Defensive coordinator
John Chavis leads
a drill during spring
practice.
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015 I SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 I ©2015 STUDENT MEDIA I ©THEBATTONLINE
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Tim Lai — THE BATTALION
Chavis makes himself at home
New DC looks to inherit A&M
football’s 'wealth of talent'
By Alex Scott
■■A exas A&M’s new defensive
coordinator, John Chavis, is
already making himself com
fortable in College Station.
Chavis has a resume that speaks
for itself. He began his career at Ala
bama A&M, where he led the highest
ranking Division II defense in 1987
and 1988. After his time in Alabama
he returned to his alma mater, Ten
nessee, where he stayed for 19 years.
Most recently Chavis served as the
defensive coordinator for LSU. Over
the course of his five years in Baton
Rouge, 19 of the players he coached
were drafted into the NFL, with five
in the first round.
This season, he has a new home —
Texas A&M.
“What wouldn’t be appealing?
This is a university that has invested
in its program,” Chavis said after
practice Thursday. “You look at that
stadium — it’s a place where you can
recruit. There is a wealth of talent in
Texas. Why wouldn’t you want to
be a part of this at Texas A&M?”
It is unique that a defensive co
ordinator chooses to keep the cur
rent coaching staff when entered a
new job. Chavis opted to keep the
coaches that know Texas A&M and
are comfortable with this university
and the players.
“They’re fine men; they’re excel
lent football coaches,” Chavis said.
It is not just the staff that the new
DC is excited about inheriting, but
the young, talented Texas A&M
team. He said his experience with
the players thus far has been positive.
“The players are working their
rear ends off, they are a great group
of young men, they’re hungry and
they’re putting in the effort right
CHAVIS ON PG. 4
Billy Pickard, an Aggie football
mainstay since the days of the Junction
Boys, was put on life support Sunday.
Pickard, Class of 1956, has worked
with every A&M coach since Bear
Bryant. He formally retired in 2009,
but the 81-year-old has maintained a
presence with the program.
Q&A
SOFTBALL
BASEBALL
Shelby Knowles-- THE BATTALION
Jeffrey Saveli, University Distinguished
Professor, is the leader of the meat
science section in the Department of
Animal Science.
Professor
talks 3-plus
decades of
meat science
The Battalion news reporter Lenae
Allen sits down with Jeffrey Saveli,
University Distinguished Professor
and leader of the meat science
section in the Department of Animal
Sciences to discuss changes in the
meat industry during his 38 years at
Texas A&M.
THE BATTALION:Tell us about
yourself and how you came to work
in meat science.
SAVELL: Well, I grew up in Ferris,
Texas, which is just south of Dallas.
So, as a rural area and a farming
background, a lot of people worked
in Dallas. My dad was an ag, though
he was more in the crops. He hauled
hay, hauled cotton, worked at the gins
and in the cotton community. I got
involved in FFA in high school, started
showing and raising livestock and also
judging. I got involved as a freshman
doing meats judging because that's
just what you did. I remember my first
trip to Texas A&M was in 1968. Pulling
up on the corner of Texas Avenue and
University Drive, I looked out and my
teacher said, "Boys, that's A&M." Now,
it was none of the big buildings, none
of the tall buildings were there and you
still had the old-timey water tower. It
was still the biggest thing I had ever
seen. I remember going to the old
meat lab and just being fascinated.
I ended up doing livestock judging
later on, but I kept coming back to the
meats.
THE BATTALION: How many people
have talked to you about your
program, your classes and Camp
Brisket?
SAVELL: I have no idea how many
emails I've gotten. I mean, there've been
SAVELL ON PG. 2
A&M takes two of three from
No. 9 Kentucky despite rain
Senior outfielder Brittany Clopton lays down a bunt during the loss
Sunday against Kentucky.
13-game winning
streak ended Sunday
By Milkyas Gashaw
After a close loss on
a rainy Sunday, the
A&M softball team had to
settle with winning two of
three over the weekend
against No. 9 Kentucky.
The No. 20 Aggies fell
to the Wildcats 3-2 in the
final game of the three-
game series at the Aggie
Softball Complex, end
ing their win streak at 13
games.
Players on both sides
had to make adjustments
as rainfall came and went
throughout the game.
Both pitchers were
constantly going to their
towels attached to their
uniforms to try and retain
a good grip on the softball
in order to keep control
of their pitches, which
junior pitcher Katie
Marks said is the primary
concern when pitching
through the rain.
“The only thing that
the weather had an effect
on was having a dry ball,”
Marks said. “The grounds
crew did a great job pre
paring the field for us.”
Marks got the start
Sunday against the Wild
cats and went seven in
nings, giving up four
hits and three runs. Head
coach Jo Evans said the
team showed resiliency
throughout the weekend.
“I thought we showed
great toughness in the ele
ments that we had,” Ev
ans said. “I didn’t think
the weather was any fac
tor in the game for us.”
Marks’ opponent on
the mound was junior
SOFTBALL ON PG. 4
Aggies stay
perfect with
Houston sweep
A&M stands for the national anthem Sunday.
By Tyler Stafford
^ Sixteen games in, the Aggies are the lone unde-
W* feated team in Division I college baseball.
The Nq. 11 Texas A&M baseball team needed
only three hits to remain perfect on the season, de
feating Baylor 3-2 in the final game of the Houston
College Classic held at Minute Maid Park.
A&M donned its black uniforms — reserved for
when the team is attempting to earn a sweep — for
the fourth time already this season.
Born and raised in Waco, junior starting pitcher
Matt Kent gave no breaks to his hometown team.
Kent went 7 1/3 innings against the Bears, allowing
two runs, six hits, one walk and nine strikeouts —
including a string of six straight punch-outs. The
lefty set career highs in innings pitched and strike
outs.
“Early on I had really good command and I was
able to get them off-balance and get some quick in
nings with some off-speed pitches and easy ground-
outs,” Kent said. “I really let my defense kind of
handle the work for me. Later in the game I lost a
little bit of my command but I was still able to push
balls into the zone and make them hit pitches and
not just give up free walks.”
BASEBALL ON PG. 2
M. GOLF
7just wanted to hit itfar’
Spanish native hitting his
stride in third year at A&M
By Cole Stenholm
^ Few Texas A&M students
r travel as far to College Sta
tion each year as does student
athlete Adria Arnaus. The junior
from the men’s golf team hails
from Barcelona, Spain, well more
than 5,000 miles away from the
heart of Aggieland.
It was in Barcelona that Arnaus
picked up the game of golf and
where he ignited a passion for the
sport that would eventually land
him in Texas.
“My dad is the director of a
little golf course next to Barce
lona,” Arnaus said. “And so, he
would never have thought every
thing would have ended up like
this ... He got in a friendship
with somebody that started the
golf course. And I started playing
and I guess I liked it more and
picked it up around eight years
old and then started competing. ”
The ability to drive the ball
with great power, a skill that he
sees in his professional idol, Sergio
Garcia, was of particular interest
to Arnaus when he was younger.
“What I really liked is to hit it
long,” he said. “I’m guessing now
I’m trying to do the opposite, just
hit it as straight as possible. But
the thing that got me going is the
distance when I was younger. I
just wanted to hit it far.”
Not only did he “hit it far,”
but Arnaus proceeded to thrive as
an elite golfer on the junior cir
cuit in Spain, earning a Spanish
Boys Under-18 ranking as high
as third and helping the Spanish
male under-18 team claim the
ARNAUS ON PG. 4
Cody Franklin —THE BATTALION
Junior Adria Arnaus said the thrill of hitting with power
drew him to golf.