Category Archives: Texas A&M
Houston Legend Jack Pardee Dies
By JD
Texas A&M graduate, and innovator of the run and shoot offense in Houston as passed away, at the age of 76. Coach Pardee had been fighting gall bladder cancer, which spread to other organs in his body.
Coach Pardee was a member of the famed Bear Bryant “Junction Boys”, the 1954 Aggies football team that traveled to Junction Texas for a grueling pre season camp that was even made into an ESPN movie. Only 35 Aggies didn’t quit, Coach Pardee was one of them.
Coach Pardee is best remembered as a Houston Texas legend, coaching the USFL Houston Gamblers, the Houston Cougars then the Houston Oilers. In the USFL Pardee invented the Run and Shoot offense, a precursor to today’s spread offenses. The offense worked so well, once the USFL disbanded Pardee was asked to coach the University of Houston, where his Run and Shoot produced the 1st ever black QB to win a Heisman Trophy, Andre Ware. In 1990 coach Pardee was asked to resurrect the Houston Oilers, and with Warren Moon the run and shoot scored all over the NFL for many years.
You can see coach Pardee’s brand of football played all across Texas, with so many high school and college teams using the spread offense. Texas A&M lost a great Aggie, and the city of Houston lost perhaps their greatest football icon. Jack Pardee was married for over 50 years to Phyllis Pardee, and has 5 children and 12 grandchildren.
No Madness for the State of Texas
March madness is upon us, that’s right the NCAA men’s basketball tourney is here. The best playoffs in sports is about to kick off, and sports fans across America are filling out their brackets, looking to pick the right upsets, wondering what team can survive the tourney. Some of the biggest schools in the nation are in the big dance, and then you’ll see some of the small no name schools who also punched their ticket.
What you won’t see, in any of your bracket is a team from the state of Texas. That’s right, not one single team from the lone star state is in the big dance. No Longhorns, no Aggies, Bears, or even a small school like UTSA or Sam Houston State. The schools in Texas really dropped the ball this season, a big reason why we’ve pretty much ignored college basketball this season, apparently so have the Athletic Directors in the lone star state.
So Texans have fun this March, fill out those brackets, and look on the bright side. At least you don’t have to pick your alma mater to win a few games in your bracket you know they have no chance of winning, now you can have a clear head and no ties to any of the schools as you try and dominate your office pool. As for all you Universities in Texas, get your act together, it’s hard to have state pride in March when not one of you even make the round of 64.
Aggies Score on Signing Day
By JD
Texas A&M capitalized on their best season in 20 years with a huge recruiting class on Wednesday, signing kids from all across the country. The Aggies passed out scholarships like they were candy, all in all signing 31 new Aggies to play football. The bulk of the class is from the state of Texas, landing top Texas recruits like Ricky Seals Jones, a wide receiver/TE out of Sealy Texas. A&M also landed defensive tackle Justin Manning, out of Dallas. A&M is also looking to life after Johnny Football, signing Southlake Carroll QB Kenny Hill. 9 of the 31 kids were out of state recruits, showing Texas A&M isn’t just a local brand, but now a national power. The class has 7 potential wide receivers, but look for some of these kids to switch to defensive back. Coach Sumlin did a really good job of riding the wave of 2012, which is what you need to do in college football if you’re trying to build for long term.
Johnny Football: Rock Star
By John Dyer
Johnny Manziel has taken the world and state by storm. I don’t mean the college football world, or the sports world, or SEC world, I mean the world. It all started with the coolest nickname since Stan “the man”, Johnny Football. It’s so simple, yet so brilliant. This name was given to him early on in the season, and make no mistake, it helped with his Heisman promotion. Second, he did what no aggie has been able to do since John David Crow (google him young fans), win the Heisman. Johnny Football brought the Heisman trophy to college station and with it a huge spotlight on “little brother”. 2012 belonged to the Aggies, (sorry UT), from the move to the SEC, to the big win vs bama, and of course all the attention Johnny Football brought. And third, just to top it off, Johnny Football had a classic Cotton Bowl as he led the Aggies to a beat down of hated Oklahoma, on national TV, in the crown jewel of Texas football, Cowboys Stadium.
All these accomplishments have made this past season the greatest in Aggie football history. And even though the Aggies were loaded with top NFL talent, Johnny Football is looked at as the guy that made it all happen. By now you’ve seen the pictures of Johnny Football celebrating the Cotton Bowl win in Dallas, with fireworks shooting out of his mouth, looking like a redneck Diddy. You’ve seen the picture of him wining a few bucks in an Oklahoma casino, and you might’ve caught him courtside at a Mavs game, or on David Letterman.
Now the question, can Johnny Football handle all the attention for the next 2-3 years. He is the king of College Station, the man that is suppose to lead the Ags to new heights, an SEC title, perhaps a national title. It’s ok to act like a rock star, as long as you’re winning. Nobody cared that Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle painted the big apple, as long as they hit a home run the next day. But if the Aggies hit a rough patch in their new SEC home, make no mistake, some will question Johnny Football’s choices off the field. He seems ready to handle it, after all after making the Heisman rounds he showed up to Cowboys Stadium and had a Cotton Bowl for the ages. So sit back, buckle up, and enjoy the Johnny Football roller coaster.
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