Redshirt freshman Johnny Manziel and sophomore Matt Joeckel had much better statistics than sophomore Jameill Showers, who most projected to be the starting quarterback after spring drills, though Sumlin said repeatedly that he’d wait to see how much they improved in the summer. Recently, Sumlin said he could name a starter as early as after two practices or no later than two weeks before the Aug. 30 opener against Louisiana Tech in Shreveport, La.
That timeline might have changed Saturday at Kyle Field after Manziel unofficially completed 18 of 22 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He also ran for a 2-yard touchdown off a nifty fake to the running back, looking comfortable and confident throwing or running in A&M’s spread attack. Joeckel completed 11 of 19 passes for 100 yards with three scores, and added a 1-yard touchdown run in a solid performance.
Showers didn’t have much success throwing down field, completing 16 of 24 but for only 80 yards. He also was sacked five times, one of them waving off what would have been an interception as he threw moments after the whistle. The defense wasn’t allowed to hit quarterbacks with the officials whistling the play dead when appropriate.
Sumlin afterward was quick to say the quarterback battle was still wide open, but slowed when asked if he was still on target to name a starter by Thursday.
“Thursday?” he repeated, then after being reminded about his previous comments on naming a starter no later than two weeks out from the opener, he said: “Umm, maybe, maybe. The latest will be next weekend.”
Sumlin later was asked to evaluate the play of Showers and Manziel.
“Umm, how about Showers, Manziel and Joeckel?” Sumlin said. “You keep forgetting about [Joeckel]. He probably scored more touchdowns today than anybody.”
The 6-foot-4, 234-pound Joeckel didn’t see any action last season with Showers playing in four games, attempting five passes and carrying the ball nine times. Showers was clearly the backup to the departed Ryan Tannehill.
Showers and Manziel got the majority of the snaps during the spring scrimmages, but Joeckel on Saturday got his fair share of the snaps.
“He’s been really, really having a good camp,” Sumlin said. “He has improved a lot, and that’s good.”
The offense often ran roughsod over the defense, which did have seven sacks, three by junior end Damontre Moore.
“As a head coach in every scrimmage, one group is always mad at the other group,” Sumlin said. “I would say that based on the fact that we have one of the better offensive lines in the country and three or four five-star running backs — we don’t have that on defense right now.”
The offense was missing senior wide receiver Ryan Swope, senior tight end Michael Lamothe (respiratory problem) and junior tight end Nehemiah Hicks, and senior running back Christine Michael had only a few carries. The Aggies, though, didn’t seem to miss anyone.
True freshman Trey Williams (8 carries-135 yards, 3 TDs), junior Ben Malena (7 carries-40 yards) and sophomore Tra Carson (6 carries-24 yards, TD) combined to be caught behind the line of scrimmage only once.
The 175-pound Williams scored the first touchdown, a 30-yard run up the middle to cap a 12-play, 75-yard drive on Showers’ first series,which came on the heels of Manziel unable to pick up a first down.
Williams later added a 77-yard touchdown run. He slowed up just past the line of scrimmage to almost a dead stop, then sped away, much to the delight of the crowd of approximately 2,500 at A&M’s Fan Appreciation Day.
“He’s been doing that all camp, making people miss,” Sumlin said. “And he’s got wire-to-wire speed to go with that.”
Carson, who transferred from Oregon, showed the ability to get tough yards inside.
“I think everybody sees the value that Tra Carson will bring to the table a year from now,” Sumlin said. “He’s 230-some pounds, he’s a different guy.”
The middle of A&M’s 4-3 defensive was missing two key cogs in senior Jonathan Mathis (6-2, 300) and junior Kirby Ennis (6-4, 300), who apparently are slightly hobbled. Sumlin typically doesn’t talk about injuries.
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• Sumlin said it was disappointing that true freshman offensive lineman Mike Matthews turned an ankle early and wasn’t able to get in much work. The Aggies want him to get playing time behind three-year starter Patrick Lewis to be ready to start next season. Sophomore Ben Compton, who was seeing action at offensive guard, worked some at center where he had been.
• A&M ran approximately 104 plays in roughly 1 hour, 40 minutes with three punting sessions mixed in.
“We can be better from a tempo standpoint from pushing the ball,” Sumlin said. “We’re not pushing the ball as quickly as we need to. Pat’s gotta get used to setting the pace, setting the ball, and beating the referee to the spot, and getting guys lined up. And then we can be really, really effective offensively, particularly as the game goes on.”
• Sumlin said he’ll review the tape to see how the quarterbacks handled reads and got the ball out.
“The evaluation is ongoing,” Sumlin said. “The good news is that we didn’t throw the ball to the defense a bunch.”
Senior linebacker Sean Porter had an interception of Showers wiped out by a Moore sack. Porter was heading down the sideline when the play was halted, prompting him to drop the ball and get off a pretty good punt on the run.
• Showers opened strong, completing 4 of 5 for 19 yards on his first drive, much like he looked in the Maroon & White Game when he completed 20 of 31 for 203 yards with two scores and no interceptions overshadowing Manziel (13 of 27 for 154 yards, one touchdown, one interception) and Joeckel (6 of 10 for 36 yards).
• A&M used freshman offensive lineman Germain Ifedi (6-5, 304) as a tight end in short-yardage situations with Hicks and Lamothe out, and junior Hutson Prioleau no longer with the team.
• True freshman cornerback De’Vante Harris is a first-teamer right now, Sumlin said. Sophomore Deshazor Everett worked at safety and cornerback, which Sumlin said speaks to the lack of production by others.
• Freshman Davis Plowman, a walk-on from Roswell, Ga., kicked a 44-yard field goal.
“Anybody who’s been around me knows the best players play,” Sumlin said.
Sumlin said his staff put 13 walk-ons on scholarship in four seasons at UH, and if there’s once place that could continue, it’s the home of the 12th Man.
• Sophomore walk-on Gaston Lamascus, who played at Navasota, had five catches for 55 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown from Manziel. Sophomore Malcome Kennedy had eight catches for 73 yards. Redshirt freshman Mike Evans had only four catches for 28 yards, but two were for touchdowns. Derel Walker, a junior college transfer, had touchdown catches of 20 and 35 yards after fumbling away his first catch.
• Freshman linebacker Jordan Richmond, sophomore running back Brandon Williams and senior wide receiver Kenric McNeal were other notables who didn’t see action. …. A&M won’t practice Sunday, coming back for two workouts Monday.
