A&M coach Mike Sherman puts integrity high on his list of favorable traits.
It's why he took some time on Saturday after A&M became bowl-eligible to give the senior class a collective pat on the back.
He has given them credit all season for how they have taken in the freshman class and treated them like men rather than pledges to be hazed.
After the victory over Baylor, he went one step further. Sherman recognized them for their play on the field and then for sticking with the team through challenging and often troubled times.
He credited those who endured the coaching change and had dealt with the adversity of one taxing season after another with more ups and downs than the stock market.
Changing coaches is nothing new in college football. Many student-athletes have more than one head coach during their stay at a university. Iowa State seniors have had three and did quite well with the third, though that doesn't usually happen.
It can be a difficult change if a new coach's scheme is entirely opposite of the departed coach, like what happened at A&M two years ago.
I'm pretty sure when guard/tackle Michael Shumard was recruited, it was as a run blocker in a spread offense. For that matter, many of the receivers from the previous regime may have been recruited to run block.
Schemes, philosophies, injuries, academics and personalities always create attrition whenever there is a change, whether the reasons become public or stay behind the scenes.
The 2007 A&M game roster had 36 sophomores on it. Of those, only 16 are on the 2009 roster. Sherman's team for his first game at A&M had 30 juniors. There are were 18 Aggie seniors listed on the latest A&M press release.
Many of those players have made position changes, including Shumard, safety Jordan Pugh and tight end Jamie McCoy.
None of those players complained, either, whether they wanted to move or not. If it became obvious a player would rather be lining up somewhere else on the field, a statement quickly followed that showed the team came ahead of the individual.
Because of all that and more, Sherman lauded the 2009 class a week before their final home game.
"We owe these guys a lot," Sherman said. "They have kind of kept things together for us this year. I wanted them to go out winners."
With one more victory in either of their final two games, the group will go out winners, which will mean a lot to them.
It will mean a lot to tackle Lee Grimes, who has had at least seven surgeries and nixed any talk of giving up football before his senior season.
It will mean a lot to defensive end Matt Moss, who, despite being undersized, filled in at defensive tackle when needed.
It will mean a lot to defensive back Jordan Peterson, who has had shoulder surgery in each of the last two years and didn't hesitate when asked to coach up a player coming in to replace him. Peterson continued to work hard off the field and was ready to play when injuries made it almost a necessity for him to get back on the field.
This will not go down as one of the most talented, athletic or deep senior classes in A&M history. A very ordinary record of 26-23 is proof of that.
In fairness, the class of 2011 may have the two most recognizable names on the team, but there are only seven juniors on the current depth chart to give the seniors much help.
The seniors have had their moments though, turning the tables on Baylor most recently and winning at Tech for the first time since this group was all in day care.
Of course, winning two out of three against a Texas team that has been among the game's best will not be forgotten.
This senior class' biggest legacy may be one that can't be measured. After all, it is difficult to calculate all the intangibles that Sherman insists will be the building blocks for things to come.
Richard Croome's e-mail address is richard.croome@theeagle.com
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