EAST GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T is coming off its first losing football season since 2011. There were many contributing factors. One, however, bugs head coach Sam Washington more than all the others. 

Penalties! 

Therefore, as the Aggies prepare to play in their annual Spring Game Saturday at 11 a.m. from Truist Stadium, some fans may show up to see how the quarterbacks play. Others may be there to see who is next in line to carry the ball at Running Back U.

As for Mr. Washington, he will be monitoring those penalties. 

"It comes down to discipline," said Washington. "Our emphasis this spring has been discipline. Saturday will tell the real story about whether we have improved in that area. We were terrible with the penalties last season. I expect our penalties to be minimal on Saturday. 

If we have effort penalties, fine. But the mental penalties, the dead-ball fouls, the jumping offside, the false starts, the misalignments; we've got to get corrected."  

The Aggies were one of the most often penalized teams in Division I-FCS in 2021. They averaged 8.3 penalties and 78.8 penalty yards per game last season. The Aggies ranked eighth in those statistical categories out of the nine teams in the Big South Conference last season. 

A&T had double-digit penalties five times last season, going 2-3 in those ballgames. "I'm curious to see how we do. If we have a bunch of penalties, it's safe to say I will not be happy," Washington said. 

Saturday's format will be offense vs. defense. The Aggies plan to run between 100-115 plays. The objective is to stay healthy while getting substantial reps for the first, second and third stringers on each side of the ball, emphasizing how the younger players handle game situations. 

"I'm excited about seeing the young guys play tomorrow," said Washington. "I think people will see we've got some young cats getting after it."

There is a quarterback competition in AggieLand. Jalen Fowler, the 2021 starter, ended the season with 1,774 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 55.7 percent of his passes. Redshirt freshman Zach Yeager and incoming freshman Eli Brickhandler also figure into the competition. Each quarterback will get a portion of the reps with the No. 1 offense against the No. 1 defense.  

The competition between the quarterbacks has been highly competitive," said Washington. "No one has gone head and shoulders above the other, but I've been pleased with how well they work together as they compete. Sometimes you get into these situations, and you completely forget this is your teammate you're competing against. But these guys share information well, and they genuinely care about each other." 

In addition to the penalties, the Aggies defense was not its usual stellar self. The Aggies ranked outside the top-20 in total defense for the first time since 2010. The Aggies allowed 237.8 yards passing per game last season to rank 81st nationally. However, in the pass-happy Big South Conference, A&T ranked third in pass defense. 

"We didn't tackle well defensively last season," said Washington. "We paid a lot of attention to pass defense and tackling this spring. We also paid attention to the small details, making sure guys are lining up correctly."