So Nguyen avoids blocks like Hall escapes tackles, and he is undoubtedly the quarterback of the Wrecking Crew.

What can't the Butkus Award candidate do?

Well, as Nguyen found out last fall, he can become injured (a bursa sac burst), and he can wear down at times as a result of his relentless style of play.

To pace the Aggies' one-man wrecking ball, the A&M coaches will be calling for more help from the young, inside players who have emerged in the spring. Guys like redshirt freshman Amon Simon, redshirt freshman Harold Robertson, sophomore Cornelius Anthony and junior Sean Coryatt are all at the Aggies' disposal at inside linebacker.

While Simon is listed as Nguyen's backup, the emerging Anthony can play both the weakside and strongside positions. His play in the spring, however, may have locked up a starting spot for Anthony opposite Nguyen in the lineup.

Yet, expect all five inside linebackers to see action this fall, giving more evidence of the depth and talent the Aggies possess at their signature defensive position of linebacker.

"We're good there," Weddell said. "We want to find that third or fourth (inside linebacker). We're playing 12, 13 and, hopefully, 14 games this year, and that's a lot of games, especially for our linebackers who aren't the big kind of guys.

"I'd like for Dat to have less plays going into the Texas ballgame than he did last year. That means, No. 1, other kids are playing well. No. 2, he's going to be more rested for the Texas game, the championship game and a big bowl game. So he's playing less possibly, but he's playing better."

Nguyen likely will set the school record for tackles this season, having posted 123 last year en route to first-team All-Big 12 honors. The honors may be escalating this fall, as Nguyen already has been mentioned as one of the two premier linebackers in the country, along with Ohio State's Andy Katzenmoyer, last year's Butkus winner.

Anthony made his move in the spring when Coryatt and Robertson suffered shoulder injuries. But Anthony likely would have beaten out anybody with his stellar play. In fact, besides Nguyen, Anthony was probably the most active and effective player on defense during the spring.

"He makes plays," Weddell said. "He's not the biggest; he's not the strongest; he's not the fastest; but he makes plays. That's what you need linebackers to do. You turn them loose and let them play with instincts.

"He's a great person, a hard worker, a student of the game, and he makes plays. He sounds like a young Dat Nguyen to me."

Robertson has turned some heads with his speed and should be a factor in the fall, while Simon has become the most physical of the Aggie inside linebackers and could be used in short-yardage situations.

Of course, it may still be difficult for the coaches to pull Nguyen from the lineup for a lengthy rest, especially when he made improvements as a player in the spring.

"There always comes a time when you can't avoid a block, and he has to take it on," Weddell added. "That's where he got so much better this spring. Where he was physically out-matched, he was able to use technique."

At outside linebacker, the Aggies are just as deep and dangerous. In fact, coach R.C. Slocum says the outside positions are beginning to resemble the spots made famous by players like William Thomas and Marcus Buckley a few years ago.

Senior Warrick Holdman has started in 25 consecutive games at the "drop"Êposition and has played in 34 games in his career. He was second on the team in sacks last year with five and had 13 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

"I've always believed, if you want to have good teams, you want your seniors to have their best years of football," defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach Mike Hankwitz said. "And he knows this is his last year and last go-round. I think he's ready to have that type of year."

And yet, how deep are the Aggies at linebacker? Well, Hankwitz says Holdman will be pushed for playing time by sophomore Jason Glenn.

"Jason is competing to play," Hankwitz said of Glenn, who moved from safety last year and has beefed up to 220 pounds. "He doesn't want to concede being a backup, and he'll be pushing ol' Warrick. We'll figure we'll play more than just the starters, and (Jason) had a heck of a freshman year. He's just continued to improve over that. I was really pleased with the progress he made."

At rush linebacker, A&M can go three-deep, with sophomore Roylin Bradley, junior Chris Thierry and redshirt freshman Christian Rodriguez expected to see playing time.

Bradley should be the starter based on last year's performance, but Thierry proved to be a salty pass-rusher before a neck injury sidelined him last fall.

Rodriguez is the fastest of the A&M linebackers, clocking a 4.56 in the 40-yard dash in the winter conditioning tests. Only a lack of experience and a leg injury in the spring has slowed his arrival onto the defensive scene.

"I was pleased with his progress," Hankwitz said. "I think part of it was he came in and we asked him to do a little bit more than he had done. In high school, he was more of a rush-type guy who just kind of chased the ball. He didn't have as many mental things to learn, and he didn't have to drop into the passing game. This spring, he got a chance to do all that. It's just experience now, getting a chance to play and show what he can do."

Hankwitz, who coached several talented linebackers while at Colorado, said he's never had so many quality linebackers at one position before.

"I think we've got as good a depth as I've had with five guys at one position like this," he said. "So I'm real excited about that. I think we've got good talent from one to five. They all can be good players and all can fill a role."