The skinny: Practice 5, Thursday -- A&M worked out for 65 minutes in helmets and shorts in the morning, then 90 minutes in full pads in the afternoon. Both workouts were inside. The afternoon session was the better effort. "They came out and competed," A&M head coach Mike Sherman said. "When you compete, you're going to get better."

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Next up: A&M will work out at 4 p.m. Friday. Practice is open to current A&M students, former students (wearing an Aggie ring) and A&M faculty or staff with a current ID. ... Saturday's practice will be at 11 a.m. on Kyle Field. Also on Saturday, the Aggie football program is conducting its annual Aggie Football Youth Experience for youth ages 8 to 13 who have not yet entered ninth grade. The free clinic is limited to the first 500. For a registration form to go AggieAthletics.com.

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Johnson gets help: A&M cut back on the work of junior starting quarterback Jerrod Johnson with redshirt freshman Tommy Dorman, senior Jeff Wood and sophomore Kevin Westerman taking more snaps. "We're just trying to rest Jerrod a little bit, he's had a lot of throws in practice," said Sherman, who added that the split practices almost are the equivalent of a two-a-day workout since the quarterbacks have to warm up twice. "And it gives the other guys a chance to go with the ones and see how they do." ... Sophomore Ryan Tannehill, who is competing for the starting job, still hasn't thrown a pass. Tannehill, who is recovering from a torn labrum, continues to work out at wide receiver, where he had 55 catches last season.

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Better linebacker play: "I think our linebackers have a better feel for our defense," Sherman said. "And it's so important they do well this year. We definitely struggled at that position last year. I feel like they've improved their play, but they have a long way to go." ... Junior Von Miller again had some solid plays in A&M's new hybrid "jack" position that combines linebacker and defensive end. ...Redshirt freshman linebacker Kyle Mangan has been taking a lot of snaps this week with the first team. "He's made some progress, but he still has a ways to go," Sherman said. ... One thing Mangan, from Brenham, did add Thursday for the first time this spring was his name on the back of his No. 18 jersey.

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Slow start: Senior safety Jordan Pugh intercepted a pass from Johnson on the first play during 7-on-7 drills.

"Offensively, we were very shaky this morning, and didn't do much of anything very well," Sherman said.

Even sophomore wide receiver Jeff Fuller had a couple rare drops, but each time he bounced back to make tough catches.

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Et cetera: The offense won the daily team competition, finishing strong in the red-zone drill as the team competition in the afternoon went from the 50 to the 30 to the 18 and finally to the 3. The defense, though, got a break and didn't have to run, which normally is the case for the losing team. Sherman was going to give the defense a pass after losing a spirited battle on Tuesday, but he immediately went to media interviews while the defense ran. He gave them their pass Thursday. Senior tight end Jamie McCoy caught a couple short touchdown catches from Dorman in the final drill. The practice ended with redshirt freshman tight end Caleb Russell catching a short TD pass from Westerman. ... Former A&M quarterback Stephen McGee and Brenham head football coach Glen West were among many afternoon visitors. Six fans braved thunderstorms and rain to watch the morning session. ... -- ROBERT CESSNA