There is no question Dat Nguyen is the heart of the Wrecking Crew. He is the best linebacker on a defense loaded three-deep with star quality.

And no one dazzles a crowd and dizzies a defense like running back Dante Hall (see pages 24-28). He has been the ignition switch for an Aggie offense now accelerating into another gear.

Each of the two players, and seniors like linebacker Warrick Holdman or safety Rich Coady, are all vital members of the 1998 Texas Aggies.

Yet, if I had a vote for team Most Valuable Player, I would cast it toward a senior who had caught four passes in the Aggies' first seven games.

He is the glue of a team now bonding like never before. He is the vocal leader of the Aggies, the man the boys all look up to.

Yes, senior tight end Dan Campbell doesn't show up in the box score very often. But without him, A&M's most important stat -- winning or losing -- might be laced with a few more L's than there are right now. Talk of a Big 12 South Division title might have been over before October even started.

"If you had a definition of an Aggie football player in the dictionary, his picture would be right beside it," says defensive line coach Bill Johnson. "He's loyal. He's emotional. He cares. He's sincere. You can just write down any adjective, and he's got it all.

"He probably doesn't know how many pass receptions he has. It's about winning and losing with him."

Campbell, who teams with Derrick Spiller to form one of the nation's top tight end tandems, began earning this MVP vote back in January. Just after the Aggies had lost games to UCLA and Nebraska, Campbell gathered the team during offseason workouts.

He knew the four months of the season would mean little if the team didn't start preparing just after the bowls ended. His attitude and leadership carried into the spring and summer, when he would rule the 7-on-7 volunteer workouts like Patton commanded his west flank.

He did have a soft side, however, for a burly freshman named Ja'Mar Toombs, who showed up in June to begin getting ready for his debut season in the maroon and white. Perhaps Campbell can spot talent or maybe the A&M coaches told him to watch over their young fullback, but the senior made sure the Big Rumble didn't stray too far from his sight.

Campbell pushed Toombs in the weight room and began mentally challenging the freshman from Kilgore for the rigors of college football. So far in 1998 -- as Nebraska surely found out -- Campbell has turned out to be one talented tutor.

"I think our coaches, our managers, our trainers, everybody out there has great respect for Dan," Johnson added. "Just say the word respect and that's him."

Campbell beefed up to 262 pounds for his senior season, and he joked prior to the Texas Tech game that he probably shouldn't have stopped there. Why not muscle up to 300 pounds and act like a third offensive tackle, which is how he has been primarily used this fall?

His best game of the year -- and ABC announcers Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson led the fan club -- likely was the Nebraska game, when he helped the Aggies dominate the line of scrimmage. The coaches have a "Will-Breaker" chart for all of the pancake blocks the A&M blockers record, and while it was tough to register a clean pancake on the Huskers, Campbell, undoubtedly, broke some will against the Big Red.

Perhaps just as importantly is that Campbell has created some good will among his teammates and with the media. When things got bumpy with the A&M offense in September, Campbell was the first to offer explanations why. He was the first, most likely, to make sure the problems were corrected in practice as well.

"His stats aren't real high, but he brings that leadership and focus and that fire that we need," said sophomore receiver Chris Taylor. "Dan's a real emotional guy, and he gets us going.

"He might be the No. 1 offensive leader. He'll call a meeting, and everybody will be there. Dan's been here and gone through a lot of things. When Dan speaks, we listen. I'm a young guy, and whatever Dan says, it goes. I don't question Dan."

And whatever Dan says is usually what every print, radio and television outlet relays to the masses before and after every game. Without question, Campbell is the Aggies' main media man, taking interview requests when he didn't even touch the football during a game.

In other years, there were quote machines like Chris Dausin, John Ellisor and Ray Mickens. But Campbell says things without sounding like a hothead that just hates Texas.

He knows what it means to be an Aggie and what fans want to know about their football team.

"You want 11 Dan Campbells on the field if you can find them," offensive coordinator Steve Kragthorpe said, admitting that he wishes more passes would find Campbell's soft hands. "He's very unselfish. He's a great leader, a vocal leader. He does two things in terms of leadership: He leads with words, but he leads with his pads, also.

"There are guys who go and say things but don't do them. His bark is big, but his bite is awfully big, too."

Campbell is one of those typical R.C. Slocum recruits that the coach can brag about for years. Campbell came from a small town (Glen Rose) in Texas. He flirted with Texas, Baylor and Oklahoma during recruiting, but he wanted to dance with the Aggies.

He remembered walking into the Netum Steed conditioning lab on a game day in 1993 and seeing Dausin drip with emotion and maroon blood. Campbell then turned to his dad, and the recruiting race was officially over: He was bound for Aggieland.

Campbell has yet to wipe the smile from his face whenever the win over Nebraska comes up. And his eyes gleam when he begins to think of what could lay ahead for the Aggies as the conference race heats up.

Yes, Dan Campbell is the master of the goose bump, rubbing his arm when he began to think of what opening the season against Florida State would be like. And that was in April.

It's now late October, and the realization that A&M could play for the Big 12 title again has the senior looking past any stat sheet.

"I'm doing my job," Campbell said. "I'd like to catch some balls, but at the same time we're winning, things are happening and I love blocking. Shoot, it doesn't bother me at all."

Nothing seems to be bothering Campbell as he winds down his senior season. He has seen the probation year of 1994, the heartbreakers against Texas Tech and Colorado, the rise and fall again of the Texas Longhorns.

And he has seen the Aggies beat Nebraska, nearly beat Florida State and perhaps will see them topple another top five team at the end of the season.

Fortunately for Texas A&M football, the Aggies have seen Dan Campbell play his guts out for the last four years.

It will be a tough chore for the A&M players when the season ends, and the coaches ask for their vote for the most coveted player award: The Aggie Heart Award, given to the senior who best demonstrates leadership and character for his football team.

Dat Nguyen, of course, is equally deserving of such an honor. But Dan Campbell deserves something tangible for all of the intangibles he has given this Aggie football team.

How about the inaugural Dan Campbell Award?