Wednesday • October 26, 1994
The Battalion • Page 5
5 PORTS
Gridiron
action better
than studying
DREW
DIENER
Sportswriter
I have finally figured out why my
GPA is traditionally lower in
the fall than it is in the spring.
Football.
I can’t study on Saturdays. Col
lege football is on at least three
television stations, begging me to
put away my textbooks and watch
a plethora of future millionaires
compete against one another for
nothing more than the pride of
their respective universities.
I can’t study on Sundays either
because professional football is on at
least three television stations, beg
ging me to put away my textbooks
and watch a plethora of millionaires
compete against one another for
nothing more than the paychecks
and potential incentives provided by
their respective owners.
It doesn’t really matter who is
playing: If it’s on the tube. I’m going
to watch it. Sometimes I wish I was
as possessed by the fundamentals of
ecology as much as I am by the fun
damentals of the run and shoot.
If only I could associate the
names of fictional characters with
the names of the books they appear
in like I can the names of third-
string quarterbacks with the
names of the teams they appear on.
If only my professors could hold
my attention during their lectures
as well as John Madden and Pat
Summerall can when they call a
game on Sunday afternoon.
If only I could take mental notes
in class like I can when I watch
NFL Prime Time.
If only I spent as much time read
ing my textbooks as I do reading the
football section of the sports page.
If only I put in as much time sit
ting down in front of my books as I
do sitting down in front of the TV.
If only I knew as much about the
office of the President of the United
States as I do about the office of the
commissioner of the NFL.
If only I knew as much about the
automotive labor unions as I do
about the NFL players’ union.
If only none of this was true,
then I would not be writing this col
umn at all. In fact, I probably
wouldn’t even be a paid sports-
writer. I’d be a paid thesis writer.
The cold hard fact is that all of
this is true. This, unfortunately, is
the way I was meant to live my lifei
I’m Drew Diener and I’m a foot
ball junkie.
How can I improve my condition?
I know it would be for the best if I
abandoned this wretched lifestyle.
What good does it do for me to
know Florida State cornerback
Clifton Abraham wears number
two on his jersey? What kind of
good does it do for me to know that
Clifton Abraham plays for Florida
State? What kind of good does it do
for me to know that Clifton Abra
ham is a cornerback? What kind of
good does it do for me to even know
who Clifton Abraham is?
Will knowing the most obscure
trivia like that get me a job one day?
The law firm of Kauffman,
McGlauffmann, and Higginbotham...
Mr. Higginbotham: Tell me
Mr. Diener, what can you bring to
our firm?
Me: Well, I uh, well sir I uh, you
know, hmmm... Oh yeah, I know a
whole lot about uh, uh. Football,
that’s it. I know football.
Mr. Kauffmann: And that’s go
ing to help you make our coffee,
See Diener/Page 6
Walker steps up in starting position
Sophomore linebacker has 41 tackles
By Tom Day
The Battalion
With the loss of stand-out inside
linebacker Jason Atkinson at the end
of last season, the Aggie football team
figured finding an adequate replace
ment would be a tough chore. Howev
er, the search was a short one as the
coaches quickly found their man in
highly touted recruit Larry Walker II.
In his first year as a starter, the
sophomore inside linebacker is using
this season to develop and to learn
the ropes.
“I just want to play to the best of my
ability and get used to the new position
and everything,” Walker said.
Coming to A&M as a freshman.
Walker looked at the talent at his posi
tion and wondered if he would ever get
a shot to play.
“When you first get here and you see
those great linebackers and the tradi
tion they have and you kind of wonder.
Will I ever get to play?”’ Walker said.
“But my parents helped me out a lot
because they always told me to keep
the faith, and I had confidence in my
abilities and worked real hard.”
Although he was a consensus Texas
Top 100 selection and a nationally rat
ed linebacker in high school, Walker
was primarily acknowledged for his
stand-out accomplishments on offense.
As a running back in his final
year at Class 3A Rusk High
School, Walker earned honorable
mention all-state honors while
rushing for 1,307 yards and 26
touchdowns.
Defensive coordinator and in
side linebacker coach Tommy Tu-
berville believes Walker will reach
his full potential once he develops
the right defensive mentality.
“When you’re an offensive
player in high school and you
come in to play a lot of defense
in college, it takes a while to
pick up that defensive mentali
ty,” Tuberville said. “Defense
hasn’t come natural to him, so
he’s had to work pretty hard.
“He’s really starting to adapt,
his technique has gotten better
and he has improved every week.”
Walker conditioned and lifted
weights in the off-season to prepare
himself for his current starting role.
“Last year, I didn’t get much
playing time, so during the off
season I worked out and got as
strong as I could so during the spring
I could earn a starting position,”
Walker said.
Tuberville said Walker’s tremendous
speed is what impresses him the most.
“He’s one of the fastest guys we’ve
got on the team and that’s the reason
Stew Milne/THE Battalion
Sophomore linebacker Larry Walker, Jr. rushes toward the Baylor quarterback.
he’s playing,” Tuberville said. “He’s
fast and he works hard, but he hasn’t
quite reached his potential yet.”
Walker is third on the team with 41
tackles as the young “Wrecking Crew”
defense is once again terrorizing op
posing offenses. Walker believes team
speed separates this year’s defense
from those of previous years.
“We have a lot more speed, overall,
than most of the defenses of the
past,” Walker said. “We have a lot of
young people who will always get bet
ter each week and each year.
“We’re playing good right now, but
I think we have a long way to go.”
Volleyball team ready to face Owls tonight
Lady Aggies try to improve winning streak to four after impressive weekend
By Jason Holstead
The Battalion
After two road wins last weekend
against the University of Texas-Arling-
ton and Baylor University, the Texas
A&M women’s volleyball team returns
home to play Rice University at 7:00
p.m. in G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The Lady Aggies are currently riding
a three game winning streak.
Head coach Laurie Corbelli said
though A&M won both weekend match
es, there were several areas where the
team could improve.
“At Arlington, we didn’t have our
most impressive offensive night, ” Cor
belli said. “We worked hard at trying to
keep our ball control where it has been,
which has been very good.
“At Baylor we were really off; our
ball handling suffered, we got out-dug,
and our defense was lacking. I don’t
think it was a intentional lack of effort,
but just inexperience in the surround
ings. But we still took home the win,
and I was very pleased with the win.”
The match tonight with the Lady
Owls marks the second meeting of the
season between the two teams. Texas
A&M traveled to Houston three weeks
ago, beating Rice three games to one
(15-12, 12-15, 15-7, 15-9).
Cindy VanderWoude, a freshman
middle blocker for the Lady Aggies,
"One weakness (of Rice) is
one of their newest mem
bers happens to be their set
ter, and I think that hurts
them at times.
Laurie Corbelli,
A&M volleyball coach
said the Lady Aggies should see a dif
ferent Rice team tonight.
“I know they weren’t playing as well
as they could, their best player (Sammy
Waldron) was not playing as well as she
can, so I know we are going to be ready
to try to shut her down ,” VanderWoude
said. “(We need to) try to play as one
group instead of six individuals, it
worked in (Texas) Tech. We played in a
groove and it just helped a lot.”
Corbelli said she thinks the Lady Owls
will be a tough test for the Lady Aggies.
“The number one offensive weapon
they have is Sammy Waldron, and she
is playing better and better every
match,” Corbelli said. “I’m sure they
are tired of losing the close ones
(matches), and we are really going to
have to contain her.
“One weakness (of Rice) is one of
their newest members happens to be
their setter, and I think that hurts them
at times. We can capitalize on that by
hitting at the setters, we can draw them
into some offensive troubles.”
The Lady Owls return four starters
from a 1993 team that finished with a
13-18 record, including a dismal 0-10
Southwest conference mark and a
sixth place finish. Waldron leads the
team in hitting percentage (.312), kills
(303) and digs (176).
After tonight’s game, the Lady Ag
gies continue their three-game homes-
tand Friday night as they host the Uni
versity of Georgia Lady Bulldogs at 7
o’clock at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
Thomas wins SWC offensive player award
Senior running back rushed for 136 yards, two receptions for 71 yards
from Groveton The Associated Press
Offensive Player of the Week honor.
He rushed 136 yards on 21 carries
(AP)- Texas A&M fans leave
games talking about how the defense
performed or that flashy run by Lee-
land McElroy. When they read about
the game the next
day, they notice
Rodney Thomas'
Quietly, Thomas
is a major force in
most of the Aggies’
victories, piling up
impressive statistics’
He stood out Sat
urday when he
scored the game’s
only touchdown on
a 60-yard pass from
Corey Pullig, giving the Aggies a 7-0
victory over Rice.
It earned the unassuming senior
Thomas
and caught two passes for 71 yards.
Rodney Thomas is no delayed re
action for Aggie offensive coordinator
Steve Ensminger.
“He’s the biggest part of our of
fense, our leader,” Ensminger said. “I
couldn’t be more pleased with Rod
ney. He had a little bit of an injury
last week but he told me ‘don’t worry,
coach. I’ll be ready to play.’”
He was ready to play and just as
reserved after the game about his
performance, giving proper credit to
his teammates for his eighth 100-
yard performance that boosted him
into sixth place on the school rushing
list with 2,811 yards.
“The offensive line has worked
hard throughout the year to get bet
ter so most of the credit goes to
them,” Thomas said. “My job is just
to run hard and do whatever I can to
help the team.”
The Aggies were 20-point favorites
against the Owls, who haven’t beaten
the Aggies in 14 years.
“It doesn’t mean the offense played
a bad game,” Thomas defended. “It
just means we didn’t capitalize.”
McElroy, among the nation’s top
kick returners, gets more notice be
cause of his flashy moves and excep
tional speed. Thomas is almost as
fast, but likes a more physical game.
“You’ll see Rodney in there a lot
on the goal lines because he likes to
drive it in there,” Ensminger said.
“Leeland will make you miss out in
the open field.”
Dallas impressed
with Peete s clutch
performance
IRVING (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys
bought themselves a $575,000 quarter
back insurance policy in the offseason.
Rodney Peete was worth every nickel.
“You talk about somebody stepping up
and producing when we needed him,”
said Dallas running back Emmitt Smith.
“It was nice to know that we have a
backup who can come in and win.”
Peete threw two touchdown passes
as the Cowboys rallied for a 28-21 victo
ry over the Arizona Cardinals after
starter Troy Aikman suffered a concus
sion in the first quarter.
“Peete gave an exceptional perfor
mance,” said Dallas coach Barry
Switzer. “He started off a little slow,
but that’s because he never got to exe
cute the game plan in practice. As he
got better the team got better.”
Peete had played his entire five-year
NFL career with the Detroit Lions be
fore deciding to move on.
“In Detroit you were on a constant
roller-coaster ride,” said Peete, an on-
and-off starter with the Lions, but a
backup when Erik Kramer led them to
the NFC Central title two of the last
three seasons. “I’d be the starter at the
start of the season then they’d move
somebody else in.”
Peete said he needed a good game,
because his new teammates weren’t
sure what he would do.
“This gives them confidence that I
can go in and make things happen,”
Peete said. “It was important for me to
show them that I can get them into the
end zone. Teammates never really have
total confidence in you until you do
something in the heat of battle.”
Peete completed 12-of-19 passes for
186 yards. He took the Cowboys on
three touchdown drives.
“I was a little shaky at first. I hadn’t
had a lot of reps in practice and it took
time for me to get comfortable,” he said.
“We ran our basic offense. We didn’t cut
back much at all.”
Offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese
gave Peete high marks.
“He did the job,” Zampese said. “It
was pretty impressive considering he
had to come off the sidelines cold.”
Impressive enough that the Cowboys
won’t worry if Peete has to play again
Sunday at Cincinnati.
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