Spring Day 5: Sumlin sizes up Aggies' progress

On the passing of Billy Pickard...

“As you guys know, Billy Pickard is very special to our program. When I was here fifteen years ago he helped me moving in here for the first time, and helped me come back. A lot of people have started to figure out, I had him talk to our team before we left for road games or home games on Friday. Our guys really looked forward to that — before we left, because he couldn’t travel, or for home games.

"It’s even more difficult because four days ago he wanted to come out to our first padded practice. He said, 'Ah I’ll skip the first couple in their underwear, that’s not real football. If you get me a chair, I’ll come out Thursday.' And he did. He came out and sat at the 20-yard line. It’s a tough deal but I know at least Thursday he was out here for his 51st spring football practice. He’s touched a lot of people’s lives here at Texas A&M — a lot of players, a lot of coaches. It was tough to hear the news. He’s meant a lot to this program and he will always mean a lot to it.”
 

On Friday Night Lights...

“I wish we would’ve been outside but I thought that the intensity was good. We had some people come to the forefront. We had 82 plays plus some kicking, which is pretty significant for a game between the ones and twos, so probably forty-something snaps per unit. I thought it was a physical scrimmage. I thought we were very, very base in what we did offensively and defensively to try to see our guys play football without the coaches on the field to see who could handle that.

"Right off the bat we got some guys all nicked up. That’s part of spring football. We’ll get the guys back together over the course of time. I liked the number of reps we got, a lot of new teaching tape for a new scheme defensively, some new guys in the offensive line with that second group and blending some guys in. There was great video for us to watch and I could see the improvement today already.”
 

On what he saw from Kyle Allen’s performance...

“I think Kyle continues to get better. I think his command of the offense and knowledge of the overall scheme has gotten better. That’s what you want to see. You want to see him grow. Not just as a player on the field, but as a leader. Understanding the big picture, which I think starts to come in year two, he’s got a better feel for what we’re doing. I think he’s got a better feel for tempo and how we want to play, and getting other people lined up — except for himself, not worried about himself but also correcting other people which means he’s more comfortable and he understands the offense better.

"We’ve got a lot of different guys out there playing, a lot of different matchups and combinations. As we get to the fall and we start settling in on who the top eight are we’ll get a little better chemistry. But right now he’s doing great as a leader.”
 

On Brandon Williams coming into his senior year and the new running style...

“I think he has matured even more. I think he grew a little bit last year. To be honest with you, I think that bowl game was a tough deal for him. I pulled him out of the game after that fumble; Tra Carson and Trey Williams had nice games. I think he’s come back with a great attitude. He was great in the offseason with how he approached conditioning. He’s been a leader by example. He hasn’t been talking as much as he used to, but understands what he’s doing. He’s really working to catch the ball, working at his deficiencies. I’d be hard pressed to say that anyone’s having a better spring than him, completely.

"It takes different guys different times for the light to come on across the board. I think maturity happens at different times for different people. Right now where Brandon is, he has really become a leader, not only by example, a little bit vocal, and his work ethic is second to none and I think everybody sees that — not just the players but the coaches too. He spent the better part of three years year about 188-190 (pounds) and that’s the whole thing — you have to understand what you need to do to be better, not give lip service to it but do it. Right now he’s about 205. He’s hovering between 200-205. He’s fast enough, so he’s carrying it well.

"If this time of the year, if he can be between 205-210, then in the fall I think you’ll see a different Brandon Williams — which is a better Brandon Williams. Which is good for us.”
 

On the leave of Justin Manning...

“People go through different things at different times. He’s taking a leave of absence for personal reasons. He’ll be back this summer. A lot of the time, we just think about football. A lot goes on in young people’s lives. We’ve had different guys at different times that things happen and I think people outside don’t understand. Just like (Zach) Ledwik, he had some things he had to work through early. He had a great offseason with us through the workouts, never missed anything.  Just had a lot going on. We work with our young guys and there’s more to it than just football. 

"Ledwik’s back. He was back Thursday and Friday. He was back for the scrimmage Friday night. But we look for Justin to be back in June. He’s taking some time off for personal reasons.”