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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 1997)
ednesday • October 8, 1997 S The Battalion PORTS All Hail Sir Sedrick Curry making presence feltfor Wrecking Crew it was ith a serii Children •emisesto offoura re intel vas to fid ill,- lestiomv; irwasnei itelligent e class n1 identify id not lerlying lildremvi s used i rector of '' or ^' aphomore mesAM DAVE HOUSE/The Battalion Sedrick Curry is an oposing force in the secondary. By Jeff Webb Staff writer D espite the lack of a take notice All-American defensive back in the Texas A&M secondary this season, the pass defense-by-commit tee approach has pushed the Aggies to a 4-0 record thus far. One reason for the undefeated record is the play of cornerback Sedrick Curry. Cuny would have been a wide receiv er by choice except for tire play of his high school teammate Lorenzo Armistead. “In high school, I always wanted to be a receiver, but there was this guy, Loren zo, who ended up going to Mississippi State,” Curry said. “He kept getting all the balls thrown to him. I wanted some action, so I thought I’d get more balls thrown at me playing cornerback.” This change of position sums up Curry's attitude towards football. With the lack of big names on the Wrecking Crew this year, a variety of players have been earning playing time. Curry has been working hard to improve himself and do whatever is needed to help the team win. Defensive backs coach Lar ry Slade feels Curry has come a long way from the player he was when he entered the program. “Sedrick is a student of the game, so he’s going to improve just because of that,” Slade said. “What he may lack in athletic ability, he makes up for with his work ethic, his character and his dependability.” “You can see him getting better each week,” said starting strong safety Rich Coady. “He has great speed and is one,” said Curry. “I heard sometimes really competitive.” Early in the season, it was undecided if Curry would play cornerback, his nat ural position and the one he was signed to play, strong safety. His versatility has never been in question. Curry played basketball, football and ran track in high school. His blazing speed helped his team to a 3:11 time in the mile relay, third best in the nation. A unique part of Sedrick Curry’s makeup is his height. At 6-foot, 3- inches, 186 pounds, Curry is big for a cornerback. This proves to be a valu able asset when considering the trend of tall, athletic receivers. “Being physical is part of my game. Sometimes it works as an intimidation factor, not that I try to intimidate any- these little receivers don’t like to play against a big cornerback like myself. I just have a cornerback mentality. I like being out there on the edge.” Curry has learned from the best. Curry was redshirted his freshman year, watching the likes of Ray Mickens and Donovan Greer and learning from them. The secondary’s goal this season has been to “Regain the Rage” that made the Wrecking Crew so formida ble in years past. And what does Cur ry want others to see when they take a gander at him on the playing field? “I’m a hard worker. Whether it is on the field or in the classroom, I’ll go the extra mile to get it done.” One thing is for certain: that extra mile will be a quick one. nwash tol ul becaoj lid. It’s put up or shut up time for upstart Oklahoma St, Kansas rats U agriculij i cast me| n a] ;ctrumth| tt-to-lf I 4 l ON*?! N* I NOTEBOOK JAMIE Burch Staff writer book, Hi > rile p; 1/^’a nsas and Oklahoma State, both 2-0 id givetlijL i n ii 16 young season otherwise tVknown as conference play, will try to on ,| lb loldon to leads in their respective divi- 1( , ; j ions. Both will answer questions about i ! ^ he validity of the programs. Just how jooil are the Jayhawks? Remember it’s ootball season. Last I checked Jacque 111 n - feughn and Raef LaFrenz were not on the ie 8 ie oster. And are the Cowboys for real? Can 'an P° hey continue to maintain their pole posi- the niiijojfl anc j ^0 f or a South Division Title? ig wagec jjsvvami predicts any fraudulent teams wealthifjj] 5 e exposed as such, ged fold the midi Vann De Camps University of Kansas tailback Eric Vann ran 99 yards from scrimmage to help the Jayhawks outlast OU, 20-17. In doing so, Vann became only the fifth player in NCAA history and the second by a Kansas runner to accomplish the feat. The last time a Jayhawk broke loose for a near 100 yard dash was 1963. A young Gayle Sayers ran for a 99-yard touchdown against Nebraska. “OU”CH! The Sooners led in every category of the game against Kansas except the one that mattered most, the final score. Oklahoma’s backfield out -rushed the Jayhawks by 30 yards. OU aired out Kansas by a margin of 50 yards. And the Sooner offense picked up 18 first downs to Kansas’ 11. But OU, setting a dreary season trend of surrendering the big play, allowed the > Jayhawks to gain 99 of its 158 yards on the ground in one of its 33 attempts. Now He’s Just Little Texas’ Heisman hopeful ran into a brick wall. Ricky “Little Earl” Williams could not find daylight against the OSU defense. The No. 2 rushing defense in the country held the Longhorn running back to a mere 4 yards in the first half of the Cowboys’ 42- 16 slashing of Texas. Williams was held to 79 yards on 16 carries. As a team, the Runnin’ Horns were lim ited to 86 yards on 23 attempts. Past His Prime University of Colorado senior quarter back John Hessler is feeling the effects of aging. After igniting the Buffs’ offense in 1995 as a backup, the struggling field gen eral has failed to post numbers compara ble to his sophomore campaign. In 1995, Hessler entered the A&M game for injured starter Koy Detmer. Hessler led the comeback and went on to average 194 passing yards, a 57.9 completion percent age and 1.82 touchdowns per game. But through four games in 1997, the Buffs are 2- 2 and Hessler is averaging just 187 yards in the air at a 50 percent completion rate and a 2:1 /2 interception to touchdown ratio. Bring Out The Brooms Oklahoma State swept Conference Players of the Week for their contributions in the Cowboy’s win over Texas. Freshman quarterback Tony Lindsay engineered a 29-zip halftime lead and OSU’s first victory over the Longhorns since 1944. Lindsay rushed 19 times for 126 yards and a career-high three touch downs, including a 55-yard touchdown run. In addition to his ground game, Lind say completed 4-of-5 passes for 85 yards. Junior strong safety Trent Alexander, the defensive player of the week, amassed eight tackles (four unassisted), a sack, two fumble recoveries'and a pass deflection. Junior cornerback RW. McQuarters garnered special teams honors after a 78-yard return against Texas for a touch down and four other punt returns for a total of 113 yards. Games of The Week Oklahoma (2-3,0-1) at Texas (2-2,0-1) — Cotton Bowl (Dallas) ■ It’s that time of year again. It’s time for Texas-OU Weekend. The glorious three days in which college football fanatics from Austin and Norman converge on Dallas for on all out drunkfest. Yeah, they also play a game on Saturday, but it’s the Friday and Saturday nights festivities that draw thousands to the metroplex. This is the 92nd meeting between the interstate rivals. As always, throw out the record books. Texas leads the all-time se ries 52-34-5. OU won the last contest, an upset victory, 30-27. Since both teams are struggling, the stakes are high. The loser moves to 0-2 in conference and greatly hinders a possible bowl berth. The winner gets bragging rights and possibly keeps its head coach. #22 Colorado (2-2,0-1) at #20 Oklahoma St. (5-0,2-0) ■ For Colorado head coach Rick Neuheisel this game has huge implica tions. Neuheisel is under the gun after Colorado’s two early losses, including the home opener defeat at the hands of Texas A&M. A program that appeared to have re turned to national prominence after a 1990 National Title, the Buffs have fallen on hard times. Media around the Rocky Mountain State are asking if Colorado made a mistake by not hiring former as sistant coach Bob Simmons. For Simmons, now the head coach at OSU, it means a chance to say ‘I told you so.’ Jamie Burch is a senior speech communications major fj 4^ jr 7 d E r. •nt All members of the Texas A&M community — students, faculty, staff and friends of the University — are encouraged to attend the Academic Convocation at 1:30 p.m. Friday, October 10, 1997 in Rudder Auditorium Please join us for this important program! This Convocation, the first of its kind since Texas A&M’s centennial in 1976, will acknowledge faculty excellence and accomplishments and provide a forum for President Ray M. Bowen to discuss the current 'State of the University' and its future directions Reception immediately following in the Rudder Exhibit Hall WE ACCEPT AGGIE BUCKS We Pay the Most for Quality CD’s Because you love spending Aggie Bucks so much We Recieved 2,000 Used Pieces over the week-end. 403 University Drive (In Northgate Next to Campus Photo) College Staticn,Tx. 77840 (409) 268-0154 e-mail:bmccoll@ix.netcom.com