Iron Sharpens Iron: Aggies improving in the trenches by battling each other
The Proverb teaches: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
The Aggies are counting on the Proverb to be proven true. Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher on Monday night hinted that such a sharpening is taking place in spring football drills.
Fisher raved about the play of the defensive line in a scrimmage on Saturday. He particularly praised interior linemen Justin Madubuike and Bobby Brown.
“Those two inside guys are pretty dad-gum good now,” Fisher said after practice. “I mean really good.”
Later, he added: “Those two inside guys are disrupters.”
Madubuike was last season, too. He had 5.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss. Meanwhile, Brown had 14 tackles as a freshman in a backup role and appears destined for a “break out” campaign in 2019.
But the reality of spring is that players are competing against teammates. Therefore, when one player excels it also raises the obvious question of whether his counterpart is struggling. Fisher made it clear that wasn’t the case with the Aggies offensive line.
“We keep talking about the offensive line,” he said. “We were 15th in the country (in total offense) last year and ran for 200-and-some yards (219) and threw for 2-something (252.6). I wouldn’t say that’s too bad.”
“A guy (Trayveon Williams) just broke every school (rushing) record known to man and the quarterback had 30-some touchdowns. So, I wouldn’t say that’s too bad. We keep cracking on this line, but they’ve been pretty dad-gum productive by my evaluation.”
No doubt, the offensive line made significant progress and performed better than often given credit. However, the reality remains that star center Erik McCoy has left early for the NFL and four-year starting guard Keaton Sutherland completed his eligibility.
Consequently, big voids are left to be filled. Fisher acknowledge a lot of work needs to be done, but implied he’d seen enough progress to be optimistic.
Redshirt freshmen Luke Matthews and Tank Jenkins both started at guard in the scrimmage because Jared Hocker, the incumbent starter at right guard, sat out with a case of the flu. In facing Madubuike and Brown — along with Jayden Peevy —they likely won’t face a better group of tackles all next season.
“We’re blocking good guys,” Fisher said of the offensive line. “We’ve got to get some continuity. We’ve got to get healthy. You played the scrimmage with two freshman guards.”
Tank Jenkins, a 6-foot-3, 325-pounder, has reportedly had a strong spring. Fisher seemed to validate those reports.
“He’s going to play. He’s in the rotation,” Fisher said.
“He’s doing a good job. He makes some mistakes for a young guy — calls, how fast it happens and who you’re blocking. But he’s making progress.”
Fisher suggested progress was also seen during the scrimmage in the secondary and at linebacker. He said he’s looking at younger players for signs they can step in and play at a high level when needed.
That’s been the case at receiver and running back. Receivers Quartney Davis, Kendrick Rogers and Roshauud Paul have missed a lot of practice because of minor injuries. So has running back Jashaun Corbin.
Fisher said junior Hezekiah Jones had an excellent showing in the scrimmage with three long catches. He also praised the play of big running backs Vernon Jackson and Cordarrian Richardson.
“Some of these young guys it’s their first time out and they’re getting better,” Fisher said. “(We’re) making progress, getting there. (We’re) Nowhere close, but it’s very interesting.”