Fall Camp Day 1: What we learned

FOOTBALL IS BACK!

Texas A&M officially began preparation for the 2022 football season on Wednesday, holding a press conference before the first practice of fall camp. While there are lots of questions that won’t be answered until later in camp (or until the games start a month from now), there were a few nuggets that came out of today that are worth mentioning.

• Staff switcheroo? Perhaps the most reported aspect of Wednesday’s practice was what appeared to be a shuffling of responsibilities of the offensive staff. Offensive Coordinator Darrell Dickey, who usually coaches the quarterbacks, was working with the tight ends; Tight Ends Coach James Coley worked with the wide receivers; and Wide Receivers Coach Dameyune Craig worked with the quarterbacks. It’s unclear whether this is a permanent change or not, but if it is, it makes sense. Coley coached receivers during his time at Georgia, and Craig was a QB himself at Auburn (and in the NFL) and also coached QBs under Jimbo at FSU.
• Medical retirements. The Aggies released their 2022 roster earlier in the day, and two of the notable absences were third-year DE Donell Harris and sixth-year WR Hezekiah Jones. During his press conference, Jimbo Fisher revealed that both players have medically retired. Harris, a top 50 recruit in the 2020 recruiting class, but in two years on campus saw action in only four games and made three tackles. Jones was a very different story, catching 35 passes for 325 yards in 31 games played. But Hez also lost two years to injury (2019 and 2021), and has apparently played his last game in the maroon and white.
• Injury updates. Freshman DL Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy is recovering from knee surgery and should be healthy by the end of camp. The same is also true for freshman DB Marquis Groves-Killebrew. Freshman DB Bobby Taylor is still recovering from surgery in the spring. RS Junior WR Kenyon Jackson is still in rehab. RS Freshman Trey Zuhn (expected to start at LT) is out with COVID-19.
• QB battle? Obviously we weren’t going to learn anything meaningful on day one, but in case you were curious, during media availability, it appeared that Haynes King was working with the 1s, Max Johnson with the 2s and Conner Weigman with the 3s. Make of that what you will.

The team will work out today again at 4:45 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. There will also be a practice at 5 p.m. on Sunday at Kyle Field that is open to the public.