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-
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.the'
greet
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■ 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.
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PRE-LAW SOCIETY
Meeting Wed., Sept. 6
8:30 pm 601 Rudder
Guest Speaker
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pre-law society Qean of UT Law School
For Info. Fatima 693-8776
STUDY ABROAD OFFICE
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DOM
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Internship
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September 5, 1989 at 5:00 pm
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