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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 2004)
Y » Page 5 • Friday, February 6, 2004 NTS tt Signing Day 2004 clwo-sport athlete picks Aggies IGHT • TH! ie pauses ix durin(;l sturday. Foil Signees ■4 290 0 175 ■3 230 •3 245 -1 II ■4 24! •1 •1 l 1 11 -2 -5 -3 11 10 -5 235 -0 -0 ■3 221 -4 -2 195 -2 21 -4 1 -1 2l -5 •0 195 -3 245 0 2 3 By Brad Bennett THE BATTALION most college-bound quarterbacks ng their playbooks, Jordan isison the baseball diamond prac- ijhis pitching. Chambless isn’t still play- his senior year at Corpus Christi lien High School because he needs the ityletter; he has lettered in football and atCalallen High School since he in the ninth grade. bless needs to stay sharp on his pitch- ause, after the Texas A&M football is over next year. Chambless plans to Aggie baseball. [A&M Head Coach Dennis Franchione) itwasOK to play both as long as 1 kept jades up.” Chambless said. kNCAA prohibits anyone from the ilAthletic Department from comment- leforenext fall on whether Chambless play baseball next year, but with a 96 fastball, he is a prospect expected to iprofessional offers. tanbless said he will consider signing a (league baseball contract, but only if offered ghtomake it worth foregoing college. Signing a pro-baseball contract) is obvi- something 1 can’t decide right now,” mbless said. ‘‘If they offer enough money tetotake care of my family for a long is something I can’t pass up.” HAMBLESSI 96 MPH FASTBALL 48 2,015 YDS PASSING 1,027 YDS RUSHING TOTAL TD ohnEtiret) [Lafayette) 2A (University / Compton CC) 85 IX (Duncanville) 5 tin) Wallen) X(Dunbar) (LaMarque) / Tyler JC) ulessTrinity/ Butler County CC) Orange-Stark) y-Springs) Hrazosport) (Memorial) tAdoiy / East Mississippi JC) ZlOpet) (DeWitt Clinton / San Francisco CC) f tee) 145 Pearland) 285 n) X(Higtitower/ Northwest Mississippi JC) 12 s,TX (The Woodlands) TX (Mount Pleasant) Whether a baseball contract will pan out doesn’t seem to be worrying Chambless. “This is the most relaxed I’ve seen him in several months,” said Asa Chambless, Jordan’s father. “He knows where he’s going to school, and he’s healthy. He is real thank ful for that.” Calallen head football coach Phil Danaher said Chambless is a versatile player, throw ing for 2,515 yards and 25 touchdowns while rushing for 1,027 yards and 23 touchdowns. Chambless also started at defensive back his freshman year, punted, returned punts and blocked downfield on option plays. “(Chambless) is a complete football player,” Danaher said. “He is one of the best athletes to come through Calallen.” Danaher said Calallen adjusted to a pro-set throwing offense to take advantage of Chambless’ passing abilities. “He has great downfield vision," Danaher said. “He can throw oft the run when he scrambles ” Chambless was almost overlooked by A&M which, at the end of last semester had three quar terbacks - sophomore Reggie McNeal, junior Dustin Long and incoming freshman Stephen McGee, who enrolled at A&M in January after graduating from Burnet High School. This all changed in January when Long left for Sam Houston State and McNeal underwent surgery that took him out of spring training. “We felt that with our scholarship situation at the quarterback position we needed to recruit another one,” Franchione said. “1 think we real ly got a good one in Jordan Chambless.” Asa Chambless said he remembers hearing the news of Long’s departure andthat he hoped that meant his son had a renewed shot at going to A&M instead of Rice, where they were vis iting when the news broke. “(My wife and I) were sitting in a hotel room in Houston and we heard on the news that Long was transferring,” Asa Chambless said. “And 1 said ‘we’ll see.’” Asa Chambless said Aggie recruiter Melvin Smith was at Calallen to talk to them two days later. “It was exciting to know he’s wanted,” Asa Chambless said. Asa Chambless said they cancelled their three remaining visits to other schools after they visited A&M. “When we visited the campus (Jordan) said, ‘How could I not want to go here,’” Asa Chambless said. Jordan Chambless said the campus visit convinced him he wanted to be an Aggie. “I met a lot of great people (in College Station),” Chambless said. “It reminded me of (Calallen).” Chambless said meeting Franchione sealed his commitment. “(Franchione) is really down to earth,” Chambless said. “He is committed to winning.” Chambless said he isn't worried about being redshirted or any possible quarterback battles between McGee, McNeal and him. “I’ve been through the process before,” Chambless said. Chambless will move to A&M on July 4th and start classes second summer session. Aggie fans will have to wait till the major league baseball draft in June to know for sure if Chambless will be wearing Aggie maroon or a professional ball cap. Andrew Burleson • THE BATTALION sonnrF . Ar.r.iFATMi rnrs rnM ■elver, oughW and Ik# ■ry > has exf anchioi on atT)' Rickey i one atAl >ne left -a&mJ oach. andatofj er pickey: n- colie oining Colie? 1 vhatGrlsil 2 said, j nbletod 2 e imp# 1 'college 1 on theft 004.il ft ;Ct 1 be pay ttle mo# lit o better -ould. gies take on nghorns in 115 match-up iday is the last ice for six Texas A&M its to do one thing ve never done in their -defeat the iity of Texas. No. 13 A&M men’s (.efiming and diving team Is largest obstacle of Friday at 3 p.m. ithey take on No. 2 (4-1) at the Texas cAggies (8-1) will need ayfitefan support to try ipset their longtime 'and the team is hoping type of maroon out. SPORTS IN BRIEF Basketball seeks win at Baylor Texas A&M men’s basket ball team will seek its first Big 12 conference win against Baylor this Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Ferrell Center in Waco. The Aggies (7-11, 0-7 Big 12) are in the midst of a seven-game losing streak, and with the Bears (6-14, 1- 6) rebuilding after a contro versial off-season, this is a game that can get the Aggies back on track. Blair tries to win second in a row in Norman After earning its first con ference win Wednesday night, A&M women’s basket ball head coach Gary Blair will take his troops on the road to Norman, Okla. to face No. 21 Oklahoma Saturday at 12 p.m. The Aggies (8-12, 1-8 Big 12) are hoping to start a winning streak against the Sooners (13-6, 3-5) who beat A&M 65-56 in overtime at Reed Arena in College Station on Jan 14. The game will be tele vised by Fox Sports Net at 12 p.m. The return of the Wrecking Crew By Jon Gilbert THE BATTALION Rebuilding the famed Wrecking Crew defense will be no easy task. Yet, Texas A&M head football coach Dennis Franchione is off to a great start with the corps of solid linebackers bound for Aggieland, The Aggies signed seven linebackers on Wednesday: Alton Boudreaux, Aaron Brown, Lee Foliaki, Kedrick Goins, Renuel Green, Terrence Smith and Mark Young. "(The linebacker recruits) can come in and make an impact,” Franchione said. "They play with speed and power and can come in and improve our defense.” During last year’s 4-8 sea son, the defense was the weakest spot on the field, even though A&M prides itself on its strong Wrecking Crew defense. Senior Jared Morris was lost for the season, and sopho mores Archie McDaniel and Nhurada Manning were thrust into the rotation with little experience. With walk-on sen ior linebacker Scott Stickane filling out the position, the sit uation was tough. Whenever you have a walk-on trying to tackle University of Texas quarterback Vincent Young, you’re fighting an uphill battle. Four of the recruits are jun ior college transfers, each a top-30 junior college player. Brown, Foliaki and Smith are three of the most highly ranked junior college players in the nation; each has four- star status, according to recruiting Web site rivals.com. One thing all the recruits has in common is speed. “After last season, we knew that a priority with this defense is speed,” Franchione said. Brown and Smith are line backers with exceptional speed. Brown, 6 foot 3 inches and 245 pounds, is from Compton, Calif, and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds. He is an all-around athlete who was offered a baskeball scholarship to play at University of California Los Angeles coming out of high school. Last season, he had 88 tack les and 19.5 sacks in seven games for Compton Community College. He has played primarily outside line backer, but can also play inside. Smith, 6 foot 3 inches and 245 pounds, earned J.C. Gridwire All-American status as he collected 144 tackles. “He has great speed,” said Northwest Community College defensive coordina tor Jeff Byrd, Smith’s junior college coach. “He makes plays all over the field. He can flat out fly.” Foliaki is fast, but his fonner coach said he was more known for his power and coordination. “He’s a seek-and-destroy type of linebacker,” said Euless Trinity head coach Steve Lineweaver, Foliaki’s high school coach. “He has a nose for the football and he’s real coordinated. He’s capable of making the one-handed interception and actually works on plays like that.” Green is a player who was signed out of high school by Franchione to play at Alabama, where Franchione was head coach, but Green didn’t not end up going to Alabama. He had a stellar junior col lege career where he made the MAJCA All-State team. All of these transfers, more so than the high school players, will be able to give immediate help to a position where A&M struggled last year. Franchione was positive about the recruiting class. “This coaching staff has a history of successfully rebuilding programs,” Franchione said. “Our coach es did a great job.” With the new linebackers, fans may see a return of the Wrecking Crew or even Linebacker U. status. Art Wright • THE BATTALION Fans watch A&M head footbacll coach Dennis Franchione during his singing day press conference Wednesday afternoon on the jumbotron at Kyle Field from the south end zone bleachers. Aggies add two more from Tyler Lee By Ryan Irby THE BATTALION After coming off a 4-8 dis appointment, a horrifying 77- 0 loss to University of Oklahoma and trials within the team unit, the Texas A&M football staff has responded with force. A&M’s 2004 recruiting class is hailed as one of the top 15 in the nation, as Franchione has wisely infused junior-college stand outs from across the country with fresh high school talent. When the Aggies kick off Sept. 2 at Utah, a particular pair of Aggie recruits will recognize at least one famil iar face: each other’s. Running back Keondra Smith and defensive back Quentin Gardner were team mates at Robert E. Lee High School in Tyler, Texas, which in the past has churned out Aggie standouts such as All- American punter Cody Scales, running back Derek Farmer (who recently trans ferred to Stephen F. Austin) and freshman All-American linebacker Justin Warren. Lee’s season ended last year in a triple-overtime semifinal defeat at the hands of The Woodlands High School. However, Smith and Gardner are two men looking to become champions on the next level. “(Gardner) is probably the best cover guy to come through since I have been here,” Owens said. “He swal lows them up. It’s tough to do that man-to-man. “(Smith) is a great receiv er, real smart, tough, good runner ... and a big time play er. He scores touchdowns.” From a defensive stand point, Owens’ news is more than desperately needed. Watching a season marred by the lack of defense and the defamation of the Wrecking Crew last year, Gardner car ries high hopes to return pres tige and glory to the once- feared A&M defense. “Quentin is a guy who plays with great energy,” said A&M comerrbacks coach Chris Thurmond. “He is a good tack ier in the open field and he plays the ball down field.” Smith, on the other hand, will help fill the shoes of Lee alum and recently departed Derek Farmer. With the dan gers of the A&M freshman All-American Courtney Lewis already looming in the backfield, the addition of a power runner like Smith should terrorize opposing defenses. “Keondra is a very intelli gent player and runs very smart,” said A&M running backs coach Lee Fobbs. “He is similar to Barry Sanders in that he has great ability to change directions.” Gardner and Smith also bring intangible factors to the game. “Quentin Gardner can be just about whatever Jhe wants,” Owens said. “Keondra Smith is definitely an impact player, a difference-maker. He can do so many things. Anytime you are inside the 5-yard line, he’s the guy you hand the ball to.” Gardner and Smith never shared the spotlight at the same time as one plays defense and the other offense. However, that fact has not stopped them from bringing a unifying spirit to the Lee Red Raiders, and hopefully to the Aggies’ locker room. “They never see each other in practice,” Owens said. “But I know they are friends.” Coaches know expecta tions can be a dangerous thing. However, Franchione’s efforts this recruiting season have made it safe to at least hope the Aggies are on the road to recovery. At least one football coach believes that the Smith-Gardner duo will play a key role in the Aggies’ future. “They should be elite players before its all said and done,” Owen said. Most high school athletes spend at least four years together bonding as a team, sharing experiences and growing together before the elite are catapulted to the next level. For Smith and Gardner, it looks as though four years simply wasn’t enough.