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By Tom Day
The Battalion
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if 1 1 h' s eight seasons at the helm of the Texas
1 Football Team, Head Coach R.C. Slocum
led the Aggies into battle 87 times. Of
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d-winningest coach in school history,
urn’s popularity has skyrocketed during
tenure at A&M.
fetthe Aggie leader currently finds himself
tie hot seat. In the wake of unachieved ex-
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this season, many Aggie followers are calling
for his dismissal.
Reeling in the aftermath of A&M’s embar
rassing defeat to the University of Southwest
ern Louisiana on Saturday, Slocum said the
criticism comes with the territory.
“In this business, you can’t get your self-
identity or self-worth from external sources,”
Slocum said. “When things are going well and
you’re going undefeated in conference for
four years, people pat you on the back and tell
you how good you are, and you’re probably
never really as good as what they’re saying at
that time.
“But the same people turn around when you
lose a game or two and say you don’t know what
you’re doing and you ought to be fired.”
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Tim Moog, The Battalion
|jMquarterback Branndon Stewart and the Aggie offense committed eight turnovers
in the 29-22 loss to USL last weekend.
Slocum said he does not get caught up lis
tening to his detractors’ armchair coaching.
“I don’t pay any attention to that at all,”
Slocum said. “Everyone I’ve ever known who
has survived in coaching has had bad things
written about them. Coaches can’t survive if
they listen to all those things. I’m going to stay
focused on what I need to do as I see it. If I do
that, it will be okay.”
Meanwhile, the Aggies are quietly prepar
ing for Saturday’s contest against the Univer
sity of North Texas. For Aggie quarterback
Branndon Stewart and the rest of the team,
that involves reviewing what went wrong in
last weekend’s self-destruction in Lafayette.
“We were up for the (USL) game,” Stewart
said. “Things went wrong early that just threw
us off for the rest of the game. Turnovers were
detrimental. We were moving the ball well and
we had good drives going, but turnovers just
killed every drive and you can’t put points on
the board doing that.”
Stewart was responsible for half of the Ag
gies’ eight turnovers against the Ragin’ Cajuns.
The junior threw four interceptions, including
the back-breaking pick-off pass that was re
turned for the game-winning touchdown.
Stewart said he is using his mistakes as a
learning experience.
“I made some bad decisions against USL,”
Stewart said. “I went back and tried to analyze
why those things happened, how the plays de
veloped, and what caused the interceptions
and learn from it. Maybe I should have kept the
ball and taken the sack instead of trying to get
rid of it, or maybe finding a different receiver.”
Besides blaming the Aggies’ meltdown at
USL on Slocum’s coaching and leadership
abilities, critics have cited the Aggies’ youth
and inexperience as contributing factors.
Although A&M fields the youngest team in
the Big 12 Conference, Stewart said this
should not affect the Aggies’ play.
“Having a young team is a point of con
cern, but not an excuse,” Stewart said. “Re
gardless of what age the players are, we
See Aggies, Page 11
Who is that guy?
By Tom Day
The Battalion
T he game was just five min
utes old when he streaked
over the middle of the field
to haul in a 25-yard pass from
Branndon Stewart — a first down
for A&M and a dream fulfilled for
senior walk-on Barry Johnson.
After a year of paying his dues
as a scout team player on the
Texas A&M Football Team, John
son’s hard work and sacrifice
reached fruition when he took to
the playing field against the Uni
versity of Southwestern Louisiana.
“After I caught that first pass,
all I remembered was I had run
an out route,” Johnson said. “It
was a dream come true.”
When Johnson made a sec
ond grab in the fourth quarter —
Tim Moog, The Battalion
Senior walk-on Barry Johnson
is tackled after making a 25-
yard reception in the fourth
quarter against USL.
this time with the game on the
line — A&M fans were left won
dering, “Who is that guy?”
Not listed in A&M’s media
guide, game program or depth
chart, the athletically gifted John
son rose from obscurity to lend a
hand to the struggling Aggies.
A fifth-year senior from Bay
City, Johnson graduated from
Cleburne High School in 1992
and was a member of the A&M
Corps of Cadets his first four
years in Aggieland. Although he
excelled in both baseball and bas
ketball in high school, Johnson
did not play football. He had orig
inally quit the sport in the eighth
grade because “he got hit hard
one day in practice and quit.”
Since football was not well sup
ported at Cleburne, Johnson gave
up wide receiver to play center-
field and shooting guard. At A&M,
Johnson made a name for himself
in the intramural program as a
standout flag football player.
At his friends’ insistence,
Johnson tried out for the foot
ball team during his junior year
and was cut. He tried again the
next season and landed a walk-
on position on the scout team
one year ago Tuesday.
“I felt I had something to of
fer,” Johnson said. “It was a
dream I wanted to come true
and I pursued it.”
Johnson spent the entire 1995
season on the scout team as a
wideout, impressing A&M Defen
sive Coordinator Phil Bennett.
See Johnson, Page 11
Changing of the Guard
The A&M Softball
Team is ready for the
change they believe
new head coach Jo
Evans will bring.
By Jamie Burch
The Battalion
bout every 12 hours, the
changing of the Royal
LGuard occurs in front of
Ickingham Palace in London,
Igland. In stark contrast, it had
p 15 years since fans had wit-
bed a changing of the guard in
[Texas A&M Softball program.
But when long-time A&M
Head Coach Bob Brock resigned
May 29, two-time Western Athlet
ic Coach of the Year Jo Evans was
hired to fill the void.
Brock, the fifth most winningest
coach in NCAA history, stepped
down after 15 seasons at the Ag
gies’ helm while capturing three
national championships and nu
merous NCAA playoff berths.
Although Evans has a tough
act to follow, she comes to A&M
with an impressive resume. She
left a solid program at the Univer
sity of Utah, which she rebuilt af
ter sub-.500 seasons in three of
the four years prior to her arrival
there in 1990.
During her seven years at
Utah, the Utes posted a 222-143
record and a 84-35 mark in the
Western Athletic Conference.
Evans also captured two confer
ence titles (1991 and 1992) and
made two appearances in the
College World Series (1991 and
1994) during her seven-year stint.
Prior to her head coaching job
at Utah, Evans coached a deplet
ed team at Colorado State Univer
sity to the WAC championship in
her fourth and final season in
Fort Collins, Colo.
Evans said although it was dif
ficult to leave Utah, she came to
A&M for various reasons, includ
ing the A&M Athletic Depart
ment’s commitment to winning.
“There were several reasons
(for coming here),” Evans said.
“The fact that the weather allows
you to practice
outside pretty
much year-round
— it’s a nice
change from the
mountains. The fa
cilities are good,
and I feel the Ath
letic Department
has shown a com
mitment to
women’s athletics
and to softball.
They step up fi-
“Maybe it was
time for a
change here... I
think something
new is good.”
Jo Evans
A&M Head Softball Coach
ing out so far. I’m enjoying it.”
While Brock’s coaching style
was often criticized as harsh,
Evans’ tenure has received posi
tive feedback thus far.
“I can’t say enough positive
things about the situation,” junior
catcher Marianne McGuire said.
“She has made the game fun
again. I think that’s the way the
whole team feels. She’s made me
love softball again.”
When change occurs in some
programs, an adverse reaction
occasionally follows. But both
the Lady Aggies and the new
coach seem to welcome the
change with open arms.
“Maybe it was time for a
change here,” Evans said. “If that’s
the case, maybe the kids are look
ing forward to
something differ
ent. I think some
thing new some
times is good —
change is good.”
Most college
teams are resistant
to change but
McGuire said that
the team is ready
to change.
“I don’t think
the team will miss
one of those sports that always
comes down to who’s going to
work the hardest.”
Perez said the team is ready to
burst onto the scene and surprise
some folks.
“We’ll have some surprises for
some people,” Perez said. “This
might be the type of team with
little talent, a lot of chemistry,
and all the heart in world — who
goes on to win it all.”
Dave House, The Battalion
| Evans, who came from the University of Utah, succeeds Bob
’ as the new A&M Head Softball Coach.
nancially for athletics here. A&M’s
had a strong tradition in softball
for many years and I was just
looking for a new challenge.”
Although A&M has been suc
cessful in years past, Evans does
not feel any pressure.
“I don’t think I come in feeling
that I have to fill [Brock’s] shoes,”
Evans said. “I come in knowing
that it’s going to be different for the
players. I’m just going to do what
I’ve done in the past. I want to take
us to another level, get to the post
season every year and have a shot
at going to the (College World) Se
ries. I don’t want to just maintain
— I want to make it better.”
The players must adjust to the
transition as well. After having a
few weeks to practice with the
new coach, the general consen
sus is positive and upbeat.
“Everything has been posi
tive,” senior outfielder Gina Perez
said. “Everybody is excited just to
come to practice.There’s not one
unhappy person. Everybody was
welcoming the change. It’s work-
Coach Brock at all,” McGuire said.
“It was a situation that I don’t
think any one of us ever wants to
be faced with again. We welcome
this change.”
Now that both coach and play
ers are happy with the situation,
are the Aggies in contention for a
Big 12 Conference title?
“I can’t say that were going to
win the Big 12,” Evans said. “I
don’t know that we have the
depth or the experience at the
skill positions. I’d say we’re going
to be competitive, because we’re
going to play hard. But if we can
sign the caliber of recruits we’re
looking at, then the next few
years look promising.”
While Evans has guarded op
timism, her players feel ready to
win big.
“I think we have a really good
chance this year,” McGuire said.
“She (Evans) is going to make all
the difference in the world, be
cause we’re all going to want to
work hard for her. We have a lot
of talent on this team. Softball is
Lady Aggies host
’96 Fall Invitational
By Jamie Burch
The Battalion
The Texas A&M Softball Team
made history last spring as a
member of the Big 12 Conference
in its inaugural season as a mem
ber of the first sport to compete in
Big 12 play. Compiling a 39-21
overall record and a 11-11 mark
against its Big 12 opponents, the
Aggies had to grow accustomed to
competing in an organized
league, because the old Southwest
Conference did not have softball
play.
Senior centerfielder Gina
Perez said it is nice belonging to
a conference.
“I love having a conference,”
Perez said. “Before, we really nev
er had somebody that we played
every year. We had the rivalry
with Texas, but we never played
them. I liked the traveling that re
sulted from being an at-large
(team), but I like belonging to a
conference more.”
This offseason, the Lady Ag
gies will compete in scrim
mages with non-Big 12 schools
in addition to playing in two
tournaments. In October, the
team will travel to Indepen
dence, Mo., to compete in a
tournament to showcase the
teams in the Big 12.
The Lady Aggies begin their
offseason conditioning this
weekend by hosting the Aggie
Fall Invitational at Central Park.
The one-day tournament con
sists of two pools of eight
teams each. The team with the
best record from each pool will
compete in a championship
game that evening.
The teams competing this
weekend range from Big 12
opponent Texas Tech to NAIA
4* m
Dave House, The Battalion
Senior first basemen Mya
Truelove practices Tuesday.
rivals Abilene Christian Uni
versity and the University of
Mary-Hardin Baylor.
Even though few of the col
leges and universities partic
ipating in the tournament are
national Top 25 programs,
Perez said the competition will
be tough.
“While all these teams are
smaller schools, they all play
A&M like it’s their World Series,”
Perez said. “In any underdog
team situation, the teams who
are supposed to win come in
prepared, but sometimes over
look their weaker opponent.
You also have to live up to the
hype if you’re a top team.”
See Softball, Page 11