The Battalion: February 8, 2018 by The Battalion

Despite a change in the coaching staff, Aggies still manage to reel in 13 big name players during National Signing Day By Ryan MacDonald @Ryan_MacDonald2 Texas A&M head football head coach Jimbo Fisher and his staff had their first National Signing Day in Aggieland this week. The Aggies started the week with the No. 35 recruiting class according to 247sports.com and finished sitting in the No. 17 spot. The jump was a feat as Fisher had his work cut out for him, coming to A&M just two weeks before the early signing period. Fisher said the key to winning recruiting battles is relationships, which take time to form. “It’s all about relationships, and we didn’t have time for that before the early signing day. We did for this one, and you see we did a lot better,” Fisher said. The Aggies started the day with a flip from four-star defensive end Bobby Brown, which Fisher said came down to the wire. “With Bobby Brown, it’s rare that you see a guy with his size that can play on the end,” Fisher said. “Reminds me of when we signed Marcus Spears [from LSU]. That’s huge when you can hold up out there and set the edge. I was a nervous wreck all the way up to the end. He was one of the most wanted guys across the country.” The Aggies followed up the addition of Brown with a couple of four-star cousins — offensive lineman Tank Jenkins and quarterback James Foster. Jenkins joins a signing class of three other four-star offensive lineman who signed in the early signing period: Colten Blanton, Barton Clement and Luke Matthews. “With big Tank Jenkins, you’re talking about a guy that’s 350 pounds and is as twitch as can be,” Fisher said. “You don’t see guys that can bend their ankles, knees and hips at that size and create power and size. I’m very happy with the offensive line.” Fisher said the reason behind signing Jenkins’ cousin was a dire need for a quarterback, due to only having three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster. Thus, Fisher turned to Foster, drawing on their prior relationship from when Fisher was the head coach at Florida State. “We spent a lot of time talking and our goals and his goals matched up and he decided to come to Texas A&M and we’re extremely happy,” Fisher said. The Aggies then received a commitment from four-star defensive end Jeremiah Martin and three-star tight end Glenn Beal in the early afternoon. Fisher said tight end was one of the biggest areas of need for the Aggies, who rarely utilized the tight end under Kevin Sumlin. “A huge area of need was finding more tight ends,” Fisher said. We just didn’t have enough to practice and do what we do.”

FISHER’S FIRST CLASS

NSD ON PG. 3 Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION

Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher finished National Signing Day with the No. 16 recruiting class in the country.

Bright days ahead for A&M football 2018 signing class shows promise for the program moving forward Angel Franco @angelmadison_

he future of Texas A&M football took a few steps in the right direction as new head coach Jimbo Fisher wrapped up his first National Signing Day. Before Wednesday, Fisher’s recruiting class ranked within the Top 40 in the country. However, as the day began to wind down, he was able to make his first A&M class jump from being ranked No. 33 overall to No. 16, according to ESPN. All while being introduced as the Aggies’ head coach on Dec. 4 and being out on the recruiting trail meeting with Texas high school football coaches in the area the next day. A mission that Fisher was determined to accomplish was trying to fill the roster with Texas talent, as it is one of the most lucrative states with skill. Fourteen of the 23 recruits Fisher signed overall were from the state of Texas. “There’s a tremendous amount of players in this state,” Fisher said. “The coaching, the development of the players and the game of football is tremendous. We’re always willing to saturate this state from one end to the other.” This NSD turned out to be much better than anyone inside the maroon bubble could’ve expected. However, there was an indication that the day would be trending upward this morning, when defensive tackle Bobby Brown chose A&M over national champion Alabama. More of this would come later Wednesday morning, when quarterback James Foster signed his letter of intent with A&M rather than with Alabama, Florida State or LSU. This is truly incredible, considering Fisher had a lot less time to build these relationships with ANALYSIS ON PG. 3

Photos by Abby Collida — THE BATTALION

Vertical Expressions has been teaching students ballroom dances like the Foxtrot and Rumba for 20 years.

Vertical Expressions offers dancing fun for all Ballroom dancing organization holds lessons and competes across the state By Hannah Falcon @hannahfalcon_ From experienced dancers to people with two left feet, the officer line of Vertical Expressions believe anyone can learn to do ballroom dances like the Foxtrot and the Rumba. Vertical Expressions is a ballroom dancing group at Texas A&M that does both dancing for fun and competitive dancing, which includes the Foxtrot, Paso Doble, Rumba and Lindy Hop. Now in their 20th year, Vertical

Expressions continues to provide professional dance instruction for all Aggies, regardless of skill level. Every semester, Vertical Expressions competes against other universities at ballroom competitions that are open to anybody in the club. They will be attending the Cougar Classic at the University of Houston on Feb. 24 and the Austin Open April 20-22. Dionne Mitcham, public health senior, said as president of the club, she was proud of some nontraditional students, those who are older than 25, who performed better than other college students at their competition at Rice University in October 2017. “It’s crazy how dance transcends age,” Mit-

cham said. “We have a lot of nontraditional students who contact us looking for a place that will accept them. Our organization has a place for them because dancing is not defined by your age.” Katie James, English sophomore and external relations officer of Vertical Expressions, said dancers learn practice styles and moves at their competition rehearsals. The moves are later used in routines taught at the competitions, and then they perform them for the judges. “We have basic competition practices to learn the moves,” James said “The moves themselves are set, but you have to follow the guide who decides how to string it together because you DANCE ON PG. 4

MEN’S BASKETBALL RETURNING TO REED ARENA After upsetting No. 8 Auburn 81-80 on the road Wednesday night, the Aggies will return home to face No. 24 Kentucky on Saturday, Feb. 10. The SEC matchup at Reed Arena will tipoff at 7:15 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.

Abby Collida — THE BATTALION

BASKETBALL

The Battalion | 2.8.18

No. 14 A&M to host Ole Miss Aggies enter game with championship mindset By Abigail Ochoa @AbigailOchoa1 Driving off their 78-59 victory over Auburn, the No. 14 Texas A&M women’s basketball team will take on the Ole Miss Rebels on Thursday, Feb. 8, at Reed C. Morgan Engel — THE BATTALION Arena to continue their conThe Aggies hope to notch their 19th win of the season. ference play. A&M head coach Gary Blair said the team is entering the game with a champion- should not be taken lightly, game and Madinah Muhammad, who scores 17.3 points ship mindset in order to make according to Blair. “We’re going into Ole per game in SEC play and has up for last season’s early exit Miss,” Blair said. “Where are scored 20 or more in seven postseason. “The biggest thing about they ranked in the league? games. Blair said Taylor will be this game, this is a revenge They’re ranked at the bottom. game,” Blair said. “We lost What does that mean? They challenging Hillsman all 62-49 to them last year in our always have to look forward night, while Muhammad and last game of the regular season. to it. There’s really no bottom Alston will be leading the Our kids remember that. We in the league except by the re- Rebels because they are a got thoroughly out played, cords. These teams are good.” guard-oriented team. The Aggies are led by ju“They’ve got a great freshout hustled, out coached. We’re going into this game nior Danni Williams, who man post in a kid named just like we are playing for the joined the 1,000-point club Promise Taylor, 6-foot-5 kid SEC Championship, just like after the win against Auburn, that’s leading our league in we did against Auburn. Play and freshman Chennedy Car- field goal percentage,” Blair ter, who averages 21.3 points said. “She’s scoring down one game at [a] time.” The Aggies are 18-6 (7-3 a game and is leading the na- on the block, she’s going to SEC) on the year, while Ole tion’s freshmen in scoring. give [Hillsman] all she wants. Miss is coming in at 11-12 Anriel Howard and Khaalia Alston and Mohammad out (1-9 SEC). A&M leads the Hillsman are putting up dou- front. They’re two guards, series 6-2 and is 3-0 when ble figure points for A&M, very, very good, very quick.” The Aggies and Rebels will playing the Rebels in College averaging 15.1 and 11.4 Station. However, the Aggies points per game, respectively. go head-to-head on Thursday The Rebels are led by at Reed Arena. Tipoff is set need to start off strong in order to secure the win against Alissa Alston, who averag- for 7 p.m. and the game will Ole Miss, who is 10-2 overall es 15.2 points per game in be televised on the SEC NetSEC play and has a total of 15 work. when leading at halftime. Despite the Rebels’ record double-digit games, Promise for the season, every team Taylor, who leads the SEC in in the league has quality and shooting with 9.1 points per

C. Morgan Engel — THE BATTALION

Senior forward Jasmine Lumpkin has played in 24 games this season.

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SIGNINGDAY

The Battalion | 2.8.18

NATIONAL SIGNING DAY CLASS OF 2018

MARCUS “TANK” JENKINS OL | MONTGOMERY, AL

LEON O’NEAL JR. S | CYPRESS, TX

JALEN PRESTON WR | MANVEL, TX

DENERIC PRINCE RB | MANVEL, TX

JAMES FOSTER QB | MONTGOMERY, AL

TYREE WILSON DE | NEW LONDON, TX

BOBBY “TRE” BROWN DE | ARLINGTON, TX

GLENN BEAL TE | NEW ORLEANS, LA

JASHAUN CORBIN RB | ROCKLEDGE, FL

EARLY SIGNEES

COLTEN BLANTON OL | CYPRESS, TX JACE STERNBERGER TE | KINGFISHER, OK

MAX WRIGHT DE | KATY, TX JORDAN MOORE CB | YOAKUM, TX

VERNON JACKSON ATH | BOLING, TX

CHARLES STRONG JR. RB | LAKE BUTLER, FL

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TEXAS A&M ATHLETICS

CALEB CHAPMAN WR | FRIENDSWOOD, TX LUKE MATTHEWS OL | MISSOURI CITY, TX

NSD CONTINUED The Aggies rounded out their class with a pair of running backs in the early evening, adding four-star Jashaun Corbin and threestar Charles Strong. Fisher made it known that he thinks he can repeatedly succeed at A&M primarily because of the community vibe. “With the people here ... once we get them on campus we’re going to have a heck of a shot,” Fisher said. “People always say ‘Oh it’s because of the facilities.’ No, it’s the people here at Texas A&M. That’s the thing that has impressed me the most since I’ve been here, the genuineness of the people and the true culture of this university.” Four-star safety and longtime A&M commit Jordan Moore has been a leader of the 2018 recruiting class and said that class has

BRIAN JOHNSON ATH | MANVEL, TX

Finishing his first National Signing Day, A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher made a big splash, with several players committing over top programs such as Alabama, LSU and Florida State, among others. Here’s a full list of the 2018 NSD class.

No photo available at time of press JEREMIAH MARTIN DE | SAN BERNARDINO, CA

BARTON CLEMENT OL | MISSOURI CITY, TX MONTEL PARKER WR | DICKINSON, TX

MOHAMED DIALLO DT | YUMA, AZ SETH SMALL K | KATY, TX

ANALYSIS CONTINUED already built strong relationships with each other and have their eyes set on a national championship. “I really like the class that we got, we have all gotten really close and we feel like that is what we need in order to win a national championship,” Moore said. Fisher has echoed the goals of bringing a national championship to College Station, and will have his first full recruiting period to hand-select all the players that he wants in the 2019 class. Fisher’s 2019 class currently ranks No. 4 in the country. “The new crop of guys [in the 2019 class] are seeing our vision, and it’s selling very well,” Fisher said. “We have to go get these guys and be in the top five classes moving forward.”

some of the best players in the country than other coaches had. Fisher is seemingly starting to give the Aggies their money’s worth in just two months — but this is only the beginning. A lot with the can be attributed to Fisher’s coaching staff, such as Mike Elko and Tim Brewster. Elko, who will serve as Fisher’s defensive coordinator, joined the staff in January 2018. Six of the 23 signees are on the defensive side of the ball. Needless to say, Fisher was very successful on his first NSD in Aggieland. But Fisher is looking to the future of the program and was adamant that just because national signing day came to an end, the work is still not done.

“This can be anything you want here,” Fisher said. “That’s the reason I came. When you saw the potential and what is here. Every facet of what you have to have to have a championship program. The new crop of guys are seeing what where we’re were going — the vision which we have for Texas A&M — and what we can go to. I think it’s selling very well. We have to go get this next class and hopefully be a top five class.”

Angel Franco is a telecommunication junior and sports editor for The Battalion.

LIFE&ARTS

The Battalion | 2.8.18

DANCE CONTINUED don’t know what the song is or how long it’ll be.” James, a former ballerina, said she enjoyed the opportunity to learn something new from the organization. “It’s a great way to pick up a new skill and it’s also a great place to meet new people because everyone is like a family,” James said. Katie Lipton, civil enginnering junior and vice president of Vertical Expressions, said she enjoys learning a variety of different dances, including the Paso Doble, a dance that emulates the movements of a bullfight. “Paso Doble is based off Spanish bullfighting, so it’s a lot of pageantry, power and pizzazz,” Lipton said. “It’s a very fun one to dance, but if you don’t get into it enough then sometimes you feel really silly.” Michael Brockey, aerospace engineering senior and event coordinator, said he had never danced before joining the organization. “I had no idea how to dance,” Brockey said. “I did your obligatory go to Harry’s and learn how to Aggie two-step, but that was it.” Brockey said he believes the community around Vertical Expressions has helped him learn to dance faster. “We’ve created a good little dancing community,” Brockey said. “Even if you don’t know all the styles, you can pick it up very easily because you have so many people who are very interested in what you do.”

Abby Collida — THE BATTALION

Two students practice the Foxtrot.

Texas A&M’s Aggie Cinema Club screens eight to ten movies per semester. Casey O’Neal — THE BATTALION

Aggie Cinema Club brings film to campus A look into the weekly movie selection process By Keagan Miller @Keagan_Mlr By regularly holding free and discounted movie screenings, Texas A&M’s Aggie Cinema Club demonstrates its dedication to bringing the art of film to campus. The Aggie Cinema Club is a student organization in the Memorial Student Center that brings a variety of movie genres to campus on Fridays during the semester. The organization, which usually screens eight to ten films a semester, has an established structure for choosing which movies to show. There are three committees within the organization, each responsible for choosing a few movies from a specific category — Blockbuster, Arthouse and Classics. During the ‘80s and ‘90s, when the Aggie Cinema Club was in its prime and operating under the name Aggie Film Society, the organization maintained a fully operating theater in College Station, according to today’s members. “We used to have our own theater,” said Zach Priddy, university studies-architecture junior and Arthouse committee director. “We would operate like an actual theater and charge admission. But then the Cinemark got to town, and [it ended].

We brought it back as Aggie Cinema, and now we’re the service that shows free movies on campus.” While the theater may have gone out of business, Priddy said remnants of the days when it was operational can still be found in the organization today. “We were clearing out our locker that we have in the MSC,” Priddy said. “We found all these old posters and marquees from the ‘80s and ‘90s. It had a lot of old logos and stuff, and it was like stepping into a time capsule.” According to Abigail Morris, multidisciplinary engineering technology senior, the Blockbuster committee is responsible for bringing movies to Aggieland before they are released on DVD. “My subcommittee looks through all the [recent] movies,” Morris said. “We make a huge list, narrow it down a little bit, and then put out a poll that goes out to all of campus, really. And based on that, we choose the best movies that we think will fill the house.” The Arthouse committee is responsible for showing thought-provoking films and has a slightly different selection process, according to Priddy. “Arthouse is probably the most broad range,” Priddy said. “We can show films from 50 years ago, we can choose films from last year. We just have to decide ‘Does it fit in Arthouse?’ If it’s an in-

dependent film, if it is a foreign film, if it takes risks or if it falls outside the mainstream, then it’s under us.” Similar to the Arthouse committee, the Classics committee has the responsibility of showing films that have historical, cultural or artistic significance, according to Yash Bansal, marketing senior, organization chair and Classics committee director. “The goal is to choose films that are iconic,” Bansal said. “The committee spends the semester narrowing down our options, then we get a poll out to the public, see what they want to see, see what the other members of the organization think, then choose based on that.” Priddy said Aggie Cinema is an organization of movie-lovers, but tastes among the leadership differ slightly based on committee. “I like movies that are very dialogue heavy, with a strong script,” Priddy said. “Stuff that shows the raw talent of the actors, and directing talent as well. ‘Pulp Fiction’ [is my favorite movie] because it was one of the first films with a nonlinear storyline. It toes the line between several different genres. It’s sort of a comedy, it’s sort of a drama, it’s sort of a thriller and that’s what I like in a movie.” While Priddy said he enjoys a nonlinear storyline, Morris said she looks for something else in a film. “I watch movies purely for entertainment,” Morris said.

“I actually don’t notice bad acting very well, so I look purely for entertainment value.” Bansal said he has another set of criteria for what he deems a good movie. “The best kind of movie for me is something that can change the way I think,” Bansal said. “Something that can change the way I look at a genre. The movie I’m most excited [to show this semester] is ‘500 Days of Summer.’ It’s a movie that I’ve seen five or six times, and I saw it for the first time a few years ago. It’s a movie that changed the way I look at the romance genre, because it felt very real, and it was very creative, the way it was put together. I’m really glad that we get to bring it to campus.” Aggie Cinema is an organization by students for students that welcomes people of any background, according to Morris. She said movie lovers of all kinds sign up to share in the art of film. “I was a freshman at the MSC Open House [when I joined the organization],” Morris said. “I was looking for a group of quirky people who were interested in the same thing I was interested in, and I found Aggie Cinema. They were really nice people, they didn’t question me, they didn’t expect a whole lot. They were just looking for friends. And that’s why I joined Aggie Cinema.”

REC SPORTS TEXAS A&M | B/CS | VISITORS Following are JUST A FEW Rec Sports events for Spring 2018! Pick up a Rec Sports Guide or visit our website for a complete schedule of offerings!

SMALL GROUP TRAINING FREE WEEK: MAR. 16 - 23 | SESSION 2 BEGINS MAR. 26

HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING | ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE TRAINING | TRAINING FOR WEIGHT LOSS | INTRO TO RESISTANCE TRAINING

GROUP RECXERCISE VALENTINE’S DAY CELEBRATION! UNLIMITED OR SINGLE CLASS PASS HOLDERS: BRING A FRIEND TO CLASS FOR FREE ON FEB. 14

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Buffalo River Wilderness Paddling Mar. 11 -16 | Buffalo National River, Northern Arkansas Eagle Rock Loop Backpacking Mar. 11 -15 | Ouachita National Forest, Western Arkansas

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BIKINI FITCAMP SESSION 2 BEGINS MAR. 20

THROWBACK THURSDAY DANCE PARTY APR. 12, 6PM - 7:30PM @ THE REC CENTER

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