coach Fran said quarterback Reggie McNeal is doing a good job of ignoring the preseason hype and focusing on the team.
"Reggie's doing well," he said. "He's focusing on what is important and that's his performance and his preparation. His maturity has allowed him to be focused on things that are most important to him. He eliminates distractions well. What comes Reggie's way (individual honors, etc.) will be defined by his season and by his team's play. That's what he's putting all effort and direction into."
Franchione also lauded the yeoman efforts of L'Tydrick Riley.
"L'Tydrick Riley is an unsung hero here," Fran said. "We talked about DeQawn maybe not getting as much focus as he deserves; I think L'Tydrick is right in that same category. He goes out week-in and week-out, he plays special teams and he makes some big catches for us. I would say he has the best hands on the team. He may end up returning punts for us this year and I have the consummate trust in him. You always know you're going to get a strong, steady performance from L'Tydrick."