Monday Practice Notes

Aggie Football Notebook

• Posted: Tuesday, August 7, 2012 12:01 a.m.

The skinny: A&M returned to practice Monday at 5:30 p.m. after taking Sunday off. The Aggies worked out in shells for approximately two hours.

“They got a pretty good taste of what the rest of camp is going to be like,” A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin said, adding that it was humid and the workout was a tad longer than the first two.

Sumlin said some guys struggled with the heat, but they fought through it.

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Big plans for “Little” Matthews: Sumlin is hopeful that incoming freshman offensive lineman Mike Matthews (6-3, 260) will be good enough to earn playing time, paving the way to be the starting center next season since Patrick Lewis is a senior.

“If [Matthews] can handle it, I’d rather him travel and be the backup center and play in games, and have three years to start as a center as opposed to having a brand new center next year who’s never been in a game,” Sumlin said. “Some people will say that’s crazy, but I think if you start in the SEC for three years at any position, it’s pretty damn good.”

Matthews is the brother of junior starting offensive tackle Jake Matthews, while older brother Kevin Matthews started at center for the Aggies in 2008-09. Their father is NFL Hall of Fame lineman Bruce Matthews.

Sumlin calls Mike Matthews “Little Matthews” though he chuckles when saying it because of Matthews’ size.

Sophomore Ben Cumpton (6-4, 307) had been expected to be the backup center, but he’s seeing action at guard. Cumpton started his Aggie career on the offensive line and moved to defensive line. He played in nine games last season, making six tackles before moving back to offense in the spring.

Sumlin also is glad to have sophomore offensive guard Jarvis Harrison (6-4, 320) back after missing spring drills with a knee injury. Harrison, who is from Navasota, started five games last season.

“He’s behind, you can tell he missed 15 practices,” Sumlin said.

Junior Shep Klinke had a solid spring and will challenge Harrison to start at left guard, Sumlin said.

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Looking for outside receiving help: “We’ve got to find some playmakers on the outside,” Sumlin said. “We’ve got to be more consistent in challenging our corners.”

Redshirt freshman Mike Evans (6-5, 218) and junior Nate Askew (6-4, 220) are among those trying to replace Jeff Fuller who graduated last season holding the school record with 233 catches. Askew had six catches last year for 85 yards.

Sophomore cornerbacks Deshazor Everett and Floyd Raven Sr. are doing their best to keep Evans and Askew in check.

“It’s getting a little bit heated out there, [and] that’s good,” Sumlin said. “Competition is a good thing. We’ve got to keep competing to get to where we want to be.”

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Secondary update: Sumlin said they’re looking for “a solid 7-8 guys” who can mesh together, working as a unit.

“Athletically, we’ve probably got 5-6 right now who athletically can play, but they’ve gotta come on mentally and we’ve gotta get the right pieces to the puzzle.”

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Pickard’s 48th fall camp: This is the 48th fall camp for Billy Pickard, who spent more than five decades working for the A&M athletics department before retiring in 2008, but still helps as a volunteer. Ironically, Sumlin, who is in his first season, turned 48 on Friday, the first day of fall camp.

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Next up: A&M will again be in shells Tuesday. Sumlin said the schedules have been altered to accommodate the last session of summer school which ended Monday, with finals Tuesday and Wednesday.

—ROBERT CESSNA