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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 27, 1992)
A/l Sports Monday, April 27, 1992 The Battalion Pago 5 NFL rich with star-studded Aggies MS WCfHr Y0i/ new m Coryatt, Smith headline A&M's part in big show By Chris Whitley The Battalion by sac • no wn * ro mi our ms KiS! nil w m on Quentin Coryatt's selection as the second overall pick in the NFL draft highlighted a quartet of Texas A&M players who saw their dreams of playing professional football come true Sunday. The Indianapolis Colts selected Coryatt as their second pick behind 1992 Draft top pick Steve Emtman of Washing ton. He shares the highest position an Aggie has ever been selected in the draft since John David Crow was picked second in 1958. A&M cornerback Kevin Smith was selected by the Dallas Cowboys as the 17th pick in the first round. Defensive lineman Mark Wheeler was taken in the third round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the 59th pick overall. Aggie safety Chris Grooms was chosen by the Los An- at home one® g e ] es Rams in the fifth round with Tun-Oi laraderie fa t's because tl» the 114th pick. Quarterback Bucky Richardson and five other A&M players eligible for the draft were not selected in Sunday's action. The second half of the twelve-round draft will take place Monday in New York. Coryatt, a Baytown native, had 59 solo tackles and was instrumental in making A&M the No. 1 defensive team in the country last year. He said he was anxious to play in the NFL. "I'm happy with the decision," Coryatt said. "I'm ready to be in camp on time and ready to get start ed." Colts head coach Ted Marchibro- da was satisfied in the selection of Coryatt and assured that he would keep him as an inside linebacker. “We anticipate to keep Coryatt inside where he would feel more comfortable, because that's what he did at Texas A&M," Marchibroda said. "Our first thought going into the draft was that we would draft the best athletes available, and we're very happy with them." Colts' owner Robert Irsay said he felt Coryatt and Emtman could be signed to a contract within 24 hours. The Cowboys, who originally had the 13th pick, traded down to See Four Aggies/Page 6 Former A&M linebacker Quentin Coryatt and former cornerback Kevin Smith were first-round selections in Sunday's Battalion file photob NFL Draft. Coryatt was drafted second by the Indianapolis Colts. Smith was taken by the Dallas Cowboys with the 17th selection. n contest ollip getting readjl ' popular event as somethingti sphere of Ae 'Austin isajt are reallyliltiz uch events. 1 f spectators,® d out blaitesi e museurasta the compete manshipislit! and booingii big money ere age for the* ^ and a movief ere for theglon former champ a 1 lock. Trade-wheeling Cowboys need Smith and then some amage : e Aramony e in February, lany charitiest :ed Waysimili oticednoin® Am reports ah' earned $463,® on the Concoi • hauffeured ►Way of Amen headed, is am) on that serves* i Tch, advertisi - m for 2,1001« STEVE O'BRIEN Sportswriter Yi eah, yeah. Whatever. The Cowboys drafted Texas A&M cornerback Kevin Smith and isn't life wonder ful down in Valley Ranch? World hunger has ended, pollution has stopped and the hole in the ozone has sewn itself shut. Come on, people. It's great for A&M and the Southwest Conference that Smith was picked in the first round and went to a Texas team, but it doesn't really matter. All that matters is what Smith can do for the Cowboys and what other players were taken by Dallas. Smith can help Dallas in the defensive backfield. But what else did the Cowboys get? They sure didn't get what they need ed. After Smith, Dallas hauled in East Carolina linebacker Robert Jones, Jackson State wide receiver Jimmy Smith and Ari zona State safety Darren Woodson. With these players, the Cowboys got a lot of numbers but failed to get what they real ly needed - a high-caliber, impact player. In terms of numbers, of course, it was a successful draft for the Cowboys, and they're not even through yet. There will Dallas drafts defense Page 6 be seven more rounds today. But the Cowboys seemed to stumble after they took K. Smith at No. 17 and then Jones at No. 24. See O'Brien/Page 6 The SWC Select First Round 2. Quentin Coryatt, LB, Indianapolis 6. David Klingler, QB, Cincinnati 17. Kevin Smith, DB, Dallas Second Round 54. Shane Dronett, DL, Denver 55. James Patton, DL, Buffaio Third Round 59. Mark Wheeler, DT, Tampa Bay 75. Tommy Jeter, DT, Philadelphia Fourth Round 104. Frankie Smith, DB, Atlanta 110. Chuck Johnson, OL, Denver Fifth Round 114. Chris Crooms, DB, L A. Rams 132. Santana Dotson, DT, Tampa Bay Oilers make best of draft HOUSTON (AP) - The Houston Oil ers,, without a first-round pick, chose ver satile Alabama State linebacker Eddie Robinson in the second round of Sunday's NFL draft as the 50th pick overall. Robinson recorded 77 tackles, 33 unas sisted, and had 6 12 quarterback sacks for the Hornets last season and six tackles be hind the line of scrimmage "He qualifies as a big backer but I saw him in the All-Star games and he played all three positions and didn't look out of place in any of them," Houston coach Jack Pardee said. The Oilers were projected to take a wide receiver with their first pick to help fill Plan B losses that included the club's all-time leading receiver Drew Hill, who signed with the Atlanta Falcons: But they also wanted to add depth to their linebacker corps. "It's no secret that we were looking to ward linebackers and wide receivers," Pardee said. "He's a big backer with speed. He's played different roles and he'll fit in with some of the defensive packages we use." Robinson, 6-1, 241, said he expected to be chosen in the second or third round of the draft. Robinson, from New Orleans, La., attended Alabama State his first two years on an academic scholarship where he majored in chemistry and switched to an athletic scholarship his final two years. "I can't say what it will be like, jump ing from a 1-AA school to the NFL," Robinson said. "But playing in the All- Star games helped my confidence and go ing to the combines showed me I'm on the same level." The Oilers did not have a selection in the first round for the second year in a row. They traded this year's pick to the San Diego Chargers for defensive end Lee Williams. The Oilers had three second-round picks last season and two in the third round. All three saw playing time last sea son. Syracuse center John Flannery started eight games at guard for injured Doug Dawson; second-round pick Darryl Lewis of Arizona started one game at corner- back; and Steve Jackson, a third-round pick from Purdue, started two games at cornerback. Last-minute Aggies pull out UH series From Staff and Wire Reports 12pm-2p!it ractice final Ba? 2-4 pm I nal Exam Era® 4-6pm Fh- -actice Final E* Math 141 Ch9 5pm-7ptft Econ202 Ch. 12 5pm-7pm HOUSTON - The Texas A&M baseball team now has a new mission for the re mainder of their season - hold onto sec ond place in the Southwest Conference. The Aggies won two of three games against the University of Houston this weekend and improved their record to 33- 17 overall and 17-13 in SWC play. The series win maintained A&M's grip on second place in the conference. The Texas Longhorns clinched the conference title with a three-game sweep of Texas Tech this weekend. Senior centerfielder Tim Holt played a key role in both of the Aggies' wins. In the third game of the series, Holt broke up a 1-1 tie in the ninth with a single to cen- terfield scoring Scott Smith. Leftfielder Eric Gonzalez provided two insurance runs with a double to close out the scoring. James Nix picked up the win in relief to improve his record to 9-4. In Saturday's first game. Cougar pitch er Jeff Haas scattered six hits through sev en innings as Houston beat the A&M, 2-1. The two teams were tied, 1-1, in the sixth inning when A&M's Brian Thomas, playing first base for the first time all sea son, dropped the third out of the inning, allowing Cougar Scott Kohler to score. The losing pitcher was Brian Harrison, who allowed six hits and two runs while walking one and striking out one. With the loss, Harrison's record fell to 5-4. In Friday's series opener. Holt took center stage once again. He drove in two runs in the ninth Friday to break a 2-2 tie. Jeff Granger went six-plus innings, strik ing out two for the Aggies before being re placed by Nix, who picked up the win. Lady Aggie pitchers trip Roadrunners By Doug Foster The Battalion DARRIN HILL/ The Battalion A&M's Sharia Cannon slides safely into third base as a Lady Roadrunner awaits a throw in the second game of the Aggies' doubleheader against UTSA last Friday. The Texas A&M softball team contin ued its April hot streak by defeating the University of Texas-San Antonio in a dou bleheader Friday behind solid pitching performances from senior Dana Mitchell and freshman Jennifer Mortensen. A&M improved its record to 41-19 with wins of 6-2 and 3-0 at Lady Aggie Softball Field. Mitchell (17-5) fought off illness to hold the Lady Roadrunners to two runs while giving up seven hits in six innings of work. Mortensen came in to secure the win in the seventh by retiring all three UTSA batters. Sharia Cannon paced the Lady Aggie offense with a 2-for-2 performance and an RBI. In the second game, Mortensen (24-11) had one of her finest outings. She gave up only one hit on the way to her 17th shutout of the season. She carried a perfect game into the fifth, only to have it broken up on a single by UTSA's Melisa Glazener. Brock said, considering the stress put upon his players during this time of the year, he was glad to see they were able to keep their minds on softball. "Right now, it's that time of the year with classes and make-up work and finals coming up that makes it tough to stay fo cused," Brock said. "I'm just glad the kids were able to come out and stay focused and win both of these games." Brock made special mention of Mitchell's solid performance and what it meant to his team for her to play despite being sick. "I was a little worried about Dana be cause she's been sick all week," he said. "She was able to give us a pretty good game, but I decided to take her out in the last inning because she was just about on her last leg." The Lady Aggies moved their record during the month of April to 17-3. Brock said it was important for the Aggies to stay hot late in the season if A&M was looking for a post-season re gional bid from the NCAA selection com mittee. "We've been on a roll, and we just hope the committee will see that," he said. "We still play as an independent and we're locked in a region that's full of con ference teams. So we hope our record will be enough for them to pay attention to us." The Lady Aggies next series will be at home against the University of Texas-Ar- lington on May 6. The Aggies and the Lady Mavericks split two games of a doubleheader last week, and A&M leads the season series two games to one. After that, A&M will travel to Ruston, La., on May 9 to take on Louisiana Tech in its final regular season games.