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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 6, 1989)
Wednesday, September 6,1989 The Battalion Wallace (Continued from page 9) -v.: made the big plays when needed, sv'® LSU was limited to just 204 yards /x ol total offense: 168 yards passing on 17 completions and only 36 yards ■ishing on 31 carries — a 1.1 aver- W' ■ Wallace was the Aggies’ leading ■ckler, and his three sacks against ■odson have placed him just three o away from being the school’s all-time ■—- wader. I “It’s an important accomplish ment,” he said. “I’d rather set it d hi re, but I’ll probably do it in Wash- ■gton. I’ll break it when it comes. iCe got my own goals to set, and if I ■n reach those goals I’ll be happy.” I Wallace, who has 34.5 sacks in his ■ireer, said he wants at least 45 by I lie time he leaves A&M. If he ( doesn’t break the record in Wash- Bgton this weekend, he’d have an opportunity to do it next week in front of his family in Fort Worth. )f-co»if Being defensive captain and pur- once; sjiing career sack records at A&M as something Wallace, as a young ebacker at Dallas Roosevelt in ||)84, never even dreamed about. In ct, he wound up at A&M almost by istake. A&M coaches were at a Roosevelt- iallas Carter game only because y were recruiting 6-6, 245-pound iiothnid, iensive end Richmond Webb. ■uring the game, however, they prai-Batched the young linebacker make ieetlll f|a spectacular play that made a last- •rt hail ||g impression. tie foil: Wallace hit the Carter quarterback just as he released the ball to former cmuilBggic teammate receiver Rod Har- peoplfpv : said j| Harris had an open field in front tgainsiB him and the end zone 60 yards nforttKyvay, but Wallace got up and chased ge him the length of the field, finally egatapatching up with him close to the :rceni'Bo-yard line. me ol| j Even after being recruited by ean-A&M, Wallace still almost chose strip hpmetown Southern Methodist to ■aycollege football. toustl He didn’t make his mind up until w th( siting day, with an SMU recruiter 1 Venr Aaron Wallace takes down QB Tommy Hodson for his second sack against LSU. in one office and then-Aggie Assis tant Coach R.C. Slocum in another. When he arrived at A&M, coaches were concerned about his lack of size and techniques, but Wallace has worked hard since then to become the team’s top linebacker and have the reputation of making the big play at the right time. In his first collegiate play from scrimmage in 1986, Wallace was in serted into a third-and-long situa tion, and responded with his first ca reer sack — ironically against Hodson at LSU. He hasn’t looked back since. Wallace soon earned recognition as being half, along with linebacker John Roper, of the Blitz Brothers, a blitzing tandem who terrorized quar terbacks en route to leading de fenses that were nationally ranked. Roper, the 1987 Southwest Con ference Defensive Player of the Year, dominated the headlines on the Aggie defense. He was louder, larger and flashier than Wallace, of ten hiding behind mirrored sung lasses and not afraid to speak his mind. Wallace always was the quiet one. Roper and former A&M linebacker Dana Batiste used to tell him that he needed to show more emotion on the playing field, but that’s not Wal lace’s style. Consequently, he didn’t get as much publicity as Roper. But Roper’s gone now, and Wal lace is ready to emerge into his own as one of the best linebackers in the country. Wallace’s name has been men tioned as a candidate for the Butkus Award, an annual award given to the top linebacker or defensive end in the nation. Wallace is in good company, as others being considered for the tro phy are Percy Snow of Michigan State, Lamar Lathon of Houston, James Francis of Baylor, Terry Wooden of Syracuse and Darrick Brownlow of Illinois. A certain high NFL draft choice, Wallace almost decided to forego his senior year and enter the profes sional ranks a year early. He decided to stay, but found it difficult to watch the rest of the other starting A&M linebackers from last year get drafted: Roper by Chicago, Batiste by Miami and Adam Bob by the New York Jets. He now thinks he made the right choice to finish his degree, but he plays this season with one eye on op posing quarterbacks, the other on the 1990 NFL Draft. Wallace said he’d prefer to play on a team on the West Coast. Professional careers and large contracts will have to wait, though, as Wallace’s main goal this year is to guide A&M’s young defense through the rough waters of the early season. He remains hopeful for his inex perienced linebackers — seniors Je- roy Robinson and John Cooper and junior William Thomas — and is proud of their first performance against LSU. “These guys this year have some thing to prove,” Wallace said. “They’re hungry, trying to make a name for themselves. If we just keep the same tempo from the way we played last week, we’re going to be good. “We’re going to start doing a lot of work. We’re just going to go out, get the game plan for this week and go to Washington with the same attitu de.” One week at a time. That’s all Wallace has done during his career at A&M. Linebackers come and go, but Wallace will be remembered as one of the greatest the school has had. And when he begins to make his mark in the NFL next season, Wal lace will leave his own legacy behind here — at least until some new face emerges from his shadow. heeks confident young Spurs for real SAN ANTONIO (AP) — With the vbtf shock of being traded from Philadel- roU’llhia behind him, Maurice Cheeks ttleis-ftid Tuesday he is looking ahead to “ renct |jis role as a leader with the young iittsM a n Antonio Spurs. iteroid|j Cheeks, a guard who holds the INBA career record in steals with ■,942 and is 1 1th in assists with B.212, said he can adjust to a lead- ■rship role. I “I think the last couple of years I was the oldest one on the (76ers) team,” Cheeks said after a news con- Berence. “Now, maybe I have a few ■ears on a few guys.” ■ Along with guard David Wingate ■nd center Chris Welp, Cheeks was Baded last week for guard Johnny , nt ” Ibawkinsand forward Jay Vincent, i this! The three new Spurs were to un- fherf$ er g° physicals Wednesday. The Bacle is contingent on the players’ , w jn(j Bassing the exams. 1 Cheeks, an 1 1 -year veteran who cribe :. She ipens i and 3pen najor ftwo turns 33 on Friday, wouldn’t guar antee a playoff appearance this sea son. But he said the roster — which includes just three returning players from last year — looked promising. “I know they have a new team — a new nucleus,” he said. “After a couple of days of review ing the personnel, I see good possi bilities,” Cheeks said, adding that it sometimes “takes a while for a team to gel.” Asked how many years he’ll con tinue playing, Cheeks joked, “If you’re on a winning team, you never know how long you can play.” He added: “I have plenty of time left. I haven’t set a timetable for retire ment.” The Spurs and 76ers announced the trade Aug. 27 before Cheeks was told about it. But the four-time All- Star said he has no hard feelings for Philadelphia or former coach Jim Lynam. “I tried to sympathize with him (Lynam) after it all subsided,” Cheeks said. “I was rather disap pointed, to say the least, about the way it was handled.” Cheeks, Wingate and Welp join a Spurs squad that Coach Larry Brown has said is still too young. Sean Elliott, David Robinson and Jens-Uwe Gordon are rookies, Zarko Paspalj will be playing his first year in the NBA and Vernon Maxwell, Willie Anderson and Welp are sec ond-year players. Wingate is a third- year player. Other Spurs changes in the off season included the acquisition of center Caldwell Jones, 39, from the free agent market. The Spurs also acquired All-Star forward Terry Cummings, 28, from Milwaukee for Alvin Robertson and Greg Ander son. Wingate, who appeared in only 33 games last season because of knee problems, said his injury is healing. He played in a California league this summer. Welp also mentioned his play in California during the summer — against future teammate David Rob inson. “Yes, he had 28 points in the first game,” Welp said with a laugh. Spurs chairman Red McCombs said Tuesday the team had been eye ing Wingate and Welp, but Cheeks was the key to the trade. Assistant coach Gregg Popovich described Cheeks as a prototype point guard. “He’s the head that we now have to go with the body,” Po povich said. Cheeks was the last remaining player from the 76ers’ 1983 championship team. He averaged 12.2 points per game in 11 seasons with the 76ers. Astros come from on Glenn Wilson’ behind to beat Dodgers s eighth inning single HOUSTON (AP) — Glenn Wil- on singled with two outs in the eighth inning for the winning run as ouston came from behind to beat he Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 Tues- ’ay night in a game critical to the As- ros’ chances in the National League Vest. The victory, only the Astros’ fourth in 14 games, enabled Hous ton to remain tied with San Diego lor second place and to move within six games of division-leading San rancisco. The Giants lost to Cincin nati. “ SAVE LIVES AND MAKE cture- 1 bat thre< :asoij- arh .the' greet z de ■ Me? Trailing 2-0, Gerald Young started the rally when he reached on a force out. Craig Biggio doubled home Young and scored on a single by Glenn Davis, with Davis going to second on the throw to the plate. Wilson then lined his single to center against Alejandro Pena. Juan Agosto, 4-5, was the winner with two innings of scoreless relief. Larry Andersen struck out the side in the ninth for his third save. The win was Houston’s 31st one- run victory. That figure leads the major leagues. Pena, 3-3, went two-thirds of an inning, giving up two runs on three hits. Ramon Martinez pitched seven in nings, giving up five hits, striking out four and walking three. Rick Rhoden went six innings for Houston, giving up two runs on six hits while striking out two and walk ing one. Los Angeles took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Willie Randolph led off with a double down the right field line. One out later, Mike Marshall singled to right, driving in Ran dolph. MOVIES, MUNCHIES ...EVEN BOOKS ANDSCHOOL SUPPLIES. EXTRA MONEY DONATE PLASMA AND EARN UP TO $125 IN SEPTEMBER WESTGATE PLASMA CENTER, INC. Open Mon. Wed. Fri. 9 a.m.-4:15 p.m. Tues. & Thurs. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. 4223 Wellborn Rd. 846-8855 ITS TOURS & TRAVEL » 1055 Texas Avenue / Suite 104 / College Station, Texes 77840 409 / 764-9400 or TOLL FREE 800/ 533-8688 Aggie Football Charters A&M vs TCU Sept. 16, Fort Worth $35 lender „ (O/iaste/'l /Levin Charters available to all out-of -town games ^ravcl Call for details 199 1 TC AM/PM Clinics • Minor Emergencies • General Medical Care • Weight Reduction Program 10% Student Discount with I.D. Card ft? CLINICS 846-4756 3820 Texas (next to Randy Sims) 693-0202 2305 Texas Ave S. (next to U Rent M) College Station 779-4756 401 S. Texas (29th & Texas) PRE-LAW SOCIETY Meeting Wed., Sept. 6 8:30 pm 601 Rudder Guest Speaker Mark Yudof pre-law society Qean of UT Law School For Info. Fatima 693-8776 STUDY ABROAD OFFICE BRITISH MARSHALL DOM SCHOLARSHIPS FOR GRAD UATE STUDIES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM LEADING TO THE AWARD OF A BRITISH UNIVER SITY DEGREE COMPETITION NOW OPEN!! THUR., 7SEPT. 1-2 PM TUBS., 12 SEPT. 10-11 PM INFORMATIONAL MEETING: 251 W. BIZZELL HALL 251 W. BIZZELL HALL Study Abroad Office, 161 West Bizzell Hall 845-0544 Applications Now Available for the MSC JORDAN FELLOWS PROGRAM FELLOWS: 1. attend seminars on international topics 2. visit consulates and museums in Texas 3. are awarded grants for international travel In support of independent research, study, or Internship APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE at Informational Meeting, September 5, 1989 at 5:00 pm in Room 228 of the MSC. MSC Jordan Institute for International Awareness Room 223-F Browsing Library in the MSC 845-8770 TAMU Italian Semester Spring 1990 Study and live at the TAMU Center, “Santa Chiara,” in Castiglion Fiorentino S 1 ^(QKOK mmm §(0)4 FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT Study Abroad Office 161 Bizzell West, Phone: 845-0544