Gig 'em, Aggies!

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...at a press conference in College Station, Texas... [i]The name is Gunn...Frank Gunn. Who am I? A football coach. A pretty good one if you talk to the right people. What about my credentials? Let's just say that I'll spare y'all having to hear what the newspapers can do a fine job digging up on their own. The only line on my resume that matters is the one that reads 'Head Coach of the Texas A&M Aggies.' You'll just have to trust me when I say this... The days of settling for .500 records or worse are over. The time for sitting at home during the holidays and watching bowl games on t.v. has come to an end. It's the dawn of a new era. An era where Texas football no longer revolves around what goes on in Austin. Look out, TU...the Wrecking Crew will arise again, and that's just the beginning.[/i] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I looked over the packet my Coordinators had prepared for me. How could this have been allowed to happen? The Aggies were picked to finish 8th in the Big XII this season. 8th!!! I guess that's what going 22-25 over the past four years will do for your rep. Not to mention getting pounded in the university's only bowl appearance during that time. Well, as I had emphasized repeatedly during my first press conference, the past is the past. We need to look to the future now. I have some ideas. I think they'll work...if given enough time. The question right now is: How much time am I gonna be able to buy?

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[b][u][i]2006 Season[/i][/u][/b] [b][u]Budget[/u][/b] Fortunately, a university as prestigious and large as Texas A&M is well-funded. Over $2 million allows us great coverage as far as recruiting goes and also ensures that our medical and strength-and-conditioning allotments are top-notch. [b][u]Expectations[/u][/b] Pretty modest expectations if you ask me...a .500 record and a potential bowl bid. Sure, A&M hasn't lived up to those expectations in three out of the last four years, but I have higher goals. Of course, the A&M-UT game is always a prime factor in determining whether our season is a successful one or not. [b][u]Schedule[/u][/b] Memphis turned down an offer to host us in Week 1. Hmmm, their loss. I found the coaching staffs from our eventual three OOC opponents more receptive to my advances. Virginia Tech accepted our request for a home-and-away. UCLA and Miami were all too happy to play host to a one-time meeting. All in all, I'm pleased with the difficulty of our schedule (9th highest SOS in the nation)...we play against seven ranked teams plus road games against UCLA, K-State, and Iowa State who aren't slouches either. A sub-500 season is probably a realistic danger, but I expect better from my team. I know they are better than that. 1 -- @ UCLA 2 -- [b]Virginia Tech (#20)[/b] 3 -- [b]@ Miami (#4)[/b] 4 -- @ Kansas State 5 -- @ Baylor 6 -- [b]Nebraska (#16)[/b] 7 -- @ Iowa State 8 -- [b]Oklahoma (#8)[/b] 9 -- [b]Texas Tech (#19)[/b] 10 -- OPEN 11 -- OPEN 12 -- [b]Oklahoma State (#22)[/b] 13 -- North Texas 14 -- [b]@ Texas (#1)[/b] 15 -- OPEN

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[b][u][i]2006[/i][/u][/b] [b][u]Offensive Starters[/u][/b] QB [b]Jeb Alston[/b] (6'0", 216#, Jr) A precision passer. Other than that, he's not particularly extraordinary. If he goes down to injury or academic suspension, I won't have any qualms about moving backup James Edwards, a more well-rounded option, into the starting spot. HB [b]Marcus Walker[/b] (5'9", 180#, Sr) A tremendous playmaker. If he doesn't score at least one touchdown outright in a game and contribute towards another, we probably don't win that game. FB [b]John Jeter[/b] (6'1", 200#, Sr) Not as talented as Walker, but he's definitely a workhorse. He's good enough to keep defenses honest and give Walker a breather now and then. WR [b]Jack Dyer[/b] (6'4", 171#, Fr) WR [b]Scotty Herndon[/b] (6'1", 202#, Jr) These guys will have to do for the moment. We're thin at WR though, so if either Dyer or Herndon go down, we are in serious trouble of becoming entirely one-dimensional on offense. TE [b]Bobby Witten[/b] (6'1", 233#, Sr) Solid, durable tight end with good hands. It's a shame that he's a senior because there's not much else behind him right now. OT [b]Dave Jackson[/b] (6'8", 297#, Jr) OT [b]Willie Pope[/b] (6'8", 309#, Jr) OG [b]Troy Livingston[/b] (6'4", 291#, Sr) OG [b]Andre King[/b] (6'6", 311#, Fr) C [b]Fred McKinley[/b] (6'4", 308#, Sr) The offensive line is pretty average which means that it probably doesn't stack up too well against some of the more elite teams in the Big XII. We shall see how it holds up as the season progresses. [i][u]Redshirts[/u][/i] --- OG Javon Barr, OT Ken Still, WR Gaston Thompson, and RB Richard Chambers [b][u]Outlook[/u][/b] On paper, it looks like our offensive success begins and ends with Marcus Walker. The big unknown is just how much can our passing game help him. We're going with a Balanced offense this year. I just don't feel comfortable enough with this O-Line to commit to an offense that is any more run-happy.

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[b][u][i]2006[/i][/u][/b] [b][u]Defensive Starters[/u][/b] DE [b]Chad Lovelady[/b] (6'4", 283#, Jr) DE [b]Johnny Hayman[/b] (6'0", 259#, Sr) Mediocre at best but there aren't any alternatives right now. DT [b]Mike Baker[/b] (6'2", 302#, Jr) One of the best defenders on the team. His strong work ethic and his standing as a junior bode well for next year if not this one. ILB [b]Rocky Batch[/b] (5'11", 229#, Jr) ILB [b]Herb Smith[/b] (6'2", 242#, Sr) Decent speed and hands. Batch and Smith are going to need to stay healthy alongside our outside LB's given our lack of depth. OLB [b]Bob Kennedy[/b] (6'0", 236#, Jr) OLB [b]Marquis Lucas[/b] (6'2", 226#, Sr) Kennedy still has room to develop some more, but he'll be called upon to deliver some big plays this season. CB [b]Craig Flemons[/b] (6'0", 173#, Sr) CB [b]John Thompson[/b] (6'1", 184#, So) Thompson is already more talented than Flemons and has a huge potential for growth. He's just a sophomore, so I'm hoping for bigger and better things over the course of the next couple of years. S [b]Charley Randle[/b] (5'11", 179#) S [b]Tony Brooks[/b] (5'10", 204#) Brooks is an absolute stud. Randle has the potential to develop into a stud, but for some reason he just can't seem to get over the hump. Maybe playing alongside Tony will help him out a little this season. K [b]Odell Buchanan[/b] (6'3", 180#, Fr) P [b]Jim Tyner[/b] (6'2", 199#, Sr) Both guys are below average and happen to be the best options we have...which means that kicking and punting are going to be major objectives in our recruiting efforts this year. [i][u]Redshirts[/u][/i] --- OLB Harlon Jamison, ILB Billy Richardson, and CB John Horn [b][u]Outlook[/u][/b] This is not even close to the kind of defense I envision taking to the field in the next few years. Beyond Baker and Brooks, we can only move in the direction of improvement as soon as next year. For now, the defense just has to hold together enough for us to scrap together a few wins and maybe squeak into a bowl game.