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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 14, 1967)
A coaching: staff liberally sprinkled with members of the 1956 Southwest Conference Cham pionship Aggie team hopes to lead A&M to another champion ship this fall. Head Coach Gene Stallings, of fensive backfield coach Loyd Tay lor, linebacker coach Don Watson and defensive coach Dee Powell were teammates on the last un defeated squad. And assistant head coach Elmer Smith was a member of Bear Bryant’s staff that year. Stallings, who begins his third year here, is already establish ing himself as one of the nation’s leading coaches. After seven sea sons as an assistant coach of Bryant’s Alabama teams, he re turned to A&M late in 1964. In 1965, the team won three games, including a stunning 14-10 upset of Georgia Tech. Last year’s team led the conference standings un til midseason, and wasn’t elimin ated from contention until the final week. BORN IN 1935 at Paris, Texas, Stallings became an all-around sports star at Paris High School, where he captained football, bas ketball and golf teams. He letter ed all three years at A&M in football and was named to the iV V\v e G 0 stnaft^° oW sport coat Got your sights set on action? Go with a Curlee sport coat—and the going’s more fun ... and more flattering. Handsome new fabrics, patterns and colors give your spirits a stylish lift. Comfort? You’re surrounded with it! See for yourself why . . . “You’ll like yourself in a Curlee sport coat. .. and so will she.” $3995 Curlee slacks complete the “Smart Look." We have 'em in blending or contrasting colors. DEPARTMENT STORES DOWNTOWN BRYAN All-SWC team his junior year. Elmer Smith, assistant head coach, approaches his 14th season on the Aggie staff. He came to A&M in March, 1954, from a head coaching job at Southern State College, Magnolia, Ark. He is chief assistant to Stallings and recruits in Northeast Texas. A NATIVE of Casa, Ark., Smith will observe his 60th birthday the day before the season opener with SMU. He is a 1931 graduate of Hendrix College and holds a master’s degree in physical edu cation from Peabody College in Nashville, Tenn. As coach at Southern State from 1946-54, Smith posted a 57-27 record with two perfect seasons, 10-0 in 1951 and 11-0 in 1952. Defensive coach Dee Powell joined the staff in January, 1965, coming here from Alabama, where he was an assistant coach. His duties include overall defense, scouting and recruiting. Last year, Powell was defensive line coach. Powell was born in Lockhart in 1935 and was graduated from Lockhart High School in 1952 after two years as guard. He played guard and center on the 1954-55-56 Aggie teams. He worked with Alabama’s defense in 1963 and with the offense in 1964. OFFENSIVE coach Bud Moore left his job as assistant coach at Kentucky in January, 1965, to join Stallings’ staff. He was offensive line coach last year and is now in charge of overall offense. In addition to coaching and scouting duties, Moore re cruits players in South Central Texas. Moore played football, basket ball, baseball and track at West End High School of Birmingham, Ala. At the University of Ala bama, he played football and baseball three years. Before join ing the Kentucky coaching staff in 1962, he coached the Gadsen, Ala., high school team. Loyd Taylor, offensive back- field coach, came to A&M in De cember, 1964, from Oklahoma State University, where he was an assistant coach. He is respons ible for training offensive backs, except quarterbacks, and split ends. He is also a scout, and re cruits players in North Central Texas. BORN IN Roswell, N. M., in 1936, Taylor was an all-state halfback at Roswell High School. He was a halfback and place kicker three seasons at A&M. After graduation, Taylor became an assistant coach at Roswell High School and later became head coach at Eagle Pass and then at Karnes City. Linebackers coach Don Watson was an assistant coach at South Carolina before joining Stallings in December 1964 here. His duties also include recruiting in the Houston area. A native of McAllen, Watson played football, basketball and track at Franklin High School in Franklin, and was named to the all-state team as a halfback. At AGGIE COACHES Left to right: Billy Pickard, Lide Huggins, Jake Helms, Ralph Smith, Jack Hurlbut, Don Watson, and Loyd Taylor. Dee Powell, Bud Moore, Gene Stallings, Elmer Smith, A&M, Watson won national Back- of-the-Week honors at halfback and played in the 1956 Blue-Gray All-Star Game. He is 33 years old. JACK HURLBUT, quarterback coach, has been with the staff since December 1964. In addition to coaching quarterbacks, Hurl but recruits in Southeast Texas. Born in Houston in 1941, Hurl but was graduated from Aldine High School in 1959 after playing football, basketball, track and baseball. He was a quarterback and defensive halfback for the University of Alabama for three years. After graduation in 1964, he coached at Galveston’s Ball High School. Ralph Smith, end coach, came back to A&M in December, 1964, from an assistant coaching job at Odessa High School. He works primarily with defensive ends and recruits in the Panhandle area. A NATIVE of Borger, Smith played end three seasons at Phil lips High School in Borger. After his graduation in 1957, he played on Aggie teams in 1958-59-60. Freshman coach J. W. Helms, who coordinates Aggie recruiting, has been at A&M since August, 1965. He came here from Uvalde, where he was head high school coach. Born in San Augustine, Helms played high school football at Childress, where he became an All-State end. He played three years at end for Texas A&I. After graduation, he earned a master’s degree in physical education at A&I. He has served as line coach at Brownsville Junior College and as head coach at high schools in Freer, Laredo, San Benito and Uvalde. THE YOUNGEST member of the staff, Lide Huggins, is a de fensive backfield coach and the recruiter for West Texas. He came to A&M in August, 1965, as a student assistant. Born in Mullins, S. C., Dec. 21, 1942, Huggins played quarterback and halfback for Mullins, S. C., High School. He was a safety at South Carolina for three years. This is his first coaching assign ment. Trainer Billy Pickard, a native of San Antonio and a 1956 A&M graduate, approaches his third season as trainer here. He had been trainer for more than seven years at Brazosport High School and one year at Port Arthur High School. Pickard was trainer in the 1960 Texas High School All-Star Game and was president of the South west Athletic Trainers Associa tion in 1960-61. 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