Move-in Day

--Extra Points with Steve Miller appears throughout the Texas A&M athletics season and is generally posted every other week.

There were bags of clothes, television sets, x-boxes, portable refrigerators, an aquarium, and smiles abound Monday as the much anticipated arrival to campus by the Texas A&M freshman football players took place at Cain Hall.

It was not the first visit to campus by these wide-eyed newcomers, as each had this return visit on their minds for months.

As cars and SUV's pulled into the parking lot behind the dorm, the future of A&M football emerged.

Appearing throughout the morning were the faces of all the names that A&M football fans have been reading and hearing about for better than a year. It was Reggie, Archie, Nurahda, Chad and Aldo. Plus, Courtney, Quinlin, Kelvin, Patrick, and the Brandons.

The media watches freshman wide receiver Chad Schroeder move in to Cain Hall as his family helps out.

It was not one of those internet winter recruiting trip visit check-lists, but it was freshman move-in day. The first day on campus for these new Aggies.

There was Alex, Andy, Todd and Ju, along with Brian, L'Tydrick, Bryce, Nick and Taylor, too.

Toting bags and boxes, parents were dropping their sons off at college, not just for an education and quarters of football, but to become young men and to make the family proud.

Many Aggies remember their first day on campus as they checked into the dorm. Hauling your belongings up the stairs and meeting your roommate for the very first time. For these young men, they were not only meeting their roommates, but they were meeting teammates for their tenure in Aggieland.

Todd Pegram and Chad Schroeder unloaded a new television and carefully carried it into the dorm under the watchful eyes of tv cameras and still photographers.

Meanwhile, Andy Matakis and Brian Patrick emptied a truck several times and ended their morning by carrying a partially filled aquarium into the building.

Monday was a busy day for the freshmen. After spending the morning getting situated in what will become their residence for the next nine months, they joined their families and their teammates for a welcome from the coaching staff.

By mid-afternoon, it was time to bid farewell to the family, and the neighborhood friends that came along for the ride, plus that high school sweetheart, too. One last goodbye until photo day in two weeks, when the family, friends and girlfriends return to Aggieland to see their favorite Aggie in his gameday uniform for the very first time.

Now officially off at school, and away from home, the guys gathered in each other's rooms, chatted a bit and even squeezed in a video game or two.

Then, the doors to the dining hall opened and it was time to feast. A spread of London Broil, Fried Shrimp, and Chicken Spaghetti appeared on the menu for the guys on their first day in Aggieland. They grabbed a tray and found a seat for the first of many visits to the nearly world famous training table.

Coach R.C. Slocum keeps his team on a tight schedule during the two-a-days in order to maximize every minute. Day one for the freshmen was no exception.

As their food settled, they made a short walk to Kyle Field for another welcome and their first look at the locker room they will call home for at least a year until the unveiling of the palatial south end zone complex next summer.

But the freshman soon learned that in order to fill their lockers with pads, shoes, a helmet, and more, there must be a few measurements taken by not only the equipment staff, but the medical staff as well.

Freshman wide receiver Anthony Wright's mother was one of the many parents who helped their sons move in to Cain Hall on Monday.

Doctors, nurses, athletic trainers, and strength coaches gave the medical clearances and it was around the locker room corner for the newcomers as they received precise shoulder pad and helmet fittings.

Along the way, each player tried on shoes and gloves, pants and jerseys, all to make the uniform complete.

But before they retired for the night and readied for that first Aggie practice on Tuesday morning, they had one last stop to make on the way out of Kyle Field.

Each donned a dress shirt, neck tie and a sports coat and smiled for the camera. It's that one moment, the first day on campus, that was captured. That look in their eye, the smile on their face. The memory of the day. It's the one that will flash on the internet, the JumboTron screen, and the game-day program this season for all to see.

Now it's Tuesday, time for the horn to blow, signaling the first walk of the day to the practice fields. It's not any normal walk to the practice field, but the first one with the words "Texas A&M" printed across their chests.

For these 20 young men, it was their athletic ability that caught the Aggies' coaching staff's eye and it was their character that helped bring them to College Station.

Thousands of young men play high school football each year, but only a select few are good enough to earn a division one scholarship. But more importantly, even fewer have what it takes to be awarded a scholarship to A&M and be a part of the school we think so grand.

Welcome, freshmen, to Texas A&M.