August 19, 2005
The Texas A&M football team drilled in full pads for two hours Friday morning on the grass practice fields in preparation for Sept. 3 season lidlifter against Clemson.
"It was a good tough practice; a mentally challenging practice," A&M head coach Dennis Franchione said. "It was a warm day in full pads and we went hard. We did a lot of good situation work: red zone, two-point plays, backed-up inside the five yard line. We were able to work at full speed and put our players in game-type situations that they are going to be prepared to respond to during games. From that standpoint, we got a lot done."
Franchione said the Aggies rebounded from Monday's lackluster practice and scrimmage with four straight days of solid workouts.
"Monday was a sluggish day in the stadium; surprisingly so, and maybe I was a little overly critical," Franchione said. "The rest of the week has been excellent. It was a tough day. It was hot and humid and 20 periods in full pads. We did a lot of physical work in today's practice. They did a good job and pushed through it. They showed some mental toughness in trying to get through it. We need more guys to show more mental toughness. These situations are going to present themselves as we go through the season and the team that meets these kinds of challenges is going to win."
While Franchione has not announced a depth chart for the Clemson game, he mentioned redshirt sophomore Corey Clark as the favorite to replace Geoff Hangartner at strong tackle. Hangartner, a first-team All-Big 12 selection last season, was a fifth-round draft pick of the Carolina Panthers.
"Corey is developing into a fine offensive lineman," Coach Fran said. "He played some in a reserve role last year and he played a good bit in the bowl game. He had a great offseason. He powercleaned over 400 pounds and he's got good strength. He's been on a mission to take over Geoff's (Hangartner) spot ever since the last game last year. Right now he probably would be the starter at Geoff's spot. He's played very well."
The Aggies return to the practice field for a pair of workouts on Saturday. All A&M practices are closed to the general public.