First-year Texas A&M head coach Mike Sherman isn't in a rush to name a starting quarterback as senior Stephen McGee battles sophomore Jerrod Johnson.
"I think we're getting closer," Sherman said Friday after the Aggies' sixth practice of the fall camp. "Both are competing real well. I don't see any need to do it right now. They're both neck-and-neck. It's great competition."
The 6-foot-3, 207-pound McGee threw for 2,311 yards and rushed for 899 more last season, including a career-high 167 yards on 35 carries in a 36-14 victory at Nebraska. He's 16-11 as a starter, accounting for 4,889 passing yards and 1,800 on the ground.
The 6-5, 229-pound Johnson has been projected as A&M's quarterback of the future. He was involved in only 20 plays last season, 13 of them rushes. He accounted for 161 yards and five touchdowns.
Both players were recruited by former head coach Dennis Franchione, who used the zone read offense to utilize his dual threats at quarterback.
Sherman likes the way McGee and Johnson are adjusting to his pro-style offense, but the competition doesn't stop at the top. Redshirt freshman Ryan Tannehill and true freshman Tommy Dorman had solid efforts Friday.
"Why close the door on competition?" Sherman said. "That's not me. I want to keep them competing."
Sherman said he doesn't like using co-starting quarterbacks because it's hard to get one player enough repetitions in the weekly game plan, let alone two. He said at last month's Big 12 Media Days that ideally he'd like to name a starter after about 10 practices. Heading into this week he said it might take 7-10 days.
With three weeks to go before the Aug. 30 opener against Arkansas State, Sherman doesn't have a drop-dead date circled on his desk calendar.
"I've got on my wall how many days I have until I have to tell you guys that I've made a decision," Sherman joked.
Sherman might have to take a few extra days to name a starter, but even then, it's not over. He said the competition will take place on a week-to-week basis.
That's the case at several positions, as A&M returns only 11 starters from last season's squad. Competition was keen Friday as A&M practiced in full pads for the first time, going about 2 1/2 hours on the grass practice field.
"I thought we had one of our best practices," Sherman said. "There were some mistakes out there, but I was most pleased with this practice than any previous one."
Several contact drills led to hard-hitting results.
"Guys were getting up and off the ground," Sherman said. "They get fatigued a little bit, [but] you want to see who's going to be there in the fourth quarter."
One practices, one still out: Freshman tight end K.J. Williams was cleared by the NCAA to practice, while junior tailback Mike Goodson was held out of contact for the third straight day.
The 6-foot-3, 233-pound Williams was limited because he couldn't wear full pads. "I worked with him a little bit in individual period, and he has some natural blocking skill and technique," Sherman said. "He's been taught well. I was pretty impressed with his footwork and hands."
Goodson is nursing a hamstring injury.
Lots of onlookers: There are 126 campers joining the team this weekend for the 16th Annual Kickoff Camp, started by former A&M head coach R.C. Slocum. The campers, who range in age from 11 to 80, attend practice and classroom meetings and eat with the players and coaches.
More than $900,000 has been raised to benefit the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band, the Sterling C. Evans Library and the 12th Man Foundation Capital Campaigns.
"There are a lot of great people here, and it's a great way for our players to be around some very successful people that are potential employers for them," said Tim Cassidy, associate athletic director for football who was with Slocum when the camp started. "It's also outstanding for these great supporters of the program to have a chance to see our coaches teach."
Split attention: When the offense splits into 7-on-7 drills, Sherman often oversees one group while offensive coordinator Nolan Cromwell directs the other. However, since the groups work in a back-to-back layout, it's easy to watch both.
Sherman assisted offensive line coach Jim Turner in a couple of the individual drills. Sherman was in charge of the offensive line 15 years when he was named head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 2000.
Tough starts: Senior safety Devin Gregg and junior wide receiver Chevar Bryson drew Sherman's attention early. Sherman made Gregg run and touch the perimeter fence for an unnecessary hard tackle during an early drill. A couple plays later Sherman took Bryson to task for a block, which the head coach said was a block. Then Bryson dropped a long pass from Dorman.
Eight is enough: "If we can't figure out eight yards, we're in trouble," Sherman said when some receivers were making their break at the wrong spot, throwing off the timing with the quarterback. ... Cromwell, who also is in charge of wide receivers urged his players to get physical at the line of scrimmage. "Attack him and release," Cromwell shouted after a couple players had trouble getting into their routes.
12th Man applause: Junior wide receiver E.J. Shankle made a 45-yard over-the-shoulder catch on a pass from McGee just before going out of bounds during a 2-on-2 drill.
Junior defensive back Jordan Pugh had good coverage on Shankle, who earned applause from the Kickoff campers.
Pay attention: Some of the most spirited action came during situational time, but there were some glaring penalties.
The offensive linemen jumped a couple times on third-and-3, earning juniors Michael Shumard and Robbie Frost a few plays off. Then the defensive linemen, including junior David Tufuga and sophomore Lucas Patterson, fell victim to hard counts by the quarterback, earning the unit immediate pushups. "That's dumber than dumb," defensive coordinator Joe Kines said after the last offside.
Sherman said the day's theme was "winning the down, and we lost those downs," he said. "That's frustrating, but they're young kids. I keep telling myself they will grow and get better." ... Senior wide receiver Howard Morrow, coming back after missing last season with an injury, dropped a couple of passes, while sophomore wide receiver Terrence McCoy missed the snap count and was about 20 yards upfield despite no snap. ... On the plus side, senior fullback Nick LaMantia and junior fullback Ryan O'Bryant turned swing passes into big gains on third-and-short situations. ... The offense plowed ahead for a couple first downs, while the defense stopped it cold twice. Dorman found sophomore Chris Caflisch, who was wide open behind the defense on a busted coverage, for a long gain.
Good to real bad: Senior fullback Jorvorskie Lane picked up a first down during situational play but had the ball knocked out of his hands from behind by senior defensive end Michael Bennett. That earned Lane a run to the perimeter fence. When he returned things didn't get better. He fumbled on a third-and-2 when he was hit hard at the line of scrimmage. Sherman bemoaned that not only didn't Lane get the first down, he lost the football. Running backs coach Randy Jordan, who was 25 yards downfield, sprinted toward the line of scrimmage when he saw Lane fumble. "Get him out, get him out," Jordan shouted.
Edge to defense: Sherman said the defensive line is ahead of the offensive line. ... He cited junior linebacker Matt Featherston for solid play. ... Another position with strong competition is safety. Senior Gregg has 29 career starts, while juniors Jordan Peterson and Alton Dixon have 13 and 11, respectively. "Safeties get banged up a lot," Sherman said. "You can't play with just two safeties the entire season."
Bennett rebounds: Bennett, who was academically ineligible for the Alamo Bowl last season, has had a strong summer in the classroom and is off to a good start on the field. "Granted he dug a hole for himself," Sherman said. "He's worked his butt off to dig himself out, and I'm proud of him for that." ... The 261-pounder had a few good plays during situational downs Friday. Sherman also cited seniors Amos Gbunblee and Cyril Obiozor for strong end play this week, while junior college transfer Matt Moss had back-to-back strong rushes Friday in situational downs.
True freshmen to watch: Sherman said it's too early to judge the incoming freshmen after wearing full pads just once, but he continues to like the maturity of running back Cyrus Gray. Sherman admits he sees more plays of the 188-pounder, who has seen some time at slotback than, say, linebacker Ricky Cavanaugh or defensive lineman Eddie Brown, but added that those two have done "some decent things."
Tidbits: A&M will practice twice Saturday -- in the morning in full pads on the practice field and in the afternoon indoors in helmets and shoulder pads. There will be one practice Sunday in full pads. ... Pugh arrived well ahead of a pass to freshman wide receiver Jeff Fuller during 2-on-2 drills, but Fuller made the catch by using his body to shield Pugh and absorb the hit. ... The two later had a jump-ball situation in the end zone during 7-on-7 drills with neither making the catch, even though coaches from both sides verbally expressed that their player should have made the play. ... Junior wide receiver Jeff Wood, a converted quarterback, had back-to-back nifty catches across the middle in 7-on-7 drills.
• Robert Cessna's e-mail address is robert.cessna@theeagle.com. For more notes from Friday's practice, visit AggieSports.com.