There's a lot to go through here.
Missing in action
It's almost as notable to say who didn't practice as opposed to who did. Here's a list of players who did not take part today:
WR Ainias Smith
DT Walter Nolen
C Bryce Foster
DT Albert Regis
DT Shemar Turner
CB Smoke Bouie
CB Denver Harris
OL Jordan Moko
OL Blake Trainor
WR Chris Marshall
DT Adarious Jones
CB Tyreek Chappell
I did not see Turner, Trainor or Harris. I haven't seen Trainor at all so far this summer, which is concerning. Harris was out there the other day, so I'm not sure what's up with that. Turner is dealing with family issues. Everyone else appeared to be dealing with minor stuff.
Unfortunately, things got worse early in practice. CB Myles Jones went down with a non-contact injury during drills. I'm not sure what happened, but he had to be helped to the injury tent and he did not return. I'm not sure which leg it was or anything like that, but it did not look good at all. I really hope it's not as bad as it looked.
On the plus side, CB Jaylon Jones did return to practice today and looked good.
Laying out how practice worked
For about the first 45 minutes, the team worked on position drills and stuff like that. Then they split the field into two groups: the 1s and 3s at the south end, with Jimbo watching, and the 2s and 4s at the north end. There was a lot of rotation, but the vast majority of the snaps on the south end went to the 1st team, led by Haynes King, and the 3rd team, led by Conner Weigman. The defense would substitute more liberally than the offense would during series (which could be 11-on-11 or 7-on-7).
First teams:
QB: King
RB: Devon Achane
TE: Max Wright (also Jake Johnson and Donovan Green)
LT: Trey Zuhn
LG: Aki Ogunbiyi
C: Matthew Wykoff
RG: Layden Robinson
RT: Deuce Fatheree
WR: Chase Lane
WR: Yulkeith Brown
WR: Evan Stewart
DE: Anthony Lucas
DT: Isaiah Raikes
DT: McKinnley Jackson
DE: Fadil Diggs
LB: Edgerrin Cooper
LB: Andre White
NIckel: Antonio Johnson
CB: Brian George
S: Demani Richardson
S: Jardin Gilbert
CB: Jaylon Jones
Observations
The winner of the quarterback battle today was King, by a pretty wide berth. He wasn't perfect, but the offense moved better with him at the helm.
Early on, King hit Evan Stewart with a perfectly thrown deep ball that just got over really good coverage from George. A short time later, he hit Achane for what would have been an easy score after Achane absolutely juked Deuce Harmon at the line of scrimmage and probably had 10 yards of clearance when the ball got to him.
King threw another couple of really nice passes, hitting a diving Donovan Green over the middle for a big gainer and throwing what would probably have been a touchdown to Achane later. He put it over the top of the defense (probably should have thrown it a bit harder and with less arc), and Achane caught it and took two steps into the end zone before Edgerrin Cooper ripped it away from him. It was a heck of a play by Cooper.
King was the most effective and accurate passer, but I also counted three interceptions. On the first, Jimbo got on the case of Yulkeith Brown for running the wrong route. Second one, Chase Lane got chewed on. The third, there was no mistaking: the pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage (I think by Andre White) and picked by Demani Richardson.
Not a flawless day, but again, by far the most effective of the three.
Max Johnson had the 2s and didn't have a whole lot to work with. He was throwing mostly to LJ Johnson, Fernando Garza, Blake Smith, Theo Ohrstrom and Jalen Preston, as well as a lot of walk-ons, but it wasn't a good showing. There were a lot of passes that were off target for whatever reason, or the timing was off. The second team defense wasn't exactly bad (Tunmise Adeleye, Marcus Burris, Tarian Lee, Chris Russell, Josh Moten, Deuce Harmon and Bryce Anderson were guys I noticed), and they were getting after Max a little bit. He didn't get much help, especially from Preston, who dropped several balls. He did blow past Moten for an easy touchdown pass, though.
Eli Stowers got a little work in along with Blake Bost with the 4s, and it was nice to see him throwing the ball again.
Fans of Conner Weigman...I hate to break this to you, but I don't think he's your starter this year. He had a pretty rough day, including throwing a really bad pick six to Martrell Harris who just cut right in front of a receiver and he never saw him. His accuracy was hit or miss and he got "sacked" several times. And what do you expect? He's a true freshman trying to figure out a pro-style offense. And when you hear who he was going against, you'll get a better idea as to why it was no walk in the park. Weigman's going to be really good. You potbangers just need to have some patience with him.
Quick hitters
Every wide receiver got at least a little bit of a look with the 1s today, except Preston. After the way he ended last year, it's kind of staggering to see him slip back that fast.
Wright, Green and Jake Johnson got all the first team snaps at tight end. Blake Smith, Garza and Ohrstrom were with the 2s.
Johnson, right now, looks the best of the young tight ends -- and Green has the most upside. He jumped offsides a couple of times, dropped a pass and then made a great diving catch over the middle.
Jake isn't perfect. Early in practice, he ran a route and Jimbo said, "Hey, Jake, what's that? I don't recognize that route!" And you know he got an earful after that. Later, King hit him dead on over the middle on probably a 15-yard deep in, and I mean dead on. Hit him in the helmet. Unfortunately, Jake hadn't turned around, so it was just a bullseye and not a catch.
Achane is just ridiculous. The line tried to run a dive behind Layden Robinson, but Raikes had held his ground and there was nothing there. So Achane bounced it outside, got a great block from Brown and outran Brian George to the edge and took it to the house. Phenomenal.
Amari Daniels looked good again today. Really nice burst as soon as the gets the ball. But I'll tell you what: LJ Johnson is working on getting himself some carries too. He looks much, much better this summer. He's got his burst back as well and he's the most physical of the three.
I was very impressed with Martrell Harris. He's still got to get bigger, but he's way faster than I expected and he can make some plays.
Bryce Anderson played safety all day today. I didn't see him at nickel at all. Deuce Harmon had nickel with the 2s.
Max Wright had a really nice sliding catch right on the sideline against tight coverage from Weigman early in the practice.
The freshman D-linemen: they're real and they're spectacular
It's not hype. They're all legit.
Lucas was ahead of Tunmise Adeleye today at left defensive end and he didn't look like he was out of his element. We already know what he can do.
But oh my God, Shemar Stewart and Enai White. They were with the 3s, allegedly, and all the did was eat the freshmen offensive linemen alive. They did it to some upperclassmen too. Stewart, on one play, just shoved Josh Bankhead aside to get into the backfield for a TFL. He was constantly pressuring Weigman in 11-on-11s. The guy doesn't look, or play, like a true freshman.
I've said the Aggies need a speed rusher, right? White may be that guy. In one-on-ones with the offensive linemen, he put a spin move on Dametrious Crownover that left Crownover in the dust. Crownover won the next matchup, but White also got a lot of pressure when he had the chance against Weigman's group (and the ones, honestly -- they'd split up 1st teamers with 3rd teamers on defense now and again).
Where was LT Overton? Oh, he was over with the second team. And then in one-on-ones, he absolutely bulldozed a walk-on and then fought Fatheree to a standstill. He's looking like he's going to play right out of the chute.
The only guy who didn't get a ton of work was Malick Sylla, and he's got to get some weight on him. But the burst is there.
Missing in action
It's almost as notable to say who didn't practice as opposed to who did. Here's a list of players who did not take part today:
WR Ainias Smith
DT Walter Nolen
C Bryce Foster
DT Albert Regis
DT Shemar Turner
CB Smoke Bouie
CB Denver Harris
OL Jordan Moko
OL Blake Trainor
WR Chris Marshall
DT Adarious Jones
CB Tyreek Chappell
I did not see Turner, Trainor or Harris. I haven't seen Trainor at all so far this summer, which is concerning. Harris was out there the other day, so I'm not sure what's up with that. Turner is dealing with family issues. Everyone else appeared to be dealing with minor stuff.
Unfortunately, things got worse early in practice. CB Myles Jones went down with a non-contact injury during drills. I'm not sure what happened, but he had to be helped to the injury tent and he did not return. I'm not sure which leg it was or anything like that, but it did not look good at all. I really hope it's not as bad as it looked.
On the plus side, CB Jaylon Jones did return to practice today and looked good.
Laying out how practice worked
For about the first 45 minutes, the team worked on position drills and stuff like that. Then they split the field into two groups: the 1s and 3s at the south end, with Jimbo watching, and the 2s and 4s at the north end. There was a lot of rotation, but the vast majority of the snaps on the south end went to the 1st team, led by Haynes King, and the 3rd team, led by Conner Weigman. The defense would substitute more liberally than the offense would during series (which could be 11-on-11 or 7-on-7).
First teams:
QB: King
RB: Devon Achane
TE: Max Wright (also Jake Johnson and Donovan Green)
LT: Trey Zuhn
LG: Aki Ogunbiyi
C: Matthew Wykoff
RG: Layden Robinson
RT: Deuce Fatheree
WR: Chase Lane
WR: Yulkeith Brown
WR: Evan Stewart
DE: Anthony Lucas
DT: Isaiah Raikes
DT: McKinnley Jackson
DE: Fadil Diggs
LB: Edgerrin Cooper
LB: Andre White
NIckel: Antonio Johnson
CB: Brian George
S: Demani Richardson
S: Jardin Gilbert
CB: Jaylon Jones
Observations
The winner of the quarterback battle today was King, by a pretty wide berth. He wasn't perfect, but the offense moved better with him at the helm.
Early on, King hit Evan Stewart with a perfectly thrown deep ball that just got over really good coverage from George. A short time later, he hit Achane for what would have been an easy score after Achane absolutely juked Deuce Harmon at the line of scrimmage and probably had 10 yards of clearance when the ball got to him.
King threw another couple of really nice passes, hitting a diving Donovan Green over the middle for a big gainer and throwing what would probably have been a touchdown to Achane later. He put it over the top of the defense (probably should have thrown it a bit harder and with less arc), and Achane caught it and took two steps into the end zone before Edgerrin Cooper ripped it away from him. It was a heck of a play by Cooper.
King was the most effective and accurate passer, but I also counted three interceptions. On the first, Jimbo got on the case of Yulkeith Brown for running the wrong route. Second one, Chase Lane got chewed on. The third, there was no mistaking: the pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage (I think by Andre White) and picked by Demani Richardson.
Not a flawless day, but again, by far the most effective of the three.
Max Johnson had the 2s and didn't have a whole lot to work with. He was throwing mostly to LJ Johnson, Fernando Garza, Blake Smith, Theo Ohrstrom and Jalen Preston, as well as a lot of walk-ons, but it wasn't a good showing. There were a lot of passes that were off target for whatever reason, or the timing was off. The second team defense wasn't exactly bad (Tunmise Adeleye, Marcus Burris, Tarian Lee, Chris Russell, Josh Moten, Deuce Harmon and Bryce Anderson were guys I noticed), and they were getting after Max a little bit. He didn't get much help, especially from Preston, who dropped several balls. He did blow past Moten for an easy touchdown pass, though.
Eli Stowers got a little work in along with Blake Bost with the 4s, and it was nice to see him throwing the ball again.
Fans of Conner Weigman...I hate to break this to you, but I don't think he's your starter this year. He had a pretty rough day, including throwing a really bad pick six to Martrell Harris who just cut right in front of a receiver and he never saw him. His accuracy was hit or miss and he got "sacked" several times. And what do you expect? He's a true freshman trying to figure out a pro-style offense. And when you hear who he was going against, you'll get a better idea as to why it was no walk in the park. Weigman's going to be really good. You potbangers just need to have some patience with him.
Quick hitters
Every wide receiver got at least a little bit of a look with the 1s today, except Preston. After the way he ended last year, it's kind of staggering to see him slip back that fast.
Wright, Green and Jake Johnson got all the first team snaps at tight end. Blake Smith, Garza and Ohrstrom were with the 2s.
Johnson, right now, looks the best of the young tight ends -- and Green has the most upside. He jumped offsides a couple of times, dropped a pass and then made a great diving catch over the middle.
Jake isn't perfect. Early in practice, he ran a route and Jimbo said, "Hey, Jake, what's that? I don't recognize that route!" And you know he got an earful after that. Later, King hit him dead on over the middle on probably a 15-yard deep in, and I mean dead on. Hit him in the helmet. Unfortunately, Jake hadn't turned around, so it was just a bullseye and not a catch.
Achane is just ridiculous. The line tried to run a dive behind Layden Robinson, but Raikes had held his ground and there was nothing there. So Achane bounced it outside, got a great block from Brown and outran Brian George to the edge and took it to the house. Phenomenal.
Amari Daniels looked good again today. Really nice burst as soon as the gets the ball. But I'll tell you what: LJ Johnson is working on getting himself some carries too. He looks much, much better this summer. He's got his burst back as well and he's the most physical of the three.
I was very impressed with Martrell Harris. He's still got to get bigger, but he's way faster than I expected and he can make some plays.
Bryce Anderson played safety all day today. I didn't see him at nickel at all. Deuce Harmon had nickel with the 2s.
Max Wright had a really nice sliding catch right on the sideline against tight coverage from Weigman early in the practice.
The freshman D-linemen: they're real and they're spectacular
It's not hype. They're all legit.
Lucas was ahead of Tunmise Adeleye today at left defensive end and he didn't look like he was out of his element. We already know what he can do.
But oh my God, Shemar Stewart and Enai White. They were with the 3s, allegedly, and all the did was eat the freshmen offensive linemen alive. They did it to some upperclassmen too. Stewart, on one play, just shoved Josh Bankhead aside to get into the backfield for a TFL. He was constantly pressuring Weigman in 11-on-11s. The guy doesn't look, or play, like a true freshman.
I've said the Aggies need a speed rusher, right? White may be that guy. In one-on-ones with the offensive linemen, he put a spin move on Dametrious Crownover that left Crownover in the dust. Crownover won the next matchup, but White also got a lot of pressure when he had the chance against Weigman's group (and the ones, honestly -- they'd split up 1st teamers with 3rd teamers on defense now and again).
Where was LT Overton? Oh, he was over with the second team. And then in one-on-ones, he absolutely bulldozed a walk-on and then fought Fatheree to a standstill. He's looking like he's going to play right out of the chute.
The only guy who didn't get a ton of work was Malick Sylla, and he's got to get some weight on him. But the burst is there.
