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Page 5 • Friday, February 6, 2004
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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
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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.