The Texas A&M football team’s first week of spring practices concluded in exciting fashion — with a Friday scrimmage.
With players injured and a fresh coaching staff present, a scrimmage offers endless opportunities for the athletes wanting to get noticed and for starters to further improve. Friday’s session was filmed, and later looked at by the team. After watching the tape, Aggie head coach Kevin Sumlin was elated with his team’s effort and their ability to get things rolling so early on.
“I thought the intensity was good…We had 82 plays, we had 82 plus some kicking, which is pretty significant…I thought it was a physical scrimmage…I liked the number of reps we got,” Sumlin said. “[There was] a lot of teaching tape for our new scheme defensively. And, some new guys in the offensive line with that second group, we wanted some guys in. It was great video for us to watch, and I could see the improvement today already.”
Whether Kyle Allen will start in the season opener against Arizona State remains uncertain, but his progression is noticed by most, according to Sumlin.
“I think Kyle continues to get better,” Sumlin said. “His command of the offense and his knowledge of the overall scheme has gotten better, and that’s what you want to see. You want to see them grow, not just as a player on the field, but as a leader…He’s got a better feel for what we do, and he’s got a better feel for the tempo and how we’re going to play…We’ve got a lot of different guys out there, and a lot of different matchups.”
Sumlin mentioned that Brandon Williams spent most of his career weighing around 190, and has gained about 15 pounds in the offseason because of his hard work.
“He has matured even more…I think he’s come back with a great attitude,” Sumlin said. “He was great in the offseason…He’s been a leader by example, and hasn’t talked as much as he used to. He’s doing work catching the ball, work on his deficiencies. I’d be hard pressed to say that anybody is having a better spring than him completely. It takes different guys at different times for the light to come on across the board with maturity…he has really become a leader, and his work ethic right now is second to none, and everyone sees that, not just the players but the coaches too.”
The program isn’t completely upbeat, however, since defensive lineman Justin Manning elected to depart the team effective immediately. Sumlin denied details of the decision, and if Manning will continue to be enrolled at Texas A&M.
“A lot of people go through different things,” Sumlin said. “He’s taking a leave of absence for personal reasons, but he will be back this summer.”
Brandon Williams and Coach McKinney will speak at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow with the media in the practice facility.