Page 16 THE BATTALION THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1979 Small ‘Carr wrecking foes By KURT ALLEN Battalion Sports Staff After several years, American au tomakers are finally succeeding in efforts to convince consumers that biggest is not necessarily best. Simi larly, Doug Carr is making believers out of football fans who think every linebacker needs to be physically endowed like King Kong. As Texas A&M’s middle linebacker and defensive play caller, Carr, at 5-11 and 205 pounds, is un dersized for his position. But he makes up for that with a combina tion of quickness, effort, and unlim ited enthusiasm, even against the biggest of offensive linemen. ‘I don’t think much about the size of the people I’m playing against,” said Carr. “When I’m out on the field, I concentrate on what’s hap pening during each play and follow the ball. With everything happen ing so quickly out there, it’s enough to just keep up with the action, much less worry about how big the opponent is.” Carr has made a believer out of Texas A&M defensive coordinator R.C. Slocum. “Doug is a good example of somebody who always gives you 100 per cent,” Slocum said. “Even though he’s undersized for a middle linebacker, he literally plays his heart out and never lets himself be intimidated. Of course, part of his success is that he has a knack of al ways knowing where the ball is. He knows how to make things happen out there.” Carr must have known where the ball was last weekend as he recov ered a Penn State fumble and inter cepted a pass on the first play of the third quarter to help the Aggies keep their momentum in the 27-14 upset of the Nittany Lions. Carr was named the defensive player of the week by Associated Press. “Naturally, it’s a great honor for me to be selected,” Carr said. “But I feel like it’s something I’ve been working towards for the last two years. To be named player of the week, you’ve got to maintain a cer tain level of performance. “Last year, I had several good games, but it wasn’t quite good enough to be a player of the week. Since then, I’ve worked hard to im prove and get to the level of play I’m at now. The Penn State game marked a complete turnaround for the Aggies, who lost their first two games against Brigham Young and Baylor. According to Carr, what made the difference defensively for Texas A&M was not major alignment or strategy changes, but rather mental intensity. “Basically, we played Penn State the same way we played the other two teams. But what helped us win was our mental effort. We thought about what we were doing and didn’t make the mental mistakes that the Lions did. More than any thing, we never lost our composure, even after that first fumble.” Looking ahead to the day he uses up his eligibility at Texas A&M, Carr said he, like every player, would like to get the chance to play pro ball. If that doesn’t work out, Carr said he would try playing in the Canadian Football League. “I guess I feel like the people who are up there are a lot like me. Many aren’t as big as players in the NFL, but they’re willing to play and think they can do the job. I know I can.” mi Battalion I Classifieds J 'classified caii ; iHHBI 845-2611 1 Talking to the man upstairs FREE FREE DELIVERY SAVE $ MORE FOR LESS COMPARE AND SEE! $2 giants $1.501 .75 medium <§> ,1111 AMERICA’S FAVORITE PIZZA B 413 S. TEXAS AVE. GREENFIELD PLAZA 846-6164 8461 Valid thru 10-4-79 Texas A&M head coach Tom Wilson is getting help from above just by listening to the voice in his headset. Don’t worry, the voice in his headset is coming from his assistant coaches in the pressbox and no higher. Battalion photo by Pat O’Malley Coupons not valid w/other coupons or gourmet pizzas TEXAS HALL OF FAME presents THURSDAY NITE (7-12) “DEBONAIRES” $2/person FRIDAY NITE (8-1) “JESS DEMAINE & AUSTIN” $2/person SATURDAY NITE (8-1) “NORVELL FELTZ AND THE DRIFTAWAYS” $2/person BigResultsi CLASSIFIED ADS! 845-2611 "WHERE YOU ALWAYS BUY THE BEST FOR LESS’ H'Tm DISCOUNT CENTER 1420 TEXAS AVE. COLLEGE STATION SALE ENDS SAT Pepsi Cola 32 oz. 6 pack *1 39 plus deposit TEXAS INSTRUMENT’S PROGRAMABLE TI59 < 6o