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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 1999)
ie Battalion Sports Page 11 • Thursday, February 4, 1999 Signing Day ’99 good to Ags adliner Weber helps push A&M recruiting class into top 5 s the same a; filiations in has alread' x'rts invest]; t to Russian ile an errant n by a com] -1 be highly igs could ommunical he backbom detect foreip screens cot ug could thn terns into i apparently di he computet ot that nude, pop off out /er, an amly on Group in merck^ BY JEFF SCHMIDT The Battalion orns rank No. 1, but Aggies get talent FILE PHOTOTm Battalion fnees like Bryan High defensive lineman Ty men helped give A&M the No. 5 recruiting iss in the nation. D, Iraq (AP -: >ns with coun trees dot vidence of s grown rich iViwinVdC A nother happy day.” A&M head coach .nS,!S: ; A R - C - Slocum, ' Mercedes se, JLgrmning, uttered rdan in defia: eselwords as he came to anctions tful?podium Wednesday, ;o poor that! idy to tell the world a struggle, oul the high school se- embargo in arslvho had signed let- invasion of s ol intent. I and crushet Tie Aggies signed 28 has also crea tyers on Signing Day, one ts who impc the best recruiting class rossthe pora inichool history. Christmas came 40 days late for the Texas A&M Football Team Wednesday, as 28 ath letes signed letters of intent to play for the Aggies. Three of the signees are al ready attending A&M and will count towards last year’s scholarship total. “We spent a lot of time look ing at tapes and visiting with the young men when they came in, and we got some guys that fit our way of doing things,” A&M coach R. C. Slocum said. “I think that if you look at the [last] season there was clear evidence that you could come play football at A&M and have a big-time experience.” National Recruiting Advisor editor-in-chief Bobby Burton ranks A&M’s class as the fifth best in the country, and five of A&M’s signees were ranked among the top 100 players in the country: running back Joe Weber (San Bernardino, Calif.], defensive end Ty Warren (Bryan), defensive back Jason Frederick (Cypress), offensive lineman Alan Reuber (Plano) and defensive back Sammy Davis (Humble). Both Weber and Warren helped to catapult A&M’s re cruiting class into the upper echelon. Burton points to Weber as the jewel in A&M’s crown. “Weber is the guy a lot of people are going to point to as putting A&M among the elite,” Burton said. “Not necessarily one guy can do that, but what’s going to happen is people in California are going to say they [the Ag gies] got three guys UCLA wanted.” “He [Weber] has a great smile and is just a class guy,” Slocum said “He has big thighs, is quick-footed catching the ball, makes cuts, and when he gets open he has another speed.” Headlining the defensive signees is Warren, ranked by Burton as the top defensive lineman in Texas. “Going back to [former A&M defensive star] Sam Adams, we haven’t had a de fensive lineman with the phys ical talents Ty Warren has,” Slocum said. The Aggies also landed the top quarterback in Texas for the second straight year. Brown- wood product Colby Freeman. Although he is known more as a runner, Freeman can de velop into a top college player Slocum said. “We’ve had Colby in our football camp for two years, and we have a good feel for what his talents are,” Slocum said. see Recruits on Page 14. Doug SHILLING ases, the new A big factor in this year’s recruiting was that mple war pit the past season, the Aggies shed their image intry in despr no t t-, e i n g able to win the big game. The vic- ts, Saddams^gg over then No. 2 Nebraska at home and encouraged p.|| n i<ed Kansas State in the Big 12 Champi- nilies and Pi onship game showed recruits A&M was a bona-fide contender for the national title. “Those kind of wins send a clear message to the kids,” Slocum said. “It shows that you don’t have to go elsewhere to play big-time football.” The main thing that made this class superior was the Aggies recruited players who suited their strengths, the basics of “Aggie Football”: a good running game and an even better defense. The definite jewel of this year’s offensive class is Joe Weber. The top-rated running back in California, Slocum describes Weber as “a bright-eyed, class guy. He’s quick-footed and when he breaks into the open field, he seems to kick into another speed. He’s special.” The Aggies also recruited some “big uglies”, to help block for Weber. Alan Reuber, an All- American out of Plano, and Andre Brooks from Brazoswood, highlight the offensive line. The Aggies also snagged the state’s top-rat ed quarterback Colby Freeman. Slocum stressed that a mobile quarterback is a necessi ty, and the Aggies got that in Freeman. But when you look at the Aggies’ recruits, one spot stands out above the rest: Defense. After signing only one defender last year, the Aggies made it a priority this year, signing possi bly the nation’s best group of defensive players. And it all starts with the defensive line — namely, Ty Warren and Brian West. Warren is an immense talent with tremendous speed for a man of his size, in terms of talent, Slocum said the Aggies haven’t had anyone as skilled since Adams anchored the defensive line. 1999 A&M FOOTBALL SIGNEES f i j i-.:.: u NAME POS. HOMETOWN Andre Brooks OL Brazoswood Tashumbrae’ Brown TE - Dallas Ellison Collins DB mm mnmnr™* Sammy Davis DB Humble Oschlor Flemming RB Denton » DB Houston Colby Freeman QB Brownwood MatHice Hams RB Aldine Jesse Hunnicutt ATH Amarillo Terrance Kiel DB Lufkin John Kirk OL Athens Jason LeDoux LB West Monroe, La. Britt Lively OL Silsbee James Milkavich OL Alief 2 J! Shannon Mitchell DL Navasota Jared Morris LB Brownwood Jarrod Penright LB Aldine Alan Reuber OL Plano Everett Smith DB Compton Fred Spiller TE Aldine Reggie Waddell DB Missouri City Ty Warifc Bi yaa Joe Weber RB San Bernardino, Ca. Brian West DL West Monroe, La. Damien West &mm LB Ijj Sugar Land Sean Weston DB Gardena, Ca. Richards Whitaker H RB till Jacksonville Toron Wooldridge p LB In Houston see Aggies on Page 14. TOP 5 NATIONAL RECRUITING CLASSES 1. University of Texas 2. Ohio State University 3. Notre Dame University 4. UCLA 5. Texas A&M University 6. University of Alabama 7. Louisiana St. University 8. University of Tennessee 9. University of Miami 10. 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