Andre Brooks in Summer of '02I was flipping through an old media guide the other day and I realized that I hadn't heard the name Andre Brooks in a long time and was wondering what happened to him. There were some other names that I ran across while I was looking from something on Brooks and somehow it snowballed into a look at our old signing classes and how much those individuals have contributed to the program.
I got all of the past recruiting classes from a great website that I didn't even know existed until Friday, Statbreakdown.com....the information on the games played by the recruits all came from the participation charts from Aggieathletics.com.
We'll start out looking at the signing classes as a whole (sorted by position). The first number listed is the number of games the player participated in and the second number is the number of those games that the player started in (were selected to one of the All-Big XII teams that year). If a player has a ^ at the end of his name then he was a transfer (I don't know the status of some of the earlier classes so I might be missing some ^s there).
If you know anything about what happened to some of these guys please let me know and I'll update it.
Name Po. 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Total R.Bernard DL 11/0 13/6 10/8 - 11/8 45/22 R.Bradley LB 10/0 13/7 11/10 10/10 - 44/17 J.Brooks DB - 13/5 11/1 11/2 8/4 43/12 J.Bryan DB - - - - - 0/0 R.Edwards DL 13/0 13/7 11/9 11/11 - 48/27 R.Flemons DE 13/0 12/5 11/9 11/10 - 47/24 A.Gandy WR - 1/0 - - - 1/0 J.Glenn DB 13/0 12/0 9/8 10/10 - 44/18 M.Jameson DB 12/0 13/1 11/10 9/9 - 45/20 L.Madison DL - 12/0 11/1 11/2 - 34/3 T.McCauley DL - 10/0 10/2 11/11 - 31/13 S.McKinney OL - 13/7 11/10 11/11 11/8 Total T.Nichols DE - 13/0 11/0 - - 24/0 E.Perroni DL - 8/0 11/0 9/3 9/5 37/8 B.Rhodes RB 7/0 10/0 - - - Total H.Robertson LB - 8/0 11/2 9/0 11/0 39/2 C.Rodriguez LB - 12/0 9/2 10/0 10/7 31/9 M.Schobel QB - - - - - 0/0 A.Simon LB - 13/0 10/0 11/0 11/0 45/0 C.Taylor DB 13/1 13/0 11/5 11/7 - 48/13 M.Vakalahi OL - 9/0 4/0 - - 13/0 Totals (21) From a talent standpoint this was an incredible signing class. Seven of the players were drafted and 4 others signed NFL contracts.
Roylin Bradley finished his career 6th on the School's All-Time Sack List with 24 sacks. He actually took over a sublease of one of my roomates in the spring of '02 so I got to room with him for a semester. He was a really good guy. Roylin signed as a free agent with the Eagles and went to training camp with them and Seattle in '01. In '02 he went to training camp with the Saints before moving to the CFL for one season. He is currently one of the youngest scouts in the NFL and works for the 49ers.
"Big Play Jay" Brooks was a special teams terror. He was signed by the Jets as a free agent in 2002. Here's a list of his "Big Plays" from an old press release:
- Blocks fifth career punt against Notre Dame in 2001, puts final nail in Irish's 24-3 coffin
- Foils fake punt try by Oklahoma State in 2001, sets up game's initial touchdown.
- Blocked punt against Oklahoma in 2000 sets up first A&M touchdown
- Shoe-string tackle of OU's Quentin Griffin on third down forces a Sooner punt to give A&M a last-gasp chance at upset in 2000
- Blocked punt against Iowa State sets up first score. A&M cruises 30-7 in 2000
- Blocked punt against Texas Tech is converted into TD and 16-7 lead in 2000
- Blocked punt against Texas Tech is converted into TD and 16-7 lead in 2000
- Blocked punt against UTEP is converted into TD and 28-17 lead in 2000
- Sacks and strips Texas QB Applewhite to secure 20-16 win in 1999
- Returns blocked punt for TD and 10-0 lead against Texas Tech in 1999
- INT return for TD against USM in 1999 lifts Aggies who fail to score an offensive TD
- Fumble return for TD against No. 2 Florida State give Aggies a 14-10 halftime lead in 1998
Rocky Bernard was a 5th round pick by the Seattle Seahawks where he has played since then. He missed the entire 2000 season after a knee injury early in fall camp. Ron Edwards was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2001 draft by the Buffalo Bills where he played until 2006 when he signed with the KC Chiefs. Ronald Flemmons was drafted in the 7th round of the 2001 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons. He also played for the Miami Dolphins before moving to the CFL where he has played through 2007. Seth McKinney, the younger brother of Steve, was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the third round of the 2002 NFL draft. He signed with the Browns in '07.
Chris Taylor moved to the offensive side of the ball at WR prior to his freshman season and was responsible for a huge 80 yard TD reception in the '98 Nebraska game. The former Madisonville Mustang QB was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 7th round of the 2001 draft and bounced around for several years on practice squads (Tennessee, St. Louis, Houston). He was best friends with Roylin and was over at our apartment almost everyday playing Madden '02 where he was featured on the Titans roster (Roylin was on the Eagles roster). Good guy.
Jason Glenn was recruited as a DB but moved to LB prior to his freshman season where he played all four seasons. After following his brother, Aaron, to A&M he was drafted by the Jets in the sixth round of the '01 draft and went on to also play for the Dolphins and Vikings . He retired in 2007 after re-aggrivating his knee (which was hurt his senior year at A&M).
Michael Jameson played CB as a freshman but moved to safety the spring prior to his sophomore season. He was drafted by the Browns in the 6th round of the '01 draft and played in Cleveland through 2004. He was at my apartment hanging out with Roylin during the "Tuck Rule Game" in the '02 NFL playoffs. [/name dropping]
Terry Nichols was tragically killed in a car accident in May of 2000 in his hometown of El Paso. Joel Bryan redshirted 1997 after a knee injury and was not on the fall roster in 1998 and was never to be seen on Kyle Field. Antoine Gandy redshirted in '97 and was a SQ in '98, & '99 and was not on the roster in '00. I don't know what happened. Lonnie Madison moved to TE for the 2000 season and was on the roster in 2001 but did not play after blowing out his knee in the first fall practice. Amon Simon moved to RB for the 2000 season and back to LB for 2001.
Tango McCauley was moved to OL for the 1998 season and transfered before his senior season to Alabama State (for reasons unknown to be) and went on to play in the CFL and the AFL (and signed with the Cowboys in 2004 as a FA but didn't make the squad).
Matt Schoebel tranfered to TCU after red-shirting in '97, moved to TE and turned himself into a 3rd round NFL draft pick ('02 draft - Cincinati). In '06 he signed a 5 year deal with the Eagles.
Burnest Rhodes missed the final 6 games of his freshman season to a back injury....was not on the fall roster in 1999. I know he had several injuries in his first two seasons and that he missed most of the spring of '99 so I have to assume he didn't play more than two seasons as a result of injury.
Christian Rodriguez signed with the Colts as a free agent following the 2001 draft but did not make the squad.
Moses Vakalahi left the team to go on his Morman mission to Zimbabwe in the summer of 2001 returning in 2004 to finish his degree and get married.
1998 Signing Class
Name Po. 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Total C.Ambres QB - - - - - 0/0 V.Smith QB - 5/0 3/0 1/0 - 9/0 J.Hunnicut RB - 9/0 10/0 9/1 10/9 38/10 J.Toombs FB 13/5 11/6 11/8 - - 35/19 R.Ferguson WR - - 10/8 - - 10/8 C.Freeman WR - - - - - 0/0 D.Goynes WR - 8/2 11/5 11/6 10/0 40/13 B.Johnson WR - 10/1 11/7 2/2 12/12 33/22 M.de la Torre TE - 6/5 8/0 6/3 - 20/8 G.Porter TE - 6/0 10/2 6/0 12/3 34/5 M.Mahan OL - 9/6 9/8 11/7 - 29/21 C.Montgomery OL - 1/0 - - - 1/0 T.Whitley OL - 7/0 11/11 11/8 11/11 40/30 B.Yates OL - 11/0 8/0 11/8 9/9 39/17 B.Gamble LB - 11/8 11/11 11/8 12/12 45/39 D.Lechler P - 2/0 5/0 - - 7/0 Totals (16) 13/5 96/28 118/60 79/43 76/56 382/192 Coming off of a Big 12 South title in 1997 this signing class produced 4 All-Big XII honors from 4 different players. It also produced 3 NFL draft picks (Ferguson-2001 2nd round, B.Johnson-2003 2nd round, & Whitley-2003 3rd round).
It was a relatively small signing class but overall was productive one both in talent and in playing time.
Ambres & FreemanWe lost both Chip Ambres and Choo Freeman to the Major League Baseball draft. Ambres signed with the Florida Marlins for $1M and Freeman signed with the Colorado Rockies for $1.4M signing bonus. Can't really blame either of them, can ya?
We also lost Toombs and Ferguson (who went to Tyler JC for a while because he didn't academically qualify) because they both declared themselves eligible for the NFL draft after the 2000 season. Ferguson was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 2nd round and you can read all about Ja'Mar in an article I wrote about his Aggie career.
Vance Smith transferred to Sam Houston State after the 2001 season because of the serious depth we had at QB (Mark Farris, Jason Carter, Dustin Long, and Reggie McNeal).
I don't know what happened to Chris Montgomery but I know that he had a back problem that forced him to miss two-a-days prior to the 2000 season.
1999 Signing Class
Name Po. 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Total C.Freeman QB - 9/0 - - - 9/0 O.Fleming RB - 8/0 10/0 12/0 11/0 31/0 M.Harris RB - 11/0 - - - 11/0 Jo.Webber RB 9/0 11/1 11/4 10/9 - 41/14 R.Whitaker RB - 10/5 4/1 - - 14/6 E.Collins WR - 9/0 - - - 9/0 T.Brown TE - 3/0 - - - 3/0 F.Spiller TE - 11/0 - - - 11/0 A.Brooks OL - 9/3 7/3 10/7 - 26/13 J.Kirk OL - 4/0 6/0 8/0 12/11 30/11 B.Lively OL - 3/0 - - - 3/0 J.Milkavich OL - 2/0 - - 7/1 9/1 A.Reuber OL - 2/0 9/2 11/7 11/7 33/16 S.Mitchell DL - - - - - 0/0 T.Warren DL 9/0 11/8 10/7 10/10 - 40/25 B.West DL - - - - - 0/0 J.LeDoux LB - - - - - 0/0 J.Morris LB - 8/0 11/8 10/10 2/2 33/20 J.Penright LB 10/0 10/2 11/8 12/11 - 33/21 D.West LB - 8/0 - - - 8/0 T.Wooldridge LB - - 5/0 8/0 - 13/0 S.Davis DB 10/1 11/11 11/8 12/12 - 44/32 J.Frederick DB - - - - - 0/0 T.Kiel DB 11/0 11/10 11/8 12/12 - 45/30 E.Smith DB - 10/0 11/0 11/1 9/6 41/7 R.Waddell DB - - - - - 0/0 S.Weston DB 1/0 11/10 11/8 11/9 12/12 46/39 Totals (27) 50/1 172/50 128/57 137/88 64/39 551/235 This class was recruited coming off of our Big 12 Championship season but have had some crazy things happen to them that has reduced their impact on the program. There were several studs in the class who went on to the NFL but there were also a ton of non-factors due to injury and attrition.
There were 7 All-Big 12 honors earned by this signing class by 4 different players including three NFL draft picks (T.Warren-2003 1st round, S.Davis-2003 1st round, T.Kiel-2003 2nd round, & A.Rueber-signed as a non-drafted free agent).
It was a great defensive class but quite a poor offensive class in terms of playing time contributions. Only 4 of 27 players made All-Conference.
I can start with guys who left us for other schools. Sam Houston took Maurice Harris and Tashumbrae Brown off our hands after 2000. The same time they were leaving, Colby Freeman transferred to Abilene Christian. Finally, Damien West transferred to Houston after the '01 season.
Brian West was also a baseball player and was drafted by the Chicago White Sox where he played until 2003 when he went to LSU to play football again...ouch. That makes 3 players in a two year span to burn us for the beautiful diamond.
Richard Whitaker retired from football during the '02 season (after being moved to DB) but then surfaced at Abilene Christian in '03.
Andre Brooks (knees), Fred Spiller (back) both had to retire due to injuries. Ellison Collins moved from DB to WR and I couldn't find anything on him after that. I also couldn't find anything about Brett Lively, Shannon Mitchell and Jason Fredrick.
Jared Morris only played 2 games his senior season before blowing his knee out. He wasn't granted a medical redshirt which was kind of dissapointing.
I'm really confused about Reggie Waddell from Willowridge HS in Houston. He transferred to A&M from Dodge City CC but I couldn't find anything about him during his time here at A&M. There is a defensive back from Houston named Reggie Waddell who played for the Baltimore Ravens but he went to school at Western Illinois.....I'm giving him a big fat "?".
2000 Signing Class
Name Po. 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Total D.Long QB - - 12/9 12/1 - 24/10 M.Gill RB - - - - - 0/0 K.Joseph RB - 11/2 12/2 12/8 12/3 47/15 E.Crutchfield WR - 11/0 5/0 - - 16/0 J.Taylor WR - 10/6 10/10 6/6 - 26/22 J.Perot TE - 2/0 - - - 2/0 K.Cheshier OL - - - 1/0 - 1/0 G.Hangartner OL - 2/0 11/11 12/12 12/12 37/35 E.Brown DL - - - - - 0/0 M.Jasmin DL - 11/3 12/12 12/7 11/0 46/22 L.Smith DL 10/0 9/1 12/12 12/12 - 43/25 R.Cardoza LB - - - - - 0/0 L.Shepard LB - - - - - 0/0 B.Thompson LB - - - - - 0/0 A.Black DB 9/0 11/0 - - - 20/0 J.Buhl DB 11/0 11/0 - 11/2 12/12 45/14 D.Gentry DB 11/0 7/0 - - - 18/0 K.Jackson DB - 7/0 9/3 9/0 6/3 31/6 K.Mangum DB - 11/0 8/0 3/0 12/0 34/0 M.Pinesette DB 11/0 - - - - 11/0 Je.Webber DB - 1/0 - - - 1/0 C.Sims K - - - - - 0/0 C.Scates P 11/0 11/0 12/0 4/0 - 38/0 Total (23) 63/0 115/12 103/59 94/48 65/30 440/149 This is another class dominated by career ending injuries and transfers. Six players never played a single down for us and two others appeared in no more than 3 games in their career. That's almost 40% of the class right there. Then there are two more players who never played beyond their sophomore season.
There were 5 All-Big 12 honors given to 3 different members of the signing class of '00. Jamaar Taylor was drafted by the NY Giants in the 6th round of the 2003 draft while Geoff Hangartner was drafted in the 5th round of the 2004 draft by the Carolina Panthers. Taylor was eligible for the '03 draft because he redshirted his freshman year at Notre Dame and then had to sit out a season as part of the transfer rule because he went from a DI school to another DI school. There were several guys that I am aware of who signed as free agents after the '04 draft (Cody Scates/Texans, Jonte Buhl/Tampa Bay, Marcus Jasmin/Detroit).
We lost Dewon Gentry, Chris Sims, & Adam Black all to back injuries while we lost both Eric Crutchfield and Joey Perot to shoulder injuries. I know that Brian Thompson stopped playing due to injury but I couldn't find out what the injury was. Strangely, both Adam Black and Gentry popped up on Abilene Christian's roster after their injuries (and in '03 along with Richard Whitaker--mentioned above). I find it odd that all of our players who retire due to injury are somehow cleared to play at ACU.
Both LeBrandon Shepard and Mike Pinesette were dismissed from the team (not sure what they did).
Dustin Long transferred to Sam Houston after the '03 season while we never got to see Mathus Gill or Eddie Brown play because they didn't qualify academically and went to Blinn JC to gain eligibility. Gill went on to join his fellow classmates at Abilene Christian while Brown was named as the top pro prospect at San Jose State University by Fox Sports.
I couldn't find anything on Ricky Cordoza and I couldn't find anything on Jerome Weber (brother of Joe) or Kasey Cheshier other than that they were squads men through '03.
2001 Signing Class
Name Po. 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Total J.Carter QB - 7/0 11/1 12/5 11/7 41/14 D.Farmer RB 8/5 10/9 12/12 - - 30/26 T.Murphy WR 11/4 11/3 12/11 11/11 - 45/29 J.Roberson WR - - 2/0 - - 2/0 B.Singleton WR - 9/0 12/2 9/1 - 30/3 T.Thomas WR 11/0 12/2 11/3 12/1 - 46/6 J.Woods WR - 7/0 1/0 4/1 - 12/1 T.Carriger TE 9/4 11/8 10/5 - - 30/17 J.Hightower OL 10/4 11/11 - 12/12 10/1 43/28 Q.Holman OL - 5/0 4/0 - - 9/0 C.Smith OL - - 1/0 2/0 - 3/0 D.Steamer OL - 5/0 9/0 12/1 10/6 36/7 L.Hooper DL - - 8/0 4/0 5/0 17/0 D.Ross DL - 11/2 12/12 12/1 11/1 46/16 D.Stringer DL - 1/0 1/0 - - 2/0 J.Boutte LB - - - - - 0/0 Br.Johnson LB 11/0 10/0 - - - 21/0 R.Webb LB 11/0 12/2 - - - 23/2 J.Appel DB - 10/9 12/12 12/12 10/10 44/43 B.Jones DB 11/0 12/5 12/12 12/12 - 47/29 R.Jones DB - 9/0 12/12 12/0 10/6 43/18 J.Mays DB - - - - - 0/0 Total (22) 82/17 153/51 142/82 126/57 67/31 572/238 Overall I'd say that we've had some pretty good participation from this signing class. Six All-Big 12 honors from four players including a handful of NFLers. Terrence Murphy was drafted in the '04 Draft by Green Bay in the 2nd round while several guys signed as free agents after the '05 draft (Carter/Minnesota, Appel/Tennessee, Hightower/Green Bay, BJones/Atlanta-'04).
Those that we lost prematurely have gone in pretty much the same manner those before them have gone.
Quintin Holman and Randall Webb were both dismissed from the team for violating team policy. Webb, shockingly, played for Abilene Christian in 2003.
Thomas Carriger had to retire before the 2004 season due to chronic shoulder problems, John Boutte left before the '02 season for personal reasons, Brandon Johnson was academically ineligible after 2002 and went to Blinn JC. Cole Smith (brother of Vance Smith from our '98 signing class) was a squads man on our roster through the 2004 season but John Roberson is a mystery to me. He was a squads man up through the spring of 2004 but was not on the roster in the fall. I also can't figure out what on earth happened to Jarvis Mays.
2002 Signing Class
Name Po. 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Total R.McNeal ATH ***** 8/1 12/11 12/12 10/10 - 42/34 L.Riley ATH **** 6/0 12/0 12/0 - 13/5 43/5 C.Schroeder ATH *** - 8/0 12/0 8/7 13/12 41/19 C.Lewis RB *** - 12/1 11/9 9/6 8/3 40/19 B.Reed RB ** - 12/0 6/0 11/0 13/10 42/10 N.Rhodes WR ** - - - - - 0/0 P.Fleming TE *** 4/0 - - - - 4/0 Q.Germany TE **** - 12/6 5/0 10/0 - 27/6 A.DeLaGarza OL *** 11/0 12/12 12/12 10/4 - 45/28 B.Flanigan OL *** - 1/0 - - - 1/0 A.Kotzur OL *** - 12/12 10/0 - - 22/12 T.Schuster OL *** - 11/2 8/0 2/0 - 21/2 D.Ellis DE *** - - - - - 0/0 B.Fails DT *** 4/0 - - - - 4/0 J.Jolly DT ** 12/0 12/12 12/12 11/11 - 47/35 J.Parks DT ** - 7/0 - - - 7/0 B.Patrick DT *** 11/0 10/4 - - - 21/4 K.Flood LB **** - - - - - 0/0 N.Manning LB **** - 12/3 9/1 9/0 8/0 38/4 A.Matakis LB *** - 10/0 - - - 10/0 A.McDaniel LB **** 12/0 12/5 12/4 11/9 - 47/18 B.Leone DB *** - 12/0 12/0 3/1 11/0 38/1 T.Pegram K **** 11/0 12/0 12/0 11/0 - 46/0 Totals (23) 79/1 191/68 145/50 105/48 66/30 636/197 This class contained 23 commitments and was rated #23 nationally by Rivals.com. It was the last class that was 100% recruited by Coach R.C. Slocum. Courtney Lewis was named a Freshman All-American in 2003 and the class has produced seven Big 12 All-Conference Honors from five different players and featured 2 NFL Draft Picks. Both Reggie McNeal and Johnny Jolly went in the 6th round of the '06 draft (Reggie to the Bengals & Jolly to Green Bay).
Of the athletes recruited, McNeal became a QB and Riley & Schroeder both became WRs.
Reggie left campus with his name splattered all over the Aggie record books (I listed everything he ranked in the top 3).
- 3rd Most Passing TDs-Single Game: 5 v. SMU in '05
- Most Passing Yards-Season: 2004-2,791
- Most Passing Yards-Career: 6,992
- 3rd most completions career: 478
- 3rd most passing TDs-career: 44
- 5 of the top 7 total offense-single games including school record 449 v. SMU in '05
- Most total offensive yards-season: 2004-3,509 (and 3rd place in '05 with 2,627)
- Most total offensive yards-career: 8,881
Kicker Todd Pegram, while not known for having a big leg but an accurate one, also left campus with his name in the record books.
- T-2nd Most FG-Single Game: 5 v. Colorado in '04
- Highest FG%-Single Season: 92.3% in '04
- T-2nd Most FG-Career: 56
- Highest FG%-Career: 74.7%
- T-1st Most PAT-Single Game: 10 v. BU in '03
- 2rd Most PAT-Career: 141
- 2nd Most Points-Career: 309
Bryce Reed red-shirted as a fullback but moved to the DLine in his sophomore season where he became a starter in 2006. Brandon Leone has also changed positions moving from DB to RB before the 2005 season.
Chad Schroeder was recruited as an athlete but played WR and was named Big 12 Honorable Mention his senior season.
Brian Patrick had to retire from football after 2003 due to injury. Patrick Fleming had season ending shoulder surgery in 2003 and did not rejoin the team in 2004 for whatever reason. Brandon Fails died on November 25th, 2002 as a result of a blood clot following surgery on his right leg.
Ju Parks (Texas Southern) & Andy Matakis (Montana State) transferred. Parks left after 2003 & Matakis was moved to TE before 2003 and left after that season. Dennis Ellis never enrolled & went to JUCO and went on to play at Boise State. Kelvin Flood was one of the most highly sought after recruits but was an academic casualty after 2003 along with Brandon Flanigan, who went on to play at MacMurray College. Nick Rhodes was kicked off the team after an arrest in the summer of 2004. He allegidly assulted his roomate, beating him with a guitar.
2003 Signing Class
Name Po. 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Total J.Brown ATH *** - 12/10 4/1 11/5 - 27/16 C.Alexander RB *** 2/0 10/0 11/0 13/6 12/1 48/7 D.Brown RB *** - - - - - 0/0 J.Kelly RB *** - - - - - 0/0 E.Taylor WR *** 12/0 12/9 3/2 13/11 13/12 53/34 J.Thomas TE *** - 11/2 10/2 11/3 13/6 45/13 J.Adams OL ***** - 12/0 - - - 12/0 C.Clark OL *** - 4/0 11/11 13/13 13/13 42/38 K.Elder OL *** - 12/11 11/11 13/13 13/13 49/48 C.Wallace OL *** - 5/0 11/11 13/13 13/13 42/37 C.Yoder OL *** - 12/12 4/0 13/0 9/8 38/20 J.Bryant DT *** - 12/12 11/10 9/8 13/12 45/42 C.Harrington DE *** - 12/0 11/11 13/13 13/12 49/36 J.Jack DE **** - 12/11 9/7 12/10 - 33/28 M.Montgomery^ DE **** 10/0 12/12 - - - 22/12 T.Pittman DT *** - - - - - 0/0 L.Mitchell LB **** - - - - - 0/0 T.Thompson LB *** 8/1 - - - - 8/1 J.Warren LB **** 12/7 11/9 10/10 13/12 - 46/38 M.Bullitt DB *** 8/0 12/2 11/10 13/13 - 44/25 S.Hodge DB **** - 12/0 11/0 11/0 13/2 47/2 C.Jefferson DB ** - - - - - 0/0 E.Mayes DB *** - 12/1 - - - 12/1 B.Newton DB *** - 12/0 11/9 11/7 - 34/16 Totals (24) This class contained 24 commitments and was rated #10 nationally by Rivals.com. This was the last class that Coach Slocum had any part in and the first class that Coach Fran had any part in. To be completely honest, I'm not sure who was responsible for bringing in what players.
Through the 2006 season it has produced 18 Big 12 All-Conference Honors (9 different players) and Mike Montgomery, a JUCO transfer, has been the only player who has drafted thus far (6th round by Green Bay in the 2004 Draft). Melvin Bullitt signed with Indianapolis as a free agent out of school.
Jason Jack, Red Bryant, Chris Yoder & Japhus Brown were all named Freshmen All-Americans in 2004 (by both Rivals.com & The Sporting News). Cody Wallace was named a finalist for the Rimington Trophy and was considered one of the top centers in college football his senior season.
Unfortunately, 8 of the 24 recruits (that's a full 1/3) didn't last through the summer of 2005.
Derrick Brown never enrolled (academics) and it was said he was going to attend JUCO but I couldn't find anything about where he ended up. Lamar Mitchell was on the roster in 2003 but left school "for personal reasons".
John Kelly was also on the roster in 2003 but wasn't in 2004. He was arrested in December of 2003 but I don't know if that had anything to do with his status.
Tate Pittman was no longer a team member after being arrested not once but twice for the same sick thing on top of a DUI charge. Big idiot.
Ta Ta Thompson was well on his way to being a favorite of mine but he left school after his freshman season. I've heard that he went home to help support his family. He also published a book of poetry.
I found nothing regarding Charlie Jefferson but he was not on the roster in the fall of 2003 with leads me to believe that he did not enroll.
The final two players, Eric Mayes & Jorrie Adams, were both arrested during the summer of 2005 and were kicked off the team. At 6'7" and 275 pounds, Jorrie was the #2 recruit in Texas coming out of HS and signed as a OL but was tinkered at TE before moving to DE in 2004. Mayes was excellent at CB in his RS-F season in 2004 tied for the team lead in pass breakups and third in tackles. He left the team VERY thin at corner.
Earvin Taylor received a medical redshirt for the 2005 season after breaking his leg in the Texas State game.
Before the 2007 season both Japhus Brown and Brock Newton left the team. Japhus was an academic casualty and Newton was permanently dismissed after being suspended in the spring of '07. Jason Jack also left the team, with degree in hand, for personal reasons.
Linebacker U?
I do want to take this time to point out something that I noticed....it's quite alarming actually.
Texas A&M's defense is known throughout the land as the Wrecking Crew, which has been led by an extremely strong crop of linebackers. Well something has happened to us in that department. In 2003 we were in big, big trouble when Jared Morris blew out his knee in the 2nd game of the season.
Here is a breakdown of the guys who played LB for us '03 and their previous experience:
A B B.Adams 0 0 N.Manning 3 0 A.McDaniel 5 0 J.Morris 2 18 E.Smith 6 1 S.Stickane 9 0 T.Thompson 1 0 J.Warren 7 0 Totals 33 19 Column A is the number of starts by that player in 2003 Column B is the number of total starts by that player prior to 2003As you can see, once we lost Morris we were in deep trouble.
What I couldn't figure out was why on earth our depth chart was in such shambles at a position that we traditionally pride ourselves in.....So I took a look....
Player 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 1998 B.Gamble - 11/8 11/11 11/8 12/12 - - 1999 J.LeDoux - - - - - - - J.Morris - - 8/0 11/8 10/10 2/2 - J.Penright - 10/0 10/2 11/8 12/11 - - D.West - - 8/0 - - - - T.Wooldridge - - - 5/0 8/0 - - 2000 R.Cardoza - - - - - - - L.Shepard - - - - - - - B.Thompson - - - - - - - 2001 Br.Johnson - - - 11/0 10/0 - - R.Webb - - - 11/0 12/2 - -
Class LB/Class G GS 1998 1 45 39 1999 5 87 41 2000 3 0 0 2001 3 44 2 Totals 12 176 82 The first chart is particularly interesting. If you just run your finger down the 2003 column you see that we got a combined TWO starts out of our 1999, 2000 and 2001 recruiting classes. Those two classes should have been juniors or seniors in 2003 and I think it is pretty safe to say that upper-classmen are usually important to have.
I think that the scariest thing about this chart is that if R.C. had been around for 2003 we'd have continued to run the 3-4 defense and having to put four LBers on the field would have been even tougher.
2004 Signing Class
Name Po. 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Total P.Brown ATH *** - 11/4 13/0 13/10 2008 37/14 D.J. Davis ATH **** - - - - - 0/0 K.Franks ATH *** 11/0 11/2 13/0 13/13 2008 48/15 S.Taylor ATH *** - 4/1 2/0 - - 6/1 J.Chambless QB *** - 6/0 - - - 6/0 S.McGee QB **** - 8/1 13/13 13/13 2008 34/27 K.Smith RB ** - - 8/0 13/1 2008 21/1 J.Lucas RB - 6/0 - - - 6/0 T.Degrate WR *** - - - - - 0/0 K.Dickerson WR *** - - - - - 0/0 D.Mobley^ WR **** 12/11 10/8 - - - 22/19 K.Bryan TE ** - - 6/0 - - 6/0 A.Gbunblee TE *** - 11/1 12/0 13/0 2008 36/1 Y.Babalola OL ** - 11/11 9/4 9/6 2008 29/21 G.Dickey^ OL *** 5/0 2/0 13/13 - - 20/13 T.Schneider OL ** - 3/0 12/9 11/7 2008 26/16 Mi.Bennett DE nr - 11/4 13/0 12/1 2008 36/5 C.Obiozor DE *** - 11/0 13/3 13/13 2008 37/16 C.Smith DE **** 2/1 6/0 13/0 9/0 2008 30/1 W.Morrisey DT **** - 6/0 - - - 6/0 A.Boudreaux LB ** - - - - - 0/0 A.Brown^ LB **** 2/0 - - - - 2/0 L.Foliaki^ LB **** 12/8 7/6 - - - 19/14 K.Goins LB ** - - - - - 0/0 R.Green^ LB ** 12/8 11/4 - - - 23/12 T.Smith^ LB **** - - - - - 0/0 M.Young LB ** - - - - - 0/0 Q.Gardner DB ** - - - - - 0/0 D.Gorrer DB *** - 11/4 13/13 7/7 2008 24/27 R.Bean K ** - 8/0 - 3/0 2008 11/0 Totals (28) 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Total This recruiting class was ranked 13th in the country by Rivals.com and 14th in by Scout.com.
Of the athletes Pierre Brown & Kerry Franks became a WRs, Samson Taylor became a RB, and I believe DJ Davis was a WR also. Amos Gbumblee was moved from TE to DE during the 2006 season.
Michael Bennett, the brother of Martellus Bennett, was a late signee and was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention in 2007.
Tony Degrate signed with us out of HS in 2004 but went to Trinity Valley Community College to become academically eligible. He re-signed with us as part of the 2006 class.
D.J. Davis made it to campus and were on the roster in 2004 but never made it onto the field and we lost him to academics. Kendric Goins was lost to a medical issue and Aaron Brown left for personal reasons after playing limited snaps in '04. Terrence Smith was also an academic casualty.
Samson Taylor played RB for us but saw the logjam at the position and decided to leave the team (and stay at A&M). RB Jay Lucas signed late (in June) took a red-shirt in '04 and then transfered to SE Louisiana after his RS-F season.
Jordan Chambless was recruited as a QB but after his redshirt year moved to safety. He blew out his knee during the '05 season and decided to give up football to focus on baseball. Keith Dickerson was also a loss due to injury. He blew out his knee prior to the '05 season and never made it back. Kevin Bryan was also forced to retire with an injury following the '06 season (to the best of my knowlege it was a back injury).
Danny Gorrer missed the second half of 2007 with a torn ACL in his left knee that he suffered in the texas tech game.
Yemi Babalola was arrested between the 2006 texas game and our Alamo Bowl appearance. He and 2007 recruit Brandon Joiner broke into another student's apartment, tied them up with duct tape and robbed them. Both players were indicted.
William Morrissey left the team before the 2006 season with Coach Fran citing personal reasons. Alton Boudreaux never made it to campus and ended up playing at Tarleton. Mark Young also never enrolled and went to JUCO. I can't find anything on Quinten Gardner but I know he has never been on a roster so I can only assume he did not enroll.
2005 Signing Class
Name Po. 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Total A.Perry ATH *** - - - 2008 2009 0/0 J.Peterson ATH *** 1/0 12/10 11/2 2008 2009 24/12 J.McCoy QB *** - 3/0 6/0 2008 2009 9/0 J.Lane RB **** 10/4 13/10 13/9 2008 2009 36/23 Q.Driver WR *** - - - 2008 2009 0/0 K.Ferguson WR ** - - - 2008 2009 0/0 H.Morrow WR **** 11/3 12/1 - 2008 2009 23/4 Ma.Bennett TE ***** 11/5 13/13 12/6 - - 36/24 R.Frost OL *** - 4/0 7/0 2008 2009 11/0 L.Grimes OL *** - 1/0 7/0 2008 2009 8/0 K.Heard OL **** - 12/0 13/1 2008 2009 25/1 M.Shumard OL **** - 4/0 13/5 2008 2009 13/5 M.Featherston DE ** - 13/1 13/1 2008 2009 26/2 P.Freeney DE **** - 3/0 9/0 2008 2009 12/0 T.Ross DE ** - - - - - 0/0 H.Smith DT *** 1/0 13/0 13/12 2008 2009 27/12 V.Williams DT **** - 2/0 3/0 2008 2009 5/0 J.Richardson LB **** - - 4/0 2008 2009 4/0 A.Brown DB *** 10/0 13/2 13/6 2008 2009 36/8 C.Bryson DB ** - 12/0 13/0 2008 2009 25/0 M.Carpenter^ DB **** 11/6 11/0 13/10 2008 2009 35/16 G.Coffman DB *** - - - - - 0/0 A.Dixon DB *** 11/0 12/0 13/11 2008 2009 36/11 D.Gregg DB *** 6/3 13/13 13/13 2008 2009 32/29 J.Brantly P ** 11/0 13/0 12/0 2008 2009 36/0 Totals (25) 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Total Jamie McCoy was moved from QB to WR during the bowl practice period prior to the '06 Holiday Bowl. Jordie Richardson was also moved from LBer to FB.
Howard Morrow took an injury red-shirt for the 2007 season after injuring his wrist in summer practice.
Jorvorskie Lane and Justin Brantly will leave the school as two of the best at their craft. In his sophomore season J-Train tied the school single season TD record with 19 and by the end of his junior season he had tied Darren Lewis for the school record 44 TDs on the ground. Justin Brantly sits on almost every punting record list the school has, just a nose behind Shane Lechler in every catagory imaginable. It's tough to beat out the greatest punter in NFL history.
Trey Ross decided to transfer prior to fall camp in 2006. Gremon Coffman was an off-season story prior to the '05 season as everyone awaited word from the NCAA clearing house. He didn't get cleared so he went to Blinn JC and he never got in at A&M.
Kevin Ferguson signed with us and then redshirted at Blinn in '06 due to shoulder surgery with the intent of transfering to A&M in 2008. I don't know why he went to Blinn to RS instead of just redshirting at A&M but I read it in the NY Times so it has to be true. Quincy Driver joined Ferguson and Coffman at Blinn. I don't know if there is any chance of him rejoining us. That trio helped land a national championship in 2006 under Coach Franchione -- unfortunately it was for Brad Franchione and it was at the Junior College National Championship.
2006 Signing Class
Name Po. 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total C.Caflisch ATH *** - 1/0 2008 2009 2010 1/0 J.Johnson ATH *** - 5/0 2008 2009 2010 5/0 L.Cooper RB *** - - 2008 2009 2010 0/0 M.Goodson RB **** 13/1 13/7 2008 2009 2010 26/8 E.J. Shankle RB *** 8/0 13/0 2008 2009 2010 21/0 C.Tarrant RB *** - 7/0 2008 2009 2010 7/0 C.Beyer WR ** 4/0 9/0 2008 2009 2010 13/0 K.Brown WR *** - 11/0 2008 2009 2010 11/0 T.Degrate^ WR *** - - 2008 2009 2010 0/0 T.McCoy WR ** - 11/0 2008 2009 2010 11/0 L.Patterson OL *** - 13/1 2008 2009 2010 13/1 C.Williams DE *** - 3/0 2008 2009 2010 3/0 L.Ray DT *** - - - - - 0/0 M.Dodge^ LB *** 13/5 12/12 - - - 25/17 P.Fleurinor LB *** - - - - - 0/0 A.Lewis LB **** 11/0 12/1 2008 2009 2010 23/1 M.Tupe^ LB *** 12/8 13/12 - - - 25/20 J.Batson^ DB ** 12/1 - 2008 2009 2010 Total W.Harris DB ** - 13/0 2008 2009 2010 13/0 J.Neal^ DB **** - - - - - 0/0 J.Pugh DB **** 13/0 13/13 2008 2009 2010 26/13 D.Thompson DB *** - 5/0 2008 2009 2010 5/0 M.Szymanski K *** 13/0 13/0 2008 2009 2010 26/0 Totals (23) 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total This class was ranked 27th by Rivals.com and 21st by Scout.com. We've had a lot of players from this class move around on the field so I'll just do this in a chart form to make it easier on myself.
K.Brown WR -> S C.Caflish ATH -> WR J.Johnson ATH -> QB L.Patterson OL -> DT E.Shankle RB -> WRAll of those changes came prior to their freshman seasons with the exception of Lucas Patterson who moved to the D-line during the spring of 2007 and Kenny Brown who made the move during the bowl practice period prior to the '06 Holiday Bowl.
Mark Dodge won the hearts of many Aggies as a result of his military background as well as his hard nosed play on the field. He was named All-Conference in 2007 while fellow JUCO transfer Misi Tupe was named 2006 Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year and was All-Conference both seasons he was in Maroon & White.
Johnathan Batson took an redshirt for his senior season (2007) after transfering and playing a bit in '06. It gives him a better opportunity at playing time with Marquis Carpenter graduating after '07.
Pierre Fleurinor did not report to fall camp in 2006 according to Fran: "Pierre has been battling an illness this summer and we want him to get healthy." He was on the roster in '06 but did not resurface on the '07 roster and it later came out that his illness would not allow him to play any longer. Leslie Ray was named as one of the defensive work team MVPs (which I believe is the squadsmen/redshirt MVP) in 2006 but was not on the roster at all in 2007. He was forced to retire following an injury but I was unable to find what the injury was.
Tony DeGrate enrolled at a Trinity Valley CC (of T-Murph fame) to get eligible before the 2004 season and re-signed with A&M but apparently couldn't make it in because he never surfaced on a roster. I am also unable to locate any informatoin on JUCO Jarius Neal who never made it onto a roster. I have to assume their was a grades issue or an injury.
PSHEW. If you gained nothing else from the above at least you can now see what happens when I ponder a simple question such as, "What happened to Andre Brooks?"