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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 8, 1995)
er 8,199) Friday September 8, 1995 The Battalion Sports i rn about) A&M, ican, a n. So many >n gradu al part of I hance to | fnericans n a ban- • Satur- 36 and a ^egisla- i dress. 1 with a g- ticket Wallace Crystal arship. mted in udents i\ eight -o stand i wait a ie deci- a city’s said it aintain lection n may t not ow or which mary id. don't lo not .ravel been es e in /arn ikes t of ret on- ich ire nd om in nt. ies er a er he Fun-loving Collins spearheads Aggie line □ In two seasons, the offensive line man has made the All-SWC team twice. By Philip Leone The Battalion On page 47 of the Texas A&M football me dia guide is a mug shot of Calvin Collins wear ing an industrial-strength grin. He looks hap py, almost radiant — if it is possible for a 6- foot-3-inch, 290-pound man to look radiant. Quick, somebody tell him he is an offensive lineman before it is too late. Offensive linemen do not have easy jobs. They rarely receive fame or glamour, and the only time they do receive attention is when they get flagged for holding or let a defensive lineman sack the quarterback. So why is Calvin Collins smiling? He’s good, that’s why. Collins has been a blocking machine at right guard for the Aggies the past two seasons and has developed into one of the dominant offensive linemen in the nation. Described by his team mates as talkative and fun- loving, “Big Cal” is also known for his extra-large personality. “Hey, I’m just a little kid in a big man’s body,” Collins said. “I like having a good time with things. There’s no reason why you can’t have fun and take care of busi ness at the same time.” Taking care of business is exactly what Collins has done thus far in his career at Texas A&M. As a freshman, Collins blocked his way to All-Southwest Conference and Freshman All- American honors as the only starting under classman on an A&M offensive line dominated by seniors. His sophomore performance was just as im pressive. Collins grabbed a first-team All-SWC selection and also received honorable mention rathe All-American team. “Calvin has tremendous quickness and foot work for someone his size,” Offensive Line Coach Mike Sherman said. “His explosiveness and leverage allows him to get up under peo ple and drive them out of the play. “He’s just a quality young man who wants to be the best and works hard to make sure he gets there.” Coming into this season, Collins is once again an All-American candidate and a virtual lock for conference honors. Collins, however, has more important things on his mind. “I don’t worry about that kind of stuff. I could get the All-City of Bryan award, and I’d still be happy,” said Collins. “The national championship is the thing with me. We all know we have a chance at it. That’s what we’re shooting for.” The Aggies took their first step on their na tional championship quest with last week’s 33- 17 win over Louisiana State, and Collins and his fellow offensive linemen did their part by blowing open plenty of holes for Heisman Tro phy Candidate Leeland McElroy. It’s a good thing that McElroy had 229 yards and three touchdowns; anything less against LSU, and Collins would have heard about it back in his room at Cain Hall. Collins, from Beaumont West Brook High, and McEl roy, out of Beaumont Cen tral, have been roommates since the Fall of 1992. The two standout players, who once starred for rival high schools, have formed a strong friendship. “Leeland deserves all the awards and acco lades he can get his hands on,” Collins said. “He’s quiet and humble and was brought up to take everything in stride. “I don’t mind blocking for that guy at all. He’s got my vote for the Heisman.” If everything goes as planned, Collins might be knocking NFL defenders out of his room mate’s way in a few years. “Calvin has the potential and overall talent to play pro ball,” Sherman said. “His height might be the only thing holding him back, but he definitely has the strength and agility.” "I'm just a lit tle boy trapped in a big man's body." — Calvin Collins Offensive Lineman Sirr Parker: Heir to the throne 0 Parker was rat ed the top run ning back in 1995 in California. By David Winder The Battalion Greg Hill had to wait for Darren Lewis. Rodney Thomas had to wait for Greg Hill. Leeland McElroy had to wait for Rodney Thomas. Now, Texas A&M freshman Sirr Parker has to wait for Leeland McElroy to finish his career at Texas A&M to see if he can follow in the huge footsteps of re cent Aggie tailbacks. “I don’t look at it as pressure,” Parker said. T look at it as what I was recruited to do. That’s what I’ve been doing all my life. It’s like waking up and brushing your teeth.” As a senior at Locke High School in Los An geles, Parker was usu ally able to keep his football uniform as pearly white as his teeth. In 10 games, Parker rushed for 1,129 yards and 19 touch downs. After the season, he was named to the All- USA second team by USA Today. SuperPrep magazine tabbed him as the No. 5 running back in the nation. Highly recruited out of high school, Parker narrowed his college choices down to UCLA and Texas A&M. On national signing day, Parker called A&M Head Coach R.C. Slocum during the Ag gies’ recruiting press conference to announce he was College Station- bound. “I told him that I would call him when I knew,” Parker said. “I wanted to wait until the day of to decide where I was going to go. I went with my gut feel ing. “UCLA was just too close to home, and the running back positions See PARKER, Page 8 Stew Milne, The Battalion A&M freshman running back Sirr Parker makes a quick cut during practice. Li—-L : mm illfft Stew Milne, The Battalion Texas A&M junior guard Calvin Collins charges onto the field during team introductions at Kyle Field be fore the team's home opener against Louisiana State University last Saturday. Ensminger seeks perfect game □ Heisman Tro phy candidates are nothing new for Ensminger. By Kristina Buffin The Battalion Texas A&M Offen sive Coordinator Steve Ensminger will admit that he is a perfection ist. In fact, his goal for the offense this season is to play a perfect game in which no er rors are made. “I’m excited about this season,” Ens minger said. “Our goal is to have our offense go through an entire game without a mistake. No penalties or missed as signments, just to see how many points we can score. One reason I’m here is I want this team to be good and have every play be per fect.” Ensminger came to A&M in 1994 from the University of Georgia. At Georgia, Ensminger was the passing game coordinator and quar terback coach. Ens minger has made a smooth transition to A&M which he attrib utes to Head Coach R.C. Slocum and Defen sive Line Coach Bill Johnson. “The transition has been easy,” Ensminger said. “R.C. has been a good friend, and I’ve known Bill Johnson from Louisiana Tech and McNeese State.” Ensminger came to an A&M team that had an established offense with quarterback Corey Pullig and running backs Rodney Thomas and Leeland McElroy. Those factors allowed Ensminger to try out new ideas. “I had new ideas such as a three-wide out and four-wide outs system,” Ensminger said. “Usually you can’t really try out new things in a new system, but we had experience coming back, and we were able to put more plays in. There’s no See Ensminger, Page 8 Robyn Calloway, The Battalion Offensive Coordinator Steve Ensminger looks over the Aggies' practice Thursday afternoon. THE BATTALION’S 1995 STAFF PICKS Thc Match-ups Nick Ceorgandis Kristina Buffin David Winder Tom Day Lisa Nance Philip Leone Robin Greathouse Rob Clark Sterling Hayman Stew Milne Kyle Littlefield Michael Landauer Gretchen Perrenot Stacy Stanton Jody Holley Commentary Texas Tech at Penn State Penn State Penn State Penn State Penn State Penn State Penn State Penn State Penn State Penn State Penn State Penn State Penn State Penn State Texas Tech Penn State Penn State: Paterno outdresses Dykes Iowa State at TCU TCU TCU TCU TCU TCU TCU TCU TCU TCU TCU TCU TCU Iowa State TCU TCU TCU: Cyclones run out of air Navy at SMU SMU SMU Navy SMU SMU SMU SMU SMU SMU SMU SMU SMU Navy SMU SMU SMU: Ponies unseat Midshipmen La. Tech at Houston La. Tech La. Tech Houston Houston Houston Houston La. Tech Houston Houston Houston Houston La. Tech La. Tech Houston La. Tech UH: Cougars maul Ragin' Cajuns Georgia at #8 Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Georgia Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee: Bulldogs Volunteer to lose #25 Notre Dame at Purdue Notre Dame Notre Dame Notre Dame Notre Dame Notre Dame Notre Dame Notre Dame Notre Dame Notre Dame Notre Dame Notre Dame Notre Dame Purdue Notre Dame Notre Dame Notre Dame: Purdue's no Northwestern.. LSU at Mississippi State LSU LSU MSU LSU LSU MSU LSU MSU LSU MSU LSU MSU LSU MSU MSU LSU: Tigers prevent Rebel uprising.... #12 UCLA at BYU UCLA UCLA UCLA UCLA UCLA UCLA UCLA UCLA UCLA UCLA UCLA UCLA BYU UCLA UCLA UCLA: Bruins win battle of acronyms myirginia at #23 NC St. NC State Virginia Virginia Virginia Virginia Virginia NC State Virginia NC State Virginia Virginia Virginia NC State NC State Virginia Virginia: Wolfpack roadkill for Cavaliers Steelers at Oilers Oilers Steelers Oilers Oilers Oilers Steelers Oilers Steelers Steelers Steelers Oilers Steelers Steelers Steelers Oilers Steelers: Oilers can't score, can't win... Broncos at Cowboys Cowboys Broncos Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Broncos Cowboys Cowboys: Deion or no Deion Dolphins at Patriots Patriots Dolphins Patriots Dolphins Dolphins Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Dolphins Patriots Patriots Dolphins Dolphins Patriots: AFC East changing of the guard Last Week 9-3 10-2 10-2 9-3 10-2 9-3 10-2 8-4 11-1 12-0 10-2 11-1 11-1 9-3 10-2 Milne begins title defense with 12-0 week Cumulative 9-3 10-2 10-2 9-3 10-2 9-3 10-2 8-4 11-1 12-0 10-2 11-1 11-1 9-3 10-2 129-39? Take this bunch to Las Vegas...