Spring practice No. 10: In the morning session Tuesday, Texas A&M worked out inside for 70 minutes in helmets and shorts. In the afternoon session the Aggies worked out in pads for 90 minutes.
A&M head coach Mike Sherman was pleased with the tempo of the morning practice, while the afternoon session was highlighted by the defense working on the blitz.
"The offense was at a little bit of a disadvantage [because] we're a little bit behind on our blitz pick-up," Sherman said. "[But] I was excited about the defense. They were getting their blitzes run pretty efficiently, and we were getting through to the quarterback."
Sherman said the ability to blitz or stop the blitz is critical.
"If you can't pick up the blitz, it's a long afternoon on Saturdays," he said. "If you can, you really shorten the game, because you can score faster. If we can pick up the blitz and get the ball thrown to the right receiver and they can make something happen, we could have some big plays."
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Injuries mounting: A&M had nine offensive linemen practicing in full pads in the afternoon scrimmages and nine not taking part. Redshirt freshman Brian Thomas, who worked at first-team tackle and center last week, wasn't in full pads, joining redshirt freshmen Chris Lathrop, Leroy Chavalier and Josh Ayers, juniors Matt Rankin, Lucas Patterson and Price Ferguson, and seniors Lee Grimes and Kevin Matthews, who also didn't scrimmage.
"We're really, really thin on both sides of the ball," Sherman said. "And that's why we're doing the two-a-day practices as opposed to one long one, getting guys to come out here for shorter spurts."
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Featherston watching, smiling: Senior linebacker Matt Featherston was back at practice, watching and talking with his teammates. He suffered a neck strain Thursday and had to be taken from the field on a stretcher as a precaution.
"He's going to be fine," Sherman said. "He tweaked his neck."
Featherston, though, won't compete in Saturday's Maroon & White Game.
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Tannehill throwing: Sophomore Ryan Tannehill, who is competing for the starting quarterback job, threw passes with the other quarterbacks after practice. Tannehill, who is recovering from a torn labrum, catches passes during individual workouts but hasn't had scrimmage contact.
"He's anxious to get started, [but] we still have to be very precautionary in regard to what we're asking him to do," Sherman said. "It's one thing to throw after practice, it's another thing to throw with a pass rush coming at you, and to throw a lot of balls. So, he's not doing that. Moderate throwing is what he's doing now. And we're going to keep it that way until he's 100 percent. We're not going to take any chances there."
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Jerod-Eddie bests Baker: It took two confrontations, but sophomore defensive lineman Tony Jerod-Eddie bested sophomore offensive lineman Danny Baker in a super battle of the Aggie Drill, which has players go one-on-one against each other. Each side was able to pick a player in a competition for five points toward the day's overall intrasquad winner. The combatants battled to a draw in the first encounter, but Jerod-Eddie prevailed in the second try. Jerod-Eddie was mobbed by his teammates, cutting short his victory dance.
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Another win for the defense: The defense grabbed a 105-85 victory. The offense built a big lead during the first part of the morning session during 7-on-7, but dropped passes, a couple fumbles, a few off-target throws and a few sacks spurred the comeback by the defense.
"We dropped too many balls today," Sherman said.
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Nice efforts: Junior defensive lineman Cody Williams tipped a pass by redshirt freshman Tommy Dorman that was intercepted by sophomore cornerback Justin McQueen to highlight the morning defensive effort in 7-on-7. ... Sophomore running back Cyrus Gray had a 35-yard touchdown run during scrimmage action and another 40-yarder. ... The scrimmage ended with senior safety Jordan Pugh intercepting a Dorman pass.
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Next up: A&M will practice at 6:10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Thursday. 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 Maroon & White Game will be at 2 p.m. Saturday.
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Faces in the crowd: Texas A&M linebacker signee Jonathan Stewart from Shreveport (La.) Byrd High School took in both practices as Byrd is on spring break this week. ... Among those watching the afternoon practice was former A&M head coach R.C. Slocum. Others in attendance were Bryan High head coach Bob Bellard and his staff, which included offensive coordinator David Beal, a former A&M quarterback, and offensive line coach Jim Bob Helduser, who held the same post at Texas A&M under former head coach Dennis Franchione, and former A&M Consolidated head coach Ross Rogers, who coached A&M sophomore wide receiver Nick Trice of Harker Heights.
-- ROBERT CESSNA