3ust28,
e Battalion
Sports
Section B
Monday, August 28,1989
'position to a|
Counselors,
otinies werr
ies poised to reclaim Arkansas’ SWC title
lott says, ii.ftr Jeff Osborne
about the
ie added.
he Archdi
prising, desJ
ept to saves
' Project Rac OI The Battalion Staff
waukee in i«[
ned to CatkHrhe 1989 Texas A&M football
program combines newness with fa-
says. "1 thinlBliarity as the Aggies aim for their
fourth Southwest Conference
Bampionship and Cotton Bowl hid
die Bishop Jilt'he past five years.
onciliationscHThis year, the team is expected to
ecording io?®ke a strong run for the Cotton
ishops’Pro Bf'd> and is picked by SWC coaches
as the favorite to unseat defending
*^0 Champion Arkansas to reclaim
s United Sathe top spot.
because ofsHThe team features a Heisman
atholir u. Mrophy candidate, a Butkus Award
didate and most of last season’s
ensive firepower.
On defense, the “Wrecking Crew”
" be back and a strong secondary
hould bolster a largely unproven
)up of linebackers.
Although this season’s schedule
t’t quite as menacing as last year’s,
len the Aggies faced several of the
ition’s best (LSU, Nebraska, Okla-
»ma State, Houston, Arkansas and
abama), it won’t be a cakewalk by
y stretch of the imagination ei-
er.
A&M’s first two opponents, Loui-
ina State and Washington, are
th Top Twenty teams.
Following a September 16th clash
th Texas Christian, the Aggies will
ce Southern Mississippi, which fin-
ved 10-2 last season and won the
dependence Bowl.
In the fifth game, A&M will face
xas Tech, a contest which has tra-
Itionally been very tough for the
sin Lubbock.
Then, a critical mid-season tan-
my ‘P 5 c vRm in Houston and Baylor will
is your' H^llenge the Aggies.
, A&M will then battle Rice and
n ot "““Pmuthern Methodist (back from a
nkport
rietyof
veniis
i( Mill l!l "'M, 0 -y ear death penalty hiatus). Fi-
iple 15 .fmily, the regular season will see Ar-
sou\emro» nsas anc j q’exas arrive at Kyle
ome l ' ie ' ‘B| e id f or nationally televised games.
ii UonnecitJc oac h g Q Slocum, A&M’s new-
i hey nave, j, ( . a d coach has served as an assistant
summer '®B )ac p 1 f or t h e Aggies for 16 years,
si [vresideni J p e re pl a ces Jackie Sherrill, who
I or exani|* s jg ne( j anlK j controversy and un-
e refngejJi® rta j nt y am pd a second NCAA in-
plastic Mai* '
vestigation of the Aggie football pro
gram.
The Aggies also have a new assis
tant head coach, Tom Hayes, who
served as defensive coordinator for
UCLA.
Also new to the coaching staff are
offensive coordinator Bob Toledo
from Oregon, receivers coach Rob
ert Ford from Texas Tech, tight
ends/specialists coach John Pearce
from Fort Bend Willowridge High
School, and offensive line coach
Mike Sherman from Holy Cross.
Defensive coordinator Bob Davie,
who has coached at A&M for four
years, will also play a prominent role
in the Aggies’ season.
The Aggies are hoping to re
bound from last year’s disappointing
7-5 season. In 1988, the Aggies lost
to five opponents ranked in the As
sociated Press Top Twenty, includ
ing conference champion Arkansas.
In preseason ratings, the Aggies
were picked to challenge for the na
tional championship last year, but
early losses and NCAA sanctions
preventing a bowl bid quickly ended
expectations of post-season glory.
Also looming over the Aggies was
the George Smith scandal.
Smith claimed he had received
payments of hush money, but later
recanted. After he changed his story
several times, the NCAA dropped
their investigation.
The investigation lasted several
months, and the threat of additional
sanctions or a “death penalty” which
would suspend A&M from compet
ing in football for a year or more
hampered recruiting.
A&M recruited only 14 players
this year, a far cry from the recruit
ing classes of the last three years
which gained national attention.
Of the 14 recruits one signed with
the Minnesota Twins to play baseball
and two were ruled academically in
eligible.
“Houston, Oklahoma and Okla
homa State’s penalties were lumped
together with Texas A&M by the
media,” Slocum said, “and this hurt
recruiting. Opposing coaches took
>f the
Photo by Jay Janner
R.C. Slocum begins his first season at the helm in 1989. He aiso is beginning his 17th year with the A&M program.
advantage of
in.
“After 20
ie situation we were
some odd years of
coaching,” Slocum said, “I under
stand the facts of winning and los-
ing.
“ I hope the people we bring in
here have more thanjust a few
championship rings to show off, al
though I’m counting on those too.
“ I hope they also have a good ed
ucation and experience at A&M.
The program will be dedicated to
winning with integrity.”
Slocum said the tradition of the
12th Man Kickoff Team will be con
tinued. This tradition, which fea
tures non-scholarship athletes from
the student body, was started by
Sherrill.
Slocum plans to start a new tradi
tion as well. This year, freshman
football players were sent to Fish
Camp at Palestine.
The camp teaches incoming
freshmen the traditions of Texas
A&M, and what being an Aggie is all
about.
“This will give the athletes a better
understanding of what Texas A&M
is about, and it will give non-athletes
a better understanding of the foot
ball players,” Slocum said.
“ Some of you may wonder how
I’m going to get all these guys to go.
Well, we’ll be working hard in the
August, heat out there, and I’ll tell
them they can take a week off at
camp.
“ I’ll tell them there’s air-condi
tioned buses of pretty girls waiting iq
the parking lot. Any of the players
who don’t want to go, I’ll send
home,” Slocum laughed.
The new coaching staff put to
gether by Slocum and Athletic Di
rector John David Crow is “very
high quality,” said Alan Cannon, di
rector of Sports Information.
“We’ve got one of the finest
coaching staffs in the country,” Slo
cum said, “and there wasn’t one
coach I offered a job who turned it
down.”
“With R.C. (Slocum), the de
fensive side should be pretty much
the same,” Cannon said.
“ The offensive side depends so
much on your skill positions,” Can
non said.
“I don’t think we could have had a
better or smoother transition with a
new coach and athletic director, but
these guys were already in place.
“There’s an old saying that the de
fense wins championships and
there’s a lot of truth to that. The of
fense should be more balanced.”
Toledo, the offensive coordina
tor, said the Aggies will run “more of
a pro-style attack, and we won’t run
the option nearly as much.
“ Our offensive style will be simi
lar to the (San Francisco) 49ers style
of attack, emphasizing ball control
with passing. The key is balance,”
Toledo said.
See Football/Page 2
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