Adidas410s
04-30-2007, 04:21 PM
Texas Longhorns
Texas coach Mack Brown said the new rule pushing the kickoff back five yards to the 30-yard line conceivably could provide as big an impact on the game as any recent rule change. "If you ask our defensive coaches [about it], they throw up," Brown said. "But if you ask our offensive coaches, they're pumped."
• Texas likely won't have a player contend for the Thorpe Award after having back-to-back winners in Michael Huff and Aaron Ross in the last two seasons. But the Longhorns might have better depth in the upcoming season, according to Brown. "For the first time, we could play two-deep there," Brown said. One of Texas' biggest aims during spring practice was working on gadget plays. Brown is convinced the extra work will help his team become more versatile in the upcoming season. "We've worked really, really hard on running at least two trick plays each practice," Brown said. "We do want to run more trick plays, and we want our defense to see more trick plays so they can defend them. The kids like it, the fans like and I like it." Co-defensive coordinator Duane Akina said the Longhorns' defense won't be that much different than in previous seasons. "The foundation needs to be that we're physical and we'll swarm to the football," Akina said. "That's a starting point no matter what you decide to do schematically."
• Brown was one of the biggest critics of the NCAA's management council's recommendation to do away with text messaging in recruiting. "I think it would be a real mistake to do away with text messaging because it's the most effective way to immediately communicate with prospects and their families without being intrusive," Brown said. "With the limitations on phone calls and in-person visits, a personal text is an efficient and convenient way to answer questions, have a quick discussion or just stay in touch. It also benefits any prospect to become more familiar and learn how best to use technology since it's a very prevalent form of communication on every college campus."
Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M coaches divided talent in a draft for the Maroon-White game. Starting QB Stephen McGee played for both sides in the White's 27-13 victory before 24,212 at Kyle Field. McGee led one scoring drive, completing 8 of 14 passes for 73 yards with an interception.
• Coach Dennis Franchione was most impressed with his team's production after the two squads combined to rush for 388 yards and produce 29 first downs. "I think the game was fairly efficient and smooth," Franchione said. "The way the teams were divided up, you would get a first-teamer with a second-teamer sometimes with a third-teamer. You worry about that making it a little inefficient at times, but all in all, it was pretty clean." Some of the defense's struggles were understandable considering that starting defensive linemen Chris Harrington and Red Bryant and starting linebacker Misi Tupe did not play. Harrington and Bryant were limited from contact work most of the spring recovering from injuries and Tupe missed action during the final week of spring practice.
• A&M coaches hoped to limit contact on McGee by having him wear a black jersey during the spring game. It didn't work as he tried to overpower LB Mark Dodge on one scramble. "He claims he didn't try to hit me," McGee said. "But it was all in fun. Coach Fran told me he was trying to protect me and I was going to get myself killed. It was fun to get a spark going out there." But that's not where McGee should have been worried. A celebratory head butt from teammate Jorvorskie Lane to the helmetless McGee along the sidelines was a more devastating lick than any he faced during the game. "It's just a brother thing with me and McGee," Lane said. "We go at it all the time. That's his fault [for not wearing his helmet]." Winners of the game were rewarded with steak dinners, while losers dined on franks and beans. "I get to be a winner today, so I'll be eating steak instead of hot dogs," McGee said, chuckling.
• Lane and Mike Goodson both had their moments in the scrimmage, but the most impressive rushing performance was produced by redshirt freshman TB Cornell Tarrant, who rushed for a game-high 117 yards, including a clinching 66-yard touchdown run for the White team with 36 seconds left in the game.
• Franchione watched game action from the field, taking a close look at how backup QBs Jerrod Johnson and Ryan Tannehill handled their game preparations. "I stood close to the huddle and didn't do much other than watching the young quarterbacks' demeanor and how they handled themselves as leaders," Franchione said. "I thought they did a nice job."
• Johnson, a redshirt freshman who earned the most improved quarterback award for his play this spring, completed a nifty 31-yard strike to Jamie McCoy on his first play. "I thought I did pretty good," said Johnson, who completed all five of his passes for 39 yards. "I still have a lot of stuff to work on with my reads and option. But it was good to see some live competition."
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Tech's quarterback battle got most of the spring headlines, but an even more surprising development for the offense occurred when RB Shannon Woods was dropped to the scout team at the end of spring practice. Woods, who rushed for a team-leading 926 yards last season and led the Big 12 in all-purpose yards, was beaten out by sophomore Kobey Lewis for most playing time this spring. "I don't think he competed very hard," Tech coach Mike Leach told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal about Woods' demotion. "Somebody asked me if stats from last year register for anything? Well, they don't because you don't get any points out of them and you don't get any results out of them this year. You have good results, you compete and you play hard, it puts you where it puts you. He is where he is." Woods rushed for 4 yards on five carries in the spring game. Tech's defense showed some flashes after notching a 46-35 victory over the offense in the Red-Black Game in a game where three-and-outs and turnovers were rewarded with points. The defense also scored in a more conventional manner when two Graham Harrell interceptions were returned for touchdowns -- 93 yards by CB Pete Richardson and 43 yards by CB Nathan Stone. While the Tech offense rolled up 534 yards and 29 first downs on 93 plays, the defense notched 10 sacks and allowed 22 net rushing yards. Harrell completed 16 of 25 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns and added a 1-yard keeper for a score. But he was also sacked twice. Backup quarterback Taylor Potts completed 16 of 27 passes for 139 yards. Potts was intercepted once and also sacked six times.
• Leach said that the quarterback battle between Potts and Harrell remains unsettled. "I think Taylor really emerged as we went through the spring," Leach said. "The first scrimmage, there was no question that Graham played the best. In the second one, Taylor played the best and in the third Graham played the best. But Taylor, as far as a guy his age, had an impressive a start as I've seen." Leach has coined 5-foot-8 inside receiver Eric Morris as "The Elf" because of his diminutive size. "Besides the obvious size thing, he looks like an elf," Leach told the Avalanche-Journal. "I mean, just look at him. We ought to play him in a green jersey. He'd do it, too." Leach said that Morris' nickname fits for other reasons as well. "They need to make a movie about him, kind of like 'Bad Santa,' except it would be called 'Bad Elf,' because he's not a warm, cuddly, fuzzy-feeling elf. He's kind of evil and sinister."
• LB Chad Hill still is projected as a starting linebacker, despite missing the spring with an injury. Paul Williams and Kellen Tillman appear to have nailed down the other two starting jobs at linebacker.
Texas coach Mack Brown said the new rule pushing the kickoff back five yards to the 30-yard line conceivably could provide as big an impact on the game as any recent rule change. "If you ask our defensive coaches [about it], they throw up," Brown said. "But if you ask our offensive coaches, they're pumped."
• Texas likely won't have a player contend for the Thorpe Award after having back-to-back winners in Michael Huff and Aaron Ross in the last two seasons. But the Longhorns might have better depth in the upcoming season, according to Brown. "For the first time, we could play two-deep there," Brown said. One of Texas' biggest aims during spring practice was working on gadget plays. Brown is convinced the extra work will help his team become more versatile in the upcoming season. "We've worked really, really hard on running at least two trick plays each practice," Brown said. "We do want to run more trick plays, and we want our defense to see more trick plays so they can defend them. The kids like it, the fans like and I like it." Co-defensive coordinator Duane Akina said the Longhorns' defense won't be that much different than in previous seasons. "The foundation needs to be that we're physical and we'll swarm to the football," Akina said. "That's a starting point no matter what you decide to do schematically."
• Brown was one of the biggest critics of the NCAA's management council's recommendation to do away with text messaging in recruiting. "I think it would be a real mistake to do away with text messaging because it's the most effective way to immediately communicate with prospects and their families without being intrusive," Brown said. "With the limitations on phone calls and in-person visits, a personal text is an efficient and convenient way to answer questions, have a quick discussion or just stay in touch. It also benefits any prospect to become more familiar and learn how best to use technology since it's a very prevalent form of communication on every college campus."
Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M coaches divided talent in a draft for the Maroon-White game. Starting QB Stephen McGee played for both sides in the White's 27-13 victory before 24,212 at Kyle Field. McGee led one scoring drive, completing 8 of 14 passes for 73 yards with an interception.
• Coach Dennis Franchione was most impressed with his team's production after the two squads combined to rush for 388 yards and produce 29 first downs. "I think the game was fairly efficient and smooth," Franchione said. "The way the teams were divided up, you would get a first-teamer with a second-teamer sometimes with a third-teamer. You worry about that making it a little inefficient at times, but all in all, it was pretty clean." Some of the defense's struggles were understandable considering that starting defensive linemen Chris Harrington and Red Bryant and starting linebacker Misi Tupe did not play. Harrington and Bryant were limited from contact work most of the spring recovering from injuries and Tupe missed action during the final week of spring practice.
• A&M coaches hoped to limit contact on McGee by having him wear a black jersey during the spring game. It didn't work as he tried to overpower LB Mark Dodge on one scramble. "He claims he didn't try to hit me," McGee said. "But it was all in fun. Coach Fran told me he was trying to protect me and I was going to get myself killed. It was fun to get a spark going out there." But that's not where McGee should have been worried. A celebratory head butt from teammate Jorvorskie Lane to the helmetless McGee along the sidelines was a more devastating lick than any he faced during the game. "It's just a brother thing with me and McGee," Lane said. "We go at it all the time. That's his fault [for not wearing his helmet]." Winners of the game were rewarded with steak dinners, while losers dined on franks and beans. "I get to be a winner today, so I'll be eating steak instead of hot dogs," McGee said, chuckling.
• Lane and Mike Goodson both had their moments in the scrimmage, but the most impressive rushing performance was produced by redshirt freshman TB Cornell Tarrant, who rushed for a game-high 117 yards, including a clinching 66-yard touchdown run for the White team with 36 seconds left in the game.
• Franchione watched game action from the field, taking a close look at how backup QBs Jerrod Johnson and Ryan Tannehill handled their game preparations. "I stood close to the huddle and didn't do much other than watching the young quarterbacks' demeanor and how they handled themselves as leaders," Franchione said. "I thought they did a nice job."
• Johnson, a redshirt freshman who earned the most improved quarterback award for his play this spring, completed a nifty 31-yard strike to Jamie McCoy on his first play. "I thought I did pretty good," said Johnson, who completed all five of his passes for 39 yards. "I still have a lot of stuff to work on with my reads and option. But it was good to see some live competition."
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Tech's quarterback battle got most of the spring headlines, but an even more surprising development for the offense occurred when RB Shannon Woods was dropped to the scout team at the end of spring practice. Woods, who rushed for a team-leading 926 yards last season and led the Big 12 in all-purpose yards, was beaten out by sophomore Kobey Lewis for most playing time this spring. "I don't think he competed very hard," Tech coach Mike Leach told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal about Woods' demotion. "Somebody asked me if stats from last year register for anything? Well, they don't because you don't get any points out of them and you don't get any results out of them this year. You have good results, you compete and you play hard, it puts you where it puts you. He is where he is." Woods rushed for 4 yards on five carries in the spring game. Tech's defense showed some flashes after notching a 46-35 victory over the offense in the Red-Black Game in a game where three-and-outs and turnovers were rewarded with points. The defense also scored in a more conventional manner when two Graham Harrell interceptions were returned for touchdowns -- 93 yards by CB Pete Richardson and 43 yards by CB Nathan Stone. While the Tech offense rolled up 534 yards and 29 first downs on 93 plays, the defense notched 10 sacks and allowed 22 net rushing yards. Harrell completed 16 of 25 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns and added a 1-yard keeper for a score. But he was also sacked twice. Backup quarterback Taylor Potts completed 16 of 27 passes for 139 yards. Potts was intercepted once and also sacked six times.
• Leach said that the quarterback battle between Potts and Harrell remains unsettled. "I think Taylor really emerged as we went through the spring," Leach said. "The first scrimmage, there was no question that Graham played the best. In the second one, Taylor played the best and in the third Graham played the best. But Taylor, as far as a guy his age, had an impressive a start as I've seen." Leach has coined 5-foot-8 inside receiver Eric Morris as "The Elf" because of his diminutive size. "Besides the obvious size thing, he looks like an elf," Leach told the Avalanche-Journal. "I mean, just look at him. We ought to play him in a green jersey. He'd do it, too." Leach said that Morris' nickname fits for other reasons as well. "They need to make a movie about him, kind of like 'Bad Santa,' except it would be called 'Bad Elf,' because he's not a warm, cuddly, fuzzy-feeling elf. He's kind of evil and sinister."
• LB Chad Hill still is projected as a starting linebacker, despite missing the spring with an injury. Paul Williams and Kellen Tillman appear to have nailed down the other two starting jobs at linebacker.