Texas A&M closes out spring practice with the Maroon & White game from Kyle Field on the SEC Alternate channel and ESPN+. It will be a 7:30 p.m. kick off. Follow along with us on Junction which is our message board community. The first half will be normal with stoppages and timeouts. There will be a 20-minute halftime with the Legends Flag Football Game. The second half will have a running clock with stoppages on scoring plays. WATCH/LISTEN/STATS Here's the list of players sitting out the game. White WR Quartney Davis RB Vernon Jackson WR Roshauud Paul DL Demarvin Leal WR Hezekiah Jones CB Myles Jones DE Tyree Wilson CB Myles Jones CB Charles Oliver OL Grayson Reed Maroon WR Kendrick Rogers LB Anthony Hines LB Ikenna Okeke RB Jashaun Corbin First Quarter White team takes a 7-0 lead on a 25 yard pass from Kellen Mond to Camron Buckley. Second Quarter Zach Calzada hits fellow frosh Baylor Cupp for a 31 yard TD to tie the game with just under ten minutes to go in the first half. 7-7 tie. Caden Davis knocks it down from 45 yards out with 6:33 to go in the second quarter. 10-7 White. The White team gets an interception by Moses Reynolds and Mond hits TE Glenn Beal for 29 yards and the touchdown. 17-7 White with 6:11 to go in the half. Fourth Quarter Jacob Kibodi ran three yards for a touchdown with less than a minute to go. That made 17-14 White and that was the final.<doc-sep>Texas A&M football’s spring game is here and it seems that Jimbo Fisher and his team are ready. What should you be watching for? Due to anticipation of bad weather, Texas A&M has moved its spring game from Saturday afternoon to Friday night. Everything else is still in place, just moved up a day. From each practice, we seem to continue to get notes that this team is ready to get back on the field in front of the fans and show off what they have been putting together as of late. Fisher is high on his team and it shows in each and every press conference. What should you be watching for on Friday night in Aggieland? 5. New defensive leaders stepping up? Texas A&M lost quite a few leaders, especially on the defensive side of the ball, to the NFL Draft. Guys like Kingsley Keke and Tyrel Dodson are heading out of town, looking to find new homes within the league. So now what? Which players are set to really step up and become the leaders that this defense needs to function? First of all, look for Leon O’ Neal to really step up as that vocal leader for the defense — especially the secondary. He may be young, but he has the talent and the voice to be that leader. If his social media is any indication, this young man could be more than many people think he would be in his sophomore season. Micheal Clemons on the defensive line is also one of those guys who many are looking toward as a possible defensive leader. His junior season was riddled with injuries, but as one of the few seniors on the squad in 2019, a lot will be expected of him for sure. That is just two of multiple guys that could step up for the Aggies as leaders to replace those heading out and I can promise you that you should keep an eye out for anyone who looks like they could step up and be what this team needs in 2019.<doc-sep>Texas A&M held its annual spring game Friday night. The Aggies were originally scheduled to scrimmage Saturday; however, the threat of inclement weather forced the move to Friday night. It was a rather well-played game and certainly wasn’t sloppy like others. Here are three things that stood out about Texas A&M’s spring game: Mond bounced back: Well, Kellen Mond’s spring game got off to a rough start after he threw a ill-advised INT on his first throw of the game. Jimbo Fisher entered Friday’s scrimmage having praised Mond’s decision-making, but he didn’t show it to start. However, following the bad INT, Mond bounced back nicely and connected on his next six throws, including a 25-yard TD pass to WR Camron Buckley. Mond later hit Glenn Beal on a beautiful 29-yard TD pass, too. So, while Mond started out rough, he finished strong. Cupp’s debut started slow: Touted freshman TE Baylor Cupp struggled to start his TAMU debut. All spring, folks have been raving about Cupp’s ability and are looking for him to make an immediate impact. However, on the first play of the game, Cupp whiffed on a block, and his teammate was hammered by the defensive back on a screen pass. Later in the game on his very first catch, Cupp was stripped by Leon O’Neal and coughed up the ball. But, like Mond, Cupp bounced back. Freshman QB Zach Calzada hit Cupp on a pretty 31-yard TD reception. Here’s the 31-yard TD from Calzada to Cupp. A strong throw from the true freshman. pic.twitter.com/tskBKbH2Nc — Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) April 13, 2019 Leader among backup QBs? : When Nick Starkel decided to transfer from TAMU, it created a hole for Mond’s backup. In today’s college football, teams have to have established backups that are dependable, especially with a dual threat player like Mond. Mond started for the Maroon Team, while Connor Blumrick started for the White Team. Each QB had three series to impress before the two others came in. Dual-threat QB James Foster replaced Mond on the Maroon Team, while early enrollee Zach Calzada replaced Blumrick. Of the three backups, the early enrollee Calzada looked the best. He’s still learning the system and is rather raw, but it’s clear — he has an absolute cannon. He looked calm in the pocket, comfortable and in control. The Buford, Georgia, QB hooked up with Cupp on the 31-yard TD strike. Calzada could be the Aggies signal caller of the future.<doc-sep>COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M's second spring game under Jimbo Fisher was played in less-than-ideal conditions on Friday night, considering the few thousand fans on hand would have numbered many more had it kicked off at its regularly-scheduled time of 1 p.m. Saturday. In the end, however, and with threatening skies at hand starting late Friday night and well into Saturday, Fisher was just glad to get the game in – and he was happy with the overall result. "I thought it was competitive, I thought it was physical," said Fisher, speaking of both the spring game and spring drills overall. A handful of observations from an unexpected version of Friday Night Lights at Kyle Field: QB2 The Aggies' clear starter at quarterback is junior Kellen Mond, no doubt about it. Following an interception on his first throw of the game, he settled in and showed why he developed into one of the SEC's better quarterbacks by late last season. So he's the quarterback of the present. The future looked mighty bright at times, too, courtesy of high school senior Zach Calzada. Well, the Georgian is supposed to be a high school senior, but he enrolled early and at times lit up the defense in the spring game. Calzada, while understandably raw, owns a cannon for an arm and has mobility to spare. Fisher has compared him to happy-go-lucky Brett Favre, and that was evident at times in the spring game. No one is expecting Calzada to compete with Mond for the starting gig this summer. A year from now? That might be a different story. Center of attention Erik McCoy is off to the NFL, and the Aggies must replace the likely first-round draft selection. Enter junior Ryan McCollum, who played so well in the spring he earned offensive MVP honors. McCollum said he not only wants to be as good as McCoy, he wants to be better. He's got a long way to go on that front, but early signs are positive for the Aggies. McCollum has more than held his own against what should be one of the SEC's stiffest defensive interiors led by Justin Madubuike, Bobby Brown and Jayden Peevy. Speaking of the man they call 'BK' ... Madubuike earned defensive MVP honors in the spring, to go with defensive MVP honors last spring and following the season, as well, when it really counts. He's poised to become a household name in SEC circles this fall, after earning a bit of a reputation last year for facemask calls and even ripping off opposing quarterbacks' helmets (twice! ). Madubuike stands a chance of developing into an All-American as a junior – if he can continue keeping his hands down as he did a better job of last year as the season wore on. Kibodi Time Junior running back Jacob Kibodi made the most of his chances Friday with starter Jashaun Corbin sidelined by a minor injury and Cordarrian Richardson out of town following a death in his family. The ever-intriguing Kibodi finished with a game-high 106 yards on 20 carries, and added five catches for 53 yards in a showcase of his range. Meantime Manvel's Deneric Prince turned in a solid first half, with 32 rushing yards on seven carries and 36 receiving yards on four catches in that span. The Aggies, with plenty of quality depth at running back, appear solid at the position even with record setter Trayveon Williams moving on to the NFL. Wrapping it up The Aggies looked much sharper and crisper than a year ago during Fisher's first spring game at his new landing spot from Florida State. Whether that translates into a better record than 9-4 is another question. The Aggies play at national champion Clemson, host Alabama (whom Clemson beat in the title game), and play at Georgia and at LSU. All four might be in the AP preseason top 10, with Clemson and Alabama at one and two. Fisher, in a good mood after the spring game, said he's looking forward to a "challenging season." So are fans, following Friday's absorbing sneak preview that was supposed to have premiered on Saturday.<doc-sep>
After having the date for the Maroon and White spring game set for quite some time now, Texas A&M was forced to call an audible earlier this week. Instead of Saturday afternoon, the annual intrasquad scrimmage will now take place on Friday, Apr. 12 at 7:30 p.m. Central. Originally scheduled to air live on the SEC Network, the game will now be broadcast on SEC Network+. That means it is available to any ESPN subscribers either online or through the WatchESPN app. You can follow THIS LINK to watch online. When: Fri., Apr. 12, 7:30 p.m. Central Where: Kyle Field (free admission) TV: WatchESPN app (or online HERE) Weather: 75 degrees at kickoff, 0% chance of rain Rosters: The rosters for the two teams can be found HERE For the first time in quite a few years, the Texas A&M quarterback starting job is not in question. Kellen Mond has the job, but the backup spot is still up for grabs between third-year sophomore Connor Blumrick and redshirt freshman James Foster. With the school's single-season rushing record holder in Trayveon Williams off to the NFL, the running back spot will have a lot of eyes on it. Rising sophomore Jashaun Corbin was the second-leading rusher a year ago and has received a lot of the first-team reps. However, after sitting out a year, UCF transfer Cordarrian Richardson has been turning heads in practice, as has rising sophomore Vernon Jackson. The wide receivers are pretty much a known quantity with the likes of Kendrick Rogers, Quartney Davis, Jhamon Ausbon and several others bringing a wealth of experience to the squad. At tight end, the team must replace All-American Jace Sternberger. True freshman Baylor Cupp, who arrived on campus a semester early, has been getting reps with the first team. He has shown flashes as to why he was ranked as the nation's top tight end in the class of 2019. Despite a few returning starters, the offensive line has some question marks. Who will step up at center? Can Tank Jenkins play a big role as a redshirt freshman at guard? The defensive line saw a number of losses to the NFL and graduation. However, Jimbo Fisher has raved about rising sophomore Bobby Brown, who is up to 335 pounds and has moved inside to tackle. End Micheal Clemons is back after missing all last season with an injury. Justin Madubuike is expected to have a big impact at tackle as well. At linebacker, standout Anthony Hines was injured in the opener a year ago and missed the rest of the season. Ikenna Okeke was hurt in fall camp and did not play at all. Those two and Buddy Johnson will all see a lot of snaps. The secondary has a ton of question marks as well. Will Myles Jones return to form after missing the 2018 season due to injury? Was the outstanding play of Leon O'Neal Jr. in the bowl game a sign of things to come? Aggie fans should have at least some of those answers after Friday night.