I
Freshman Edition
i
The Battalion
Section Two
1 1
—
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College Station, Texas Wednesday, August 8, 1973
Youth Dominates A&M Football
By TED BORISKIE
■ Using a new offense, A&M will
field one of the youngest, if not
Re youngest, football teams in
the nation this season.
■ Emory Bellard, architect of the
■ishbone, unveiled a new forma-
Bon in spring training that, hope
fully, could have the same suc-
Rss as the Wishbone that has
Rnt the University of Texas to
Re Cotton Bowl for five straight
Rears. A cross between the Wish-
jbone and the straight “T,” the
lew formation has been labelled
the “T-Bone."
I Running this formation will be
I team so young as to have only
Re senior two-year letterman on
the entire squad. This promises
to be an exciting, if unpredictable,
season.
The 2-year letterman is Larry
Ellis (6-0, 173), a safety from
Troup. Joining him at right safe
ty position will be James Daniels
(6-2, 180), junior college transfer.
At cornerbacks will be another JC
transfer, Tim Gray (6-1, 190),
and sophomore Pat Thomas (5-10,
180).
Quarterback is the big question
mark for the season with last
year’s starters graduated or
transferred. Tim Trimmier (6-4,
210) is back from last year’s
squad and Jim Hartman (5-11,
190) quarterbacked last year’s
freshman team. However, A&M
is looking to one of its newcom
ers to fill the position. Of these,
Mike Jay (5-11, 180) looks to be
the favorite. Jay was all-confer
ence, all-state and all-America
while in high school at Torring-
ton, Wyoming, and has spent the
last couple of years quarterback
ing the Quantico Marines team.
Expected to challenge Jay for
the position are incoming fresh
men David Shipman (6-1, 200)
and David Walker (6-0, 185).
Shipman made all-state at Odessa
Permian playing both quarter
back and halfback. Walker made
all-state in Louisiana and was vot
ed the outstanding offensive play
er in the state. A dark horse in
the race is Carl Menger (6-0, 188)
who made all-state as a junior at
Houston Westchester two years
ago.
At halfback, A&M has three
experienced sophomores who ro
tated in the halfback spots last
year as freshmen. Bubba Bean
(6-0, 195) made all-state his jun
ior year in high school and all-
state and all-America his senior
year. He played hurt last season
but this year he may fulfill his
potential. Ronald Hubby (5-10,
195) was the top running back on
the freshman team last year until
he was promoted to the varsity in
mid-season. Skip Walker (5-10,
185) is the top returning rusher
from last year’s varsity with a
4.0 average.
Sophomores Alvin Bowers (6-0,
212) and Bucky Sams (6-0, 202)
will fight it out for fullback.
Bowers lettered as a freshman
last year with a 4.6 average while
Sams was the sensation of the
freshman team running 638 yards
in five games for an incredible
7.1 average.
Carl Roaches (5-8, 165) will re
turn at split end. He scored four
touchdowns but only one from a
pass. The other three came from
two punt returns and a kickoff
return as he led the conference
in punt returns and was second
in bringing back kickoffs.
Richard Osborne (6-5, 225),
was A&M’s leading receiver and
sixth in the conference last year
when he alternated with Roaches
at split end. He is a two-lime
high school all-America and was
named the outstanding player in
Texas in 1971. This year he has
been moved to tight end where
his major competition will prob
ably be David Green (6-0, 204).
The interior of the offensive
line was decimated by graduation
with only one letterman return
ing. He is Ricky Seeker (6-3, 240),
a junior who made the all-SWC
sophomore team as a tackle last
year. He is moved to center this
year, a position he played on the
’71 freshman team. At the tackles
will be senior Mike Bruton (6-1,
205) and sophomore Dennis Smel-
ser (6-4, 240), who made both
offensive and defensive all-state
teams and was selected all-Ameri
ca as a high school senior in 1971.
Sophomore Bruce Welch (6-4,
245) and senior Bud Trammell
(6-2, 250) will fill in the guard
slots.
The defensive line was not as
unfortunate as the offense, as it
returns three lettermen, all ends.
Juniors Paul Hulin (6-1, 215) and
Don Long (6-3, 235) and sopho
more Blake Schwartz (6-2, 220)
all return to give A&M some de
gree of experience at the ends.
Juniors Ted Lamp (6-2, 225) and
Warran Trahan (6-4, 245) have
been posted at tackles.
Talent abounds in the lineback
ing corps with sophomore Ed
Simonini (6-0, 205) leading the
way. One of the brightest spots
of last season, Simonini was nam
ed outstanding defensive fresh
man in the SWC last year. Play
boy Magazine has picked him as
the sixth top sophomore in the
nation this year and if he has a
season as good as last year’s, he
could pop up on a couple of all-
America lists at the end of the
year. Joining him in the other
two slots are junior Ken Stratton
(5-10, 195) and Garth Ten Napel
(6-2, 202). One of the top re
serves in JC transfer John Mc-
Crumbly (6-2, 245) who comes
to A&M with an impressive list of
credentials. McCrumbly made all
district three straight years and
all-America once while in high
school. At Tyler Junior College
he was all-conference both years
and JC all-America last year.
Mark Stanley (6-2, 195) and
Lee White (6-0, 195) are both
kicker-punters off of last year’s
freshman team where neither
missed a PAT attempt and both
had identical averages of 41.8 for
punts. Randy Haddox (6-5, 240)
returns as kickoff specialist.
A&M will not field a freshman
team this year, possibly the only
major college in the U.S. not to
do so. The 35 newcomers will join
the team later this month and
will, in the words of Coach Bel
lard, “ . . . play just as high as
they’re man enough.’’
It is almost impossible to pick
which freshman will play or even
what position they will play. Bel
lard had probably the best re
cruiting season in the SWC last
year, so we are bound to see sev
eral freshmen on the team this
fall.
Del Leatherwood (6-1, 190) is
the top recruit for split end as
he made all-district, all-state and
all-America at Houston St. Thom
as last year. Robert Verde (6-1,
170) was named his district’s most
valuable player at split end while
Gary Haack (6-1, 195) made hon
orable mention all-state as a tight
end.
The offensive line is the weak
est spot but there are several fine
recruits that could help plug up
the holes left by graduation.
Tackles George Burger, (6-4, 250)
Brad Burnett (6-2, 220) and Den
nis Swilley (6-4, 225) all made all-
state. Burnett played at Port
Neches where he ran interference
for one of the top high schools
backs in the nation last year, Jeff
Bergeron. Guards Billy Lemons
(6-5, 280) and Craig Glendenning
and center Matt Freeman (5-11,
212) all made all-state, Glenden
ning two years. Also, Lemons
made the prestigious blue chip list
(top 12 players in the state.)
Top Defensive linemen include
all-America Jimmy Dean (6-5,
250), super all-stater Anderson
Harrison (6-4, 258) and speedster
Lester Hayes (6-2, 189).
To bolster the already tough
linebacking squad are Phil Graw-
under (6-0, 210) and Grady Wilk-
erson (6-3, 215). Both made all-
state and Wilkerson is also a blue
chipper.
A&M also picked up all-state
defensive backs Mike Floyd (5-10,
165), Bill Dawkins (6-1, 203) and
Reggie Williams, (6-3, 185). Wil
liams is a super all-stater and a
blue chipper.
So it looks like A&M will be
young and largely inexperienced
this year. It will probably take a
few games to jell, so the team
will be more polished the second
half than the first. But as a wise
man once said, “Sometimes young
players don’t know when they’re
supposed to lose.”
A&M’S LARRY ELLIS stops Nebraska’s superstar Johnny Rodgers in last year’s 37-7
oss to the then defending national champions. Ellis is the only senior letterman on this
'ear’s squad.
I ' ,
A&M HEAD COACH EMORY BELLARD caught in a
moment of frustration.
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