2B
2004 FOOTBALL PR[i
Monday, August 30, 2004
THE BAIT,41
Few questions over quarterbacks in year tw
O « r l/' I r /-v « « In ’ o r’/ r 'vrv'» c* cm* c*/-w i //=»"» r i o l\ 4 /"* Nl 1 »-> / i o ^ i-* \ r o n i ha
JOHN C. LIVAS • THE BATTALION
McNeal passes the ball during the 2003 game against Pittsburgh.
By Kyle Davoust
THE BATTALION
The time is now for Texas A&M
junior quarterback Reggie McNe-
aPs promise to become reality.
At least that is what McNeal and
his coach, Dennis Franchione, are
hoping after two seasons mixed
with injuries, flashes of brilliance
and the occasional inconsistency.
“Reggie is stronger and more
prepared for this season than ever
before,” Franchione said. “I will
be disappointed if he doesn’t take
some major steps this season.”
Rarely can a conversation cen
ter around Aggie football without
mention of McNeal and the offense.
How is the shoulder? Will he do bet
ter in the second year of Coach Fran-
chione’s system? How will Dustin
Long’s departure affect him?
McNeal’s right shoulder, which
required off-season surgery aftef
being injured last season, seems to
have fully recovered. McNeal said
he feels great, and his coaches have
no reason to doubt him.
“1 haven’t seen any problems at all.
These are the first two-a-days, so it’s
hard for me to come out and say that
he’s not sore or anything, but he hasn’t
complained about it,” said offensive
coordinator and quarterbacks coach
Les Koenning. “He’s making all the
throws, and he hasn’t labored at all.”
In fact, the team actually sees a
positive side to McNeal’s injury,
which kept him from throwing
spring drills, as they believe it ac
celerated the maturation process of
the other quarterbacks on the team.
“I think both (Ty Branyon and
Stephen McGee) benefited,” said se
nior receiver Terrence Murphy. “But
I feel like it was good for Reggie to
sit back and watch them and for them
to step up and get some reps.”
Besides avoiding injury, McNeal
also has to prove to his critics that
he can be a good decision-maker
and throw consistently. He said he
believes that a second year in the
same system will go a long way in
solving those problems.
“It’s a lot more comfortable know
ing you have a year under your belt,”
McNeal said. “I know my reads bet
ter, the o-line knows its blocking
schemes better, and everyone out
there is just more comfortable hav
ing that year under their belt.”
The biggest question entering the
McNeal
season, however, is how McNeal and
the rest of the team will respond to
the departure of senior Dustin Long,
who transferred to Sam Houston
State University last spring. For much
of last year.
Long and POSITION REPORT ~
McNeal were
engulfed in a
quarterback
battle, which
left many
guessing
who would
be the starter
from week to
week.
“He looks
like more
of a leader
because he
knows he has
to be. He’s
the quarter
back, and he knows he has to step
up in those instances,” Murphy said.
“Dustin is gone, and now Reggie
knows he has it all in his hands and
on his shoulders, so he just has to
step up and make plays.”
McNeal said he feels more com-
fortablethanheever hasentering this
McGee
season, yet he said he uw,
comfort become complaceiB
“It’s always more com|
when you don’t have tobe!«
over your shoulder, but I
to go out tic
play th
McNeal
biggest
go out
give 1L j,
every wed
that and jus
my game,
feel like»:
come out on
While
might be no
petition fob
on the deptl
there is stilli
terback bat
College Si
this season,
time, however, it will come:
backup position, where ra
sophomore Ty Branyon ant
freshman Stephen McGe;
have coaches questioning^
No. 2 is.
QUARTERBACKS
RETURNING
Reggie McNeal (JR)
Ty Branyon (SO)
LOST
Dustin Long
NEWCOMERS
Stephen McGee
T.J. Sanders
Jordan Chambless
1,000-yard rusher returns to A&M backfield
By Ryan Irby
THE BATTALION
Some Aggie fans found a new hero
wrapped in the woeful 2003 season in the
swift sprints of a young unknown wearing
the number 25 on his back. But they may not
have expected to find this hero in an unlikely
freshman leader who carried the load of the
offensive assault. After being redshirted his
freshman season, Courtney Lewis burst into
the Aggies’ backfield in 2003 to claim the
bulk of the ball-carrying duties en route to
becoming the leading freshman rusher in the
Big 12 and setting a school record for yards
gained by a freshman rusher at 1,024.
Even with such a young captain at the
helm of the running back coips, Franchione
said he feels comfortable with his athletes.
“I feel like the young guys have elevat
ed the play of our older guys, and that has
made us better,” he said.
Lewis recently made headlines because
after a substantial number of carries per
game, he claims he is poised to break 1,500
yards rushing this season.
“If they give me the ball that number
of times,” Lewis said, referring to the 25
to 30 per game predicted by Franchione,
“(I’ll break) 1,500 yards.”
The 5-foot-11 -inch, 194-pound explosive
runner has added 20 pounds of power since
arriving in Aggieland in the fall of2002. With
last year’s 1,024-yard effort, Lewis became
the first Aggie rusher since current NFL star
Dante Hall in 1998 to reach the mark.
Flowever, behind Lewis, the Aggies en
counter depth problems. Derrick Brown, a
redshirt freshman faces personal and aca
demic problems and has yet to report to fall
workouts. Beyond Brown is junior Will
Adams, sophomore David Anderson and
two high school recruits, Samson Taylor
and Jay Lucas. Another member of the 2004
signing class, freshman Keondra Smith, is
absent from workouts for academic eligibil
ity reasons. Chris Alexander, also a redshirt
freshman, will join senior Keith Joseph in
the fullback duties and will bring a stocky
5-foot-11-inch, 238-pound frame to the
lineup that will make him tough to handle.
Joseph, at 6-foot-2-inches and 256 pounds,
will undoubtedly strike fear in opponents’
defenses and is expected to make a giant im
pact in running and blocking.
“The great ones aren’t satisfied with just
being a good runner,” Franchione said. “They
take pride in becoming an all-around back.”
A&M assistant coach Lee Fobbs has
been pressing the running back corps
throughout fall workouts to concentrate on
various aspects of the running game such
as precision handoffs and ball security.
Franchione and Fobbs expressed confi
dence in the ground game as one of the main
strengths of this year’s team. With leadership
emerging from young players, the offensive
scheme will be able to utilize the rushing
game to develop a more balanced attack.
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