L661 'S Jaqiuaidas •
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Friday • September 5, 1997
O The Battalion
FFENSE
Branndon’s resurrection year
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With the media spotlight turned off,
Stewart prepares for a better year
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FILE PHOTO/The Battalion
A&M quarterback Branndon Stewart is being pressured by Colorado defensive end Greg
Jones last year at Kyle Field.
By Chris Ferrell
Sports editor
lot can change in a year.
Last season, at this time, the legend
)f Branndon Stewart, the strong-
armed savior spread like a wild fire through
out Aggieland. The savior had returned to his
home state to turn the Texas A&M Football
Team, a team known for defense and its
ground game, into an aerial spectacle that
would make the Blue Angels jealous.
He battled neck-and-neck with everyone’s
All-American Peyton Manning at Tennessee
and now he was going to put up Manning-
type numbers for the Aggies.
“It kind of got to a point where they
(expectations) were over exaggerated I
guess,” Stewart said. “Some people expected
too much and that comes with the territory.
When you get a new guy in, people have high
expectations.”
As the season progressed, the expecta
tions dropped.
Stewart and the Aggies both struggled
through a ’96 campaign which produced the
team’s worst record since 1983.
As A&M’s woes continued, the hype
turned into pressure and much of the blame
for the team’s offensive trouble fell upon
Stewart’s shoulders.
Stewart averaged 39 pass attempts per
game in the Aggies first four games of the
season, including a school-record 34-for-64,
385 yard performance against Colorado.
A&M went 1-3 over that stretch and changed
its offensive philosophy to a run-oriented
attack.
“I think the coaches just lost some confi
dence in the passing game,” Stewart said. “It’s
discouraging when you can’t go out there and
run a totally balanced offense, but we were
just trying to win.”
Head Coach R.C. Slocum said Stewart
tried to do too much at times last season.
“I think there were some times early in the
season or during the season where he took
too much of a burden on himself to make it
happen,” Slocum said. “I think part of the
fanfare may have lead him to believe that it’s
“Some people
expected too much
and that comes with
the territory.”
his job to make it all work and that’s unfair.”
“We tried this year to convince him to
make those plays that he can make, play
within himself and don’t feel like he has to
make it all work. Those other guys have
responsibility too.”
So far, Stewart has responded well to the
hard lessons of 1996.
“He’s more at ease with himself right now,”
Slocum said. “He’s got a lot more experience.
He’s seen the ups and downs, both sides of
it.”
To help with the progress, Slocum brought
in new quarterback coach Ray Dorr.
With a pupils list that includes Warren
Moon and Chris Chandler at Washington and
Rodney Peete, Todd Marinovich and Rob
Johnson at Southern Cal,
Dorr has implemented new drills and
brought a positive attitude to encourage the
development of all the quarterbacks.
“When they’ve made plays, I’ve tried to be
positive,” Dorr said. “Everything we do at our
position is positive. The same when they
make a critical error, and they’re just 21, 22-
year-old men. They’re going to make mis
takes.”
An off-season of hard work and memories
of last year have helped Stewart grow and
mature.
“He’s a year older and maturity is a big
thing,” offensive coordinator Steve Marshall
said. “He’s understanding that the highs
aren’t so high and the lows aren’t so low
either and you’ve got to stay consistent over a
period of time to be successful.”
Please see Stewart on Page 11.
Offensive depth chart
SE —
16
Aaron Oliver, 6-0, 196, Jr-2L
FL— 88
80
Chris Cole, 6-0, 188, So-SQ,
81
RT —
73
Cameron Spikes, 6*1, 300, Jr-2L,
QB —7
78
Andy Vincent, 6-3, 290, So-1 L,
15
RG-
62
Semisi Heimuli, 6-1, 295, So-1L,
RB— 33
79
Shea Holder, 6-5, 296, So-SQ,
20
C —
69
Koby Hackradt, 6-5, 288, Jr-2L,
RB — 8
53
Rex Tucker, 6-5, 285, Jr-2L,
34
LG —
72
Steve McKinney, 6-4, 285, Sr-3L,)
K— 3
56
Toby McCarthey, 6-2, 270, FR-RS
37
LT
76
Chris Ruhman, 6-5, 295, Sr-3L,
P— 6
74
Brandon Houston, 6-5, 290, Jr-2L,)
47
TE—
87
Derrick Spiller, 6-3, 240, Jr-2L,
SNP —63
89
Daniel Campbell, 6-5, 260, jr-2L,
Leroy Hodge, 6-2, 204,
Matt Bumgardner, 6-2, 196, So-1 L,
Branndon Stewart, 6-2, 222, jr-IL,
Randy McGown, 6-1, 212, So-IL,)
Marc Broyles, 5-11, 237, Jr-2L,
D'Andre Hardeman, 5-11, 233, jr-2L,
Sirr Parker, 5-11, 190, jr-2L,
Dante Hall, 5-8, 190, So-IL,
Kyle Bryant, 5-7174, Sr-3L,
Russell Bynum, 5-11,165, Fr-RS,
Shane Lechler, 6-2, 220, So-1 L,)
Bill Johnston, 6-0,169, Sr-IL,
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