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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 1972)
Freshman Edition The Battalion Section Two I 8 ■ation itKij nd $25 bor 1 $50 e y camp College Station, Texas Wednesday, August 2, 1972 opes are high for Aggie football 'ns noted idets np at Fe- | 7 A new coach, a new offensive Hgjpation and, hopefully, a new Bpord are the feature character- .tics of the 1972 Texas Aggie ootball team. r- Emory Bellard brought the fTVishbone with him from the 'niversity of Texas, and A&M , 0 '/ins hope he will rejuvenate the agyridiron fortunes of a team backed with quality seniors. | Rebuilding both an offensive lackfield and a defensive sec- Miry were the two most impor- nr-int goals during spring training, ^nd they seem to have been ac- Bphshed. Mark Green (6-3, 218) is back after dazzling opponents with his running ability during his sopho more year. Lining up at a half back spot, he will be joined by fullback Brad Dusek (6-2, 212). Dusek played safety last season and fullback his sophomore year. John Bounds (6-2, 206) was the other halfback during spring training, but breakaway speed is needed, so one of the freshman backs may get a chance here. Bubba Bean, Skip Walker, Tony Blankenship, Carl Roaches, Pat Thomas, Melvin Howard and David Greeno are the prospects for that position. Quarterback is still a question mark. After an excellent high school career and a fine fresh man season, Lex James is yet to produce. A poor offensive line in 1970 and injuries last year and in spring training have stifled the 6-0, 192 pounder. Other quarterback hopefuls are sophomore Don Dean, also 6-0 and 192, and junior Tim Trim- mier, 6-4 and 203. Dean ran the team in the spring game, and he is expected to battle James for the starting assignment. To solve the secondary diffi culties, Robert Murski, 6-0 and 189, was moved from split end to the position he played as a sophomore, cornerback. Corky Sheffield, a starter two years ago, decided to return to football and nailed down the other corner. Sheffield is 5-10 and 180. The safeties are a pair of second teamers from last year, juniors Dwight LaBauve (6-1 and 188) and Larry Ellis (5-11 and 172). The front lines are sound both offensively and defensively, and A&M may be able to boast of the best offensive line in the South west Conference. And if it lacks JKoCY PLAY in A&M’s 17-9 upset of nationally-ranked pilLjKansas last year was this touchdown run by Mark Green 20). Green scored twice, on runs of three and 20 yards, for his junior year, and he is expected to improve on his 1971 marks of 181 carries for 593 yards, seven touchdowns and averages of 3.3 yard per carry and 53.9 per game. anything in quality, it makes up for that in size. The front six, all seniors, are tight end Homer May, 6-3 and 237, right tackle Ralph Sacra, 6-5 and 235, right guard Buster Cal laway, 6-3 and 258, center Skip Kuehn, 6-0 and 225, left guard Todd Christopher, 6-2 and 237, and left tackle Mike Park, 6-4 and 232. The average is 6-3 and 235 pounds. Top substitutes are center Robert Gerasimowicz (6-0 and 212), guards Dan Peoples (6-2 and 215) and Rick Seeker (6-3 and 238) and tackle Clifton Tho mas (6-4 and 247). Seeker is a sophomore, and the others are seniors. Defensively, Max Bird (6-0 and 223) and James Dubcak (6-6 and 240) are the ends, and Boice Best (6-1 and 233) and Bill Wiebold (6-3 and 224) are the tackles. All are seniors except Wiebold, who is a junior. The linebacking corps, a trio of seniors, is composed of middle man Grady Hoermann (6-0 and 217). Hoermann was picked by Texas Football Magazine to be the best linebacker in the South west Conference. Best was named the top defensive lineman. The other linebackers are Den nis Carruth (5-11 and 209) and Kent Finley (6-0 and 209). The top subs here are juniors Rusty Pool (6-1 and 207) and Mike Bruton (6-0 and 209). Although the Wishbone is pri marily a running offense, there is expected to be more passing from the formation this year at A&M than has been seen at Tex as the past several seasons. The number one split end now is Mike Keese, a 6-1, 181-pound sopho more. Richard Osborne, who may have been the most highly sought after recruit last year, should challenge Keese for his job. Os borne is 6-5 and 214. The kicking game is in good shape with record holder Pat Mc Dermott being edged by Roberto Payan in the spring. Both are soccer-style hooters. McDermott kicked the longest field goal in A&M history, 53 yards, to beat Baylor last year. Also, he is tied with four others who have kicked a pair of field goals in a single game, and he holds the career record for field goals with 14. Bill Nutt, who sat out last year, is the top punter, with Mur ski and Steve Canter also trying for the specialty position. Nutt had a 40.7 average as a Fish two years ago. The Aggies face a tough sched ule, with the first three games— Wichita State, Nebraska and Louisiana State — on the road. The first home game is Sept. 30 against Army. After an open date Oct. 7, the Aggies begin SWC play against Texas Tech and Texas Christian here Oct. 14 and 21, respectively. A&M is on the road to Waco Oct. 28 to meet Baylor, and they return home Nov. 4 to face highly-respected Arkansas in a day game. Nov. 11, the Aggies play Southern Methodist in Dallas at 2:30, and they host Rice at 1:30 Nov. 18. The Texas game is five days later, Nov. 23, in Austin. The time for the Thanksgiving Day game has not been set, pending the decision by the American Broadcasting Company in regard to nationally televising the tradi tional battle. If it is televised, it will be a night game. % Head Coach Emory Bellard