e Battalion
Sports
Monday, August 27,1990
avlas, Richardson to give opponents double trouble
ly DOUGLAS PILS
bm; Of The Battalion Staff
TSWli,
?d will] I T° r the first time since the days of'
bnic; fevin Murray and Craig Stump,
"exas A&M appears to hold a
iplairn >aded deck at quarterback.
Seldom does a football team pos-
ss a quar-
o cotr : .
U back who
an lead its
iffense to
ccomplish
reat tnings
ilmost at
Even
ess often
loes a team
ovcpave two
uar-
e r b a c k s
kith that
:inuinj
)neg(^
ast,
led ilii
irracb
ni
in ill
I It’s (having two
quarterbacks) a good
iituation to be in, in case of
|tnjunes. We both have the
»me goals and i think it will
good for the team/’
—Lance Pavlas
A&M quarterba
iwer.
Last year’s starter, senior Lance
avlas, is joined by junior Bucky
lichardson, w ho sat out last year as a
nedical redshirt after suffering a
nee injury in the 1988 finale
gainst Texas.
Pavlas finished last season with
he second best completion percent-
ge in A&M history with 59 percent
nd led the Aggies to an 8-4 record
nd a berth in the John Hancock
owl.
Despite suffering bruised ribs in
debiii he first quarter, Pavlas returned to
ally A&M from a 24-10 deficit to a
8-24 lead before Pittsburgh staged
ome last minute heroics to win the
Perhaps best remembered for his
'ly tin lard-nosed running style, Richard-
luins on also is known for his ability to
toikleap over defenders to avoid being
us Ik
ickled.
Richardson started most of the
988 season, when A&M was ineli-
;ible for a bowl appearance because
if NCAA sanctions, before going
town with the knee injury.
He ended the year second to Dar
en Lewis in total offense and led the
earn with an average of 5.6 yards a
fay.
However, it was as a true fresh-
nan in 1987 when he was the moti-
ating force behind A&M’s drive to
he Cotton Bowl.
Richardson started five games
A&M quarterback Lance Pavlas returned from a first quarter injury
to lead the Aggies to three second-half touchdowns in the 31-28
Battalion file photo by M. \fulvey
loss to Pittsburgh. Pavlas is the starter for 1990, but former starter
Bucky Richardson also returns to give the team quality depth.
and led the Aggies to a 35-10 victory
over Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl
where he was named the game’s
Outstanding Offensive Player, rush
ing for 96 yards and two touch
downs.
With two proven quarterbacks
there’s been some speculation in the
media of a quarterback controversy,
but head coach R.C. Slocum said
nothing’s further from the truth.
“People have mentioned that
there’s a possibility of a developing
quarterback controversy,” Slocum
said. “But I don’t see that happening
at all.
“I’m delighted that we have two
experienced quarterbacks and 1
think that’s a very positive thing for
us.”
Slocum said he’s not going to
make a big deal about who the start
ing quarterback is.
“Lance is the starter and I’ll use
Bucky strictly on a feel basis,” he
said. “Bucky’s been out of football
for a year and he’s behind Lance as
far as the mental aspect of the of
fense is concerned.
“As he improves and comes along
we will play both as the situation dic
tates.” *
Richardson showed no adverse af
fects from knee surgery last spring
and Slocum said he’s going at full
strength now with no problems.
“Bucky’s as healthy as he’s ever
been,” Slocum said. “In the spring
we purposely put him through full
contact drills to see how the knee
would react. I couldn’t have been
more pleased. He was scrambling
and showed the same mobility he’d
always had.”
A week before practice started,
Slocum said he spoke with the two
quarterbacks and offensive coordi
nator Bob Toledo to discuss the situ
ation.
“They are both unselfish people
and team players,” Slocum said.
“Both of them understand what’s
going on. They are not competing
against each other —they are com
peting against themselves to make
the team better.”
Pavlas said he’s not worried about
who will play and when.
“That’s a coach’s decision,” Pavlas
said. “My goal is to get us back into
the Cotton Bowl. I’m going to do
whatever it takes to accomplish that
goal and work on getting better each
week.”
Richardson said he still needs
some work with the new offense but
mentally he’s ready to play.
“I’m not going to worry about it,”
Richardson said. “I’ll be playing
whenever Coach Slocum feels he
needs me, so I have to go into each
game expecting to play at any time.
“I’ll get my opportunities to play
and I’ll be happy as long as we win.”
Slocum tabbed Pavlas the starter
because he started all last year and
has experience in Toledo’s offense.
“Lance has dramatically improved
over where he was last year,” he said.
“He’s now assured of himself and ev
erybody’s developed confidence in
his abilities — both the coaching
staff and his teammates.”
Last year Pavlas took his lumps
both on the field and from critics,
throwing two more interceptions
(12) than touchdowns (10).
“That’s where I need to improve
the most over last year,” Pavlas said.
“I need to learn not to try to make
the big play all the time and let the
offense work like it’s supposed to.
I’ve got to know when to go ahead
and take the sack.
“I want to improve on what we
started last year. I think we have a
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