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College Station, Texas
Thursday, August 8, 1968
THE BATTALia ^
SWC Champs Working Harder To Defend Title
‘Opportunists’ Return 14 Letterraen
And Determination For Another In
Continual improvement remains the basic theme i
Texas A&M as Gene Stallings prepares his Aggies to d
fend their Southwest Conference football championship.
Despite the championship, the ensuing 20-16 victor
over Alabama in the Cotton Bowl and the seven-game m
ning streak the Aggies carry into 1968, there is roomfs
a lot of improvement.
Strange as it might seem, the 1967 SWC champ!
finished dead last in per-game offensive averages in tl
eight-team league. And, they were fifth in per-game d
fensive averages.
The reason they won is that they made the Big Pla
when it was mandatory. During the 10-game regular seasor
the Aggies intercepted 27 enemy passes and recovered;
dozen enemy fumbles.
Admittedly, they were a wild band of opportunity
who capitalized on their foes’ mistakes time and again. Bit
never did they monoplize a contest, either offensively*
defensively.
Stallings, a candid realist, admits his team “should lit
improved” but adds “there is no way we can have a greai
offensive line.”
The offensive line is the team’s main weakness. Last
season, Stallings made some position switches that sa«
end Mark Weaver moving to guard, linebacker Robert Cor.
tez moving to guard and fullback Dan Schneider movingtn
tackle. They were all seniors who knew what the heat of
battle was all about.
Informed
On Campus
After the Cotton Bowl, game, both Weaver and Schnei.
der were named to the All-Bowl offensive team, signifying
the great development they had made in one season.
But, at the close of spring training last May, ttirw
sophomores were in the spots vacated by Cortez, Weaver
and Schneider. They were guards Rusty Stallings and Jim
Parker and tackle Mike Fields. Whether they can retain
their hard-won berths won’t be decided until fall drills art
well under way. Even so, they lack that all-important battle
field experience and it can’t be attained on the practice lot
Otherwise, A&M is pretty well set at starting positions,
Sophomore Mike DeNiro stepped in and took over right end,
the one vacated spot on defense that Grady Allen left.
However, there is a decided dropoff between first and
second units on the Aggie squad. Injuries to key personnel
hurt all football teams but such could be disastrous for the
Aggies.
“I thought our first units put out more effort than
anyone during the spring,” Stallings commented, “but I was
disappointed with the second and third units.” He added,
however, that “It could have been partially my fault because
I didn’t give the youngsters as much work as I did the vet
erans.”
On the credit side, the Aggies have 14 senior lettermen
on hand, including 10 two-year starters. Senior leadership,
a vital factor in Stallings’ outlook, will be strong m 1968,
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