Thursday, September 12, 1996

A&M Quarterback adjusting to new surroundings
By MICHAEL A. LUTZ
Associated Press

COLLEGE STATION - Texas A&M quarterback Branndon Stewart, a former Stephenville high school star who began his collegiate career at Tennessee, looks forward to being asked where he's going and not where he's been.

Since Stewart ended his battle with Peyton Manning and transferred to A&M two years ago, he's been asked repeatedly about his adjustment to new surroundings.

Now, he's ready to continue progressing after completing 20 of 28 passes for 232 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in the No. 25 Aggies' 41-37 season opening loss to Brigham Young.

"I was just anxious to play, I was ready to play. After a few plays, I felt comfortable," Stewart said.
Despite his solid start, Stewart's performance was overlooked because the A&M defense collapsed and BYU's Steve Sarkisian threw for 536 yards and six touchdowns, the biggest passing day ever against the Aggies.

"He was overshadowed by a great quarterback who had an outstanding game against us," A&M coach R.C. Slocum said. "I thought his performance was good when you consider the circumstances.

"He was making his first college start and playing in a game that he got no breathing room. You'd like to see him in a game where he could go have some fun. But you never saw any panic."

Against BYU, the Aggies showed the balanced attack they've been trying to establish in previous years. Sirr Parker (101) and Eric Bernard (108) each had 100-yard rushing performances.

The Aggies have had almost three weeks to prepare for Saturday's second game against Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette, La. Slocum got the Aggies started during their long layoff with three days of two-a-day workouts.

"This is like reporting all over again," said Stewart, who has a good grasp on the offense after two spring practices. "I think we've put the BYU game behind us. We're looking at this as the start of our season. We've got a chance to win some games now."

Stewart hopes the Aggies have used their time wisely because he saw room for improvement from the first game.

"I thought we could be 14 points better against BYU," Stewart said. "There were a couple of times where we stopped ourselves. We're working hard in practice to make sure those things don't happen again."

The Aggies have spent their time off talking more about what's wrong with the defense than what's right with the offense. But Stewart won't blame the defense for the loss.

"You can't say the defense lost the game for us," Stewart said. "We have a great defensive team. We're just have to come together and play together."