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Stew Milne, The Baitauon
Texas A&M junior wide receiver Danny McCray awaits the snap in the Aggies' defeat of
Louisiana State Unversity Sept. 2.
□ Danny McCray has shed
the track runner in pads la
bel and become a dangerous
weapon for A&M's offense.
By David Winder
The Battalion
Labeling him a sprinter in shoul
der pads negates the hard work he
has put into becoming a starting re
ceiver for Texas A&M.
Branding him a football player
in spikes erases the 1994 NCAA In
door 1600-meter relay title he
helped A&M to win.
But calling him an athlete af
firms Danny McCray’s ability.
“I can do a lot of different
things,” McCray said. “God gave me
ability. Just because I can play foot
ball and have speed shouldn’t be a
handicap.”
But ever since McCray arrived at
Texas A&M, his speed has been
detrimental. He has yet to achieve
what everyone anticipated his
deep-threat ability would bring. In
two years, McCray has caught four
passes for 33 yards.
“People are always going to have
expectations of what I should do,”
McCray said. “I know I’m capable of
big plays. I just have to be at the
right place at the right time.
“Up until now, I really haven’t
received the opportunity (to play).
Ryan (Matthews) and Brian
(Mitchell) were such good players
that they got most of the reps. I’ve
just been here waiting for my turn.”
This year, McCray has started at
split end and flanker in the Aggies
first two games. He has caught two
passes for 16 yards.
“Danny has always been labeled
as a track guy,” A&M Wide Re
ceivers Coach Les Koenning, Jr.
said. “But he’s done everything
we’ve ever asked of him. He’s really
coming on.”
McCray had a hard time adjust
ing to wide receiver after playing
only running back in high school.
He caught 40 passes for 626 yards
and seven touchdowns his senior
year on mostly screen plays.
“I had never had to run precise
depth routes before,” McCray said.
“I came here and had to run real
routes against talented defensive
backs. On every play, I’m comitig
around. In practice, everything is
getting much
easier.
“I catch my
self really wor
rying about
making mis
takes. I’m real
ly hard on my
self but not as
much as I used
to be. I see
(San Francisco
49er receiver)
Jerry Rice
make a mis
take, and I realize we’re all hu
man.”
Last year, McCray qualified in
the 200-m dash, 400-m dash and
the 1600-m relay in the NCAA
Outdoor Championships. He also
ran the anchor leg on the Aggies’
1600-m relay team that captured
the indoor title. This season, Mc
Cray plans to run the 100-m, 200-
m and the 400-m and 1600-m re
lays.
“People often refer to me as
just a ‘track guy,”’ McCray said.
“There’s nothing negative about
being a ‘track guy.’ I take it as a
compliment because I know what
it takes to be one. I know what it
takes to be a football player,
also.”
McCray said that both the foot
ball team and the track team
have the talent to win national
championships this year.
“You wouldn’t be able to de
scribe the feeling if we won them
both,” McCray said. “Not too
many people have won two na
tional championships. There’s a
job I have to do, and I’m going to
do it.”
McCray said he also plans to
go to tryouts for
the United
States Olympic
Track and Field
Team this year.
“Everyone
dreams about
wearing the
red, white and
blue,” McCray
said. “Going to
Atlanta to rep
resent my coun-
try, I would be
on cloud nine.
Can you imagine winning a na
tional championship, then mak
ing the Olympics? You couldn’t
write a better script than that.”
Right now, McCray is concentrat
ing on football, but does not know
which sport he will eventually
choose to participate in full-time.
“I can’t actually pick one,” Mc
Cray said. “God will choose which
road I go down.”
Until then, McCray is just an
athlete.
"Can you imag
ine winning the
national cham
pionship^ then
making the
Olympics?"
— Danny McCray
A&M wide receiver
Sudden Impact: Connell adds instant offense to A&M
□ The junior transfer
caught four passes for 76
yards in his first career
start as an Aggie.
By Tom Day
The Battalion
They tried to tell Albert Connell
differently, but he would not lis
ten. They told him all the Texas
A&M football team did was run
the ball, but it did not faze him.
When it came time for the ju
nior wide receiver to transfer to a
Division I football program, A&M
was his choice.
“A lot of people told me A&M
wouldn’t pass the ball,” Connell
said. “But (Offensive Coordinator
Steve) Ensminger is a good coach,
and I had heard about him at
Georgia.
“He mixes (the offense) up, and
I had a pretty good feeling about
things.”
Since taking over as offensive
coordinator last season, Ens-
minger has put a high priority on
implementing a potent passing at
tack to complement the team’s tal-
I ented group of running backs.
| With seven receptions for 113
yards through the first two games
this season, Connell’s decision to
transfer is already paying off.
The transfer wide out caught
four passes for 76 yards and a
| touchdown last week in the Aggies’
55-9 rout of Tulsa.
“He adds another talented wide
out to our corps,” fellow receiver
Danny McCray said. “He gives us
one. more weapon that opposing
teams have to stop.”
Connell attributed the mutual
trust he has with Aggie quarter
back Corey Fhillig as the key to his
immediate success against the
Golden Hurricane.
“Corey was completing a lot of
passes,” Connell said. “Being my
first start, I felt I had to do well
because we got off to a slow start.
“I believe in Corey and he be
lieves in us. Once we got that es
tablished, it’s all about having
fun.”
Last season, as a
standout at Trinity Val
ley Community College,
Connell was nothing
short of spectacular. His
team-record 41 catches
for 738 yards helped cat
apult TVCC to a 12-0
season record and the Ju
nior College National Ti
tle.
“I felt I wasn’t a Division II
player,” Connell said. “I figured I
could play with the big boys. The
only real big transition for me was
working harder, running a lot
more plays and playing in front of
bigger crowds.
“Once I made my first catch, I
felt real comfortable.”
A&M Receivers Coach Les
Koenning, Jr. said Connell is
climbing the ladder to success one
rung at a time.
“I think he has adjusted well,”
Koenning said. “There’s a chosen
few that play on the college level
and if you don’t progress and keep
improving, then obviously you
don’t get the opportunity to keep
playing. Albert is getting better
each week.”
Connell said he is preparing
himself for a future leadership
role.
“I haven’t yet, but I feel I’ll
need to be a leader,” Connell said.
“Chris Sanders is a great leader
and we look up to him a lot. I’m a
junior and I have to prepare my
self because I know that next year
I’m going to have to step up.”
Koenning said Connell has
shown glimpes of
greatness.
“If you’re going to
be a really great ath
lete and competitor,
you have to be consis
tent,” Koenning said.
“He’s played two ball
games at A&M and
he’s done a good job
and has improved in each game.”
Connell has lofty goals set for
himself.
“I want to break the individual
school record for receiving (in a
single season),” Connell said.
“That was a goal I set when I
went to junior college and I got it
done. I feel I can do it here if I
just work hard.
“A lot of people don’t know of
my ability and what I can bring Evan Zimmerman, The Battalion
to the team, but its only a matter -f exas a&M junior wide receiver Albert Connell sidesteps through the Tulsa secondary during
ol time. I want to be known as ^ r ° '
good receiver.”
the Aggies' 55-9 win Sept. 1 6 at Kyle Field.
THE BATTALION’
S 1995 STAFF PICKS
Celebritv
Guest Picker
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#3 A&M at #7 Colorado
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3 Texas atNotre Dame
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Texas: Davie's luck runs out
Houston at Kansas
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Kansas: UH every team's homecoming
SMU at Wisconsin
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Wisconsin: SMU gets badgered
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LSU: Owls don't fly in Death Valley
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TCU: Littlefield gets Vandy crazy
#5 USC at #2S Arizona
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USC: Keyshawn's too strong
Baylor at N.C. State
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Baylor Bears come out of hibernation
#11 Virginia at Clemson
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Oilers: Game of the Century!
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Cowboys: Buddyball gettin' old
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Chiefs: Bono works in mysterious ways
Last Week
6-6
8-4
9-3
9-3
8-4
8-4
8-4
9-3
8-4
8-4
9-3
10-2
8-4
9-3
8-4
R.E. Keen:
125-55 (.694)
Cumulative
23-13
28-8
27-9
27-9
27-9
25-11
26-10
25-11
27-9
28-8
28-8
30-6
25-11
24-12
27-9
9-3
397-143 (.735)