Spring practice No. 9: In the morning session Thursday, Texas A&M worked out inside for 70 minutes in helmets and shorts, then moved outside for a 90-minute workout in pads in the afternoon.
"I thought we competed and did some good things," A&M head coach Mike Sherman said. "Our pass protection still has struggled at times, particularly here at the end. I thought we ran the ball a little bit better than we've been running the ball the last few practices."
Sherman is giving the team the rest of the weekend off for Easter.
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Scary moment: Senior linebacker Matt Featherston suffered an apparent neck strain, Sherman said. Featherston was strapped to a stretcher and carried to an ambulance.
"He was moving and everything was fine," Sherman said. "His neck was sore, obviously. He's being evaluated right now. We don't anticipate there being any problem."
Featherston (6-foot-2, 235 pounds) was injured while squaring off against sophomore offensive lineman Danny Baker (6-5, 296) in the popular Aggie Drill. After the two finished, Baker gingerly arose while the training staff hovered over Featherston who was flat on his back.
The trainers attended to Featherston for 20-25 minutes before moving him.
"When you have a neck injury, you're going to take all precautions," Sherman said. "But as of right now, what the doctors are saying is he should be fine. He will be sore, but he should be fine."
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Not yet the real McCoy: Sophomore wide receiver Jeff Fuller has been the go-to receiver during spring drills, while production by senior tight end Jamie McCoy has varied.
"The biggest thing with Jamie is being consistent," Sherman said. "I think he can be a heck of a tight end. I thought he came out of the block pretty well last year."
McCoy (6-3, 224) found a home at tight end last season when Sherman moved him to that position because of a lack of a true big body for his West Coast offense. The undersized McCoy had 43 catches last year for 500 yards and five touchdowns
"He needs to be the same guy every day," Sherman said. "Sometimes he really shows up and has an exceptional practice. And other times there's a little bit of inconsistency there. I think he needs to work through that and be more consistent, and I've talked to him about that. I think we're closer to where we want him to be but not quite there just yet."
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Catching on: Sophomore wide receiver Lionel Smith, who was moved from defensive back this week, had several good plays Thursday. He caught a ball just off the turf during the morning 7-on-7 session. He (6-0, 174) also had a nice gainer on a reverse during the afternoon scrimmage and caught a long touchdown pass from redshirt freshman Tommy Dorman.
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Jerod-Eddie steps up: Sophomore defensive tackle Tony Jerod-Eddie (6-5, 256) has had at least one pass deflection in several practices.
"We just had a conversation recently about what my expectation of him is, and he's responded very well," Sherman said. "He had a very good freshman year being thrown in there the way we had to throw him in there."
Jerod-Eddie played in 12 games, starting seven. He had 20 tackles.
"My major concern was that he would kind of sit back and rest on his laurels a little bit -- whatever little ones we had," Sherman said. "But particularly here as of late, he has come on. I thought he started slow, but he's finishing strong, and that's good."
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D-line aid: A&M could use help from redshirt freshmen Adren Dorsey (6-2, 297) and Rod Davis (6-1, 305) on the defensive line with spots open after junior Lucas Patterson (6-4, 297) moved to offense and senior Kellen Heard quit.
Jerod-Eddie and Eddie Brown came in last year with Dorsey and Davis.
"The two guys who played are practicing at a high level and are further ahead because they had played in games and got a lot of reps last year," Sherman said. "I think Dorsey can be a dominant player when he puts his mind to it. Davis has yet to show that, and we're waiting for him to step forward. He needs consistency, and I haven't seen that just yet."
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Nice plays: The morning session ended with senior wide receiver Jeremy Brown catching a long pass from senior quarterback Jeff Wood despite close coverage by sophomore defensive back Justin McQueen.
In the afternoon, Brown leveled McQueen with a jarring block when the running back on the play reversed field. The hit drew hoots and hollers from the offensive players.
Fuller also caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from junior Jerrod Johnson.
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Kines' moments: Defensive coordinator Joe Kines was his typical emotional self Thursday, barking out instructions, praise and criticism.
He continued to give instructions during individual drills as the players jogged between workout stations. Kines also took a header as his feet got tangled with those of senior linebacker Anthony Lewis, who helped Kines up along with graduate assistant Jaxson Appel. The smiling Kines never stopped talking.
Before Tuesday morning's practice, he asked a trainer where his gum was. She said she didn't have an extra piece. Kines said he'd settle for half of hers, which she gave him.
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Defense does it: The defense won the intrasquad competition 84-77 on Thursday. Johnson tried to hit Fuller with a touchdown pass on the day's final play, but McQueen came up with a dandy interception.
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Words of improvement: "We're playing better defense this spring than we did last spring," Sherman said. "We've moved some guys around and we're playing with younger guys, but I think they understand the defense a little bit better. I didn't think we fit up real well in our defensive scheme last year."
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Et cetera: Players who will compete for the 12th Man during halftime of the Maroon & White Game on April 18 competed in some of those drills at the end of practice.
Former A&M offensive line coach J.B. Grimes watched both practices.
Former Bryan High football coach Marty Criswell, now a Spaulding salesman, watched the afternoon practice along with former Viking athletics director Rick Page, who is retired.
Pearland head football coach Tony Heath and A&M Consolidated quarterback Patrick O'Quinn, a preferred walk-on, were at the afternoon practice.
-- Robert Cessna