August 19, 2006
The Texas A&M football team had a pair of workouts on Saturday, including a controlled scrimmage, as the Aggies continued preparations for the 2006 season-opener against the Citadel on Sept. 2.
?We had some really good scrimmage situations this morning,? A&M head coach Dennis Franchione said. ?We covered all the kicking game and third and fourth down short yardage. That was productive and everyone stayed reasonably healthy. Tonight was more of an organizational practice in shorts and helmets. We worked on various situations we could be put in and that was good. We?â„¢ve had a good second week. We?â„¢re probably as fresh as we?â„¢ve ever been after two weeks which is a good thing.?
Franchione mentioned several players that caught his eye during the scrimmage.
?I thought Kellen Heard really made some plays this morning,? Franchione said. ?Pierre Brown is playing very well. Johnathan Batson is starting to stick out. Matt Featherston is coming along. Our second offensive line played a lot this morning and held their own and did a fairly good job. Martellus (Bennett) and Joey Thomas had good days. Jamie McCoy had a solid day and so did Jerrod Johnson and Ty (Branyon). That was good to see. Stephen (McGee) is Stephen. The kickers didn?â„¢t have a good day. They were 0-for-6 on field goals. We had a couple of blocks so we need to work on PAT/field goal protection. So that was good to find out.?
Prior to the scrimmage, 607 runners and walkers participated in the fourth annual Coach Fran Charities/Citibank 5k Fun Run and Walk. All 607 participants were able to watch the Aggies' scrimmage.
In off-the-field news, FSN Southwest will feature the Aggies in a 30-minute special on Tuesday, Aug. 22 at 10 pm central. Emily Jones, FSN?â„¢s new Big 12 sideline reporter, hosts the program from Texas A&M. The feature will include an interview with Coach Fran, a feature on Justin Warren and a rundown of the 2006 campaign.
Former Texas A&M football coach Jackie Sherrill, along with former Oklahoma State football coach Pat Jones, will also offer insight into the Aggies and the Big 12 Conference. Both coaches will serve as studio analysts for the new Southwest Football Saturday airing on FSN Southwest.
FSN Southwest reaches over eight million cable and satellite TV homes in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and parts of New Mexico. Satellite TV customers living outside of the Southwest region can watch the program on DirecTV Ch. 643 and Dish Network Ch. 416.
Here is the schedule of the Texas A&M preview on FSN Southwest.
Tuesday, Aug. 22 10 pm central
Wednesday, Aug. 23 9:30 pm central
Thursday, Aug. 24 2 pm central
Monday, Aug. 28 7 pm central