Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 9, 1981)
■BMMHBMi ports THE BATTALION THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 1981 Page 11 es n preparation for Saturday’s spring game ke this i imedfo ti known, b/'Hie' ad. 1 willpj c | : turn it Wilson carries team through final workouts By RITCHIE PRIDDY Sports Editor jThe Texas A&M University btball team concludes its spring 11s this weekend with the ual Maroon-White game. Coach Tom Wilson has thus far en pleased with the overall im- vement of his team this spring t said there are still a few areas that need work. '■ Protest^ [ We’ve had a good spring, lost pec Wo ve spent a great deal of time in on, not j; Contact work, and we have been irimmaging a lot,” Wilson said. 11 not by, | He also said that the spring has ie is wait; ot ^ een eas y ^ or pl a y ers as he ethical tlj 85 ^ the first team offense ^inginie fimmaging the first team de- jnse and second going against patient u he is "bis They have been going up tainst comparable people. We lecessani | ve not ^ )U ^ t ^y ^ se i rn P ress_ g thefei-; B1S ^ or them,” he said, nost imm [The Aggies return 49 lettermen ifioflast year’s 4-7 squad, losing 19 to graduation. Only eight of those 19 lost were ters, but six of them were from f | Btrength” positions such as tack- In (ft (both offense and defense) and -Ald'oliarteibacks. Gone are Tommy Thompson id Zach Guthrie (offensive tack- Pat Flinn (tight end), quarter- icks Mike Mosley and David al, Mack Moore and Arlis James kers wertdefensive tackles) and strong safe- lleandrew Brown, the BeMWilson’s priorities going into ;ntly was iring drills were to find a strong, in the t pable quarterback, to replace oading to i(h defensive tackles, to build a ■ok the ti rong, solid defense and con- t one wii net a consistent offense, se, a stra! Wilson and his staff are pleased ilev&taM ith the way junior quarterback ary Kubiak has progressed this or employ (ring and expect him to step into id a lam ehotseat and take control of the where tie lease next fall, itly trigger, “We are very pleased with Banner fi ary’s performance. He’s come a 'as inside ingway and has had an outstand- ; unloaded Igspring,” Wilson said, of the efei Should something happen to occurred! ubiak, though, sophomore John vedhimfc llkins would most likely assume nained hi ie starting role. “John has shown a lot of im- ivement this spring. He’s a very (equate backup quarterback and ouldhe continue to improve he see some action,” Wilson 1 Overall, I feel our quarterback ((nation is much better than we thought,” he said. As far as the offensive line goes, is not area of concern last year, Wil- losion, said that it is as good an offen y ‘ e avid City sive line he has seen in some time. “There are many pleasimg aspects (of the offensive line). They have progressed to the point that they are blocking well and giving the quarterback adequate protection,” he said. The e are four top contenders for the two vacated offensive tack le positions— Kent Adams, JBryan Dausin, Tommy Robison, and Chuck Williams. The receiving corps is perhaps one of the team’s strongest points. Senior split end Mike Whitwell is probably one of the mos t consis tent receivers in the conference. “Mike continues to amaze us with some of his catches. He’s a very fine receiver,” Wilson said. Junior wide receiver Don Jones is another quick, sure bunded re ceiver the Aggies possess. Howev er, those are just two in the Aggie arsenal of receivers. Others in clude walk-on David Bole, Jimmie Williams, William Hadley, Tom my Sugg and Steve Greco. Sopho more Billy Cannon will miss the spring game due to baseball but will return next fall. Tight end could become a ques tion mark, but as of now sopho more Mark Lewis and junior T. J. Carmody head the list of candi dates. Wilson said, however, that more improvement was needed at the position before he would be satisfied. There’s really no question about the Texas A&M running game. It is perhaps one of the best, if not the best, in the conference — maybe the nation. With junior running backs Johnny Hector and E arnest Jack- son returning to reek havoc on opposing defenses; Wilson couldn’t be sitting in a. better posi tion. Couple that with the fact that senior David Hill ami sophomore Thomas Sanders, both proven backups at the runni ng back posi tions, are returning, and the 1981 Texas A&M running game will certainly be one to be reckoned with. “Hector, Jackson, Sanders and Hill have all proven they are cap able of playing,” Wilson said. “They all have pi ;rformed very well this spring.” The fact that the Aggies are now a split-back team gives Wilson the opportunity to see; just how much talent he possesses in the back- field — and with Hector and Jack- son in the same Lackfield that ta lent could almost seem endless. Gary Kubiak The kicking game, particularly the punting, has been the weak point in the past, but Wilson is confident of punter’s Kyle Stuard’s improvement this spring. Stuard, with the help of former Texas A&M great, Steve O’Neal, is taking one less step in his punt ing routine to get the ball off quicker. “Kyle has improved a great deal over last season. He’s has had a lot of progress and is getting the ball off a lot quicker. We’ve put as much pressure as we could on him, and the line, this spring,” he said. Indeed, the pressure has been there. At times, Wilson has had 16 players rushing the punter and none were blocked. There is a fierce battle going on for the rights to the place-lacking chores. Junior David Hardy and sophomore Alan Smith are in- Mike Little volved in the duel. Both kickers are well-qualified for the job, and it will be a tough decision for Wil son to make as far as who kicks when. “Hardy and Smith are kicking very well. We should have a solid kicking game,” Wilson said. Defensively, the Aggies could be hurting, but with the help of some fine linebackers roaming the field — the whole field — they should once again be a tough unit. If there’s one player that stands out on the defensive squad he woidd have to be senior lineback er Mike Little. Little plays his strong lineback er position with the reckless aban don reminiscent of a Japanese kamikaze pilot of World War II. His mission is to inflict as much damage on enemy offenses as pos sible without regard to his own safety — he accomplishes his mis sion time and again. Little, however, is just one of several fine linebackers the Aggies have. Sophomore Jerry Bullitt, Defensive Newcomer of the Year last year, and junior Bobby Strogen will share time at the mid dle linebacker position. Sopho more Greg Berry and junior Will Wright are competing for the rights to the remaining weak line backer position. Sophomore Keith Guthrie and junior Fred Caldwell are the best bets to replace departed Arlis James and Mack Moore as defen sive tackles, but they could have some competition from Kermit Foster and Robert Stoss and others. “They’re all good people, but we may have a depth problem there,” Wilson said of his defen sive tackles, “They have all done some good things this spring.” The injury-ridden secondary may be shaping up with the likes of speedster cornerbacks Dan Davis (senior) and Greg Williams (sophomore) defending. The safe ties include sophomore Jeff Fuller and junior Mark McQueen with several others in the picture. In jured junior Jeff Farrar, senior John Dawson and junior Van Bar nett could claim their old positions back as safeties as they fully recov er from injuries. Overall, Wilson is pleased with the spring workouts but does admit that more work in some areas wouldn’t hurt. “I feel good about the offense. We’re throwing and running the ball well and have got a lot to look forward to next fall,” he said. “De fensively, the last l!/2 weeks of spring we’ve come along, but we still have a ways to go before we have a solid defense.” Wilson will divide his team down the middle for Saturday’s game, escaping the traditional way of playing the “best against the rest” and will watch from the press box, letting his assistant coaches run the show. Gametime for Saturday’s con test is 7:30 p. m. §outl^est\lllage Apartments Save $100 June, July & August when you lease for 1 year Featuring • Furnished & Unfurnished • Shuttle Bus to A&M • Tennis Court • Pool • Two Laundry Rooms • Cable TV • No Pets 1101 Southwest Parkway College Station (713) 693-0804 Who tue: word ROBOT ? Karel Capek /w w/s science fictiom play ROSSUM'3 UNIVERSAL ROBOTS he state t the NeW sed the ;y said ti e of the fa iage esfe •am gets ent -national Beam, p :u Kluxili y on a grand jwf j Beam I to hold :he attofl id the ii land—h ional Cr» unty, to train J not lettl an fronL He said ^ several i» not sayJ uld be b* pert)' anyth®! attempt me. I/ ^vo fe® ,ing°^ view. i ri( need a I# jieuvert 1) with' ^greelo;! t derfe« ( six mon 1 LOADING ZONE Family Restaurant ALL YOU CAN EAT Tender fresh fish fillets with . all your favorite trim- (k O C mings ONLY H' ^ ^ all our fillets are HAND-BATTERED Special Good Everyday After 5 p.m. Only At We LOADING Family Restaurant AGGIE OWNED & OPERATED 404 University Drive in University Center OPEN SUNDAYS 693-8869 ■ •Beer •.mixed DrinUs ZACHARIAS PUB & GAME ROOM LADIES NIGHT & ARM WRESTLING TOURNAMENT LONE STAR LONGNECKS 6" a case plus deposit Miller Lite 12 pac Pepsi & Mt. Dew Pepsi Light & Diet Pepsi 16 oz. 1 49 SCHLITZ 6 pac 12 oz. cans 1 69 FRITOS
