August 27, 2004
Four walk-on members of the Texas A&M football team were awarded scholarships, Aggie head coach Dennis Franchione announced on Friday.
Receiving scholarships were seniors Blake Kendrick (Willis, Texas / WHS) and Jacob Young (Fairfield, Texas / FHS), and sophomores Ty Branyon (Austin, Texas / Bowie HS) and Marques Thornton (Houston, Texas / Madison HS).
"One of the really satisfying parts of this job is rewarding players for their commitment, dedication and hard work," Franchione said. "One way we do this occasionally is to award a scholarship. This fall, with our new players on scholarship falling under the NCAA limit, we were able to put four walk-ons on a grant-in-aid without using an initial counter. This is a tribute to how they have become a valuable part of the team and found ways to help the team become successful."
Franchione also announced A&M's game captains for the Utah contest: Branyon, senior Keith Joseph, senior Mike Montgomery and junior Ronald Jones.
The Aggies will face the No. 20-ranked Utes in a nationally-televised contest at Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m.