Aug. 20, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Texas A&M football team went indoors Thursday afternoon for a two-hour workout in full pads inside the McFerrin Athletic Center.
"I thought we had a lot of enthusiasm out here today," head coach Mike Sherman said. "Overall I thought the offense won today. But this was a very physical practice. We got accomplished today what we set out to get accomplished."
Head Coach Sherman
The practice featured several explosive plays, including a few long touchdowns that drew the eye of the head coach for more than one reason.
"We had some lulls in the backed-up offense drills," Sherman said. "We gave up two touchdowns when the offense was on the minus-two yard line. You can never do that. When you pin them down there you have to keep them down there, and we didn't necessarily do that. Christine Michael broke a long run and then we threw a long TD pass to Jeff Fuller. We didn't play good defense on those couple of plays, so we fixed them after practice and we'll move forward."
Sherman heaped praise on the backfield, showing praise in the ability for the running backs to move downhill with the ball at a quick pace. In doing so, he also pointed out the improvement made by those in the trenches.
"I think our offensive line is improving," Sherman said. "After all the criticism last season and what not, we're fairly healthy. We still have a lot of work to do, but they are in general a little bit better this year at this time then last year at this time."
Thursday marked the end of the team's one-week stay in Utay, a dorm utilized by the Corps of Cadets on the south side of campus.
The Aggies will work out twice on Friday. The morning session will be at the Coolidge Practice Fields and will start at 8:25 a.m. The afternoon session will be indoors at 4 p.m. and will be closed to the public. Fans are reminded that Saturday's scrimmage has been moved up to 8:30 a.m. at Kyle Field.
Fans wishing to attend practice that do not have the proper University parking permit are reminded to park in either the University Center Parking Garage across from Rudder Tower or the West Campus Parking Garage facing the press box side of Kyle Field.
Texas A&M opens the 2009 season at home against New Mexico on Sept. 5. Season tickets, discount tickets and the "Texas Three Step" tickets are still available by contacting the ticket office at 1-888-99-AGGIE (888-992-4443) or locally at 979-845-2311. For ticket information on the web, go to AggieAthletics.com and click on tickets.
UPDATED PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Friday – 8:25 a.m., Coolidge Practice Fields (open); 4 p.m., McFerrin Athletic Center (closed) Saturday – 8:30 a.m., scrimmage at Kyle Field Sunday – off Monday – 8:25 a.m., Coolidge Practice Fields (open); 4 p.m., McFerrin Athletic Center (closed) Tuesday – 8:25 a.m., Coolidge Practice Fields (open)