GAME 4: Louisiana Tech (1-1) at Texas A&M (3-0)
Sep 18, 2006 | Football
September 18, 2006
Game notes for Saturday's game against Louisiana Tech at Kyle Field (PDF link to the right)...
GAME 4:
Louisiana Tech BULLDOGS (1-1, 0-0 WAC)
at
Texas A&M AGGIES (3-0, 0-0 Big 12)
| GAME INFO |
| Saturday, Sept. 23, 6 p.m. (CDT) Kyle Field (82,600), College Station |
| RECORDS |
| Texas A&M: 3-0, 0-0 Big 12 Louisiana Tech: 1-1, 0-0 WAC |
| RANKINGS |
| A&M is receiving votes in both major polls. |
| TELEVISION |
| The game will not be televised. |
| RADIO |
| WTAW-AM 1620 (Local) Dave South, play-by-play Dave Elmendorf, commentary Tom Turbiville, sidelines (broadcast time 5 p.m. CDT) |
| INTERNET |
| Live Audio (Free): (Aggies All-Access) Live Stats: (aggieathletics.com) Live Postgame Press Conference Video (Free): (Aggies All-Access) |
| SERIES |
| A&M leads, 8-0 Last Meeting: (9/28/02) |
| UP NEXT |
| A&M hosts Texas Tech Saturday, Sept. 30, 2:30 p.m. (CDT) Kyle Field, College Station TV: ABC (Regional) Tickets: |
Series Information
The Aggies are 8-0 vs. Louisiana Tech on the field, although the Aggies' 1998 win was later forfeited due to an "inadvertent clerical error" regarding the academic record of former A&M running back D'Andre "Tiki" Hardeman ... The Aggies have outscored the Bulldogs 328-94 in the eight games.
Sharp McGee
The promise that quarterback Stephen McGee showed in the final two games of 2005 is coming to fruition in 2006. McGee, a sophomore from Burnet, Texas, has completed 69.4 percent of his passes (43-62) for 502 yards and three touchdowns in the first three games of the season.
McGee's completion percentage is the highest of any A&M starter after the first three games in school history.
He's also leading the team in rushing. The Aggies haven't had a quarterback lead the team in rushing since Roddy Osborne led the Aggies in 1956.
Early Returns Player Opponents Cmp-Att Pct. Year Stephen McGee Citadel, UL-L, Army 43-62 .694 2006 Lance Pavlas Hawaii, UL-L, UNT 29-44 .659 1990 Kevin Murray Ala., La.-M, Tulsa 35-54 .648 1985 Corey Pullig LSU, OU, USM 38-59 .644 1994 Mark Farris McN, WYO, OSU 68-107 .635 2001
Passing on Passing
The Aggies attempted just 11 passes against Army last week, which was the lowest number of pass attempts in a game in the Dennis Franchione era. In fact, the last time A&M attempted fewer passes was the 1998 Nebraska when the Aggies completed 2-fo-8 passes for 93 yards in a 28-21 win over the No. 2-ranked Cornhuskers.
Higher and Deeper
Texas A&M kickoffs have been flying higher and deeper in 2006 with the addition of true freshman Matt Szymanski to the lineup.
With Szymanski handling the lion's share of the kickoffs, A&M's average kickoff length is 62.0 yards, and the net average is 44.5 yards. A&M opponents have an average starting spot of the 20-yard line.
Last year, A&M's gross kickoff length was 58.5 and the net was 39.4. Last year's average starting spot was the 25-year line.
Push Them Back Year Kickers Avg. KO Net KO Start 2006 Szymanski (13), Neumann (2) 62.0 44.5 20 2005 Bean (41), Neumann (29) 58.5 39.4 25
A&M's Legion of Doom
The Aggies are using their tight ends more in 2006 than at any time in recent memory. The duo of sophomore Martellus Bennett and junior Joey Thomas, deemed the "Legion of Doom" by Bennett, have combined for 14 catches for 207 yards or an average of 4.7 catches per game.
The most that A&M has ever utilized its tight end was in 1986 when Rod Bernstine led the Southwest Conference with 65 catches (5.9 catches per game) for 710 yards. Bernstine was the only tight end to catch a pass that year.
Utilizing the Tight End Year Top TE Pass Catchers Total Avg./G 1986 Rod Bernstine 65 5.9 2006 Ma. Bennett, J. Thomas 14 4.7 2002 Greg Porter 50 4.2 1983 Rich Siler 43 3.9 1989 Mike Jones 40 3.6
Mr. Touchdown
In a strong return to the lineup, senior wide receiver Chad Schroeder has grabbed a team-high 12 catches for 183 yards and had a touchdown catch in each of the first three games. Against The Citadel, Schroeder grabbed six catches for 101 yards, both career-bests.
Schroeder missed the final three games of 2005 after suffering a broken leg in game 8 against Iowa State.
Schroeder now has 11 receiving touchdowns on just 44 career catches, which is tied for fourth-most in school history. Schroeder's touchdown to catch ratio is the highest of any Aggie with seven or more career touchdowns.
The average length of his touchdown catches is 31.9 yards. Adding to his touchdown legacy, Schroeder has also thrown a TD pass (vs. Oklahoma, 2004) and had a TD rush (vs. Texas State, 2005) as a holder on field goal placements.
Quick Strike TD Length Opp. Year 46 Army 2006 15 La.-Lafayette 2006 27 The Citadel 2006 5 Kansas State 2005 44 Texas State 2005 32 SMU 2005 15 SMU 2005 31 Clemson 2005 45 Oklahoma 2004 49 Baylor 2004 42 Baylor 2003 31.9-yard average on TD catches Up the Charts Rk Player, Years Rec. TDs 1. Bob Long, 1966-68 79 19 2. Tony Harrison, 1990-93 89 14 3. Albert Connell, 1995-96 98 13 4. Chad Schroeder, 2002- 44 11 Bethel Johnson, 1999-2002 117 11 Jeff Nelson, 1982-85 92 11 Don Jones, 1980-83 56 11 7. Terrence Murphy, 2001-04 172 10 Jamaar Taylor, 2001-03 108 10
Paydirt for J-Train
Big 12 scoring leader Jorvorskie Lane has pounded his way to eight touchdowns in 2006, including seven in the past two games. Lane's 16.0 points per game ranks No. 2 nationally.
NCAA Scoring Leaders Rk Player Team Pts./G 1. Kory Sheets Purdue 20.0 2. Jorvorskie Lane Texas A&M 16.0 3. Ian Johnson Boise State 14.0 4. Eight players 12.0Brantly Booms
Sophomore punter Justin Brantly, who doesn't have enough punts to qualify for NCAA or Big 12 statistics, is averaging a whopping 49.9 yards per punts after three games (seven total punts).
Defensive Stand
Texas A&M's defensive stand to end the Army game was one of the most memorable series in school history.
After Army took the football on the A&M 27, the Aggie defense thwarted Army for 10 plays, including six from the 10-yard line or closer and three from the two-yard line.
While several recent overtime games have been decided by an A&M defensive stop (Colorado and Texas Tech in 2004, for example), you have to go back to the 1986 Cotton Bowl for a goal line stand similar to last Saturday's.
In the 1986 Cotton Bowl, the Wrecking Crew turned back Auburn five times from inside their 10-yard line at the beginning of the fourth quarter, including four straight plunges by 1985 Heisman winner Bo Jackson. The last three rushes by Jackson started at the Aggie 2.
Grid / Hoops Bennett
A&M sophomore Martellus Bennett is one of a handful of Div. I-A athletes to play football and basketball. Last year, Bennett became the first Aggie to letter in football and basketball since Billy Bob Barnett in 1969.
Div. 1-A Football-Basketball Stars Player Position School Martellus Bennett TE Texas A&M Rodney Hannah TE Houston Avery Holley WR Florida Atlantic Jordan Kent WR Oregon Travis Lewis WR Eastern Michigan Carl Sims WR Baylor Matt Trannon WR Michigan State Source: University of Houston
Dodge Debut
Twenty-five year old junior college tranfer Mark Dodge, who served in the U.S. Army for four years after high school, has made nine tackles with one forced fumble in 2006. Dodge's background:
- Joins former quarterback Mike Jay (1973-75) as the only scholarship Aggie players with a military background since the war years.
- Weighed 170 pounds as a receiver/safety at Yerington High School in Nevada, but gained 35 pounds of muscle while in the Army. Currently weighs in at 222 pounds.
- Dodge was in the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, traditionally known as "The Old Guard" -- the Army's official ceremonial unit and escort to the President. The oldest active-duty infantry regiment in the Army, having served the country since 1784, participates in more than 6,000 ceremonies a year.
- Dodge, who earned the rank of sergeant in two years, attended state dinners, a Daytona 500 and an NCAA women's basketball Final Four. He has chatted more than once with President Bush and has met Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Hanks, Mariah Carey, John Travolta and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, among others.
- Was in the Pentagon filling out paperwork on his top-secret security clearance on Sept. 11, 2001 when the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. Dodge was called to assist in search-and-recovery efforts.
Army Leftovers
- Players of the Game:
- OFFENSIVE BACK: Jorvorskie Lane, Stephen McGee
- OFFENSIVE LINE: Kirk Elder
- DEFENSIVE LINE: Red Bryant
- DEFENSIVE BACK: Devin Gregg
- SPECIAL TEAMS: Cody Wallace
- 'O' SCOUT: Ryan Vaughn
- 'D' SCOUT: Paul Freeney
Offensive Line Notes:
- Kirk Elder had 18 knockdowns and 1.85 (on 2.0 scale) for highest grade.
- Corey Clark 15 knockdowns.
- Travis Schneider 11 knockdowns
- Four linemen played all 57 offensive snaps, and Grant Dickey (34 plays) and ChrisYoder (23) split one guard position.
Miscellaneous:
- On the tight end grading, Martellus Bennett was credited with 15 knockdowns
- Team had a season-high 91 knockdowns.
- In three games A&M has given up just two explosive pass plays (15 or more yards)
- Misi Tupe had (from film grading) three tackles for loss among his six unassisted tackles, and four assists for 10 tackles total.
- Jordan Peterson played 73 scrimmage downs and nine special teams plays
- Justin Warren played 73 scrimmage, four ST.
- Devin Gregg played 71 and 7.
- Melvin Bullitt played 69 and 9.
- A&M used eight DLs in a range of 16-36 plays, with Chris Harrington (52) and Red Bryant (57) playing most.
Coaching Experience
Three of Dennis Franchione's assistant coaches have been head coaches at some point in their careers: Gary Darnell at Western Michigan (1997-2004) and Tennessee Tech (1983-85); Bob DeBesse at Texas State (1997-2002); and Jim Bob Helduser at Texas State (1992-96).
Six of the nine assistants have coordinated offenses or defense prior to coming to Texas A&M: Darnell (DC at Texas, Notre Dame, Florida, Wake Forest and Kansas State); Les Koenning (OC at Alabama, Houston and Duke); Bill Clay (DC at Oklahoma State, UAB, UTEP, Mississippi State, Temple, SMU and Southern Miss); DeBesse (OC at Minnesota and TCU); Stan Eggen (DC at UNLV); and Mark Tommerdahl (OC at Wyoming).
Watch List Watch
Three Aggies have been mentioned on "watch lists" for various national awards:
Preseason Accolades Player Award (s) Red Bryant Bednarik Cody Wallace Rimington Justin Warren Bednarik, Butkus, Nagurski
Newcomer Impact
Ten members of the Aggies' 2006 signing class, including seven true freshmen, have seen action so far this season.
Junior college transfers Mark Dodge, Misi Tupe and Johnathan Batson have combined to make 24 tackles on defense.
True freshman that have seen action include running back Mike Goodson, placekicker Matt Szymanski, cornerback Jordan Pugh, wide receiver Cody Beyer, deep snapper Corey Gibas, wide receiver E.J. Shankle and linebacker Anthony Lewis.
Three-Year Trend
Offensive balance has become a trend for Franchione's Aggies. During his three previous seasons at the helm of the Aggies, the offense has averaged 191.9 rushing and 227.6 passing yards per game.
Only seven teams nationally have achieved that sort of balance over the past three seasons:
Balanced Trend (190+/225+) Team Rush/G Pass/G Boise State 192.08 275.74 California 223.24 239.05 Louisville 222.51 280.41 Northwestern 193.19 233.78 Southern California 197.77 294.36 Texas A&M 191.94 227.60 Utah 191.69 257.39
Leader Lewis
The team rushing leader the past three years, senior Courtney Lewis could become just the second player to lead the Aggies in rushing four straight seasons. A&M's all-time rushing leader Darren Lewis (no relation) led the Aggies in rushing from 1987-90 and finished with 5,012 career yards.
Lewis Moves into Top 10
Senior running back Courtney Lewis ranks in the top 10 in career rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.
A&M's Career Rushing Yards List Rk Player, Years Yards 1. Darren Lewis, 1987-90 5,012 2. Curtis Dickey, 1976-79 3,703 3. Greg Hill, 1991-93 3,262 4. Rodney Thomas, 1991-94 3,014 5. George Woodard, 1975-77, 79 2,911 6. Bubba Bean, 1972-75 2,846 7. Dant? Hall, 1996-99 2,818 8. Johnny Hector, 1979-82 2,587 9. Courtney Lewis, 2003- 2,584 10. Roger Vick, 1983-86 2,471 A&M's Career Rushing TDs List Rk Player, Years TDs 1. Darren Lewis, 1987-90 44 2. Rodney Thomas, 1991-94 41 3. George Woodard, 1975-77, 79 35 4. Curtis Dickey, 1976-79 34 5. Greg Hill, 1991-93 33 6. Courtney Lewis, 2003- 30 Joel Hunt, 1925-27 30 Bucky Richardson, 1987-91 30 9. Leeland McElroy, 1993-95 29 10. D'Andre Hardeman, 1995-99 28
Turnover Advantage
During the Dennis Franchione era at Texas A&M, the Aggies are 15-1 in games with a turnover margin advantage. In games with an even or minus turnover margin, the Aggies are 4-18.
Games with Turnover Advantage, Fran Era Opponent Year Turn Take +/- Result Baylor 2003 -2 +4 +2 W, 73-10 Kansas 2003 -1 +3 +2 W, 45-33 Wyoming 2004 0 +3 +3 W, 31-?0 Clemson 2004 0 +4 +4 W, 27-?6 Kansas St. 2004 -1 +4 +3 W, 42-30 at Iowa St. 2004 0 +2 +2 W, 34-?3 at Oklahoma St. 2004 0 +2 +2 W, 36-20 Colorado 2004 0 +2 +2 W, 29-26 (ot) Texas Tech 2004 0 +3 +3 W, 32-25 (ot) SMU 2005 -1 +4 +3 W, 66-?8 Texas State 2005 -2 +3 +1 W, 44-31 Oklahoma State 2005 -2 +7 +5 W, 62-23 Kansas State 2005 -1 +3 +2 W, 30-28 at Oklahoma 2005 -1 +3 +2 L, 30-36 La.-Lafayette 2006 0 +2 +2 W, 51-7 Army 2006 -1 +3 +2 W, 28-24
Preseason All-Big 12
Several Aggies have received preseason All-Big 12 Conference mention:
Player Honor Organization Red Bryant 1st-team The Sporting News SA Express-News 2nd-team CFN.com Courtney Lewis 2nd-team SA Express-News Justin Warren 1st-Team The Sporting News SA Express-News Dallas Morning News CFN.com
Aggie Additions
Franchione added three more scholarship players to his teams over the summer: placekicker Matt Szymanski from College Station; deep snapper Corey Gibas from Covina, Calif., and defensive back Will Harris from Lakewood, Ohio via Solano JC in California.
DNP --- Injury
Scholarship Texas A&M players lost 71 games to injury in 2005. Ouch!!
Player, Position Games Lost Jaxson Appel, SAF 1 #Japhus Brown, SAF 7 #Jordan Chambless, SAF/PR 5 #Keith Dickerson, WR 11 Lee Foliaki, LB 4 Jason Jack, DE 2 Brandon Leone, RB 8 Courtney Lewis, RB 2 REGGIE MCNEAL, QB 1 Nurahda Manning, LB 1 DeQawn Mobley, WR 1 #Will Morrisey, DT 5 #L'Tydrick Riley, WR/PR 11 #Chad Schroeder, WR/PR 3 #Earvin Taylor, WR 8 Justin Warren, LB 1 Total 71 # -- Suffered season-ending injury Caps -- Started at least one game in 2005
McGee Magic in 2005
Quarterback Stephen McGee became A&M's starting quarterback midway through the third quarter of last year's Oklahoma game when four-year starter Reggie McNeal was felled with a season-ending ankle injury.
In the final five and one-half quarters of 2005, McGee energized the Aggies' offense his impressive leadership style and surprising running ability.
Finishing up the OU game, McGee led the Aggies to three scores and four scoring chances on four drives. Running the option to perfection, McGee rushed for 67 yards on 10 carries in the quarter and a half. With McGee as a backfield mate, Courtney Lewis rushed for 77 yards on seven carries on his way to a season-high 146 yards.
With McGee at QB at the helm against OU, the Aggies rushed the ball 21 of 27 plays (excluding field goal tries) and gained 180 yards on those 21 carries (8.6 per carry).
Against Texas, McGee rushed for a game-high 108 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Taking away the four sacks he suffered, McGee gained 153 yards on 20 carries against the Horns. He also completed eight passes (on 23 attempts) for 83 yards. For the game, the Aggies gained 395 yards on 76 plays (5.2 per play) and controlled the ball for 35:17.
New 12th Man
With the graduation of the record-setting John Ray, the Aggies will be searching for a new 12th Man in 2006. Ray represented the 12th Man in 23 games over the past three seasons.
So far in 2006, the Aggies have used Nick LaMantia (vs. Citadel, UL-L) and Nathan Haile (vs. Army).
Against UL-L, the Aggies used an all-12th Man kickoff team in the fourth quarter, which included walkons Layne Neumann (placekicker), LaMantia, Nathan Haile, Blake Steadman, Ben Bitner, Marcus Gold, Rawley Farrell, Matt LaFon, Daniel Mach, Greg Boothe and Jeremy Brown. Mach, a redshirt freshman from Dallas, made the tackle.
Prep QBs at WR
Texas A&M has several former prep quarterbacks excelling at wide receiver.
HS QBs Making Difference at WR 2006 Player Hometown (HS) Rec./Yds/TD Pierre Brown Duncanville (DHS) 4/23/0 Senior HS Stats: 1,734 total offense, 23 TDs Michael Corey Delta, Utah (DHS) 1/6/0 Senior HS Stats: L'Tydrick Riley Crockett (CHS) 4/36/0 Senior HS Stats: 1,717 total offense, 24 TDs Chad Schroeder Austin (Westlake) 9/121/2 Senior HS Stats: 3,436 total offense, 37 TDs
Starting Point
The Aggies have 40 players with at least one career start to their credit, including 16 with double digit starts. Leading the way is last year's conference tackle leader Justin Warren with 28 career starts.
A&M Active Career Starts Leaders Player Starts Justin Warren, LB, Sr. 28 Red Bryant, DL, Jr. 26 Kirk Elder, OL, Jr. 25 Jason Jack, DL, Jr. 21 Courtney Lewis, RB, Sr. 18 Melvin Bullitt, DB, Sr. 15 Chris Harrington, DL, Jr. 14 Corey Clark, OL, Jr. 14 Cody Wallace, OL, Jr. 14 Japhus Brown, DB, Jr. 13 Yemi Babalola, OL, Jr. 12 Alex Kotzur, OL, Sr. 12 Chris Yoder, OL, Jr. 12 Earvin Taylor, WR, Jr. 12 Brock Newton, DB, Jr. 10 Chad Schroeder, WR, Sr. 10 Martellus Bennett, TE, So. 8 Danny Gorrer, DB, So. 8 Marquis Carpenter, DB, Jr. 6 Devin Gregg, DB, So. 6 Jorvorskie Lane, RB, So. 5 Joey Thomas, TE, Jr. 5 Nurahda Manning, LB, Sr. 4 Michael Bennett, DE, So. 4 Pierre Brown, WR, So. 4 Stephen McGee, QB, So. 4 Howard Morrow, WR, So. 3 Bryce Reed, DL, Sr. 3 Grant Dickey, OL, Sr. 3 Jordan Peterson, Fr. 3 L'Tydrick Riley, Sr. 2 Mark Dodge, Jr. 2 Travis Schneider, So. 2 Kerry Franks, WR, Jr. 2 Amos Gbunblee, TE/DE, So. 1 Samson Taylor, RB, So. 1 Brandon Leone, RB, Sr. 1 Chris Alexander, FB, Jr. 1 Misi Tupe, LB, Jr. 1 Matt Featherston, Fr. 1
Active Tacklers
The Aggies have nine defenders with more than 50 career tackles, including Justin Warren and Melvin Bullitt who both have more than 100.
A&M Active Career Tackles Leaders Rk Player Tackles 1. Justin Warren, LB, Sr. 208 2. Melvin Bullitt, DB, Sr. 115 3. Japhus Brown, DB, Jr. 91 4. Jason Jack, DL, Jr. 88 5. Brock Newton, DB, Jr. 88 6. Red Bryant, DL, 2004, Jr. 70 7. Nurahda Manning, LB, Sr. 69 8. Chris Harrington, DE, Jr. 52 9. Bryce Reed, DL, 2003, Sr. 51
NFL Opening Day Rosters
#95 Sam Adams, DL, Cincinnati Bengals #99 Rocky Bernard, DL, Seattle Seahawks #89 Dan Campbell, TE, Detroit Lions #11 Jason Carter, WR, Minnesota Vikings (practice squad) #31 Sammy Davis, DB, San Francisco 49ers #95 Ron Edwards, DL, Kansas City Chiefs #89 Robert Ferguson, WR, Green Bay Packers #26 Aaron Glenn, DB, Dallas Cowboys Jason Glenn, LB, Minnesota Vikings #82 Dante Hall, WR, Kansas City Chiefs #63 Geoff Hangartner, OL, Carolina Panthers #57 Warrick Holdman, LB, Washington Redskins #13 Bethel Johnson, WR, New Orleans Saints (injured reserved) #93 Johnny Jolly, DL, Green Bay Packers #33 Keith Joseph, RB, New Orleans Saints #48 Terrence Kiel, DB, San Diego Chargers #9 Shane Lechler, P, Oakland Raiders #68 Seth McKinney, OL, Miami Dolphins #76 Steve McKinney, OL, Houston Texans #10 Reggie McNeal, WR, Cincinnati Bengals (practice squad) #96 Mike Montgomery, DL, Green Bay Packers #48 Don Muhlbach, DS, Detroit Lions #47 Boone Stutz, TE/DS, Atlanta Falcons #74 Rex Tucker, OL, Detroit Lions #94 Ty Warren, DL, New England Patriots #27 Jason Webster, DB, Atlanta Falcons #94 Pat Williams, DL, Minnesota Vikings #74 Billy Yates, OL, New England Patriots Aggies on NFL Coaching Staffs: Dennis Allen, Atlanta Falcons (Defensive Assistant) Johnny Holland, Houston Texans (Defensive Assistant) Gary Kubiak, Houston Texans (Head Coach) Gary Reynolds, Seattle Seahawks (Quality Control/Offense) Zerick Rollins, Seattle Seahawks (Def. Line/Quality Control)
Invincible
Former player Sirr Parker, who caused longtime Aggie play-by-play voice Dave South to exclaim: "He got a touchdown! He got a touchdown! He got a touchdown! He got it in! He got it in! He got it in!. Oh, Doctor!" after scoring the winning touchdown in the 1998 Big 12 Championship, has a role in the new Disney move "Invincible." In the movie, Parker is a member of the Dallas Cowboys.
Family Affair
The Aggies have a number of players with family connections to Texas A&M athletics.
Starting strong safety Melvin Bullitt's father, Jerry, lettered for the Aggies from 1980-83 and started at linebacker for three seasons. The elder Bullitt posted 222 tackles and 11 sacks during his career.
Melvin's uncle, Steve Bullitt, lettered for the Aggies from 1983-86.
Junior Chris Harrington is the nephew of former A&M two-sport All-American Dave Elmendorf. Elmendorf, who had an All-Pro career with the Los Angeles Rams, currently serves as the color analyst for the Aggie Radio Network.
Senior L'Tydrick Riley's uncle, Claude Riley ranks as one of the greatest basketball players in A&M history. The "Crockett Rockett" still ranks No. 6 in points and No. 3 in rebounds in the Aggie record book.
Junior Earvin Taylor's older brother, Jamaar, caught 108 passes for 1,705 yards from 2001-03.
Brothers Michael and Martellus Bennett are just one of a handful of brothers whose playing careers have overlapped at Texas A&M.
True freshman Jerrod Johnson's father, Larry, played split end for the Aggies in the late 1970s.
What's New?
Much change has been happening with and around the Aggie football team since the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard against Texas in last year's season finale. Here are some of the more notable changes:
Shift to 4-2-5: The Aggies scrapped the 4-3 defense in favor of the 4-2-5 scheme in an effort to get more speed on the field.
New faces: Head coach Dennis Franchione brought in four new coaches, including three on his defensive staff. Joining the Aggies last spring were defensive coordinator Gary Darnell, safeties coach Bill Clay, cornerbacks coach Van Malone and wide receivers coach Bob DeBesse.
New responsibility: To make room for WR coach DeBesse, Franchione shifted assistant head coach/WR coach Kenith Pope to running backs coach. Pope has been a member of Franchione's staff since 1998.
Comfort zone: A temporary indoor practice facility was erected over the artificial turf field. Used for the early portion of practices, the facility kept the Aggies out of the broiling Texas sun for approximately 30 hours during fall camp.
Indoor facility: Ground was broken on the McFerrin Athletic Center, which will give the Aggies' a permanent indoor home when completed.
12th Man TV: The old A&M scoreboard was torn down and replaced by "12th Man TV", which is a 54-by-74-foot video board. It ranks as the second-largest screen in college athletics and one of the 10 largest in the world. The new addition also includes a sound system and ribbon boards.
Coach Fran Ranks Among the Winningest Coaches
The 26th head football coach in Texas A&M history, Dennis Franchione is in his fourth season in Aggieland and his 24th season as a collegiate head coach. Franchione has compiled a 19-19 record at Texas A&M.
With a career record of 174-92-2 as a head coach, Coach Fran is the sixth-winningest active Div. 1-A head coach in college football (by total wins).
Texas A&M is the seventh stop for Franchione as a collegiate head coach, and has coached previously at Southwestern (Kan.) College (1981-82), Pittsburg State (1985-89), Southwest Texas State (1990-91), New Mexico (1992-97), TCU (1998-2000) and Alabama (2001-02).He also served as an assistant coach at Kansas State (1978-80) and Tennessee Tech (1983-84).
Franchione has won eight conference championships and a divisional crown in his 22 seasons. In 2002, Franchione's Alabama squad had the best record in the SEC West but were ineligible for the crown.
Winningest Active Div. I-A Coaches (by Victories) Rk Coach, School Wins 1. Bobby Bowden, Florida St. 361 2. Joe Paterno, Penn St. 356 3. Frank Beamer, Va. Tech 191 4. Jim Tressel, Ohio State 188 5. Chris Ault, Nevada 178 6. Dennis Franchione, A&M 174 7. Mack Brown, Texas 171 8. Fisher DeBerry, Air Force 165 9. Dick Tomey, San Jose St. 162 10. Steve Spurrier, South Carolina 151
