On Wednesday, under a clear blue sky marked by a blazing Texas sun, the Aggies opened fall camp with a spirited two-hour workout in shorts and helmets on the Coolidge Practice Fields.
With exactly one month to go before kickoff of the 2022 season at Kyle Field, the Texas A&M football team could finally put the offseason behind it.
On Wednesday, under a clear blue sky marked by a blazing Texas sun, the Aggies opened fall camp with a spirited two-hour workout in shorts and helmets on the Coolidge Practice Fields.
It’s the first of many this month, but just the fact that it’s the first made it different. It was obvious that the excitement level was cranked up as the team stepped onto the grass for the first time together this season.
“That’s why you coach, why you run all those sprints, lift all those weights, to get on the grass and play,” head coach Jimbo Fisher said. “As a coach I feel the same way. I love practice. I love interacting and developing. That’s where guys grow and develop while not having to worry about getting criticized. We get on them, but they ain’t got 7,000 people on them or articles written about them--good or bad.”
Fisher continued by stressing the importance of the practice environment to a team’s ability to grow and become even closer.
“Practice is a sacred ground where you develop and grow as a human being and everybody grows behind the scenes,” he added. “They don’t have to worry about the commitment of being judged worldly. They have to be in their collective families. Like your family knows things about you no one else knows, your team knows things about you no one else knows. And that’s what that unity is about. Watching guys, and watching the other guys help those guys grow, or get on them if they get out of line, those relationships? I love that part of everything we do.”
Click the videos below to hear from Jimbo Fisher, Ainias Smith or Antonio Johnson.
We've also got podcast audio available for you to download straight to your phone or mobile device - visit 12thman.com/podcast to subscribe for free today.
The Aggies will spend Thursday in the weight room and in team meetings before the second practice of the fall late in the afternoon. Practices are closed to the public, with the exception of Sunday's open practice--presented by St. Joseph Health--at Kyle Field. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m. and more information is available here.