Inside the Aggies -- When the Night Comes | McElroy to Underclassmen: Explore All Options | Away with the Aggies

 
When The Night Comes By Homer Jacobs

If you can look past some of the fumbles and botched quarterback sneaks that occurred in the Aggies’ 23-20 loss to Kansas State two weeks ago, there was something about that game that made it special.

There was something that had the Wrecking Crew flying around in the second half like the boys of blitz you once knew.

There was something that made Kansas State’s 17-point lead nearly dissipate like a thin morning fog.

There was something that had the healthy throng of Wildcat fans frozen in a purple daze as the Aggies began a march toward overtime.

The SOMETHING can be summed up in four words:

Night game at Kyle.

The stadium wasn’t sold out on a Thanksgiving night. There wasn’t a comatose cow lurching in the end zone or a band in burnt orange polyester shaking its cowbells.

There weren’t even the friendly lights of ESPN cameras shooting this Big 12 game.

Rather, this was a game with Kansas State before 64,155 on Fox. The Longhorns were idle that day.

Yet, I haven’t heard the stadium that loud in 11 years since the 1985 Texas game. If the K-State game had reached overtime, I’ll say this: Maybe Bret Stafford was right in ’85 — you really can’t snap a ball in those conditions.

"Kyle Field was really rocking the other night," said Keith Mitchell, who was one of the few current players who was on campus the last time A&M played a night game at Kyle Field (vs. UT in 1993). "That’s been the best crowd I’ve ever played under. It reminded me of the Texas game. I had never heard it that loud other than a Texas game."

What it is about the night atmosphere that creates such electricity in College Station?

The reasons vary but are legitimate.

There are fans who have been "spirited" all day long at the Dixie Chicken, and there is the fact the temperatures are cooler. For some reason, it’s easier to keep standing and vocal when the game is at night with 65-degree temperatures rather than when the game kicks off at 2:30 in early September.

The players themselves are more keyed up after watching teams play all day long on television. And I imagine the crisp autumn air at 7:30 does something to the legs to keep them fresh.

The players even grew up playing at night, building their young legends under the Friday night lights of high school football.

In college football, how many of the great games have come at night? Every single Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl come to mind.

Who, after all, watches the afternoon Rose Bowl anymore? That’s nap time to get ready for the night games that mean something.

And today, all a fan has to do is watch a college football with the bland productions that ABC puts on at 2:30 and then switch over to an ESPN game in primetime. Do the games and atmosphere even compare?

It was ESPN that brought the night game back to college football. For years, it was Keith Jackson and Frank Broyles bringing you the ABC game of the week in the afternoon. Then in 1985, ESPN launched its Saturday night primetime telecasts.

And the ESPN darling that brought the network and those telecasts to life was Texas A&M.

The Aggies appeared in three November night games in four weeks in 1985, with electric victories over SMU, Arkansas and Texas.

Since that season, the Aggies have appeared on ESPN 25 times, winning 21 of those games. I doubt any team — other than perhaps Florida State — has had that type of success on one network.

And of those 25 games, 95 percent of them came at night. The Aggies’ only two losses at home during that stretch were to Alabama in 1988 and LSU in 1987.

The lack of recent night games at Kyle Field can be traced to regional television showing many of the Aggies’ games in the early afternoon time slot.

ESPN, unfortunately, did not have the high enough bid to earn the rights to televise Big 12 games in the future, so it could be a while before the Aggies find their favorite network again.

The conference did sign a contract with Liberty Sports, which turned into Prime Sports, which will turn into Fox Sports Southwest.

And that’s good news now, considering the solid job Fox did with the night telecast from Kyle two weeks ago.

Fox will show a night game nationally involving Big 12 teams each week, which looks good for A&M for seasons to come.

Of course, it would be a plus if A&M games were originally scheduled for night starts instead of 1 or 4 p.m. kicks. The reasoning behind the afternoon starts are to allow the thousands of A&M fans from the big three — Dallas, Houston and San Antonio — to make the trek to College Station and back home without having to spend a night in town.

The hotel/motel people love the night games, but their clout is obvious.

For now, A&M fans should hope they have to stay in College Station on a Saturday night. The victories would come more often.

Mitchell only hopes the younger players on the team remember what it was like when the Aggies nearly pulled off the comeback that would have sent Kyle Field beyond delirium.

"It’s a great learning experience that gives them the want to have that atmosphere," Mitchell said. "I just knew we were going to win that game. (The Wildcats) were rattled because the crowd was so loud. It would have been something. It was really getting to them. That was fun."

Exactly. It wasn’t an afternoon picnic watching the Aggies pound TCU.

It wasn’t a noon Raycom game with Houston.

This was Big 12 football at night in a game that could have gone either way.

It went the Wildcats’ way on that night. But one of these evenings, perhaps when the possible north end zone expansion is completed, the Aggies will be dancing on the field while the fans dance in the stands.

And you’ll be wondering how in the world the Aggies beat No. 2-ranked Notre Dame. The answer will come to you on the walk down the ramp.

Night game at Kyle.

McElroy to Underclassmen: Explore All Options
By Rusty Burson

In his rookie season in the National Football League, former Texas A&M standout Leeland McElroy says he is living out his lifelong dream of playing in the pros. At the same time, however, he’s enduring somewhat of a nightmare.

A little over a year ago, McElroy was being touted as the best running back in all of college football. Now, he’s just fighting to be the best running back on the struggling Arizona Cardinals roster.

So far, he’s losing the battle.

McElroy started for the Cardinals in the season opener against the Indianapolis Colts, rushing for a respectable 63 yards on 17 carries. But then in the second week of the season, the major struggles began.

Against Miami, McElroy carried six times for minus five yards. The next week against New England, he had just 11 yards on eight carries. And against New Orleans in the fourth week of the season, McElroy was replaced in the lineup after gaining just five yards on four carries.

LeShon Johnson has been the Cardinals’ starting tailback ever since, and McElroy has been relegated to backup duties and special teams returns. Overall, McElroy had just 86 yards on 38 carries in the Cardinals’ first seven games.

Obviously, this was not what McElroy envisioned when he decided to forgo his senior season at A&M and enter the NFL draft. He had hoped to be a first-round pick and a first-year sensation. Instead, he was a second rounder (32nd pick overall) and is now on the second team.

Consequently, McElroy has some advice for all underclassmen considering early entry into the NFL.

"I’d tell them to evaluate the situation and consider every, every single option," McElroy said. "The money is enticing, but nothing’s for sure at this level. I’m a prime example of that."

Texas A&M head coach R.C. Slocum believes McElroy will eventually turn things around and prove to be one of the premier running backs in the NFL in the future. But Slocum says McElroy must first make a variety of improvements — some big, some small — before the Beaumont native will be effective enough to be a consistent contributor in the pros.

"There’s no question that I think he has a great future ahead of him," Slocum said. "In terms of his running ability, Leeland is a remarkable talent. He certainly has a dynamic ability to run to daylight.

"But you can’t just go up there and be a guy who runs fast and can hit the hole quickly. To be successful in the NFL, you have to be able to do a lot of little things, and you need to be a good blocker. Leeland wasn’t a real good blocker for us last year, and there were a lot of small things that he really needs to develop."

For those reasons, along with the fact that McElroy had a disappointing, injury-filled junior year at A&M, Slocum advised McElroy to come back for his senior year.

Obviously, it would have been good for Texas A&M to have had McElroy back. But it also probably would have been a tremendous benefit to McElroy.

Physically, McElroy would have had the opportunity to polish his skills and prove he was durable enough to last an entire season without any nagging injuries. In 1995 — his only year to start at running back at A&M — McElroy rushed for 1,122 yards (112.2 per game), but completely missed two games and sat out parts of others as a result of injuries.

The injuries, along with several less than spectacular performances against Colorado, Texas Tech, Baylor and Houston, turned a season that began with Heisman Trophy hopes into a fall filled with frustration.

But if he had returned in 1996, McElroy would have benefited from playing with a more prolific passer in Branndon Stewart and probably would have faced less eight-man defensive fronts. And with any luck, he may have been able to make a Heisman Trophy push that eluded him last year.

From a monetary standpoint, an impressive senior season could have added thousands — perhaps even a million — to his contract. If McElroy had been a high first-round pick, for example, his paycheck would have soared.

Slocum estimates that Dallas Cowboys cornerback Kevin Smith earned at least $1 million more in the NFL by returning to Texas A&M for his senior year. McElroy could have done the same.

Of course, he also could have suffered a serious injury and been completely without an NFL contract.

It’s an extremely difficult choice, and Slocum says he completely understands McElroy’s decision, although he advised against it.

"All I can do is be a resource to the players and try to give them advice based on the comments I hear from NFL people and my own personal observations," Slocum said. "I advised Kevin Smith to come back because I thought he would have been a third-round pick as a junior. He stayed, and he went on to be a first-round pick as a senior.

"But I told Patrick Bates that I thought he would be a middle first-round pick and that he should go ahead and come out if he was ready. I would have loved to have had Patrick back, but I thought it was in his best interest to come out.

"I didn’t think Leeland was serving his best interest by coming out, because he had only been a starter for one season, he had suffered a series of injuries and he still needed some polishing. But at some point, the kids have to decide for themselves. Leeland made his decision, and I’m certainly not critical of him. I just hope for the best for him. Sooner or later, he’s going to be a big-time player."

McElroy hopes it’s sooner, not later. He remains positive and patient about his rookie season. But he also admits it has been frustrating at times.

McElroy is a prime-time player. He lives for the spotlight, big crowds and even bigger plays. Even when he didn’t start at A&M during his freshman and sophomore years, McElroy never really struggled. He returned kickoffs for touchdowns and made big plays as a backup to Greg Hill and Rodney Thomas.

So deep down, it’s killing ’Lectric Leeland that the plug has temporarily pulled on him as a starter and key player in he Cardinals’ offensive philosophy.

"I’m having fun being in the NFL," McElroy said. "But it’s been tough at times. Of course I want to play more. But I believe if I keep working hard, good things are going to happen."

In a sense, McElroy’s season thus far has been much like Texas A&M’s: The talent is there, but something continually seems to be holding him — and the Aggies — down.

McElroy has been surprised and concerned about the Aggies’ struggles. And on occasion, he admits to thinking about what might have been if he had stayed at A&M for his senior season.

"I think about it now and then," said McElroy, who eventually plans to return to A&M to finish the few hours left on his degree plan. "You can’t help but do that. I still follow (A&M), and I’ll always be proud of Texas A&M. But for me, this was a business decision. In the NFL, football is a business, and you have to make your decisions based on that."

The bottom line is that McElroy is set financially and determined physically to make his mark in the NFL over the long haul. It’s taking a little longer than he had expected to establish himself, but McElroy isn’t down on himself or his decision to enter the draft.

"I’ll be just fine," he said. "I’m playing as a backup now, but I’m determined to learn and improve and to keep working hard. I think it will all work out just fine in the end."

Away with the Aggies
By Homer Jacobs

For fans who want to follow the Aggies on football trips in the Big 12, here are some travel tips from the experts:

• Always pack a jacket when traveling to Austin for a late November game with the Longhorns.

• Avoid college towns and their hotels. The hoopla, like it is in College Station, can be a bit much.

• Don’t put regular gasoline in a diesel truck that is carrying your luggage.

• And if you’re going to have two tire blowouts on your truck, don’t have them occur on a congested freeway in Southern California.

All of the above have kept road trips interesting over the years for the Texas A&M football team, which again will hit the road Saturday against Oklahoma State in Stillwater.

And you can bet the Aggies will have their cold-weather gear packed for the game with the Cowboys. Because in 1974, an infamous blue norther blew into Austin that many players, coaches and training staff will never forget.

The cold front changed the way A&M prepared for the weather and road trips, in particular. Football teams stress preparation, but the Aggies were unfit to handle the Longhorns on the field (A&M lost, 32-3) and unprepared for what would blindside them off the field.

The Aggies, under coach Emory Bellard, actually did not own any cold weather gear just 22 years ago.

"We didn’t get caught so much by the cold weather as much as we got caught by the fact we didn’t own the items to protect (against the cold)," said Associate Athletic Director for Facilities Billy Pickard, who has been overseeing road trips for the Aggies since 1972. "We didn’t own heavy gloves, turtle necks, sideline coats, and we didn’t own heaters. I just remember we got over there and didn’t own anything.

"When the players left College Station, the temperature was 63 degrees. That’s one of those years we flew to Austin. When the players landed in Austin, it was 37 and sleeting. After the game, Emory said get some sideline coats. Now we have tights, heavy underwear tops, turtle necks and helmet liners. On the sideline, we have four John Deere heaters."

The game in Austin was so cold that A&M linebacker Ed Simonini came over to Pickard on the sidelines and told him he couldn’t play because his feet were frozen. And Pickard recalls how R.C. Slocum handled the nasty conditions wearing nothing more than a windbreaker.

"R.C. liked to have died," Pickard said. "When it gets below 70 degrees, R.C. freezes to death anyway. He’s the most cold-natured coach I’ve ever been around. He just can’t stand the cold. He’ll never coach in Green Bay. We’ll never lose him to the Packers."

As Pickard and his crew of trainers and managers prepare for a road trip, they must also take into account what kind of surface the team will be playing on.

Last December, when Pickard began to order the 1,400 pairs of shoes the Aggies will go through this fall, A&M was scheduled to play on just one grass field on the road.

By the spring, Texas and Iowa State had switched their fields to grass, and the Aggies were chosen to play at BYU in the Pigskin Classic. Those three extra "grass" games put a major burden on the shoe order, so needless to say, there are plenty of AstroTurf shoes floating around the Aggie locker room.

For most road trips, the Aggies will pack over three tons worth of equipment. Included on the equipment list are extra helmets, shoes, shoulder pads as well as the specific equipment for each player. Video equipment, chalk boards and even a private coaching locker for Slocum are all part of the check list Pickard must go through two or three times, beginning on the Wednesday of that particular road game week.

Slocum has two private lockers, a smaller one that fits on a plane for longer trips and a larger locker for shorter road trips that can be reached by truck.

It’s not that Slocum — who is far from pretentious — demanded to have special treatment with his own special locker. But Pickard felt sorry for the head coach during one road trip to Missouri in 1992.

"When we got there, they had a rather large space for the coaches locker room, but they only eight spaces," Pickard said. "So that R.C. would have separate place to dress, I took a coat hanger and hung it from a pipe in the ceiling and took another coat hanger and hung his clothes on it.

"As soon as I got home, we built a small portable locker, one that we can take on the truck and one that we can take on the airplane. The big thing now is the coaches can’t point a finger at him for having his clothes hanging off a coat hanger."

And don’t bet on Pickard and his workers forgetting to pack Slocum’s locker or any other piece of equipment.

"We’ve been doing it for so long, we don’t have to worry about forgetting," Pickard said. "We just can’t forget. This is war, and I’ve never been to war. But I understand if you’re in a war, you don’t call up the enemy and borrow some bullets."

While the packing for road trips is a hectic undertaking during the week, Director of Football Operations Tim Cassidy must plan for road games a year in advance.

Already, he has contacted hotels for A&M’s games at Colorado and Kansas State in 1997. As the Aggies’ main travel agent, he must also line up the charter services who will fly an Aggie entourage of players, coaches, trainers, managers and members of the A&M athletic department to the game sites.

And the flights aren’t cheap and won’t be in the era of the Big 12. A&M’s two charter airplanes to the BYU game were supplied by Miami Air International, who also flies the Florida Marlins and various professional hockey teams, and cost the athletic department $95,000.

A&M’s charter to Iowa State ran about $40,000, while the Aggies’ flight to Stillwater will cost just over $36,000.

The grand total exceeds $200,000 in air fare to fly a football team to four destinations this fall.

When A&M played at Iowa State, Miami Air International used three of its seven 727 charters to fly the Aggie football team and the Aggie Band to Des Moines.

A year in advance, Cassidy can secure bids for the charter services. Securing game times and when the planes will be available is another story.

"Obviously, the TV money is very important," Cassidy said. "But (a change for television) also throws a little bit of a wrench into your travel plans when you’re dealing with some of these charter services.

"Most people would think that a plane would take you on Friday and stay with you the whole time, but in very few cases that actually happens. The plane may be taking us to Ames, and earlier in the day, it may have taken Baylor to Lincoln, Neb. Then on the return, it may be taking us home and then go back and pick a Baylor up at Nebraska."

Once at a game site, four buses and a police escort are at the airport to greet the team, which is then shuffled off to a typically nice hotel. A&M’s group may take 100 rooms at a hotel, with a group rate of $55-$75 per room.

When the team arrives at a hotel, the business part of the trip begins. Players meet with position coaches to watch more film and interviews are conducted with network personnel covering the game.

Because the Aggies typically practice in College Station Friday afternoons and then eat dinner and board the plane, there is rarely a practice held at the opponent’s stadium.

"We’ve been to a lot of nice facilities, big stadiums," Cassidy said. "So most of our guys, except for the freshmen, they’re not going to be in total awe when they walk into the stadium."

The night before the game, players can attend a devotional at the hotel, and later enjoy pizza and movies in their rooms. It’s a routine designed to keep the players relaxed but focused.

"Some teams take their players out to movies," Cassidy said. "But this is a business trip, too. We’re trying to do everything we can to keep them totally focused on why they’re on this trip. We take two security people with us, and they patrol the floors. And we restrict the phone calls to keep them from being a distraction."

Coaches worry mostly about distractions in college towns, where hotels are often overrun with opposing fans. Many teams, for example, who must play in College Station, often stay in Huntsville or Montgomery near Lake Conroe to avoid the hoopla surrounding Aggie football.

Ironically, the Aggies try to avoid distractions by staying in a hotel before home games.

"No matter where you’re in College Station, you’re going to be staying with all A&M fans," Cassidy added. "The Ramada has done a good job in town (for opponents). And it’s kind of funny, because the night before a game, our teams stays at the Holiday Inn. They could have a pickup game on Texas Avenue."

For the most part, A&M road trips go on without a hitch even though Pickard can recall the time some A&M managers put non-diesel fuel in the diesel-fueled equipment truck on the way to Arkansas one year. Needless to say, the truck didn’t make it.

Or there was the time when the Aggies were playing in the 1990 Holiday Bowl, and an A&M equipment truck blew not one, but two tires on a California freeway. The crew had to unload the truck on the shoulder of one of the busiest highways in the state.

Yet, the Aggies will always remember the road trips that went awry like the fateful and frigid trip to Austin in 1974.

After all, according to Pickard, forgetting is not an option.

Send questions or comments about the magazine to the editor, Homer Jacobs

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