IRVING, Texas -- Texas A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson didn't get as many snaps during spring practice as he hoped. But he says his shoulder is fine and that he's in the best shape he's been in some time.

"I'm 245 pounds, and people will guess my weight and say I'm 220," Johnson said. "I played in the Texas game at 250 last year and I was in pretty good shape then, but our strength coaches believe that as long as you can maintain speed, the bigger you are, the more durable you can be. At any point in time where I start to get slower and lose quickness, I'll drop weight, but I still feel like a skinny ex-basketball player."

Johnson had minor surgery on his throwing shoulder this offseason, but called it more "precautionary" than anything else.

"I had a little soreness toward the end of the year, but it was many years of pitching as a little kid," Johnson said. "I'm fine. It was the best decision for me."

Johnson said it was frustrating not taking as many snaps in spring practice as he wanted. That was especially true going against a new 3-4 defense.

"I thought it was going to be a real big test for me going against a defense I hadn't seen," Johnson said. "It would have been almost like going to a game. To see what they do and how intricate the blitzes are and how guys are rolling and doing all kind of things, I wanted to go against that. It was a big reason I pushed to play a little bit in the last couple of spring days."

Johnson knows there are higher expectations for this Aggies team, and he welcomes that.

"I think we're really close," Johnson said. "Everything about Texas A&M, the tradition we have, the fan base, the facilities, everything is in place. We just have to go out there and execute and win. Because of Coach Sherman's recruiting, we have the talent to compete. It's not just one-deep, but three-deep at many positions with the talent from around the country. Now we have to execute."