Despite construction, Maroon & White Game still offers valuable first look

Curious Aggies are intrigued to see new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino’s influence on Texas A&M’s offense.

Yet, A&M fans should understand what they won’t see from the offense in the Maroon & White spring football game on Saturday at Kyle Field. The game kicks off at 3 p.m. CT.

They won’t see quarterbacks Conner Weigman and Max Johnson complete 75-yard passes.

They won’t see running backs Rueben Owens, Amari Daniels or Le’Veon Moss break off 60-yard runs.

They won’t see receivers Evan Stewart, Moose Muhammad or Ainias Smith catch 80-yard bombs or turn short throws into 80-yard touchdowns.

None of that will happen because Petrino’s offense is limited.

It’s not limited in scheme, explosiveness or big-play threats. Rather, it’s limited by construction on the south end of Kyle Field, which forces the game to be played entirely on the north end of the stadium.

But coach Jimbo Fisher said in many ways the annual intra-squad scrimmage will still resemble a regular game.

“We’ll punt and do everything,” Fisher said. “We’ve just got to flip the end. We have to go one way. We can’t run into the fences down there on the other (south) end where they’re working on the stadium.

“We’ll kick it and then flip to get the field position back. The scoring part, we’ll kickoff, we’ll punt, we’ll do everything just like you would do in a normal game.”

Fisher said the No. 1 offense will face the No. 2 defense and vice versa.

However, very little should be read into who is in the starting lineups.

Several players who are projected as starters next fall are not participating in the spring game. For example, center Bryce Foster is concentrating on track & field this spring, tackle Trey Zuhn has missed all of spring rehabbing an injury and tight end Donovan Green will sit out with a hurt ankle.

Also, whichever quarterback starts with the No. 1 offense isn’t necessarily projected as the starter for the Sept. 2 season-opener against New Mexico.

But perhaps there will be indications progress has been made in boosting the offense that was ranked 101st in the nation in scoring last season.

Also, there is hope for signs the run defense, which ranked 123rd in the country, has tightened up or that the pass rush that produced just 19 sacks (111th in the nation) has been upgraded.

Unlike spring scrimmages on some campuses, no points will be rewarded for defensive plays like sacks or turnovers. Traditional scoring and point values will apply.

“I like to create a game-typical scoring situation because it makes it real,” Fisher said. 

“I hate all the defense gets three points for a stop or two points for this. It’s like playing flag.

“We’ll try to make it as game-oriented from a scoring position as we can.”