One day after I posted about former McAllen Memorial star Bradley Stephens looking ahead to the 2008 season as a redshirt freshman for Texas A&M, the Aggies signed the state’s top running back Wednesday. So, should there be any concern for Stephens?
I talked to his father Craig shortly after seeing this story. Craig said there are no worries. “It doesn’t bother Bradley a bit,” he said. Why, you ask? Well, Craig says that top-tier programs sign top-tier running backs all the time. “When you go to a bigtime school, you expect them to sign the top recruits. Bradley never expected to be the only running back at Texas A&M. He expects them to sign the top players. That’s what you want.”
And he’s 100 percent correct. If you go to a top level program in the nation, chances are you are going to have to fend off some of the top-tier running backs in the nation for playing time. At Texas A&M, they now have senior Jovorskie Lane, junior Mike Goodson, Stephens and now Cyrus Gray, who is pictured above. Stephens and Gray were ranked as the top running backs in Texas in back-to-back years. And if you didn’t notice, there weren’t just three running backs on last year’s Aggies roster. In fact, right here it says there were 10 running backs on the roster. The bottom line is just because you get a scholarship doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed a starting spot in college football. That’s determined once you get there.
Wade Baker, 30, is Sports Editor of The Monitor. He graduated from Francis Marion University in Florence, S.C. in 2000 with a degree in Mass Communications and moved to the Rio Grande Valley in 2002 for a sports reporter opening at The Monitor. Baker was promoted to his current position in August of 2007 after serving as assistant sports editor for two years. 
