December 26, 2006
The No. 21-ranked Texas A&M football team met with LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers and toured the USS Bonhomme Richard before wrapping up bowl practices with a two-hour workout in shorts and helmets on Tuesday at UCSD.
Tomlinson, who developed into an All-America running back at TCU under Dennis Franchione?â„¢s tutelage, spoke to the Aggies at the team hotel and also met individually with some of the players.
?He spoke to the team and did a great job, as I knew he would,? Franchione said. ?He also spoke to a few of our players that I wanted him to speak to, in particular. I don?â„¢t know if he said anything different than what a coach says, but when a guy of his stature says it, it carries a lot of weight and significance.?
The Aggies?â„¢ final practice started in the late afternoon and finished under the lights at UCSD, which used to be the training camp home of the Chargers.
?It was good,? Franchione said of the workout. ?I challenged the team to get focused and to get ready to play, and I think they did a good job of that. We?â„¢ve still got 48 hours before we play the game. There are a lot of things about a bowl trip that can be distracting, but I think our guys will do a good job.?
Franchione was asked about keeping his team focused on the Holiday Bowl, while also allowing his team to enjoy the bowl festivities.
?They?â„¢ve had fun, believe me,? Franchione said. ?But I think they?â„¢ve had the ability to come to practice and get what they needed to get done, and still have fun. I think the first day on (Saturday), they got sent a pretty good message about that by us as coaches. That needed to happen. We started practice over a little bit to kind of make our point and they responded. That?â„¢s what we were striving to have happen.?