Texas A&M Football: Updating the 5 Best Spring Football Battles

Texas A&M started spring practice on Saturday and the battles for playing time has begun. The Aggies have multiple starting spots up for grabs in addition to various depth issues.

In the SEC you need to be three-deep at every position if you want to be a championship team. The Aggies do not have that kind of depth yet. Since it is the spring and roughly 20 scholarship players have used up their eligibility you only have 60 to 65 scholarship players on campus. Take into account the players who are recovering from surgery and you are looking at only 55 to 60 players available for the spring.

It is impossible to develop a three-deep depth chart until the rest of he recruiting class arrives in the fall. Right now you will see walk-on players scattered throughout the depth chart. This happens at every program during the spring.

Even with the lack of bodies on the field, there are still a number of position battles to watch this spring. The Ags have starting spots available at wide receiver, defensive back, quarterback, running back and need to answer some questions about their second-string linebackers.

This is a look at some of those battles after the first couple of spring practices.

Quarterback

The quarterback battle is still a four-way race for one spot. Jameill Showers, Johnny Manziel, Matt Joeckel and Matt Davis will battle it out until a starter is named most likely in the fall. Kevin Sumlin has already stated that no one should expect a starter to be named until August.

Expect reports to come out during the summer when the players are participating in seven-on-seven games on their own about who has taken over the position. The players know leadership when they see it and will probably do a lot to decide who takes over under center.

I still believe it is a two-man race between Showers and Manziel and that Manziel will take the first snap against Louisiana Tech.

Backup Running Back

Christine Michael has surprised observers with how far ahead of schedule he is in his rehab from an ACL tear. Michael is actually participating in spring practice in a limited role.

The real battle is for the second-string spot behind Michael.

Ben Malena and Will Randolph are fighting it out to be the second man in the rotation. It is important that Malena and Randolph impress the coaches now because uber-recruit Trey Williams arrives in the fall and will likely command the majority of the second-team reps.

The Ags have gone through two practices without pads so it is hard to tell right now where everyone stands. From that limited amount of data it appears that Malena is ahead of Randolph right now. Malena looks noticeably quicker right now than he was in the fall.

Randolph appears to be a little thicker and has added some good weight during the offseason conditioning.

Backup Linebacker

The Aggies return all of their starters at linebacker. With the move to the 4-3 as the base defense Damontre Moore is going to start at weak-side defensive end. Sean Porter, Jonathan Stewart and Steve Jenkins are the starters at the position.

Sophomore linebacker Donnie Baggs impressed during the offseason conditioning and is battling it out with Jenkins for the starting Will linebacker spot.

Many will remember that Baggs garnered first-team reps at linebacker last August before getting lost in the shuffle at the position. Baggs graduated high school early and participated in spring practice in 2011 so this is old hat for him.

He needs to be more consistent if he wants to make a real run at a starter spot. Right now it looks like Baggs will be the first linebacker in the game if one of the starters go down.

Wide Receiver

Other than Ryan Swope the wide receiver spots are up for grabs. Swope is the only one assured of his starting position.

The Aggie receivers are staying after practice and catching tennis balls from jugs guns. They need to improve their hands if they want to be effective in Sumlin's offense.

Right now no one has jumped out and impressed the coaches. Expect Uzoma Nwchukwu to retain his starting spot. Keep an eye on Kenric McNeal and Malcome Kennedy battling it out for one of the slot positions.

It will be interesting to see who steps up between Nate Askew and Mike Evans on the outside.

Defensive Back

Steven Campbell will once again miss spring practice with an injury. If he could ever stay healthy for an entire season he would be an All-Conference performer.

Dustin Harris is also recovering from surgery so the only returning defensive back who has started a game for the Ags is Steven Terrell.

Floyd Raven and Deshazor Everett are the first-team corners right now. They have a lot to learn but their size is going to be a big plus in the SEC. Both Everett and Raven play the run well which is a great trait to have in this conference.

Howard Matthews and Terrell are the starters at safety. Devonta Burns is coming off a redshirt year and is getting a look at safety.

There should be some separation at this position once the pads go on and the coaches get a chance to see who will be physical when everyone is not wearing shorts and t-shirts.