Page 6
The Battalion
That was then
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Top: Someone will have to step forward to
make the impact former A&M linebacker
William Thomas did.
Left: Former safety Larry Horton wasn’t
afraid to hit. The Aggies won’t miss a beat
with sophomore safety Patrick Bates.
Right: Linebacker Anthony Williams was lost
to academics. Sophomore Jason Atkinson is
now thrust into the spotlight..
Middle: Former A&M linebacker and all-time
SWC leading rusher Darren Lewis is in the
NFL now. Who will step forward to fill his
shoes?
Bottom: Former wide receiver Gary Oliver
has graduated. The Aggies are young at the
split end. Will Richardson have someone to
throw to?
■—I
No Quests
Richardson
may be the
answer to
the Aggies'
questions
Richard Tijerina
Special to the Battalion
B ucky Richardson is used to the questions
by now. Is the pressure of being Texas
A&M's starting quarterback too much?
Can the Aggies find the road back to Dallas?
Can he throw the ball?
The answers are always the same: No. Yes.
Yes. However, now Richardson is fielding
questions he thought he never would have to.
As one of two returning starters on offense,
Richardson, like it or not, has become the Ag
gies' elder statesman and younger players
ook to him for answers. It's a scenario he's
seen before.
''They ask me questions about what I did in
certain situations," Richardson said. "I was
asking the seniors the same questions when I
was a freshman. I think it's a cycle that all
players go through. It does feel weird that I'm
being asked the questions now. It seems like I
just got here."
Richardson arrived at A&M in 1987 as an
unknown recruit but established himself as
the starter midway through the season. Since
then, he has compiled a 14-5-1 record as a
starter and enters 1991 as the steadying force
on a young squad.
Darren Lewis is a Chicago Bear. Robert
Wilson is a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. The only
returning receiver with any game experience
has caught a grand total of five passes in an
Aggie uniform. Mike Arthur has left. So too
has most of last year's offensive line.
Only Richardson remains. Head coach R.C.
Slocum wouldn't have it any other way.
"I'd much rather prefer to do it the way
we're doing it - with a green offensive line but
an experienced quarterback- than the other
way around," Slocum said. "Bucky's one of
those guys that makes everyone around him
better. Because of that, they play better than
maybe they should. That really helps. Our
whole gameplan undergoes quite a change if
something happens to Bucky."
What is Slocum's worst nightmare? Try a
repeat of Nov. 24, 1988 when Richardson's
world shattered along with his knee on the
turf of Austin's Memorial Stadium. The injury
came on a routine option run, but Richardson
spent the next year in rehabilitation and, of
course, answering the questions.
Would he be able to run again? Would
there be a place for him in Offensive Coordi
nator Bob Toledo's passing attack? Would
Bucky Richardson ever be the same again?
Too many questions. Richardson knew the
answers would take care of themselves.
"When Coach Toledo got here, people
asked me where I was going to transfer, that
he was a passing quarterback coach and he
wasn't going to let me run the ball. But I had
enough confidence in him, and I hoped to
gain his confidence to where he would let me
run the ball. It's worked out great for me.
"The people that really matter to me - the
coaches and my teammates - have never told
me what I'm not able to do. It's outsiders look
ing in saying Bucky can't do this and Bucky
can't do that. I've never paid any attention to
it."
The Southwest Conference has been paying
plenty of attention to Richardson since 1987.
Former coach Jackie Sherrill, in an attempt to
breathe life into a sagging A&M offense,
rolled the dice and inserted him into the
Southern Mississippi game. Richardson re
sponded with an 82-yard touchdown run.
Three games later, Richardson had en
trenched himself as the starter and ended up
the offensive Most Valuable Player in the Cot
ton Bowl. He picked up his second MVP tro
phy last December in the 65-14 rout of
Brigham Young in the Sea World Holiday
Bowl. Both those bowl games were against
Heisman Trophy winners - Notre Dame
flanker Tim Brown and BYU quarterback Ty
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