Most everyone who attended yesterday’s final spring scrimmage on the N. C. A&T campus got their first up close look at the new Press Sky Box that workers have just completed construction.
It is indeed a most imposing site in the once cozy surroundings of Aggie Stadium and it seems foreign to what most A&T fans have become accustomed to over the years.
What it does do is give A&T is a leg up on a lot of its competition within the MEAC and puts A&T’s facilities on a par with App State and another soon FCS rival in Charlotte University.
It will take some time getting used to, much like suddenly owning a $500,000 Bentley in your driveway after driving a second hand Chevy Vega held together with duct tape and spit for over three decades.
After getting a good close assessment of the seven on seven drills, the kicking segment, and a 50-play head-to-head scrimmage, the same story can easily apply to Rod Broadway’s upcoming year two squad.
A&T played many of its red shirt players and the coaches got a real good last look before summer school at who would replace the five starters missing from the 2011 5-6 club and what new kids would play a major role in giving the Aggies the answer to its biggest problem last season, its depth.
OFFENSE
Junior Quarterback Lewis Kindle (6-2,190) took all the snaps for the offense and in short was impressive. Kindle has matured considerably as a quarterback in his patience, going through his proper progressions and has clearly improved his accuracy and arm strength.
While no official stats were kept yesterday, the major one point that stood out was that Kindle no longer focused in on just one receiver that sometimes got him in trouble last year when he looked at Wallace Miles on every play.
He tossed pinpoint completions yesterday to seven different receivers including three different ones on the three touchdowns he threw on the day. If he can continue that pattern of play, and stay healthy then he should easily surpass his 2000 passing yard performance marks from 2011.
There is no question that having fifth year senior, two time all conference, and Player-of-the-Year Mike Mayhew (5-10,210) coming back at tailback along with top back up Dominique Drake is a huge plus when it comes to the power running game.
However, the real story was the movement of junior Ricky Lewis from make shift quarterback to a more natural position for him as the deep I-Back. Lewis gives A&T that one missing ingredient in backfield, true breakaway speed.
Lewis has spent considerable time in the weight room pushing his size up to a solid 190 pounds. He is demonstratively quicker and shiftier than he was in the Wildcat formation during his first two years at A&T.
Another benefactor of the offseason training is junior fullback Devin Moore who comes into this year at a very solid 6-1, 260 and is a crushing lead blocker and good receiver.
There has been some tweaking to the offensive line as some names and faces were given some much needed work to see if they would measure up to be added to the rotation by this fall.
Those getting their first look-see up front action were red shirt freshmen Olin Leak (6-4,315), David Bennett (6-3,290) and former walk-on defensive tackle Danye Gorrell (6-3, 285, Jr.) who has worked hard into becoming a very effective pulling guard.
Now the Aggies do retain most all of the regulars including fifth year seniors center Thomas Hearns (6-0,290) and tackle Armon White (6-4,295) and sophomore guard Ron Canty (6-3,270). Starters guard William Robinson Jr. (6-4,305, So.) and left tackle Nathan Isles (6-5,330, Jr.) really solidifies A&T’s strong side.
A&T is also eagerly awaiting the fall return of guards Joey Sunkins (6-4,320, R-Jr.), Kortland Jackson (6-3, 285, R-So.), and tackle Marcus Nelson (6-5,310, R-So.) from offseason holdovers from a year ago.
The offensive line is going to be a very large and experienced unit with a deep rotation with six additonal new freshmen linemen coming onto campus this summer to be added to this group of veterans.
There is a fair chance that most of them will be red shirted this fall if the upperclassmen step up with two fifth year seniors leading a group of starters that are entering their third year together.
There is a logjam of receivers in the Aggie camp but three of them really stood out in the crowd yesterday afternoon.
Senior Larry Raper electrified the modest crowd of about 2500 fans with an eye catching 68-yard catch and run as he caught a skinny post route and weaved through, around, and past a two deep zone defense for a touchdown that was easily the most exciting play of the day.
Raper also came up with several other impressive catches in his deep routes despite facing double and sometimes triple coverage. He too seems to finding that mark of maturity that comes with being a senior leader on offense.
There is a search on for a replacement for graduated possession receiver Wallace Miles who made a living last season with catches on the underneath routes and created separation.
Red shirt sophomore Demonta Bown (6-2,180) seemed to find those same open soft spots in the zones which Miles was so adept at doing and displayed some very good hands and toughness going over the middle while taking some solid pops on occasion by A&T’s extremely physical linebackers and safeties. Brown appears to be a step or two faster than Miles but only time will tell if he will be as effective in creating consistent separation in a game situation.
Quentin Todd, ( 5-10,175, R-So.), had some good moments as well with some flashes of athleticism, speed, good running ability after the catch. He can give Kindle another deep threat to take away much of the double coverage that Raper will see.
The Aggies also have other experienced seniors in Torrian James and Donta Prince who did a superb job in blocking downfield.
DEFENSE
If there is any rebuilding to do with this unit then it will be have to be in the secondary with the loss of All–Conference corner and safety Justin Ferrell. A&T will depend on a lot more physicality rather than just pure speed especially on the corners.
Of course, a lot of the speed concern will depend if junior cornerback Devonte Graham returns to his previous playing form in the fall after a year off for disciplinary reasons.
Veteran starter Terrance Webb (6-0,190, Sr.) will operate the strong side corner. If Graham should not make the cut then look for Don Mattocks (5-9,170) an aggressive head hitter and Khamari Everett who has plenty of foot speed despite his 5-8,170 frame.
Backing them in the nickel packages will be sophomore Daryl Shipman and Tarjir Wharton (5-11,175), a highly regarded red shirt freshman with 4.5 speed who can double as a safety as well.
The returning starters at safety are experienced enough and have the speed in Isaiah Martin (5-11,190) and strong safety Travis Crosby (5-11,180) who came on strong at midseason and this junior pair will be heard from a lot this fall. Chris Ettison (5-11,190, So.) and red shirt Travis Burris (6-0,190) is a just back up for Crosby.
The parts of the MEAC’s number one defense that will not need much tweaking will be along the defensive line and at linebacker, the two most impressive parts of the defense in the spring scrimmage.
A&T returns all of its starters in its front four including returning starting ends Tyree Hearns (6-2,235) and leading tackler Chris Neal (6-1,250). They are backed by George Smith (6-2,250, Sr.), and Brandon Hill (6-2,240).
The big difference will be the noticeable increase in size at tackle with Marquis Boone (6-3,295,R-So), Xavier Robinson (6-3,275,Sr.), and the much talked about former All-ACC and UNC transfer Jared McAdoo (6-3,294, R-So.) and starter Brandon Young (6-3,260, Sr.) who both sat out the last spring workout.
The quality of A&T’s incoming offensive class allowed the coaches to move red shirt tight end David Brown (6-4,240) to the defensive front yesterday and that move may allow him to use his athleticism to play both sides of the ball. Again, this will be a line that is built around superior foot speed, great lateral pursuit and technique and not just brute strength even though it is there now if needed.
The A&T linebackers begin and end with leader and Peyton award finalist D’Vonte Grant (5-11,220, So.) who exploded in his first season in the MEAC as a dominant force.
From that point on the Aggies are loaded at linebacker both inside and out with players that all possess between 4.5-4.8 speed across the board.
Starting will be of no consequence with this group because there is little to no drop off even after the top four backers. Returning starters beside Grant include Tevin Williams (6-1,220) and Tony Mashburn (6-0,230) and Brandon Hoover (6-1,215).
These are other names you should become very familiar with very quickly in Dareon Mays (5-10,225), Jeremy Days (5-11,225), Devin Ray, Jr. (5-11,220), Titus Morris (6-0,225), Bryson McCall (6-2,200), Tony Clodfelter (6-0,225), and Denzel Jones (6-0,225) and the list goes on from there.
This is by far the deepest linebacker group that A&T has had since the early 2000’s and probably its best group in recent memory. They will be the heart and soul of a defense that swarms to the ball and will bring a lot on pressure on opposing quarterbacks and extremely difficult to run on.
PLACEKICKING
Weight Coach Cedric Walthaw has transformed placekicker Jose Garcia-Camacho from a skinny 150 pounder to a much stouter 180-pound sophomore with increased leg strength, hitting on 7 out of ten field goal attempts in warm-ups from just beyond 45 yards and dead on from within the forty-yard mark.
Skyler Thomas was equally impressive in the 40-yard range so the field goals and extra points should not be an adventure this season.
The Aggies are also bringing in two accomplished prep punters in this freshmen class so the kicking game should be well on the positive side this fall instead of an afterthought of last resort.
That just about wraps up the spring overview as we head in to summer and await the enrollment of a very solid class of 27 freshmen, many who were in attendance in the stands visibly noticing the intensity of the hitting and effort displayed despite just eight practices this spring.
One thing for sure A&T fans left with the feeling that this team is a much better team than the 2011 team talent wise and wondering if a friendly home schedule will put A&T in the top tier of the MEAC this fall.
