Catching on Quick
Brandon Bouom/Thk Battalion
Senior tight end Derrick Spider dives for a touchdown
against Baylor in last season’s 38-10 win.
X
Aggies expect big things from youthful receivers
By Robert Hollier
The Battalion
I n the Aggies* season
opener against Florida
I State, Texas A&M fans
caught a glimpse of the
changes in Aggie offensive
play calling. To put it sim
ply, the Aggies are going to
throw the ball more.
In 1997, the Aggies aver
aged 169 passing yards a
game to 205 rushing yards a
game. This season, A&M
will look to make their
offensive attack more bal
anced and less predictable.
“We’re going to call more
passing plays,” Texas A&M
Football coach R.C. Slocum
said, “but throwing the ball
is not going to be a big
change.
“All of our receivers had
a good year last year. It was
the most improved position
and I expect them to all be
better this year. They all
showed significant improve
ment last year and in spring
practices.”
Another adjustment to
the offense which will be a
welcomed sight for the
Aggies is the presence of
Sirr Parker at receiver on
more plays.
Playing Parker at receiver
will allow the Aggies to take
advantage of his 4.24-sec
ond speed in the 40-yard
dash, and to get more of
their multitalented running
backs on the field at the
same time. Parker’s time in
the 40-yard dash is a new
Aggie record, breaking
Leeland McElroy's record of
4.27.
“(Texas A&M offensive
coordinator Steve]
Kragthorpe has made our
offensive scheme a whole
lot easier,” Parker said.
“The transition was very
smooth. He’s more of a
player’s coach and he’s easy
to talk to."
Tight ends (seniors
Daniel Campbell and
Derrick Spiller) are also an
asset for the offense. They
are considered two of the
best in the Big 12. Campbell
and Spiller excelled at
blocking and catching the
ball last season and figure
to improve in 1998.
The Aggies' receiving
corps also returns senior
Aaron Oliver and juniors
Chris Cole and Leroy
Hodge, all of whom started
for A&M at different times
last year.
Cole led the receivers last
year with 25 catches for 333
yards and three touch
downs. Hodge made 23
receptions for 336 yards and
one touchdown, and Oliver
made 16 grabs for 180 yards
in a limited time because of
injury.
Kragthorpe said the
Aggies will look for contri
butions from junior Matt
Bumgardener and sopho
more Chris Taylor. The two
combined for 13 receptions
for 156 yards in 1997.
“Cole made significant
improvement in the spring
and he wants to be the go
to receiver,” Kragthorpe
said. "Hodge has been con
sistent and Oliver made big
third down catches last
year. He hurt his knee in the
spring, but is making good
progress.
“Taylor moved from quar
terback to receiver last year.
He was a quarterback in
high school, and for the first
time, he was able to concen
trate on being a receiver.”
Cole, the Aggies’ most
consistent and productive
receiver in 1997, is expected
to make a bigger impact and
produce even more this
year. He is looking forward
to a season that will see the
Aggies put the ball in the air
more.
“Anytime we throw the
ball, it makes the receivers
happy,” Cole said. “We
showed the coaches we
could catch the ball in prac
tice and hopefully we can
go out and do it in the game
and be successful.
“Our passing game will
be a great complement to
our already strong running
game, and with Sirr at
receiver, it should really
open the offense. He puts a
lot of speed on the field.”
Weisinser comes back to his Texas roots
DV IMII/NUACI TA/NI ICMTI U n:_l- r-1 •• i '
BY MICHAEL TAGLIENTI
The Battalion
E very year hundreds of
Texas high school football
players decide that the
grass is greener
on the other
side and decide
to play college
football for an
out-of-state
school. Some
of these play
ers succeed,
some fail, and
some decide
that they really belong back in
Texas.
In the spring of 1995, Jeremy
Weisinger was a senior at
Uvalde High School and was
one of the nation’s top-rated
quarterbacks. Recruited by col
lege football powers from all
over America, Weisinger nar
rowed down his college choices
to Texas A&M and the
University of Colorado.
He decided Colorado and its
WEISINGER
hotshot new coach Rick
Neuheisel would be the best sit
uation for him.
Weisinger redshirted his first
year at CU, was third string as a
freshman and was to be the
backup to John Hessler in 1997
before he broke his leg in a
weight room accident.
After recovering from the bro
ken leg, 1998 was going to be the
year that Weisinger finally became
the starting quarterback at CU.
Unfortunately, Neuheisel had
a different opinion and
Weisinger decided he should
look into going back to Texas.
So Weisinger decided to trans
fer to A&M. In compliance with
NCAA rules he will have to sit
out a year before being eligible to
play for the Aggies.
Weisinger said he knew where
he wanted to go when he decid
ed to leave CU.
“I have always liked A&M,”
Weisinger said. “I have been
coming to games since I was a
kid and I have a bunch of family
that went to school here. Coach
Slocum recruited me pretty heav
ily out of high school and I
always liked the school.”
Weisinger has switched posi
tions from quarterback to strong
safety and said he is working on
learning his new position.
“I like playing strong safety a
lot,” Weisinger said. “I have not
played it since my sophomore
year of high school. I definitely
need some coaching and [I] need
to work on my fundamentals
because I do not have my
backpedaling down.”
Defensive backs coach Larry
Slade said Weisinger’s previous
experience as a quarterback
should help him as a safety.
“I think when it will really
help him is when we start study
ing opponents and we get into
different formations,” Slade said.
“Because he has played quarter
back he knows where the quar
terback wants to go with the ball
in certain formations.”
Senior safety Rich Coady said
he has been surprised by
Weisinger’s athletic ability.
“The guy came in as a quar
terback, yet he is extremely fast
and strong,” Coady said. “I think
he has got all the talent to be a
top major college safety.”
Coach R.C. Slocum said
“/ think he has
got all the talent
to be a major
college safety."
— Rich Coady
Senior safety
Weisinger has had no trouble fit
ting in at A&M.
“The first night he was at prac
tice, the seniors from the Corps
came over to wish the team luck
for the season, and a couple of
guys from San Antonio started
talking with him about playing
against him in high school,”
Slocum said. “Pretty soon he was
surrounded by a large group of
cadets who were talking [about]
playing high school football, so
he pretty much fit in here from
the beginning.”
Weisinger hopes to follow in
the footsteps of a fellow Uvalde
High School graduate named
Vann McElroy. McElroy is the
only other player from Uvalde to
ever receive a Division I football
scholarship. Like Weisinger,
McElroy played both quarterback
and safety in high school and
went to college, where he started
out as a quarterback and was
switched to safety. McElroy went
on to be a star at Baylor and had
a successful 10-year career in the
NFL with the Oakland Raiders
and the Seattle Seahawks.
Weisinger said he has always
looked up to McElroy.
“He is a great guy,’* Weisinger
said. “He is a Christian guy with
great morals and great values
who cares a lot about his family.
He has been a big influence in
my life.”
Defense
DEPTH CHART
RT
78
79
RG
62
71
C
77
(or)
56
LG
73
70
LT
53
74
ANDY VINCENT. 6-3. 301, Jr-2L. Sulphur, La.
SHEA HOLDER. 6-5, 304. Jr-IL. Arlington
*SEMISI HEIMULI, 6-2, 303. Jr-2L Euless
CHRIS VALLETTA, 6-2, 306, So-IL. Plano
SETH MCKINNEY, 6-3. 293. Fr-RS, Austin
TOBY MCCARTHY, 6-2. 283. So-SQ. Midland
*CAMERON SPIKES. 6-3. 310. Sr-3L. Bryan
MOSES VAKALAHI. 6-5. 307, Fr-RS, Euless
REX TUCKER. 6-5. 290. Sr-3L, Midland
TANGO MCCAULEY. 6-4, 290. Fr-RS. Oklahoma City, Okla
Offense
Continued from Page 4B
Spikes and junior right guard
Semisi Heimuli are the only
returners from last season, which
means they will have to shoulder
the load of lead
ing the squad.
“That’s part
of being an
offensive line
man, ” Spikes
said. “Learning
to trust the peo
ple around you
and knowing
your buddy is
going to do his
job is important. We’ve got the
best athletes.”
New offensive line coach J.B.
Grimes replaces former coach and
offensive coordinator Steve
Marshall, who is now with North
Carolina. Grimes said Spikes
k q nnp nf the most athletic
SPIKES
he said. “He’s 303 lbs. and 8.8 per
cent body fat. There are not five
linemen in the country that are
like that.
“His work ethic is phenome
nal, and the way he attacks the
weight room and the practice
field is awesome.”
The entire line is composed of
prototypical NFL linemen. The
A&M line averages 6-feet, 3-inch
es per man and a scale-tipping
299 pounds.
Injuries have been a problem
Cor the Aggies in the past and 1998
is no exception. This season, line
man Brandon Houston is out with
back problems.
“We’ve got enough experience,
but we need to bring kids along in
the second line,” Grimes said.
“Tango McCauley is a redshirt
freshman who we’ve moved to the
offensive side of the ball [from
defensive line]. We felt like we
needed a guy after we lost
Houston to injury. ”
For the Aggies to dominate
i nno C f rnn g
f C
Continued from Page 9B
Brooks received a baptism by fire against
Florida State, lining up against All-American
Peter Warrick. Warrick ended the game with nine
catches, 106 yards, one touchdown and a Player
of the Game trophy.
However, Brooks made some plays of his own,
recording five tackles and two fumble recoveries,
one of which Brooks returned for a touchdown.
Overall, A&M Football coach R. C. Slocum is
gratified with Brooks’ ability.
“I was pleased with Jay Brooks’ perfor
mance and coverage of Peter Warrick to the
extent that he did in the Florida State game,
since it was the first game of his college
career,” Slocum said. “He’ll take big leaps from
having had that intense of an experience that
early in bis career.”
Slade agrees with Slocum’s assessment.
“I think the thing Jay Brooks brings, along with
his athletic ability, is his awareness,” Slade said.
Once again, Coady and Jennings will be
patrolling from their safety spots.
“Rich has played a lot of football around
here,” Slade said. “He’s seen a lot of different pic
tures. He’s got tremendous work ethic.”
The defensive back situation became more
muddled this summer after the dismissal of Jeff
Wilson and Delvin Wright. Fortunately, A&M
was able to lure track standout Michael Price
back to the football team after a one-year hiatus.
“It was in his blood, and he wanted to play
ball,” Slade said. “Will he contribute or not? I’m
not sure. He does have some real good ability. He
has some things like speed that you can’t take
away. What he lacks is strength and knowledge.
He’ll have to catch up.”
The secondary better be as good as advertised.
After all, Louisiana Tech’s record-setting pitch
and catch tandem of Tim Rattay and Troy
Edwards comes to Kyle Field. Edwards had 21
receptions and 405 yards against Nebraska in a
game earlier this year.
Heisman
Continued from Page 8B
When Couch was a fresh
man, he considered leaving
Kentucky after a disappoint-
jj2g season backing up Billy
Jack Haskins.
But in came Coach Hal
Mumme and out went the
passing records. Couch’s
sophomore season: 3,884 yards
and 37 touchdowns.
2. Wisconsin running back
Ron Dayne. The only thing
keeping Dayne from the
Heisman is that he’s never put
up great stats against a REAL
team. He did manage to rush
for 1,457 yards despite missing
the equivalent of nearly three
games with injuries.
3. UCLA quarterback Cade
McNown. McNown was the
undisputed leader of the
nation’s hottest team last
year. Under McNown’s direc
tion, the Bruins averaged 40.7
points per game.
He is adept at both run
ning and throwing, and he
plays for a great team. That
cerfaih/y wiff not hurt his
Heisman chances.
4. Texas running back Ricky
Williams. Williams is every
one’s preseason favorite player,
but I don’t think he will win
the Heisman simply because
he IS the favorite to win it.
The preseason favorite
never wins it. Don’t believe
me? Ask Peyton Manning.
5. Syracuse quarterback
Donovan McNabb. McNabb is
a strong sleeper. He was
absolutey brilliant against
Tennessee earlier this year,
throwing for 300 yards and
making several spectacular
plays. I believe McNabb could
be another Steve McNair when
he gets to the NFL.
6. Central Florida quarter
back Daunte Culpepper. A
lot of people are hopping on
Culpepper’s bandwagon,
thinking it “trendy” to tout a
small-college unknown.
Culpepper was overlooked by
many Division I schools
because his grades were sup
posed to be poor.
Those same schools are
kicking themselves. Culpepper
went to UCF because they
stuck by his side when the big
schools stopped calling.
He has repaid UCF by
becoming the university’s
all-time greatest player but
he’s still not going to win
the Heisman.
]ef Schmidt is a senior
journalism major.
Backs
Continued from Page 5 B
“It really doesn’t bother me
because I know that whomever is
behind Branndon [Stewart] at the
time will get the job done,” Parker
said.
The brute force that defenses
hate to see comes rumbling at them
in the form of D’Andre Hardeman.
The senior from North Shore is
known as a specialist in powering
over defensive linemen and anyone
else who tries to stop him.
Hardeman is currently ninth on the
school’s all-time rushing touchdown
list. After a preseason injury to full
back Marc Broyles, Slocum said'
Hardeman would take over as the
muscle in the backfield.
Hardeman is confident because
of Slocum’s faith in Hardeman’s
ability.
Coach Slocum wants me on the field
to help us win,” Hardeman said.
After being hampered with a torn
ACL and missing the 1997 cam
paign, junior Eric Bernard looks for
ward to getting back into the action.
Bernard had an impressive sopho
more season in 1996, when he aver
aged 5.2 yards per carry and scored
five touchdowns.
Livingston said he feels Bernard
is ready to play.
“He is in top form after impress
ing us all in the spring,” Livingston
said. “It will be great to see him on
the field this year.”
Having such a wide spectrum of
talent and skill should prove to be a
major influence on the Aggies’
offense.
With one sentence. Hall summed
1
i
Junior running back Dante Hall breaks through the Baylor defensive line for crucial yardage last season.