Practice No. 16: A&M worked out in full pads for 2 hours, 25 minutes on the Coolidge grass practice fields Monday morning.
The pace and hard hitting appeared to pick up after head coach Mike Sherman cited many for sub-par efforts following a day off after 12 straight days of drills.
"[Tempo and physicality] was sporadic," Sherman said. "They didn't bounce back the way I expected them to, and I wasn't pleased with that at all. I kinda sensed it in pre-practice and in our stretching, and I called them up and talked to them about it.
"There were some things that were pretty good, but overall it wasn't acceptable."
Junior defensive back Dustin Harris said it was a lack of focus.
"That happens sometimes, but you gotta focus back in and play as a team and get the fundamentals down -- wrapping up and tackling -- and we didn't do that today," he said. "Tomorrow, we're going to have to pick it up and work hard to reach our goals."
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Two-way No. 22: Harris, who is battling senior Coryell Judie for a starting cornerback spot, continued to see action at wide receiver.
"I just think that he has a tremendous burst off the ball, so I wanted to take a look at him," Sherman said. "We have and I like what I see. He'll play offense for us some this year. It's not indicative of what he's not doing on defense as much as he's a player that possibly can do both things for us."
Harris hauled in a deep pass Monday and does a good job coming back for the football with his 6-foot, 175-pound frame.
"Having been a defensive back, he knows how to get off the line of scrimmage," Sherman said. "He has good technique on his releases. He runs really crisp, sharp routes. We'll just keep working with him to see what we've got there. He's definitely a talent. He's probably the fastest receiver we have."
Harris played quarterback at Livingston High School.
"Offense has been with me my whole life," Harris said. "I'm not saying I'm cocky or anything like that. It's been with me all my life and just to have about 2-3 plays to get back into it was a blessing. I'll do whatever for this team."
Harris had a 54-yard punt return for a touchdown last year against Louisiana Tech.
Harris had two interceptions Monday, maybe benefiting from knowing the plays so well.
Sherman said they've reached the point in camp where the defenders often know what the play will be, which can frustrate the quarterback.
"[But] the harder we make it on us now, the easier it will be during the season," said Sherman, who also acts as offensive coordinator.
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Several players return: A&M, which had at least 15 players miss Saturday night's second controlled scrimmage of fall camp, had several players back, including senior wide receiver Jeff Fuller, junior outside linebacker Sean Porter and senior defensive end Tony Jerod-Eddie.
"Sean looked like he was back to true form," Sherman said. "Tony Jerod-Eddie made a couple of plays out there so I thought he was fine. We pulled Jeff out early just because he felt a little twinge and so we are being very cautious with that."
Fuller has been out since tweaking a hamstring just before the camp's first controlled scrimmage.
Junior running back Christine Michael and senior cornerback Terrence Frederick were others back at full strength who didn't scrimmage Saturday. Sophomore defensive lineman Rhontae Scales and junior wide receiver Brandal Jackson also returned.
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Little-known two-sport standout: Junior walk-on Travis Labhart ended practice by catching a touchdown pass from redshirt freshman quarterback Jameill Showers.
Labhart had four catches for 36 yards in Saturday's scrimmage.
Labhart was on the men's practice team for the national champion A&M women's basketball team, but joined the football team for spring drills, where he saw action at defensive back.
The 5-9, 182-pound Labhart had been a standout point guard and quarterback at Whitesboro High School.
"He's really a neat story," Sherman said. "I really didn't know who he was until the spring, when he made a couple of plays and just looked real quick on defense."
Labhart didn't even make the original 105-player fall camp roster, ending up at No. 106. But when an injury opened up a spot, Labhart was included and he's made the most of it.
Sherman said that Labhart is in the mold of Roger Holland, a speedy receiver from Cypress Falls who played as a freshman for the Aggies in 2007 and had a huge upside, but couldn't recover from lingering effects of multiple concussions and had to take a medical redshirt.
"[Labhart's] got that type of quickness and speed," Sherman said. "I told him, 'Get ready to play.'"
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Now is the time: Fall camp will end Friday and Sherman said the depth chart is starting to take shape, but practice will continue to be about getting each player as many repetitions as possible.
"To develop players, it's got to be a three-ring circus out there with players getting reps," Sherman said. "I do not want a player - scout, scholarship, starter, backup, third team, fourth team - to leave that field without contributing in some way. They're going to work, and they're going to get better in the process."
The area with the most starting positions up for grabs is linebacker. Camp has created depth. Now Sherman wants the four most qualified to clearly step forward in the 3-4 alignment.
Jonathan Stewart showed signs of locking down an inside spot in the scrimmage, while Porter was having an outstanding camp on the outside before getting hurt. But sophomore Charlie Thomas is battling Porter, while junior Caleb Russell and sophomore Damontre Moore on the outside are vying to replace All-American Von Miller. Senior Garrick Williams made 112 tackles at inside linebacker last year, but he's getting pushed by juniors Kyle Mangan and Steven Jenkins and freshman Donnie Baggs.
"I want them to tell me who it is and that hasn't happened just yet," Sherman said. "I want them to say, 'Watch the tape, coach, watch what I did.' I didn't see that on Saturday."
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Preseason All-Americans: A&M running back Cyrus Gray was named a second-team preseason All-American by Rivals.com. Wide receiver Jeff Fuller was on the third team, along with cornerback Coryell Judie.
Other selections of note:
First team -- WR Justin Blackmore, Oklahoma State; WR Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma; OT Levy Adcock, Oklahoma State.
Second team -- TE Michael Egnew, Missouri; OT Kelechi Osemele, Iowa State; LB Jerry Franklin, Arkansas; PK Grant Ressel, Missouri; P Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State.
Third team -- QB Case Keenum, Houston; LB Tank Carder, TCU; LB Travis Lewis, Oklahoma
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Next up: The last scheduled two-a-day practices will be Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. outdoors and 4 p.m. indoors. There will be a Wednesday scrimmage open only to those who have purchased tickets to the "Countdown to Kickoff" event in the Zone Club.
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