McGee developing confidence in aerial attackBy Tim Griffin
Special to ESPN.com
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- It wasn't the kind of play that would make many fans at Kyle Field stop and take notice.
But Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee's 21-yard swing pass to running back Mike Goodson that started the spring game almost made coach Dennis Franchione turn cartwheels on the field.
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Stephen McGee is focused on improving his passing in 2007."We had four verticals [deep passes] called and all of them were covered," Franchione said. "Stephen checked back down and made a nice gain. Those aren't the kind of plays that catch people's eyes or break things, but they do ours."
Such maturity might be the biggest key in boosting the Aggies into Big 12 le contention for the first time since Franchione took over. A&M still is a work in progress, but as McGee improves, his team should get better with him.
"When he pulls the ball down and moves around the pocket, last year he pretty much would have made his mind to go out and take the play," Franchione said. "But he's made some growth and as he's grown, we've all grown."
That spring development has been important as A&M attempts to build on last season's 9-4 record. The Aggies closed the 2006 regular season with a flourish, notching a 12-7 victory at Texas that knocked the Longhorns out of the Big 12 le game. The upset snapped a devastating six-game losing streak to their archrivals and was A&M's first victory in Austin since 1992.
A resounding 45-10 loss to California in the Holiday Bowl didn't diminish all of the good will produced by that victory -- even after a season that had earlier been marred by three conference losses by a combined margin of six points.
"I think we can play with anybody," Goodson said. "With the talent we've got, we don't think anybody can hang with us right now."
McGee's toughness and resiliency helped mark his team last season. Teammates remember his gutty leadership during a dramatic game-winning drive against Texas. Despite throwing up in the huddle because of unseasonably hot conditions, McGee directed a 16-play, 88-yard drive against what was then the nation's top statistical rush defense. The Aggies converted five third-down plays on the drive, including three on option runs by McGee.
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As impressive as that drive was, McGee realizes that his passing skills will make or break the Aggies this season. That's why he accentuated developing confidence in the aerial game during the spring.
"My biggest emphasis this spring was just to trust my protection a little longer," McGee said. "I'm trying to get to the second progression and then the third and the fourth if I need it. I need to learn to shuffle up in the pocket and throw it rather than try to make something happen with just my legs."
To get to that point, the Aggies have worked extensively on development of a deep passing game this spring. The development of speedy receivers like Jamie McCoy, Earvin Taylor, Kerry Franks and Pierre Brown and big-play tight end Martellus Bennett will be critical in that progression.
"I thought we had a great spring," McGee said. "Our biggest emphasis was trying to work on the vertical game, and I thought we had a very productive spring trying to gear to that."
The Aggies again will depend heavily on a running game that ranked eighth nationally with an average of 206.9 yards per game and returns its top three rushers. Goodson emerged with team-leading totals of 847 rushing yards and a 6.7 yards-per-carry average as a freshman. Bullish 274-pound tailback Jorvorskie Lane chipped with 725 yards and a conference-leading 19 rushing touchdowns. And McGee ranked fifth nationally among all quarterbacks with 666 rushing yards.
Goodson's recovery from a sprained knee suffered in the Holiday Bowl is an especially welcome bit of news this spring. Despite initial fears his knee might have been hurt much worse, Goodson said he is primed for a big comeback.
"It was really scary when the trainers started talking about a torn ACL or a PCL," Goodson said. "It did scare me a little bit. But when I got back home, they told me it was just a sprain. And when I started working out, I feel like I can still do what I had done before."
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Mike Goodson rushed for 847 yards in '06.That injury capped a tempestuous freshman season for Goodson, who struggled with fumbling woes before a dramatic improvement as the season progressed. After averaging 5.7 yards per carry and 46.8 yards per game rushing in his first seven games last season, Goodson's averages skyrocketed to 86.8 rushing yards and 7.4 yards per carry over his final six games.
"Mike's September was bumpy last year and it wasn't until October when he came into his own," Franchione said. "He's going to be a much bigger cog of everything."
But the biggest question for the Aggies will be continued growth in a defense that made huge steps last season. New defensive coordinator Gary Darnell orchestrated a transformation that enabled the Aggies to improve from 107th nationally in total defense in 2005 to 46th last season. A&M also went from 117th to 44th in pass defense, 104th to 39th in pass efficiency defense and 94th to 44th in scoring defense.
Franchione has seen continued improvement in the Aggies' second season with Darnell's 4-2-5 defensive alignment.
"We're certainly much farther along," Franchione said. "One really outstanding thing that Coach Darnell did is that he would only let his game plan be a big as his players were confident in what they were doing. As a result, we didn't have big defensive game plans some weeks. Probably, there were some days when he would have liked to have a little bit more at his fingertips."
As more of the defense has been installed this spring, there have been some growing pains along the way. The two A&M defenses combined to allow 380 rushing yards at the spring game.
"It's a lot more complicated," A&M linebacker Mark Dodge said. "There's a lot more blitzes and a lot more zone stuff going in -- we're in and out of new stuff every other day. It's kind of hard to keep up, but it's based on the same packages we worked with last year."
The Aggies' gravitated to Darnell's new tweaks as spring practices progressed, Dodge said.
"You can see it a lot in our defensive backs," Dodge said. "They are jumping balls in practice. Last year, we might have tipped maybe one ball in practice. This year, we're tipping five or six in one practice and intercepting them. We've got so much confidence back there."
A rigorous schedule will test that growing trust in Darnell's scheme. A&M's road schedule is dotted with games against Miami, Texas Tech, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Missouri -- all 2006 bowl teams. The season will be capped by a rematch with the Longhorns at Kyle Field.
Last season's development has stressed to McGee how much will still is necessary to boost the Aggies back into contention for their first Big 12 le since 1998.
"We've got something going, but we remember that in the Cal game we were humiliated and we didn't play very good." McGee said. "We're not forgetting that and using it as some motivation going into the fall. We're close, but we're not there yet.
"We need to keep getting better. It's great to have momentum and a great win here and there for confidence, but we still have a long way to go to where we want to be."
Tim Griffin covers the Big 12 for the San Antonio Express-News.
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I'm going to go out on a limb and predict 9-4 again. This is the same stuff we hear every spring from Fran and the A&M beat writers.
anyone realize how prolific a passer McGee was in high school? the guy winged it all over the field. then he goes to a&m and they turn him into an option qb.
9-4 sounds about right with losses to miami, nebraska, oklahoma and texas.
well, i forgot about tech....make that 8-5.
its going to be fun owning t.u. again on the ground and nice to be starting a streak against them as well. no way t.u. wins at kyle field this year.
nice job of predicting, degenerate human being, A&M only gets 1-2 losses this year...nebraska being one and perhaps miami or ou the other...we'll see. i say 11-2.
i didn't realize lohan's s were as big as they are.
anyway....keep drinking that franny kool-aid and convincing yourself you'll win roadies against miami, tech, nebraska and blowu. when's the last time aggy won in lubbock, lincoln or norman?
didn't i just say we'd lose at nebraska? could a swore....anyway, we should win at miami, tekk, and norman. although, i am giving us a loss in probably one of those games giving us a record of 11-2.
fyi, lohan's s are awesome...
pooor aggy
McGee's arm strength, in my opinion, isn't that great and he tends to get rattled in passing situations, especially after throwing an interception. I love the guy's toughness and at ude, but the prolific passer he was in high school hasn't really shown up yet. Hopefully, he will be given some opportunities to show what he can do, instead of being forced into the single quick out, slant, or hook reads he's been forced into by the o-coord.
Maybe we will only give up 40 to tech instead of the requisite 50+ we usually give them in Lubbock.
Quite hypnotic...
LOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOL OLLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOL OLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOL OLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOL OLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOL OLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLL OLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOLLOLOLOLOLOLOL
stop dude
you're breaking my ribs
lol roflrofl
Yeah, Colt McCoy's arm strength... can't top that.
Question: is Fran developing confidence in throwing the ball more than 5 yards?
are you sure we're talking about the same team?
i love A&M as much as anyone, but we're talking about fran coaching here
what's with all the decommits that past 2-3 weeks?
1-2 is understandable...but 6? that doesn't sound good.
Ok you think aggy will win in Lubbock, damn franny has gotten raped the last 2 times they played there. Do not see a win, remember franny is not a good coach.
I honestly believe that they will lose to:
Thug U
Huskers
Tech
OU
Texas
Maybe
Mizzou- In Columbia
I think a 5 loss season and franny is out.
Also on a side not I was in LA about a month ago and caught a quick look at Lindsey Lohan leaving the Roosevelt Hotel, saw for pass by me with her security guards and her s were niiiiice.
Yep, 6 de-commits in the past month or so, not looking good for ag recruiting with the '08 class.
In fact, what most recruit writers consider ag's best '08 recruit, DJ Dravannti (LB/DE) just decommited from the ags and is now a UT commit! Good decision by him all around.
As for jgw, you don't see it now, but that whole what comes around goes around thing? It's coming full circle this November at your house, we will OWN your sorry ass.
Let the UT dominance continue my brothers!
The only way Aggie wins again against Texas is if McCoy is injured and off stride going into the game like last year. If Texas can get a yard with the RB against KState they probably end up in the BCS bowl games and finish with a much nicer season. Just goes to show - 1 play changes your season.
Personally i think that the aggs were going to give Cal afight in the holiday and wound up getting their asses kicked.
stephen mcgee is from burnet, correct?
he was pretty bad ass there through the air, but its nice to see him use his legs too.
Dude hearing this guy's name seriously makes me laugh as hard as Cartman did when he saw that midget
He's so good that he doesn't have to win his bowl games. roflrofvkkkplllllwnt.
mcgee is good, he leads the agcriculturers well, all aggys trust him, love him, just like Bush
he cant throw though
and hes better than Colt McCoy in the same way Reggie McNeal was better than Vince Young
(for those who cant remember that long ago, for 3 years aggys thought this, theyve since stopped saying that, online and in person)
he beat texas, which makes him a legend
they better pray Colt suffers severe nerve damage
Severe Nerve Damage is the only chance the aggies have at making it to a bowl they're not qualified for, THEN getting destroyed by their opponent.
That aggie/cal game was a certified blood smegma fest. L O LLLLLLLLLLLLLL
jesus christ lindsay lohan's freckled body is hideous
Just like the story of Colt McCoy almost drowning that guy makes me laugh.
McGee had the legendary Jordan Shipley to throw to at Burnet. Now he has a bunch of scrubs who Frantastic primarily recruits to block.
Also, I honestly think Stephen spends more time practicing his post-concussion taunts than he does throwing the ball.
To whomever above said that aggy is going to "start a streak against tu," really, that is hilarious. You should check out your recruiting classes the past few years. Outside of RB (Goodson and that kid from the valley), it is not pretty.
Feel free to ignore JGW's posts, everyone does. Welcome to the college forum!YAY!!!
btw Capt. Mike = bag
Dude stop bumping this thread every time i see the word McGee i laugh so hard my eyes tear up and my contacts pop out.
Seriously.
Goodson is a of a ing back, I knew he'd bust a huge one against us last year, then again i didn't expect us to put in that disgrace Henry Melton for a 4th and goal either.
How the did Fran get goodson anyways? He has the exact characteristics of a player that UT tries to get, and gets wooed over to OU. I guess he really likes the Dixie Chicken.
Fran offered him a part time job at the local toyota dealership paying $5k an hour.
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