Photo by Lindsay Caudle, TexAgs
Texas A&M Football
Kevin Sumlin sizes up Aggies' spring progress, looks ahead to FNL
Like just about everyone else in the workforce, Texas A&M football coach Kevin Sumlin is looking forward to Friday night.
He’s just doing it for different reasons.
Sumlin is eagerly awaiting the Friday Night Lights scrimmage, which he said will be more important to the development of the 2016 football team than the spring game on April 9.
Does this guy know how to party or what?
“I’m looking forward to Friday night because of two things,” Sumlin said Wednesday night at the A&M indoor practice facility. “No. 1, the crowd. I think we’re going to have a pretty good turnout. Students are excited about some of the things that are happening.
“And I’m anxious to see what some of these guys who haven’t been in those roles do in front of a crowd at night. It’s a little different environment than being in here (indoor practice facility) without coaches on the field.”
Sumlin indicated he’s extremely interested in seeing how redshirt freshman center Erik McCoy, sophomore tackle Koda Martin and some other offensive linemen and running backs respond to a competitive environment.
Of course, most onlookers will be particularly curious about the play of quarterbacks Trevor Knight and Jake Hubenak to see how they’re progressing in new offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone’s system.
Lindsay Caudle, TexAgs
Sumlin is eager to see how his quarterbacks (Jake Hubenak pictured) and their teammates do at an accelerated pace in front of a crowd.
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“We threw a lot at them this week with the three days we have,” Sumlin said of the quarterbacks. “I like where we are. I think they’re improving. I thought the tempo was excellent today. They didn’t always do the right thing, but I thought our tempo was excellent. It gives us a chance to get more of our playmakers involved with what we’re doing.”
Sumlin said this spring he’s gotten a better idea of what to expect from Knight and Hubenak.
“We’ve learned some things about them and they’ve learned some things about themselves,” he said. “We’ll see where we are at the end of spring football. We’ll keep assessing.”
The pace for Friday Night Lights should provide ample opportunity for assessments.
Sumlin is hoping to get at least 100 snaps. The Aggies had a scrimmage before leaving for spring break and had 97 snaps in just 75 minutes of work.
“It will be an opportunity for our guys to really communicate in a game-type setting both offensively and defensively and really work that tempo without coaches yelling and screaming to go faster and being able to communicate the play,” Sumlin said. “Friday night will be a big deal for us scrimmage-wise. It’ll probably be more important than the spring game from a scrimmage standpoint, for what we’re trying to get done.”
That’s because A&M doesn’t have the numbers to have a traditional spring game because of players that have not yet arrived and some sitting out with injuries. Also, the spring game will be televised, so Sumlin likely doesn’t want to show too much.
Sumlin indicated that running back Keith Ford hurt an ankle in a mini-scrimmage last Thursday and may not participate on Friday.
However, Sumlin said even if Ford does not play on Friday he’ll be able to complete the final week of spring drills.
Sumlin also praised the effort he’s seen from running backs James White and freshman Trayveon Williams this spring.
“Trayveon is having an excellent spring for a guy that’s supposed to be going to the prom next month,” he said. “He kind of struggled at first, but his sense of urgency has picked up. It will be interesting to see how these guys do.”
Sumlin also said that junior receiver Speedy Noil, who has shown flashes of brilliance but has been unreliable in his two seasons, has been more consistent this spring.
“What we’re talking about is consistency and having a plan and not being sporadic in that plan,” Sumlin said.“It’s not just him that’s a point of emphasis for, but a number of players to challenge themselves and each other to be consistent in their effort every day.
“Really, really great teams are like that. They’re not up and down. They are consistent in where they are. That doesn’t just happen overnight. I’ve been pleased with how these guys have approached the offseason.”
He’s just doing it for different reasons.
Sumlin is eagerly awaiting the Friday Night Lights scrimmage, which he said will be more important to the development of the 2016 football team than the spring game on April 9.
Does this guy know how to party or what?
“I’m looking forward to Friday night because of two things,” Sumlin said Wednesday night at the A&M indoor practice facility. “No. 1, the crowd. I think we’re going to have a pretty good turnout. Students are excited about some of the things that are happening.
“And I’m anxious to see what some of these guys who haven’t been in those roles do in front of a crowd at night. It’s a little different environment than being in here (indoor practice facility) without coaches on the field.”
Sumlin indicated he’s extremely interested in seeing how redshirt freshman center Erik McCoy, sophomore tackle Koda Martin and some other offensive linemen and running backs respond to a competitive environment.
Of course, most onlookers will be particularly curious about the play of quarterbacks Trevor Knight and Jake Hubenak to see how they’re progressing in new offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone’s system.
Lindsay Caudle, TexAgs
Sumlin is eager to see how his quarterbacks (Jake Hubenak pictured) and their teammates do at an accelerated pace in front of a crowd.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"Sumlin is eager to see how his quarterbacks (Jake Hubenak pictured) and their teammates do at an accelerated pace in front of a crowd.","MediaItemID":67970}
Sumlin said this spring he’s gotten a better idea of what to expect from Knight and Hubenak.
“We’ve learned some things about them and they’ve learned some things about themselves,” he said. “We’ll see where we are at the end of spring football. We’ll keep assessing.”
The pace for Friday Night Lights should provide ample opportunity for assessments.
Sumlin is hoping to get at least 100 snaps. The Aggies had a scrimmage before leaving for spring break and had 97 snaps in just 75 minutes of work.
“It will be an opportunity for our guys to really communicate in a game-type setting both offensively and defensively and really work that tempo without coaches yelling and screaming to go faster and being able to communicate the play,” Sumlin said. “Friday night will be a big deal for us scrimmage-wise. It’ll probably be more important than the spring game from a scrimmage standpoint, for what we’re trying to get done.”
That’s because A&M doesn’t have the numbers to have a traditional spring game because of players that have not yet arrived and some sitting out with injuries. Also, the spring game will be televised, so Sumlin likely doesn’t want to show too much.
Sumlin indicated that running back Keith Ford hurt an ankle in a mini-scrimmage last Thursday and may not participate on Friday.
However, Sumlin said even if Ford does not play on Friday he’ll be able to complete the final week of spring drills.
Sumlin also praised the effort he’s seen from running backs James White and freshman Trayveon Williams this spring.
“Trayveon is having an excellent spring for a guy that’s supposed to be going to the prom next month,” he said. “He kind of struggled at first, but his sense of urgency has picked up. It will be interesting to see how these guys do.”
Sumlin also said that junior receiver Speedy Noil, who has shown flashes of brilliance but has been unreliable in his two seasons, has been more consistent this spring.
“What we’re talking about is consistency and having a plan and not being sporadic in that plan,” Sumlin said.“It’s not just him that’s a point of emphasis for, but a number of players to challenge themselves and each other to be consistent in their effort every day.
“Really, really great teams are like that. They’re not up and down. They are consistent in where they are. That doesn’t just happen overnight. I’ve been pleased with how these guys have approached the offseason.”
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