The games might not have started, but Aggie football season is in full swing after the Aggies announced on Monday that Kyle Allen would start against Arizona State in the season opener.

On Monday, the Aggies had a later practice indoors, and head coach Kevin Sumlin spoke to the media about the team, his now starting quarterback and even about practicing in the newly renovated Kyle Field, which they did on Saturday.

Last year, Allen stepped into the starting role as a true freshman for the final five games and only got better in every contest. Sumlin talked about his rising sophomore star and how far he’s come from last season.

“As a first year player, there is a learning curve, and it’s the ‘what to do’ stage. He [Allen] has worked into the ‘how to do it’ over the course of the offseason,” said Sumlin. “We’ve challenged him with leadership skills…I think his knowledge of the offense and his knowledge of the defensive schemes has certainly improved.”

The team also got its first feel of the “new” Kyle Field on Saturday afternoon, holding its first practice there.

“Everybody was excited. There were a lot of people looking around…we had a mixture of Big 12 and SEC officials there and they were all looking around too,” said a smiling Sumlin. “If we can get the officials to do that, hopefully we can get the other team to do that too.”

Another conversation piece was sophomore defensive back Nick Harvey, who will likely be a key part of the Texas A&M secondary, which has seen many struggles in recent years. He has the talent to impact John Chavis’ defense immediately.

“I’ve been really, really pleased with him,” Sumlin said. “He’s always had that talent to just turn it on…so far, he’s been consistent and so has Brandon [Williams]. So, we have a real good competition still going there.”
Practices continue this week and the first press conference will be next Tuesday.