The skinny: Practice 6, Friday -- A&M worked out for 90 minutes in helmets, shoulder pads and shorts outside in the afternoon. There wasn't a morning workout, in lieu of Saturday's scrimmage. "This was a little bit watered down," A&M head coach Mike Sherman said.
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Next up: A&M will scrimmage at 11 a.m. Saturday at Kyle Field. Practice is open to current A&M students, former students (wearing an Aggie ring) and A&M faculty or staff with a current ID. ... The A&M football program will hold its annual Aggie Football Youth Experience for youth ages 8 to 13 afterward.
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Defense shines: The defense won the day's intrasquad competition, 84-47. The offense had won the last two competitions, capped by performing well in Thursday's red-zone play. "That's the way it should be -- it goes back-and-forth and back-and-forth," Sherman said. "But today was a defensive day, and I thought we made some improvements."
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Tough day for throwing and catching: The quarterbacks missed too many receivers, who in turn weren't as sure-handed as they'd been. "I think our quarterbacks can play better than what they played today," Sherman said. "I thought they were a little sloppy. [But] their arms are a little tired and a little raggedy right now. So we'll probably have to back off them just a little bit."
Sherman said some of the throws were slightly off, but he expects receivers to catch anything they touch and added, "We had some drops we shouldn't have had."
A&M started to cut back on the work of junior starting quarterback Jerrod Johnson in Thursday's practice and will do the same with redshirt freshman Tommy Dorman, who wasn't sharp on Friday.
"Today was a tough assessment [of Dorman]," Sherman said. "His arm was pretty sore. He couldn't get balls to go with the velocity he wanted them to go. So, he's a guy we really have to back off on."
Sherman added that Dorman is moving ahead, but isn't where either of them want him to be. "But he's a worker, and we'll keep pushing the envelope with him," Sherman said.
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Tannehill update: Sophomore Ryan Tannehill, who is competing for the starting quarterback job, catches passes during individual workouts but hasn't had scrimmage contract or thrown a pass. Tannehill is recovering from a torn labrum. He does toss the football back after catching it with an underhanded motion. Sherman said they will err on the side of caution before allowing Tannehill to have contact or throw.
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Coaches love it: Sherman thinks the Aggie Drill, where two players square off, is a great teaching tool, and it also helps set the tone for practice.
"It forces players to put a face on people, and strain their bodies and get their hands right," Sherman said. "If you don't have those three components you are not going to win the drill."
The Aggie Drill, which comes early in practice, leaves no doubt as to the winner, another thing that Sherman likes.
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Trice needs more consistency: A&M needs another go-to wide receiver if Tannehill ends up staying at quarterback. Sophomore Nick Trice has been getting work with the first team. He had some nice plays Friday, but also has struggled at times.
"He had a chance yesterday, we moved him up with the ones," Sherman said. "But I don't think he responded to the degree I wanted him to respond. But I thought he was better today. He did a really good job of blocking on one particularly play, a bubble screen. Then, he made a couple of catches. It's consistency -- doing it day-in and day-out -- that makes a difference."
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Good plays: Junior safety Chris Caflisch jumped high for an interception, keeping possession as he fell to the ground. He got up and celebrated with several of his defensive teammates. He later added a fumble recovery. ... Eddie Brown came up with a rare interception thanks to a tip from fellow sophomore defensive lineman Tony Jerrod-Eddie. ... The defense had a few other pass deflections, one by senior lineman Matt Moss, who also had a sack.
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Et cetera: Great weather brought out the best crowd of the spring along with A&M having another Junior Day this weekend. ... The crowd included former head coach Jackie Sherrill, former U.S. Senator Phil Gramm and A&M regent Phil Adams. Former players included Chet Brooks (1984-87), Red Burditt (1943-46) and Gary Oliver (1987-90). Among the juniors watching were Arlington High quarterback Matt Joeckel and his twin, Luke, an offensive lineman. ... Also watching was Austin Westlake senior wide receiver Ryan Swope, who has signed with A&M as a wide receiver. ... Sherman missed the first part of the practice while he was with recruits.