A TIMELY TURNOVER With a fumble in the SMU game of 1979, Paine's life and career altered forever By Rusty Burson

At the time, the fumble seemed like such a cruel injustice to freshman walk-on linebacker Jeff Paine. He had worked so hard, battling his way up the depth chart and earning the attention of Texas A&M’s coaches.

He didn’t have grand illusions for 1979, but Paine desperately wanted to get into a game. Just one would suffice. In fact, just one play in front of the 12th Man at Kyle Field would make all the effort, all the sweat and all the countless hours of practice worthwhile.

To Paine’s delight, the late-October SMU game seemed like the perfect opportunity. The Aggies were pushing the Ponies around in what would eventually be a 47-14 A&M victory.

Jeff Paine capped his A&M Career by winning the 1983 Aggie Heart Award.

Defensive assistant coach R.C. Slocum told Paine earlier in the week he would try to work him into the game as a reward for the dedication and the hustle Paine had displayed all year. Making good on his word, Slocum called for Paine late in the fourth quarter.

"Next play," Slocum told Paine as he put his arm around the freshman, "you’re going in."

Inexplicably, the Mustangs fumbled just as Paine was buckling his chinstrap. The Aggies recovered, Paine returned to the bench and the season finished without him ever playing a down.

"I was so disappointed," Paine says now just before breaking into a wide, playful grin. "But as I look back, with the benefit of hindsight, I am reminded of a passage in Romans 8:28 where Paul writes that God causes all things to work for good for those who love Him. I can now see clearly that one fumble was one of the great blessings in my life."

The Ponies’ fumble at that exact moment helped pave the way for Paine’s professional football career. And it was in Kansas City, where Paine had been drafted by the Chiefs, that he met his wife, Beth.

The Paines recently celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary and have four children. Without that fumble, though, chances are Paine’s life would be much different today.

"If SMU had not fumbled, I would have played," said Paine, who is now involved in the financial services industry, specializing in insurance programs and investment strategies. "Had I played in that game – or even that year – I would not have had that fifth year. If I had not had that extra year, I wouldn’t have gained attention from the NFL. And had I not been drafted by the Chiefs, I would never have met my wife.

"Often times I think of that. When we face fumbles in our lives, sometimes it takes days, weeks, months and possibly years before we see how it’s going to play out in God’s plan. That was a fundamental life lesson I learned – one of the many I picked up through sports and being at Texas A&M."

Life is often so much about timing, and Paine is the perfect example of that. When he arrived at A&M in 1979, the term "redshirt" meant nothing more to him than referencing certain items in his wardrobe.

But a couple years later, the term took on new meaning and helped to shape his life. Jackie Sherrill called Paine into his office, explained the new rule and told him that, since Paine hadn’t played in 1979, he was eligible for another season.

Paine had played some at linebacker and tight end in 1980 and ’81, and he had even been award a scholarship by Tom Wilson in ’80. As he walked to Sherrill’s office, he believed 1982 would be his senior year and his final season in football at any level. But that quickly changed.

"Coach Sherrill called me in and asked me if I would like to play another year," Paine said. "I still hadn’t finished my engineering degree, so I needed another year anyway. I was thrilled. I ended up playing tight end that year, and when Mark Lewis went down with a knee injury that first game, I became the starter at tight end."

Jeff Paine and wife, Beth, are enjoying raising four children in the Bryan-College Station area.

Paine proved to be a pretty decent tight end, although even he admits he was certainly not NFL-quality. At least not at that position.

But the following year, when Sherrill and Slocum installed the 3-4 defense that would become the Wrecking Crew, the Aggies needed another linebacker. Paine got the call and played so well during the 1983 season he earned another call the following April.

"I really had a breakout season in my fifth year and played well enough to get some attention from the National Football League," said Paine, the winner of the 1983 Aggie Heart Award. "I ended up getting drafted, to the surprise of shock everyone, in the fifth round."

By the end of his rookie season with the Chiefs, the former walk-on was starting at linebacker. Unfortunately for Paine, he tore ligaments in his knee the following year and was released by the Chiefs during the last cut of the 1986 preseason. During that same season, he tried out for the Packers and played briefly for the Redskins. In ’87, he played his last season with Gene Stallings’ Cardinals before his NFL career came to an abbreviated end.

It was a short pro career, but it was anything but disappointing. Paine met the love of his life in Kansas City and fulfilled a lifelong dream by simply making it to the NFL.

"I’ve been very blessed," Paine says. "I’ve had many dreams – even far-fetched ones – fulfilled."

Playing at Texas A&M was one of those childhood dreams. Paine’s parents moved from Iowa to Richardson shortly after they were married, so he didn’t grow up with an allegiance to any school in Texas.

But the father of Paine’s neighborhood friend was an Aggie and invited Paine to go with their family to College Station one spring. The 12-year-old Paine was treated to a spring scrimmage, and the boys were able to stay the weekend in a dorm. Paine instantly fell for A&M.

"My buddy and I snuck down on the field during that spring game, and I just soaked up the atmosphere and the spirit of Aggieland," Paine said. "That experience hooked me and came to mind when Coach Slocum first visited Richardson High School back when I was a senior and talked to me about coming to A&M.

"He told me the Southwest Conference probably wasn’t going to have a scholarship for a 185-pound linebacker. But he said he’d love for me to come down and walk on. I didn’t need much more convincing. And I really enjoyed the school, the community and just being an Aggie. It was a tremendously influential time in my life."

It was during his playing days at A&M that Paine first began attending Grace Bible Church in College Station. And once his playing days in the NFL were over, Paine would return to Grace.

After graduating from Dallas Seminary in the summer of ’89, Paine began serving as an intern with Grace Bible Church. He initially figured it would be a short stay, but after just six months, Paine was approached about serving as the church’s college pastor.

"I agreed to do that, and the next thing you know, we’re seven, eight years down the road and we’re really enjoying it," Paine said. "When I first arrived back here, Beth and I were just recently married, but as the years went along, we added four children to our family.

"At that point, we had four kids and then the evenings, the mornings, the weekends – all the work that being a college pastor required – were beginning to be a challenge in terms of trying to be involved with our own kids. That’s when we began to look at other career options."

In 1998, Paine began exploring a variety of career opportunities, including some that would require moving his family. He considered them all, but eventually decided that his heart and his home were in Aggieland.

"Even though I was not actually born and raised here, I’ve spent more than a third of my life here in the Bryan-College Station area. Having been a student here and lived here for coming up on 13 years, it’s home to us. All four of my children were born here and now are going to school here, building some close friends here in town. This has been a great place to raise a family."

Paine is still active in his church, teaching an adult Sunday School class. And he is still active in area sports, coaching youth teams and taking his kids to Aggie games. It is, after all, a good opportunity for Dad to teach them about handling life’s fumbles.