Photo by Lindsay Crouch, TexAgs
Texas A&M Football
Lindsay Crouch, TexAgs
A&M true freshman Jamal Jeffery hauls in pass during Friday's practice.
Lindsay Crouch, TexAgs
Defensive end Myles Garrett could be a game-one starter as a true freshman.
High Energy, Up Tempo: Texas A&M opens fall camp 2014
August 1, 2014
3,253
Finally.
After months of impatient waiting, football is back in Aggieland.
As Drake’s '0 to 100' blared over the speakers at the Coolidge Practice Fields on Friday afternoon, the 2014 Aggies took their first stretches of the season and kicked off the first of many fall camp practices before their season opening contest against South Carolina on August 28th.
Usually, the beginning of camp consists of knocking off the rust and regaining familiarity with the coaching staff. However, according to Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin, the NCAA’s new rule allowing for a small amount of coach-player interaction during the summer months seemed to kick start Friday’s inaugural practice.
Lindsay Crouch, TexAgs
A&M true freshman Jamal Jeffery hauls in pass during Friday's practice.
“I thought the tempo was good,” said Sumlin. “Because of the meeting times this summer, we were able to go 30 plays of 7-on-7 and 50 plays of team today. That’s quite a bit for the first practice. To not have a lot of misalignments offensively or defensively, that says a lot about the new rule and a lot about how our guys have come back.”
Perhaps those who benefited most from the new rule were the 15 new faces from the 2014 signing class on the Texas A&M roster. Although it’s still ridiculously early in their freshman year, Texas A&M defensive coordinator Mark Snyder was cautiously enthusiastic when talking about his new crop of players.
“This group of freshman thus far has been outstanding,” Snyder said. “We’ll know a lot more over the next couple of days, but up to this point with hearing their attention to detail and how focused they are, I’m excited to see this group.”
While each new player brings with him a set of expectations, none come higher than that of defensive end Myles Garrett. Ranked as the number one overall prospect in the country by some services, the Arlington Martin product looks to be a potential answer to a questionable defense that registered just 21 sacks (good for 84th in the nation) in 2013.
However, as good as Garrett looks in person, Sumlin knows that things can change when the pads are put on and the players are no longer practicing in their shorts.
“It’s hard (to have an early impression) without pads on,” said Sumlin. “There are a lot of guys that look good out there with pads on. On the first day, everyone has been good.”
That’s not to say that Garrett won’t live up to his hype. In fact, Sumlin discussed Garrett’s ability on the field and stated that he doesn’t expect Garrett to fade when put in pads.
Lindsay Crouch, TexAgs
Defensive end Myles Garrett could be a game-one starter as a true freshman.
“He’s talented,” Sumlin said of his freshman. “You see a couple of things out there where he can burst and turn some speed into power. But we’ve had plenty of guys, and I’m not saying this about Myles and I don’t expect it to happen, who have looked good in their underwear and as soon as they put pads on they disappear for a year.”
On the other side of the ball, Texas A&M offensive coordinator Jake Spavital noted on Friday that both sophomore Kenny Hill and true freshman Kyle Allen are neck-and-neck for the starting quarterback spot as camp begins.
“You’re going to see quarterbacks go ten reps at a time, or five reps at a time,” said Spavital. “We’ve got a plan. At the end of the day, they will have equal reps with the ones and the twos.”
According to Spavital, Hill has shown his dedication to competing for the starting job after being suspended for part of spring ball due to an arrest in March,and knows he has a fair shot to win the ongoing quarterback battle.
“Kenny has rebounded well,” Spavital stated. “We’ve set the precedent that we are even right now and he’s open to compete. He has a great opportunity to win this job.”
No matter who ends up winning the quarterback battle, it’s time to buckle up and get ready for another wild ride on the roller-coaster that is Texas A&M football.
Football is back.
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