Spring Break
Hit the ground running
Fans expected a quarterback battle, but Aggie rushing game stole show in football team's spring game
By: Travis Yoesting
Issue date: 4/21/08 Section: Sports
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This was no regular season contest, but rather the Maroon & White spring scrimmage. With new coaches, new styles, a few new players and some new positions for old players, fans filed into Kyle Field Saturday evening with an excitement that not even a canceled ZZ Top concert could curtail.
"I thought the student body, the 12th Man and the fans were just phenomenal," said Head Coach Mike Sherman of the estimated 32,000 in attendance, about 8,000 more than 2007's spring game. "I don't think our guys could have played in a more electric environment than what they saw."
Fans were treated to a different format than in recent years. While the first two quarters were played like a usual scrimmage, the second half involved situational plays: "strike zone" and red zone plays, two-minute offense in various scenarios, overtime and goal line situations.
Many fans came in expecting a quarterback battle. Stephen McGee and Tommy Dorman were pitted against Jerrod Johnson and Ryan Tannehill for the first half. Running backs, however, were the story of the day for the offense.
"I wanted to run the ball on the first two possessions," Sherman said. "I wanted to see some toughness."
Sophomore Michael Goodson came running out of the gate with 58 yards on eight carries on the game's first drive. He established himself as a workhorse in a stable of prolific runners including Bradley Stephens, Cornell Tarrant and Keondra Smith.
"He's certainly a guy that needs to have the ball in his hands a lot of the time," Sherman said of Goodson. "I think we have good backs behind him that are competing as well. I've been pleased with the whole group collectively."
While Goodson's efforts resulted in a one-yard touchdown bootleg from McGee, Stephens ran 41 yards on five carries in a drive resulting in a 44-yard field goal from Matt Szymanski.
Tarrant was not to be outdone. The sophomore wowed fans as he did in 2007's spring game with a 40-yard touchdown run on the very next drive to give the McGee-Dorman squad a 14-3 lead. Tarrant ended the day with four carries and 59 yards to lead all rushers.
With the majority of the starting offensive line from last season graduating, the new linemen stepped in assertively, creating lanes for the running backs and protecting the quarterbacks, a fact not lost on defensive lineman Cyril Obiozor.
"I think they're starting to gel," Obiozor said. "At the beginning of spring, it was a little bit shaky, but I think they're starting to gel and picking up things really well."
The score in the first half ended 14-3 as the McGee-Dorman Texas A&M team defeated the Johnson-Tannehill Aggie team in the scrimmage portion of the practice.
McGee was the night's top passer, throwing 5-8 for 58 yards. Tannehill was 6-10 for 50 yards but had multiple passes batted down. Johnson finished 3-5 for 25 yards while Dorman threw the game's longest completion to tight end Harold Turnage for 30 yards.
Sherman said he does not plan to use a quarterback rotation next year, opting to allow a single quarterback to play in order to get into the rhythm of the game.
"When we get done with camp, we're going to have a really good quarterback," Sherman said. "I'd like to have one quarterback and have a really good backup so that if the other one's struggling, maybe we do put him in."
Sherman did not say who will be starting at quarterback when Arkansas State comes to town for the first game of the season. But it appears McGee is in the driver's seat.
Of course, the day was not all about offense. Although many of the second half scenarios did not allow tackling for safety, there were at least a few bone-jarring hits from the defense Saturday that prompted questions about when the Wrecking Crew will return.
"I think it will be pretty obvious when it's back," Obiozor said. "I can't say, 'You'll know when this happens or that happens,' but you'll see it."
Sherman attributed the early defensive struggles against the run in the first half to the fact that they did not apply pressure like they plan to do in the fall. He commended their efforts against the run near the goal line.
Obiozor said there has been an adjustment in learning another defense under new defensive coordinator Joe Kines, but that they are starting to grasp it while improving their technique.
"Now that we know where we're supposed to go and where we're supposed to fit, it's a lot easier and we get there a lot quicker," Obiozor said. "When 11 guys start doing the little things right, things start happening, happening good."
In the second half, the defense increased their pressure and forced the offense to struggle in the strike zone - inside the 32 yard-line - and red zone portions of the practice. The offense continued to struggle in the two-minute scenarios.
Notably missing from the game, particularly in goal line situations, was former running back Jorvorskie Lane. Lane, who will be a senior next year, is moving from running back to fullback; he did not participate in Saturday's game.
On the last play of the game, defensive back Chevar Bryson returned an interception the length of the field for a touchdown, a prelude to the fireworks that followed the game.
Sherman said he was pleased with the last practice of spring, but it's clear the team hasn't reached its peak.
"We have a lot of work to do, a lot of work to do, but we're better than we were when we started," Sherman said. "We'll be better at the end of fall than we are now. We're going to be a work in progress for a while."
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