Texas A&M Aggies

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- It was a little more than four months ago that Malcome Kennedy caught a pass that would long be remembered by Texas A&M fans.

The then-sophomore made what was arguably the biggest reception of the season hauling in a 24-yard touchdown pass from Johnny Manziel on a corner route that gave Texas A&M a 29-17 lead over No. 1 Alabama, a lead the Aggies wouldn't relinquish, eventually upsetting the Crimson Tide 29-24.

It was a brief moment in the spotlight and one of two touchdowns on the season for Kennedy, a product of tiny Cayuga, Texas, home to a Class 1A football program in East Texas. With seniors in front of him at the inside receiver positions -- Ryan Swope and Kenric McNeal -- Kennedy didn't have to shoulder a load as a go-to offensive option for the 2012 Aggies.

This year, that changes -- for Kennedy and several others -- as the Aggies have waved goodbye to three senior starters and are working in a new crop of receivers this spring.

"Well, I've got a lot of new guys out there, obviously," Texas A&M receivers coach David Beaty said Tuesday. "Lost three starters from last year and some guys that played part time are back with us. A lot of youth in there getting a lot of reps. This is valuable, valuable time. This is exactly what spring ball is for. You get to evaluate new guys, guys that haven't played a lot, so it's a good opportunity for us to get to see those guys that didn't get to play a lot last year, how they've developed, and for guys that did get to play, them moving into new roles."

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- With fewer than two weeks remaining until their season opener, the Texas A&M Aggies scrimmaged on Saturday at Kyle Field as coaches hoped to get a closer look at the roster while they try to figure out who will make the travel roster in two weeks.

The workout was the Aggies' ninth in the last six days as they had three two-a-days (Monday, Wednesday and Friday). The scrimmage was their third practice in the last two days and coach Kevin Sumlin said it showed in the team's energy level.

"I was disappointed with the amount of energy that was out there," Sumlin said. "We're not a good enough team to just go out there and just play football and just go through the motions. We have to play with energy and I didn't see that today like we have been. We practiced twice yesterday, too. We had eight practices this week in five days and today would have been nine. We're going to give them tomorrow off, come in and watch video. The good news is we didn't get anybody hurt today. And we got 70 something snaps."

Among the notable happenings Saturday:

• Sophomore defensive back Deshazor Everett appeared to solidify his spot in the secondary. Whether it will be at cornerback or safety is still to be determined, but Sumlin made it clear that he'll be on the field based on his play during camp. Everett's best play of the day might have been a hit delivered to freshman receiver Sabian Holmes in the end zone that jarred the ball loose and led to an interception by linebacker Jonathan Stewart.

"There's no doubt he's going to be on the field, it's just where," Sumlin said. "He's a really good corner, but he's a physical guy in the middle of the field and that's a play that if he's at corner, who knows who's going to make that play and make that hit in the middle of the field? We've got to get our best four or five guys on the field. There's no doubt that he's going to be one of them."

• True freshman cornerback De'Vante Harris continued to impress the coaches again and it appears he might have also solidified his spot in the starting secondary. The Mesquite (Texas) Horn graduate has worked with the first-team cornerbacks in the Aggies' last two open-to-the-public scrimmages.

"I thought there were some guys out there that made some good plays," Sumlin said. "De'Vante Harris continues to hold his own."

• While newly-named starting quarterback Johnny Manziel got the snaps with the first team, the battle continues at quarterback with the next two quarterbacks, redshirt sophomores Jameill Showers and Matt Joeckel.

"Oh, that's going to continue all year," Sumlin said. "I told you at the beginning all three of those guys have played well and the key is as we told them, they're competitors, they understand there's only one guy who can play. As you can see, they're all still going to get better, because you never know. You never know when your chance is going to come."

• True freshman running back Trey Williams provided the crowd some more oohs and ahhs with his footwork. Though his day wasn't as productive as it was a week ago, when he ran for more than 100 yards and three touchdowns, he still showed the ability to gain positive yards, elude tacklers and even shed tackles. Sumlin noted that Williams fatigued as the scrimmage wore on.

"He got tired today," Sumlin said with a smile. "He was tired and got run down from behind. I'll give him a hard time for that. He's a good player."

• Sophomore running back Brandon Williams saw a lot of action in Saturday's scrimmage. The Brookshire (Texas) Royal standout, who transferred to Texas A&M from Oklahoma, is still awaiting word from the NCAA on his eligibility status for the fall. The school applied for a waiver on his behalf in hopes that he would be eligible and not have to sit out the season per NCAA transfer rules.

"We'll figure it out," Sumlin said. "I'm sure we'll hear something this week."