A nice photo of Roylin Bradley graces the cover of the March 1997 issue of the 12th Man mag.

There were 22 in the class. Several stars emerged, but there were several who appeared to be reaches - i.e., they had little in the way of state recognition on signing day. There is one signee who may have been signed as a "favor," and whose talent didn't merit a D1 scholly. Oh well. The position listed was what he was recruited as. Here they are:

Rocky Bernard / DL - Ranked by one national pub. as the #1 nose guard in the state. Did well for us and went on to the NFL.

Roylin Bradley / LB - I remember how excited we all were about this guy - and with good reason. He was a HUGE pick-up. Parade All-American and ranked by one nat. pub. as the #3 rush LB in the nation. Steady contributor, but I guess he never really lived up to all the hype. Did he go to the NFL?

Jay Brooks / DB - SuperPrep All-American, and several state 100 lists. He was a very good player for us.

Joel Bryan / DB - His 3g grandfather founded Bryan. His grandfather was, as quoted by Slocum, "one of the classiest guys I've ever known and has been one of the most supportive guys of this program." Hmmmm. He was Bryan High's MVP and 1st Team All-Brazos Valley. Gee. Think he got hurt and never saw the field. ??? Hmmm.

Ron Edwards / DL - One nat. pub. had him ranked as the #2 rush DE in the state. Great player. Went on to the NFL, I believe.

Ron Flemons / DL - Played a lot for us, but I thought was average.

Antoine Gandy / WR - Only caught 26 passes his senior year in hs (typical Aggie wr recruit???), but still received at least one state paper top 100 mention. Want to say he transferred, and never saw the field.

Jason Glenn / S - USA Today Honorable Mention All-American, and AustinAmer. Fab55. Great player for us, and went on the NFL (Lions?)

Michael Jameson / DB - Rated #3 safety in the state by one nat. pub. Steady contributor.

Eric Jennings / DB - JC Guy who was on his second chance with us after failing to get the grade he needed at JC the previous year. What happened to him? Don't confuse with Brandon Jennings, another Aggie DB.

Lonnie Madison / DL - SuperPrep All-American One nat. pub. had him as the #3 strongside DE in the state. Steady contributor for us.

Tango McCauley / DL - #2 DT in Oklahoma by one nat. pub. Recall limited playing time, but then a discipline issue. ???

Seth McKinney / OL - Did he end up in the NFL like his brother?

Terry Nicholes - DL - limited hs recognition, but did see some playing time as (TE ?).

Evan Peroni / DL - ND and NU wanted him. Steady contributor.

Burnest Rhodes / RB - Big time recruit. Rushed for over 4000 yards at Terrell HS. tu, ND, and Mich. wanted him. But then what happened????

Harold Robertson / LB/S - made some state lists, and saw time at LB, but don't recall if he ever started.

Christian Rodriguez / LB - Another big time sought after recruit. Contributed as a starter for several seasons. NFL???

Matt Schobel / QB - Ranked as #2 QB in the state by one nat. pub. Didn't he transfer to TCU and play TE?? He rushed for more yards than he threw for in his senior year at high school - typical Aggie QB recruit, haha!

Amon Simon / LB - no statewide honors in hs, but did see the field for us.

Chris Taylor / ATH - Played WR for us, and went on the NFL.

Moses Vakalahi / OL - highly recruited. #2 OL prospect in the state by one nat. pub. Did he ever get back from his Mormon mission trip????

Joel Bryan transferred to Kentucky.

If I remember correctly, Terry Nichols was killed in an auto wreck in El Paso during the summer break

Rodriquez NFL? Are you serious?

Wow that class had a heavy dose of CB, LB, & DT incredients of the Wrecking Crew.

quote:

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Roylin Bradley / LB - I remember how excited we all were about this guy - and with good reason. He was a HUGE pick-up. Parade All-American and ranked by one nat. pub. as the #3 rush LB in the nation. Steady contributor, but I guess he never really lived up to all the hype. Did he go to the NFL?

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He is #6 on the A&M Career sack list which isn't too bad.

He blew out his knee and signed with the Eagles, Seahawks and the Saints but never made it out of training camp with any of them.

He is now a scout for the 49ers and when he started he was the youngest scout in the NFL.

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quote:

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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.

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http://tamu-and-baseball.com/signingclasscontributions.html

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Question.....

Is there a difference between an "NFL guy" and a "Guy who signs with an NFL team but never plays in an NFL game"?

Chris Taylor is an example. He never played a snap in an NFL game.

Also, I'm not certain about the "steady contributor". When I think of a steady contributor I think of a 2 or 3 year starter who isn't an All-Conference player. Roylin Bradley or Michael Jameson would be in that group. Someone like Lonnie Madison who had three career starts doesn't make that list in my mind.

Evan Perroni had 8 career starts....Christian Rodriguez had 9 career starts....that isn't even one full season.

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[This message has been edited by AgRyan04 (edited 5/10/2008 2:01p).]

Bradley & Jameson were both on some All Big 12 teams, they were a tad better than just steady contributors.

Quality 2 deep players that are in on a significant amount of plays are steady contributors IMO. Think Toya Jones. Multi-year starters that get All Big 12 recognition, are on career record book lists & play on Sundays are a little more than that.

[This message has been edited by Syd_X_Barrett (edited 5/10/2008 2:24p).]

Again, I don't understand the Sunday thing.

The media guide shows that Roylin was Honorable Mention All-Big 12 in his senior year. So I'll go with you on that.

The media guide makes no mention of Jameson making an All-Big 12....and you know how the athletic department likes to included every possible award regardless of it's legitimacy.

Even so, guys like Perroni, Rodriguez, or Madison just don't make that cut in my mind. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

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[This message has been edited by AgRyan04 (edited 5/10/2008 6:09p).]

Jameson was hon mention at least 1 year as well

What don't you understand about the Sunday thing??? Is it that difficult to comprehend that guys that ended up getting paid to play the sport may have had some kind of talent or value? That's not hard to understand, at least to me.

As far as Bradley & Jameson, they were both very solid players for us and made significant contributions, so what is your argument there?

You said the same thing on the other thread, but in those cases, Fran basically wasted 3 players that were good enough to make a roster for a year or 2 and get paid, but he & his staff couldn't find a way to get much of anything out of them while they were here. None of those 3 were "bad seeds" etc either. He just sucked arse at player development. See Warren, Riley, B. Jones & MANY other blue chip recruits that either did nothing or regressed over their careers.

But again, that was all RC's fault according to some.

Rodriguez had 5 sacks, 13 TFL, 2 FF & returned an Int for a TD that clinched a game in 01, he had 3 sacks in 99 as well. He was injured most of 99 & 00. He had a pretty good Sr year though.

Perroni had 38 tackles as a DL in the 3-4 in 01. Those are pretty good tackle numbers for a DL in that scheme. He was a good run stuffer.

Those 2 were definitely steady contributors for at least 2 seasons. Saying they did nothing is disingenuous.

The 1998, 1999, 2000, & 2001 media guides don't mention Jameson as All-Big 12 anything so that was what I'm basing that off of....Playing on Sunday has nothing to do with being a "solid contributor" at A&M, just like being a Heisman winner has nothing to do with playing on Sundays; I follow A&M football, not the NFL....I'm not arguing Bradley or Jameson, I conceded that to you....I never said the other guys did nothing just that I didn't consider them "solid contributors"....and then I agreed to disagree about our definitions of "solid contributor"

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[This message has been edited by AgRyan04 (edited 5/10/2008 11:44p).]

My main memory of Rodriguez was being at the Sugar Bowl. At one point I turned to my buddy and said, "oh no, we just put C Rod in." Ohio State was right on it. They ran to his side on the very next play and every play after, picking up huge chunks, until he was taken out.

AgRyan - good point. you are right about the "steady contributor" thing. I was working completely off memory.

Didn't have numbers on Madison. Didn't he move to TE at some point?

Christian's senior year defense was as good as any in A&M history. They dominated opponents with little help from the offense.

I love how 5 sacks, 13 TFL, 2 FF & a game saving Int return for TD doesn't meet the requirement of a "solid contributor"

BTW, Warren had 41 tackles on that 01 defense, while Perroni had 38, but Perroni was insignificant as well.

Interesting

C-Rod was a great player for the Ags his senior year. Had super games against Tech and Kansas State, but in his other 3 years he seemed average.

The 1997 class was excellent from a defensive standpoint. Jameson ran back 3 INT's for TD's in 1999. And Jay Brooks scored several TD's himself and made a lot of great special teams plays. Jason Glenn was 2nd/3rd team All-American his senior year.

Where the 97 class comes up short is in the offensive firepower category at the skill positions. Other than Chris Taylor not much contributions on the offensive side of the ball. That might have influenced the 1998 recruiting class which was very heavy on offensive players, but only Gamble on defense.

That was a hell of a class. Lots of NFL talent.

Rocky Bernard / DL - Still playing for the Seattle Seahawks.

Roylin Bradley / LB - Highly touted LB out of La Marque. Never really lived up to his larger-than-life billing, but was a solid player.

Jay Brooks / DB - "Big Play Jay". What else needs to be said? We haven't had anyone else like him since he left.

Joel Bryan / DB - Don't remember him.

Ron Edwards / DL - Another DL that went on to start on Sundays in this class.

Ron Flemons / DL - See Ron Edwards.

Antoine Gandy / WR - Never heard of him.

Jason Glenn / S - Younger brother of Aaron Glenn. RC recruited him as a LB when he was a big safety in high school. Slocum was great at that. Played for the Vikinds for a while and is a great ambassador for TAMU.

Michael Jameson / DB - Head hunter of a safety that went on to play for the Cleveland Browns. Jameson was a stud... looked like he was 35 when he was in college.

Eric Jennings / DB - Remember the name but was probably because of the hype.

Lonnie Madison / DL - Not nearly as productive as Flemons, Bernard, Edwards, but contributed.

Tango McCauley / DL - Didn't he play on the OL for the Ags? Seem to remember him logging some minutes.

Seth McKinney / OL - The first of what has turned out to be a long line of solid centers for the Aggies. McKinney, Hangartner, Wallace. Over a decade of playing time with just 3 players.

Terry Nicholes - DL - Passed away in an auto-accident while enrolled at TAMU.

Evan Peroni / DL - See Lonnie Madison.

Burnest Rhodes / RB - Played sparingly in a stable full of good but not great running backs.

Harold Robertson / LB/S - Another LB/Safety type. Played sparingly, if I recall correctly.

Christian Rodriguez / LB - Looked like a beast in his uniform. I'll never forget him laying out the FSU quarterback as a true fish and then another true fish picked up the fumble C-Rod caused and turned it into a defensive TD. Want to say the fish was J Brooks.

Matt Schobel / QB - Came in as a QB, RC told him he was a TE. Didn't want to hear it, transferred to TCU where he later became a.... any guesses??.... TE. Also played TE in the NFL. See, Matt, Slocum TOLD YOU you were a TE

Amon Simon / LB - beast on special teams.

Chris Taylor / ATH - Madisonville blazer. Never forget his long TD catch against the Huskers at Kyle.

Moses Vakalahi / OL - Don't remember him contributing much.

Isn't there a restaurant owned by the Schoebel family in Flatonia? Seems like I've seen some football memorabilia in there, including TCU stuff, but I didn't know about the QB transferring and ending up a TE anyway.

Seth is still playing and is currently with either the Browns or Bengals....cannot remember which.

Face- I believe you're thinking of Columbus. Lots of Schobels in that neck of the woods, all great athletes. I think Matt played TE in the league for a while and Aaron played DE.

Yes, both McKinney's are still in the NFL.

Yep, that's it.

Moses Vakalahi now works as a coordinator for academic tutors for the athletes. So he is still contributing to A&M in a major way.