The Battalion: September 8, 2016

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2016 STUDENT MEDIA | @THEBATTONLINE

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PREVIEW: AGGIES PREPARE TO FACE PANTHERS

PAGE 4 12TH MAN: GILLASPIA’S DEBUT WEARING NO. 12

PAGE 9

TAMU VS PVAMU WEEK 2

AGGIES WILL FACE PRAIRIE VIEW A&M FOR THE FIRST TIME — KICK OFF AT 11 A.M.

Morgan Engel — THE BATTALION

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Scholarship fights to shift the bell curve 23 freshmen join Science Leadership Scholars Program

By Josh Hopkins @texasjoshua1 Beginning with a select group of students in a new program, the A&M College of Science hopes to work towards building a support system capable of challenging the forbidding statistics for a wide variety of classically at-risk students.

The Science Leadership Scholars Program invites high-performing students who share common risk factors including first-generation, low-income, historically underrepresented minorities and women in science. Twenty-three of the College of Science’s top freshman students will be the first to work towards the eventual goal of creating a college-wide support network.

Meigan Aronson, dean of the College of Science, said there is definitive statistical evidence that despite previous educational success, students with risk factors tend to have a greater difficulty in adjusting to college.

“If you had two or more of these markers then your chance of

actually graduating from university was about 50 percent relative to the upper distribution — 50 percent,” Aronson said. “And if you were to graduate, it would take you about 50 percent longer.

That was a social issue that I felt I could do something about.”

Timothy Scott, associate dean for Undergraduate Programs and Development with the College of Science, said providing a support system could be extremely beneficial for students with common risk factors.

“There is a set of stressors among that population that aren’t in the other population,” Scott said.

“If you are first-gen, you can’t pick up the phone and ask mom and dad what to do. You have to have people that can serve that gap.”

Aronson said throughout the recruiting process, the college focused their outreach to students with previous academic success.

“I view the Science Leadership Scholars as a very special group of students,” Aronson said. “They were selected first and foremost for their promise. These are students with very high SAT scores.

They were near the top of our recruitment pool, and we want to

make sure they remain on track.”

Scott said the first year of the program is focused on successfully transitioning the students into college and providing a support system while subsequent years will focus on developing leadership skills within the college and following graduation.

Gregory Square, leader of the Science Leadership Scholars Program, said he hopes to not only help the first group of students be successful, but hopes to continue to refine the program.

“I’m all about wanting to see how we can improve not only the program but how we can improve student success,” Square said.

“This can really alter their family generation from this point on and have a definite turn on where their kids go and their kids’ kids.”

Aronson said she is excited to see how the program will enable the college to help a larger population of students at Texas A&M. “For me the challenge is to learn something from this experience that will allow us to address the larger population that we serve,” Aronson said. “How do we scale up the sorts of support that we find out will be good for the science leadership scholars to thrive?”

TRADITIONS

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Last year’s First Cut on Sept. 13 saw hundreds of Aggies cutting down trees to build the Stack.

FILE

Bonfire preps for First Cut Sunday to mark start of 2016 cut season

By Jena Seidmann @jena_seidemann Scores of Aggies will gather at an off-campus location in Hearne Sunday to begin on a two-and-ahalf-month Bonfire season.

First Cut is Student Bonfire’s kickoff for the season, marking the beginning of cut season, which leads to Stack season and ultimately to Burn Night, the ignition of Bonfire. During First Cut, Aggies congregate at a different off-campus location each year to chop down trees that will be used to construct the Stack.

Bonfire will burn the Tuesday or Wednesday before the Thanksgiving football game.

From First Cut until midNovember, Student Bonfire will cut and stack 32, 25, 20, 15 and 10-foot logs from

around the area to use for Burn Night.

When Senior Redpot Sid Wegert begins his fourth First Cut Sunday, he will continue a sacred tradition of Bonfire with the names of the Head Stack leaders who came before him on his helmet, or “pot.”

“From what I have been told, the first name on [the pot] is B. Smith Class of ‘71, and it is my understanding that this is a pot that has been passed down ever since that first name in 1971,” Wegert said. “There is not much room left. Each year it gets smaller and smaller font.”

Lexi Brandt, Legett Hall chair and landscape architecture sophomore, said one of the most satisfying sounds during First Cut is when a tree cracks and falls.

“Your ‘first kill’ is the first tree you swing in and where you’re the one that hits it last and it cracks and breaks,” Brandt said. “I have a piece from [my first kill]

and I kept a wood chip from the dorm log.”

Senior Redpot Donny Olmos said the common goal of building the Bonfire will transcend time through the friendships made.

“The most rewarding part is being able to call on these friends no matter how long it’s been and just pick up like you had seen them yesterday,” Olmos said. “A bunch of these guys I will be friends with for the rest of my life, and it is such a different type of person who will volunteer their weekends to go cut down trees and spend endless hours at night for Stack.”

The process and months of hard work and dedication are what make Burn Night worthwhile, Brandt said.

“So many people ask me why you do this and you’re like because I can,” Brandt said. “When I watch it burn, I think, ‘I put all this time and effort for this one moment, and it was worth it.’”

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A SILENT THREAT Senior safety Justin Evans blossoms into defensive star for Texas A&M

By Lawrence Smelser @LawrenceSmelser

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aturday Texas A&M blew a 24-9 lead with four minutes left in the fourth quarter against UCLA. After the Bruins tied the game up at 24-24, the Aggie offense stalled, giving the ball back to the Bruins with a little over a minute remaining.

UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen and his Bruins were heading into A&M territory with the possibility of kicking a field goal, breaking the hearts of an entire stadium and when safety Justin Evans saved A&M, intercepting Rosen with 37 seconds remaining in the game.

“No doubt that was a big play,” said defensive coordinator John Chavis. “If he doesn’t make that play, who knows, it may not have gone into overtime. There’s a ton of possibilities and I’m not going to think of those — I’m going to think of him leaping 10 feet in the air and making that interception. It was a great play.”

The interception was Evans’ second of the game, and the senior didn’t stop contributing until the very last play of the game in overtime. Evans broke up a pass intended for a UCLA receiver near the goal line, ensuring A&M’s 31-24 victory and causing thousands of people to erupt in celebration.

Evans shared what went through his mind before Rosen snapped the ball for the play of the interception.

“All I’m thinking is, ‘Man, I’ve got to make a play. I’ve got to make a play,’” Evans said.

“He threw it up. I went up for it and made a play.”

The performance Evans put on with his two interceptions and eight tackles helped him earn two awards —the Nagurski National Player of the Week and the Jim Thorpe

Player of the Week — as well as giving A&M its biggest home win in head coach Kevin Sumlin’s era.

“What a performance,” Sumlin said of his safety after the game.

“Here’s a guy that doesn’t say a word, just does his deal.

He always plays with great effort and it’s funny because I say it all the time, when you say a guy has a nose for the ball. It’s usually the guy who’s hustling like crazy because that’s what he’s doing. He’s a leader, he’s played a lot of football and he’s playing at a high level.”

Sumlin joked about how offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone was impressed with Evans when he saw him during offensive

drills. “ W e Mor gan b r o ught Eng el — THE him over to BAT TAL ION do ball security with the offense and he was in the receiver line,” Sumlin said.

“They go from drill to drill, catching passes and getting the ball stripped, so after he went through two circuits, Noel looks at me and says, ‘Who’s 14? He’d be a heck of a slot receiver.’ I said, ‘No he’s a pretty good safety’ and he said, ‘He’s got pretty great hands.’ We saw that today and that was a heck of a play

at the end.”

The road to playing for A&M in the SEC for Evans was not easy. Evans said he didn’t have any D1 offers coming out of Stone High School, and he believed that his focus on baseball played a role in that. The Wiggins, Mississippi native ended up choosing to play football at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, 5.5 miles from his hometown.

In two years at Mississippi Gulf Coast CC, Evans turned heads by recording 86 tackles, breaking up 13 passes and catching six interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. In 2014 as a sophomore, Evans was named first-team all-conference and aided his team to an 8-2 record and the playoffs.

Evans was ranked the No. 1 safety coming out of JUCO and the No. 18 overall prospect by ESPN. Due to his outstanding play he was offered by A&M, Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss and Texas. The senior said he chose A&M after enjoying his visits there.

“Just the environment,” Evans said of why he favored Texas A&M. “Just Senior safety the feel when Justin Evans I came here. I had two went to other interceptions in schools and Saturday’s game when I came against UCLA. here I

was like, ‘Okay, this feels like I can play here.’”

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound playmaker has thrived at A&M. Last year in his first season with the Aggies, he played in 12 games, making 78 tackles, an interception and had a season-best 10 tackles against Vanderbilt and Alabama with a memorable one against Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry when he trucked the 6-foot-3, 245-pound running back to the ground.

“What a performance — here’s a guy that doesn’t say a word, just does his deal.”

Kevin Sumlin, head coach

“He’s made a great fit,” Chavis said.

“There’s no question about that. He’s a very talented young man. You look at what he brings to the table in terms of football and it’s outstanding. He loves playing the game.

You put that together with how talented he is and then his work ethic and the final thing and most important thing — his outstanding character. When you’ve got all those things, there’s a reason he’s playing well.”

Evans said the game against UCLA was his best wearing the maroon and white, but said he wants to improve.

“Mainly just to give my all and not regret anything after the season’s over with,” Evans said. “That’s mainly what my goal is. I cherish it day by day knowing that it can be over at anytime. Everyone’s path is different so I cherish it a lot more.”

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AGGIES NOT TAKING PRAIRIE VIEW A&M LIGHTLY

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under Sumlin, and it would give A&M wins in 23 consecutive non-conference home games.

This contest marks the first time the two teams have ever met as well as the first time the Aggies will play against a team from the Southwestern Athletic Conference, SWAC. The game will kick off at 11 a.m. Saturday in Kyle Field and will be nationally televised on the SEC Network alternate channel.

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blitzes and things like that,” said tight end Tanner Schorp. “They have a good team, they’re going to come hungry to play in this big atmosphere.”

For all their blitz packages, the Panthers did show a propensity to give up big plays in 2015. They surrendered at least 40 points on four occasions, including a 70-point explosion by Grambling State and a 63-point outburst by Texas State.

Junior wide receiver Speedy Noil will make his 2016 debut against the Panthers Saturday, and Sumlin said he’s looking forward to seeing the junior take the field.

“For the three weeks of camp, [Noil] was fantastic with everything he did,” Sumlin said. “For him, it’s about consistency. He’s got as much talent as anyone. He’s had to work on the other parts of the game. He’s worked diligently this offseason and I think he’ll be excited to play Saturday.”

A win for the Aggies in Saturday’s game would give them a 2-0 start to the season for the fourth straight year

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fter an opening weekend in college football that saw a litany of upsets and close games, Texas A&M is taking nothing for granted heading into Saturday’s contest against Prairie View A&M. A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin cited an early 11 a.m. kickoff time as a reason the Aggies must be steadfast in their preparation of the underdog Panthers.

“We’re not taking Prairie View lightly,” Sumlin said in Tuesday’s press conference.

“We don’t take any games lightly. For whatever reason, we need to focus. A lot of upsets happen in early games. We eat pregame meal four hours before kickoff. For an 11 a.m. game, that’s 7 a.m. We’re used to playing later in the day or at night. It’s a whole different situation.”

The Aggies’ first-year offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone said the important thing is not the opponent, but that the team continues to improve as the season progresses.

“It’s just the next game, and that’s how I want my guys to attack it,” Mazzone said.

“It’s about becoming a better football team every day they go out to practice.

Who they play that week is really no consequence.”

Prairie View A&M is not your average Football Championship Subdivision team, either. The squad

boasts a high-powered offense that led the FCS in scoring last year, averaging nearly 45 points per game last season. The Panthers’ offense led their conference in total offense, racking up 487.5 yards per contest.

“These guys went up and down the field on everyone last year,” Sumlin said. “I don’t care who you’re playing — if you average 45 points a game after that many games, you’re doing something right. They get your attention on tape. This will be about our guys maintaining focus, waking up Saturday morning understanding the challenges and approaching things in the manner that they approached it [against UCLA].”

Fortunately for the Aggies, they have a solid defense that will look to offset the Panthers’ potent offense. A&M has only allowed 30 or more points in a game once under defensive coordinator John Chavis, and the unit is coming off a productive game against UCLA in which it recorded five sacks, pressured quarterback Josh Rosen throughout the game and limited the Bruins to 5-of-18 on third downs.

The A&M offense will face an unorthodox, attack-style defense on Saturday against the Panthers.

“They run a lot of exotic

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By Heath Clary @Heath_Clary

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AROUND THE SEC WHAT TO EXPECT IN WEEK 2 OF THE CONFERENCE

Carter Karels @CarterKarels

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he SEC certainly didn’t look great last weekend. Four SEC West teams lost, and it took overtime for Tennessee to beat Appalachian State.

Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M looked fantastic, however, as each knocked off Top 25 opponents. This Saturday isn’t loaded with games like last weekend, but there are still a few interesting matchups.

Here are the most important games around the SEC this weekend.

Bonus Pick

Kentucky (0-1) vs. Florida (1-0) Sept. 10, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida 2:30 p.m. on CBS

This is the primetime CBS game, but it’s the bonus pick because it won’t be very entertaining. Kentucky lost to Southern Mississippi last week at home, so it won’t threaten much against Florida’s stout defense.

The Gators can’t score much either, so this should remain fairly low-scoring.

Prediction: Florida 23, Kentucky 9

South Carolina (1-0, 1-0 SEC) vs.

Mississippi State (0-1)

Arkansas (1-0) vs. No. 15 TCU (1-0)

Virginia Tech (1-0) vs. No. 17 Tennessee (1-0)

Talk about a pillow fight. Actually, this game could be exciting like last week’s South Carolina game against Vanderbilt, which was won with a field goal at the buzzer by the Gamecocks.

The Bulldogs’ game last Saturday came down to a last second field goal as well.

Unlike USC, though, MSU’s kicker hit the upright on a 28-yarder to lose the game.

Boy, do they miss Dak Prescott.

Whoever wins this game can be a threat to the Aggies. MSU has LSU, Umass, Auburn, BYU, Kentucky and Samford before A&M. The Gamecocks play East Carolina and Kentucky before hosting the Aggies.

With a win Saturday, MSU would probably be 6-2 or 5-3 when it faces A&M. South Carolina could be undefeated.

In the end, Mississippi State has more athletes and playmakers than South Carolina.

Here’s a direct quote from Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema in reference to TCU’s starting quarterback, Kenny Hill.

“He’s a much more improved player than the last time we saw him,” Bielema said. “I think he feels comfortable.”

Last time Hill faced Bielema, he threw for 386 yards and four touchdowns. Oh, Bret Bielema.

This game will be the most entertaining out of the group. Arkansas’ Austin Allen — younger brother to previous Razorback quarterback, Brandon Allen — will be in the spotlight for the first time. Hill will be attempting to improve his image on a new ball club.

Both teams similarly escaped upsets last week. TCU beat South Dakota State 59-41, while Arkansas dropped Louisiana Tech by a narrow 21-20. Both squads have an opportunity to erase those sour performances on Saturday.

His defense didn’t play well, but Hill registered just short of 500 yards and five total touchdowns. There’s too much firepower surrounding Hill in this one, but TCU’s defense may give up some points.

Remember that team two years ago that handed the eventual national champions, Ohio State, their lone loss of the year in Week 2? Yeah, that was Virginia Tech. Most are tapping the brakes on the Tennessee hype after last week’s result, so don’t expect history to repeat itself.

It appeared Butch Jones’ Vols were about to suffer a major upset on the nine-year anniversary of Appalachian State’s upset win over Michigan. However, they pulled it out in overtime on a Josh Dobbs rushing touchdown.

This week is important for the Volunteers.

Despite winning last week, U.T. dropped seven ranks in the AP Poll. A convincing win would silence doubters, at least for now.

Tennessee won’t surprise or impress anyone, but it will squeeze out another win.

Sept. 10, Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Mississippi 6:00 p.m. on ESPN2

Prediction: Mississippi State 24, South Carolina 20

Sept. 10, Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas 6:00 p.m. on ESPN

Sept. 10, Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee 7:00 p.m. on ABC

Prediction: No. 17 Tennessee 31, Virginia Tech 24 Carter Karels is a journalism junior and a sports writer for The Battalion.

Prediction: No. 15 TCU 41, Arkansas 27

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FOOTBALL

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WEARING A COVETED JERSEY CULLEN GILLASPIA REFLECTS ON REALIZED DREAM OF BEING THE 12TH MAN

By Alex Miller @AlexMill20

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n February 1982, Texas A&M head football coach Jackie Sherrill ran an advertisement in The Battalion asking for students interested in joining the football team to attend an informational. Of the 252 students who attended the informational, 17 of them would eventually make the team in the fall, serving as the first ever “12th Man Kickoff Team” — inspired by the legend of the original 12th Man, E. King Gill.

Thirty-five years after Sherrill’s inaugural squad, the 12th Man lives on and added a new member to its fraternity this year for the first time since 2013, sophomore linebacker Cullen Gillaspia.

“It is such a big honor to represent this university as the 12th Man,” Gillaspia said in Tuesday’s news conference. “That had been my goal all of offseason.

That is what I had been working towards.”

The idea of becoming the 12th Man came to Gillaspia during spring practice when he began to focus on special teams, while proving to be a player that gave it all to his team.

“I was going through spring training and I kind of knew that special teams were going to be the place for me and I wanted to be the 12th Man,” Gillaspia said.

“I wanted to help this team any way I could.”

In a team meeting Sept. 2, Gillaspia’s dream came true and it was announced he would wear the coveted number 12 to begin the Aggies’ 2016 season. The announcement came just six days after Gillaspia was placed on scholarship.

“When Coach Banks called out my name, everything that I had been doing all of offseason just came to fruition,” Gillaspia said. “I had no idea that I was going to get a scholarship. I got what I wanted and something else I wasn’t even prepared for and it was unbelievable.”

After being announced as the 12th Man, Gillaspia said he received a congratulatory text message from Sam Moeller, the 12th Man who preceded Gillaspia and holds the A&M record for most 12th Man starts at 39.

“Basically [the text message] just said ‘Get ready, it’s going to be a ride,’ and kind of challenged me a little bit,” Gillaspia said. “My last message to him was, ‘Challenge accepted.’”

In his 12th Man debut, the former walk-on completed a truly impressive week, recording a solo tackle on the Aggies’ first kickoff in the second quarter.

“That play was awesome,” Gillaspia said. “I prepared all week at kickoff and I was ready to go but I never imagined that it would happen like that, a solo tackle in the middle of the field. I got up and the stands were just going nuts and it was an indescribable feeling. Everything I had been working for came true at that moment.”

As the Aggies prepare to play Prairie View A&M Saturday, Gillaspia said he’s aware he must earn the right to wear the number 12 each week, and plans on holding firm to his 12th Man position.

“I know nothing is set in stone and anything can happen,” Gillaspia said. “You’ve got to go out every day and give it your best effort and don’t take your foot off the gas.”

Sophomore linebacker Cullen Gillaspia was named 12th Man six days after earning an athletic scholarship.

Morgan Engel — THE BATTALION

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Week 2 (No. 20) Texas A&M vs. Prairie View staff picks

Saturday, Sept. 10 @ 11 A.M.

Angel Franco

Heath Clary

Sports Editor

Asst. Sports Editor

@angelmadison_

@Heath_Clary

The Panthers boast an If a Pac-12 defense could not hold A&M’s offense explosive offense, but the what will a SWAC team do? Aggies are a class above.

Lawrence Smelser

Asst. Sports Editor

Alexis Will Video Editor @AlexisMWill

@LawrenceSmelser

Come join The Batt’s The only battle in this game will be during half- video team. Does that sound too desperate? time, between the bands.

SAM KATY ANGEL HEATH ALEXIS LAWRENCE GRACE JOSH CHRIS MEGAN