Texas A&M Aggies

Edward Aschoff speaks with Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin.

ON "SVP ad Russillo," Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin talks about the improvements being made to Kyle Field, what those improvements will do for the program, the success of last year, Johnny Manziel's offseason and the expectations for the Aggies in 2013.

Listen to the audio here.

One of the most promising developments this spring at Texas A&M was the way junior Floyd Raven took to the free safety position.

Raven was a backup at cornerback last season and moved to safety this spring. The Aggies thought about moving the 6-2, 190-pound Raven to safety last fall, but coach Kevin Sumlin said they didn’t feel as if he’d have enough time to get comfortable at safety.

“It was a heck of a lot easier to put him in and blitz and play man-to-man (as a corner),” Sumlin explained.

But with Steven Terrell departing, the Aggies were looking for a full-time free safety. Raven, with his size and athletic ability, made perfect sense.

He made a ton of plays this spring and helped to solidify the Texas A&M secondary, especially with junior Howard Matthews and senior Toney Hurd Jr., returning at safety.

“He’s a physical guy who just needed to learn the position and has tremendous range and the right size and the right attitude to be a really, really good safety,” Sumlin said. “For him to get all the reps he got this spring really helps us. With Howard Matthews coming back, and he played very well for us at the end of the year, that helps Floyd, too, to have some guys who it’s not their first time back there.”

Sumlin said the summer months will be equally valuable for Raven as he continues to develop the right rapport and communication with his secondary mates.

“Through the summer with players organizing 7-on-7’s, we look for him to get better and better as he goes, and certainly the consistency back there this spring with he and Howard at the safety position makes you feel a lot better as coaches now than we did at the beginning,” Sumlin said.

“We knew he had the talent and knew he had the skills, and after coming through the spring and seeing the way he practiced, we’re pleased with his progress.”

Johnny Manziel has always played football like he didn’t have a care in the world.

It’s one of the many things that makes him so good, so instinctive and so entertaining.

Hey, it works for him.

So as he embarks on life after the Heisman Trophy (both on and off the field), he’s not going to change a whole lot.

In fact, he’s going to endeavor to be himself more than ever going forward.

“It’s hard sometimes, but I’m at the point now that I don’t care what people say,” Manziel said. “Everybody’s watching, and I understand that. For me, the spotlight wasn’t there at all, and then just like that, it was everywhere I went. It took some getting used to, but it’s getting better.

“I’m not going to quit being me and quit doing all the things I love, but I check with a lot more people now before I do anything.”

In other words, Manziel rarely leaves campus without first checking in with Texas A&M’s compliance officials.

He’s also sought assistance on how to deal with the unrelenting requests for autographs and pictures. He’s taking online courses only this semester and won’t start back taking classes on campus until the summer session.

“No matter how badly you want to, you can’t make everybody happy,” Manziel said. “They brought in somebody to help me with that, learning how to say no, and yet, still be polite.”

There's been progress. Manziel said he and his roommate and best friend, Steven Brant, recently went to a restaurant to eat and walked in and walked out without much disturbance.

“Every day, it gets a little better,” said Manziel, who doesn't apologize for being one of those people who loves to have a good time.

On a college campus, how many people don't fall into that boat?

He’s become a celebrity among the celebrities. Rapper Drake tweeted at Manziel last week, and Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin joked that Manziel has LeBron James on speed dial.

Manziel has also become friends with several other high-profile college football players and is a huge fan of the game. He and Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron talked about hanging out together at spring break. But their breaks were one week different, and it didn’t work out.

Manziel has also developed a friendship with USC receiver Marqise Lee, and when it comes to watching college football, two of his favorites are Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota and Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd.

This week, with the Aggies having wrapped up spring practice, Manziel is going back home to Kerrville, Texas, for a ceremony to honor him.

“It’s the first time I’ve been back in a while, and it will be good to see everybody,” he said.

He’s fresh off throwing for 303 yards and three touchdowns in Texas A&M’s spring game last weekend. Granted, Manziel was going against the second-team defense, but he looked more polished in the pocket.

“I’m still going to be looking to make plays and still get positive yardage any way I can, but I want to play more within the system,” Manziel said. “I’ve honed in on my mechanics and honed in on the little things that make you a good quarterback.”

That said, don’t think for a minute that the streetball version of Johnny Football is going anywhere.

“I call it Michael Vick ball, and that’s always going to be a part of my game,” Manziel said.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- In all its crystal glory, college football's national championship trophy made a brief stop at Kyle Field on Saturday.

Parked on the sideline for a live television shot during Texas A&M's Maroon-and-White spring football game, as well as for photo opportunities for those who walked by, it was a seemingly symbolic placement of the sport's most coveted piece of hardware, mere feet from a team that might have a realistic chance to hoist it next January.

Yes, it currently belongs to Alabama, the reigning BCS champion, and it will remain that way for the months to come. However, the Aggies were the only team in 2012 to defeat the Crimson Tide, and if they are able to repeat that accomplishment in September, Texas A&M should control its own destiny in the title chase.

But that's many months away. In the meantime, the nation got its first extended glimpse of the 2013 Aggies, a team that could be ranked in the preseason top five come August. The score was Maroon (offense) 43, and White (defense) 23, but that mattered little. What the record crowd of 45,212 came to see was how the Aggies looked and, more specifically, what their reigning Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, Johnny Manziel, would do.

Johnny Football didn't disappoint. He was 24-of-30 for 303 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions against an overmatched second-team Aggies defense. He got out of the pocket and scrambled a few times (three carries, 18 yards), but that was not going to be part of the show today in the interest of keeping him healthy. Nobody was going to touch Manziel, although he almost found himself in harm's way when he tried to throw a cut block on sophomore defensive back Sam Moeller to pave the way for a Brandon Williams touchdown.

Just one of those "Johnny Football" moments for the redshirt sophomore.

"I went up and apologized to Sam after it," Manziel said. "The way I am and the way my motor drives me, it was just an instinct play. As much as Coach [Kevin] Sumlin was shaking his head and wasn't happy about it, it was more of 'Hey, in a game, this is how it would have been.' It just naturally took over for me."

He stayed healthy, as did most of the players who participated. The only notable injury to come out of Saturday's scrimmage was an MCL sprain for junior linebacker Tommy Sanders, who'll be ready in the fall.

Several other things about the 2013 Aggies became clear on Saturday. Williams showed why he was such a coveted recruit coming out of Brookshire (Texas) Royal High School, racking up a team-high 59 rushing yards on seven carries and catching three passes for 29 yards while recording a rushing and receiving touchdown. The Aggies' starting running back from 2012, Ben Malena, is back, as is Trey Williams, who contributed as a true freshman. Adding Williams and Oregon transfer Tra Carson to the mix (both sat out per NCAA transfer rules last season) adds more dimensions to the Aggies' backfield and their offense.

"Brandon Williams is very talented. He's a home run threat from anywhere on the field," Texas A&M offensive coordinator Clarence McKinney said. "We plan on [using all four backs]. ... It's a good problem to have. The thing about those four guys, is that they all bring something different to the table."

While the defense didn't have its best day, its performance can be taken with a grain of salt with three surefire starters sidelined by injury, and another two defensive linemen who have taken first-team reps also sitting out. The unit out there Saturday wasn't exactly what will suit up for the Aggies this fall.

What the Aggies are hoping to develop is leadership. Defensive coordinator Mark Snyder said that safety Howard Matthews is emerging as a leader, as is middle linebacker Donnie Baggs. Having that presence is critical because the Aggies waved goodbye to two of their best defensive leaders, linebackers Sean Porter and Jonathan Stewart, who both graduated.

That said, plenty of the signs Aggies fans were looking for were present on Saturday. Manziel looked in top form. So did sophomore receiver Mike Evans. The offensive line -- though missing soon-to-be first-round pick Luke Joeckel and graduated center Patrick Lewis -- is coming together well. The remainder of a top-10 recruiting class is on the way in the fall and could produce a few more quick contributors.

Manziel will go back to work and team up with George Whitfield Jr., the private quarterback coach he worked with last summer. Manziel said he's ready to eliminate any doubts about what is ahead for him and this year's Texas A&M squad.

"The big conversation that [Whitfield and I] had before Alabama was 'Be a dragon slayer, slay the dragon,' " Manziel said. "Now there's a big dragon out there for us with all the people that are doubting A&M and all the people that are doubting me, (saying) that last year was a fluke. So that's a chip on my shoulder and that's a dragon we need to slay this year."

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- The mystery continues.

The way Kevin Sumlin tells it, Texas A&M receiver Mike Evans' jump shot is less than stellar. Last season, as Evans emerged as the Aggies' go-to receiver on offense, Sumlin commented on the former high school basketball star's skills and status as a "tweener."

The message? That, back in basketball-crazed Indiana, where Sumlin spent a large portion of his youth growing up, the words "6-5 tweener" meant you had no jump shot.

What does Evans say? Does he have a jump shot?

"Yes I do," he said.

Will he challenge Sumlin's accusation?

"Oh no, I don't challenge him, because he'll get me in practice," Evans said with a smile.

Regardless, all's well for the redshirt sophomore, whose breakout freshman season came as a surprise to many. The 6-foot-5, 225-pounder was best known as a basketball star during his days at Galveston (Texas) Ball High School, but during his senior season, he elected to play multiple sports, including football. It was his first varsity season of football.

As a junior, Evans -- who played in the post in high school -- was his district's most valuable player and the district defensive player of the year as a senior. But once he put on the football pads, he quickly realized that his future might lay on the gridiron.

"My senior year, I just wanted to have fun and play almost every sport," Evans said. "I ran track, I played basketball and football. I just wanted to have fun. When it came down to it, I started getting offers for football and I thought I had a better future in football."

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Donnie Baggs isn't the biggest guy -- or even the biggest linebacker -- on Texas A&M's defense.

But he might have the biggest load to carry this spring and fall for the Aggies. And it's a critical role, one that demands success if Texas A&M is to consider the 2013 season a success on defense.

In many ways, Baggs' transition -- from reserve linebacker and spot starter last season to likely full-time starter at middle linebacker this season -- is indicative of what the entire group of Aggies linebackers are going through. Change.

Turn your eyes to that group on the Coolidge Grass Practice Fields this spring and what you see -- at least in terms of personnel -- is significantly different than what you would have seen at this time last year. A unit that was considered a strength coming into the 2012 season, with two experienced seniors (Sean Porter and Jonathan Stewart) leading the way is now a group in transition, with two new starters and several players who weren't even on the Texas A&M campus prior to January. And that includes the position coach, Mark Hagen, who is in his first year with the Aggies.

Earlier this spring, head coach Kevin Sumlin joked that he doesn't talk to Hagen much because Hagen's too busy melding all the new players together.

"I don't talk to him much because he's busy," Sumlin said with a laugh. "His plate's full, he's running around, he's meeting, he's chasing guys all over the place."

But the 6-foot-1, 230-pound Baggs is at the center of it all -- literally and figuratively. Not only is he responsible for getting acclimated to a new role, he's also the point man for getting the rest of the front seven lined up properly before the offense snaps the football. That task is easier for someone like Stewart, who was an experienced senior with plenty of football under his belt, than it is for Baggs, who has never been a regular starter.

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