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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 5, 1997)
o C e The Battalion OOTBALL Friday • September 5, 1997 Bryant Continued from Page 6 career field goal percentage and career scoring. Naturally, some observers of Bryant’s exploits point to a possible “You can always say there’s room for professional kicking career. Bryant, improvement, but as however, is quick to put aside such far as placekicking, 1 ■ y notions, choosing instead to concen- just try to take what I | trate on the tasks at hand, do and make it more | “I’ve thought about it, but some- consistent,” Bryant : fjjf j thing like (professional football) can said. “1 also work on \ ' be a distraction to you,” Bryant said, the mental aspect of W JwyjF , “Professional football would be a long my game a whole IB ! term goal. If you concentrate on short bunch. I think this term goals, long-term goals fall right being my fourth ^ ||j||| into place.” year, I feel experi- Then the impish grin returns and enced and in a lot of Bryant he shyly admits hazarding such situations I’m more thoughts. relaxed, like I’ve been here before.” “But I have thought about it and it is Indeed, very little should surprise part of my motivation for continuing Bryant, whose heroics include an MVP to kick well,” Bryant said. “I feel that performance in the 1995 Alamo Bowl. God has blessed me with a talent, and He also ranks at or near the top of the I don’t think he would have given it to A&M record books in season and me for nothing. I want to take it as far career field goals made, season and as I can go.” The Battalion Staff Box the Special thanks goes to the following people for putting time into making tne 1997 Battalion College Football Preview: Chris Ferrell — Sports Editor Paul Mitchell — Asst. Sports Editor jeremy Furtick — Asst. Sports Editor Staff Writers: Stephen Boudreau Kristina Buffin Jamie Burch Travis Dabney Margaux Harris Nicole Hooven Matt Michel I Jeff Webb Jason Whitcomb Front Page Design: Dave House and Brad Graeber Photos: Dave House Layout: Kristina Buffin and Chris Ferrell Helen Clancy — Editor in chief Texas A&M Sports Information Dept. Hall Continued from Page 6 “It is instincts,” he said. “All good running backs have them because that is what helps you get the ball and find the open holes and what the defense is going to do." The explosive Hall led the team in all-purpose yards last season 1,551 with an average of 129.3 a game. Hall racked up 642 rushing yards and led the Big 12 in punt return average illustrating his duties as a multi-faceted player. “Dante Hall is an excellent punt returner,” said special teams assistant coach Shawn Slocum. Secondary Continued from Page 5 Last season a young and inexperienced secondary received much of the blame for the Aggies meek 6-6 record. A&M failed to rank among the Top 20 defenses in the nation for the first time since 1983. Defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz said the baptism under fire method only helped the youthful corps of defensive backs. “The key is all those guys are back,” Hankwitz said. “They’ve been under the gun in game situations. Even though they were not always positive experiences, they’ve been there and it’s something you can build on.” Trying to build on last years successes and failures, the Aggies will depend on both the veterans and incoming freshman. Sophomore Jason Webster and junior Shun “We treat punt returns like first downs because the further you can carry the ball down the field the better the position for the offense will be in.” The similarities between Hall and McElroy lie primarily in their ability to be utilized both on spe cial teams and offense. Hall said he has heard the comparisons between himself and McElroy and considers them a compliment. “It is a compliment because Leeland did good things here,” Hall said. “In fact, it is a high com pliment.” Recently, Hall has been getting a lot of compliments. He emerged after the 1997 season as one of the top freshmen in the country and earned freshman All-America and All-Big 12 honors. “Last season was kind of a shock,” Hall said. “I didn’t know that I would get m a chance (to play) that early.” This season Hall will defi nitely be playing early. Sophomore tail back Eric Bernard is out all season with an ACL tear in his knee, therefore Hall’s playing time at running back will likely Hall “With Eric we lost a quality running back,” Marshall said. “But Dante has had a great offseason, his role will increase but I don’t know if it will dramatically.” Rucker, who has the privilege of trying to balance playing time between four talented veteran backs, said the beauty of the run ning back corps is that all four complement each other. “It is real when someone goes down,” he said. “They all must step up and we must try not to lose a step.” Marshall said the Aggie’s phi losophy is to get the best athlete on both special teams and offense. “We are fortunate to have Dante on our team,” he said. Unfortunately for teams facing A&M in 1997, they will have to contain Hall in both roles once again. But Hall’s main concern is the overall production of the team. “I believe in winning as a team more than the individual statis tics,” he said. “Without the line blocking them I’m nothing. It all goes back to pull and tug. I’m nothing without the team.” Hall has two individual goals for the season, but once again they illustrate his team first philosophy. “I want to become a better blocker and have no fumbles,” he said. Horn are the projected as the starting cor ner backs when the Aggies open the season Saturday against Sam Houston State University. As a true freshman, Webster started last season against Oklahoma State University in addition to seeing playing time in all 12 games. Webster posted 32 tackles, broke up one pass and snagged one intercep tion. At the other corner position, Horn start ed 10 games racking up 52 tackles and one interception, while breaking up seven pass es. Hankwitz said he is not overly con cerned with the green secondary. “We’re still going to be young,” Hankwitz said, “but after having played a year they’re not quite as young as they were.” Penciled in at the safety slots are two- sport standout Toya Jones and sophomore Brandon Jennings. Jones, a sprinter for the A&M track team in the spring, started the first four games last season at free safety, finishing with 25 tackles. Jennings played in every game last sea son, starting the final eight. The true fresh man posted 43 tackles, one interception and a fumble. Because of the large number of players vying for a starting role, no one position is set in stone. Slade said the coaching staff has been impressed by the play of junior cornerback Rich Coady and true freshmen Jay Brooks, Michael Jameson, Ronald Patton and Jason Glenn. “It’s a big mix of players and competition is healthy,” Slade said. Glenn, the brother of current New York Jet and former A&M standout Aaron Glenn, is a heralded signee expected to fill big shoes. “Jason has extraordinary ability,” Slade said. “He had a groin injury that has set him back. But I believe he will be as good if not better than everyone has hyped him up to be. However, he and his brother are two dif ferent guys. “Aaron was a short guy that could run fast at the corner position. Jason is a tall guy that is a pure safety.” Saturday will begin a year of redemption for the Aggie’s last line of defense. The Aggies will look to put the past behind them and return the Wrecking Crew to national prominence. “While we don’t dwell on the past,” Slade said, “we do remember it.” The question is how well. Nguyen Continued from Page 5 Nguyen went on to a stellar high school career earning two Defensive Player of the Year Awards and was named a Consensus Texas Top 100 Linebacker. Even with all his accomplishments, Nguyen was redshirted his freshman season at A&M. The linebacker said it was diffi cult for him to sit on the bench his first year. “I came from a school where you never came out of the game,” Nguyen said. “I played and started three years and the only time you came out is when you were tired. You never walked off the field. I came in (to A&M) and it was so competitive.” “When I sat out my first year I was frustrated and depressed. But that’s when I learned football was going to end somewhere down the road.” But the road has not ended yet. In 1995 Nguyen became the first freshman in school history to lead the Aggies in tackles with 94. He repeated the feat during his sophomore campaign with 146 tackles. In addition, Nguyen topped the squad in forced and recovered fumbles. Oddly enough, defensive coor dinator Mike Hankwitz said none of this has changed Nguyen’s approach to the game. “Dat doesn’t play for numbers,” Hankwitz said. “We tell our play ers that when you play team defense, everybody benefits in the long run. You’ll be more effective and make more plays. “When you do your own thing you leave holes and nobody is making the plays.” Nguyen added he just wants to contribute as one member of a cohesive unit. “I don’t really think about it (the awards),” Nguyen said. “I just came here to win football games. I wanted to be part of the Wrecking Crew.” All the coaching staff can ask for is that he continues his growth as a player. “I just want Dat to improve each year,” Hankwitz said. “To me that’s the true measure of sue-
