REMEMBER THE 12
As Bonfire Remembrance approaches, here are the stories of the students who will be honored on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 2:42 a.m.
By Kynlee Bright Managing Editor
Tuition and general fees are just $203 per semester credit hour.
Miranda Denise Adams ‘02: Here.
Miranda Denise Adams ‘02 was from Santa Fe, Texas. She was “joyous about life and thrilled to be a part of the Aggie family,” according to her portal at Bon re Memorial.
“Miranda’s life reminds us that each day is a gift,” Bon re Remembrance member and political science senior Josie Adams wrote in her speech for a Traditions Council meeting. “She called others to live fully … and pursue their purpose with conviction.”
Christopher D. Breen ‘96: Here.
Christopher D. Breen ‘96 was from Austin — raised among Longhorns but proud to call Aggieland home — and returned to help with Stack due to his dedication to A&M’s traditions.
“Christopher was one of eight siblings, six of whom attended Texas University,” Bonre Remembrance member and petroleum engineering sophomore Tristan Roberts wrote. “Christopher had an endless love for being an Aggie, a heart truly grounded in sel ess service.”
Michael Stephen Ebanks ‘03: Here.
Michael Stephen Ebanks ‘03 was from Carrollton. He is remembered by loved ones as condent, spontaneous and genuine. Michael followed in the footsteps of his late brother, Gerald “Keith” Ebanks Jr. ‘89, coming to Aggieland at the earliest opportunity.
“His personality was magnetic, his humor unmatched,” Bon re Remembrance member and accounting senior Kristi Macias wrote. “ … Even in moments meant to be serious, he reminded people to smile, to think di erently, and to appreciate life’s small joys.”
Jeremy Richard Frampton ‘99: Here.
Jeremy Richard Frampton ‘99 was from Turlock, California. He is described by his uncle Je as someone who never lost his tender heart and easiness from childhood.
“He enjoyed laughter, engaging in conversations with friends, and embracing the present moment,” Bon re Remembrance member and history senior Andrew Colman wrote. “But above all, he lived with purpose, and he made his own.”
Jamie Lynn Hand ‘03: Here.
Jamie Lynn Hand ‘03 was from Henderson. She poured enthusiasm into everything she did. In her Fish Camp counselor application, Jamie said her friends might describe her a little bit like Jekyll and Hyde: shy one moment, and loud and crazy the next.
“Jamie Lynn Hand is a symbol of dedication, passion, and joy,” Bon re Remembrance member and forensic and investigative sciences junior Virginia Voitier wrote. “She continues to shine just as brightly as she did when she was here.”
Christopher Lee Heard ‘03: Here.
Christopher Lee Heard ‘03 was from Sheridan, Wyoming. On his portal, Christopher is described as con dent, fair, respectful and spontaneous.
“Christopher Heard was a natural leader,” Bon re Remembrance member and neuroscience junior Dora Gibbons wrote. “ … If everyone had just an ounce of the ambition Chris had to serve others, the world would truly be a better place.”
Timothy Doran Kerlee Jr. ‘03: Here.
Timothy Doran Kerlee Jr. ‘03 was from Bartlett, Tennessee. He was a man of encouragement whose loved ones described him as never afraid to be himself.
“The most powerful thing about Timothy’s story is the quote that’s engraved on this portal: ‘I’m okay. Help my buddies rst,’” Bon re Remembrance member and industrial engineering senior Andrew Tinker wrote. “Timothy demonstrated his sel essness that, as the bon re stack collapsed on top of him, he directed emergency services to help ve other Aggies he could see before allowing them to rescue him.”
Lucas John Kimmel ‘03: Here.
Lucas John Kimmel ‘03 was from Corpus Christi. He was a cadet who found a home in Aggieland and whose loved ones said he left a lasting impact on others.
“One part of his poem resonates with me deeply: ‘Take hold of the world and go for a ride, ‘cause not all men live, but everyone dies,’” Bon re Remembrance member and hospitality, hotel management and tourism junior Lori Henderson wrote. “We shall go through life like Lucas suggested: living, not existing.”
Bryan A. McClain ‘02: Here.
Bryan A. McClain ‘02 was from San Antonio. He was a faithful man with sparkling eyes, a crooked smile, an infectious laugh and a con dent manner.
“Inscribed in his portal is a quote that reads, ‘If you ask me what I came into this world to do, I will tell you. I came to live out loud,’” Bon re Remembrance Chair and communication junior Ella Claire Williford wrote. “Every day that you choose to live larger, believe the best in people … you carry a piece of Bryan with you.”
Chad A. Powell ‘03: Here.
Chad A. Powell ‘03 was from Keller. He “possessed a unique, unbridled enthusiasm for living” and is remembered for his true character and loyalty.
“He was a warm presence, a steadying anchor, and a grounded soul,” Bon re Remembrance Vice Chair and agricultural leadership and development junior Truett Mars wrote. “ … May we all strive to be even half as considerate, as hardworking, and, above all else, as kind as Chad Anthony Powell.”
Jerry Don Self ‘01: Here.
Jerry Don Self ‘01 was from Arlington. He was a sweet spirit remembered for “his smile, his hugs, and above all, his red long johns that he insisted on wearing to his ag football games.”
“Jerry was the type of guy who had an infectious smile that would light up a room,” Bon re Remembrance member and agricultural economics sophomore Colby Van Bruaene said. “His laugh was the one everyone could recognize, and his kindness was shared with everyone lucky enough to be around him.”
Nathan Scott West ‘02: Here.
Nathan Scott West ‘02 was from Bellaire. His mother described him as “loving and sensitive.”
“He knew who he was, and he knew where he was,” Bon re Remembrance member and kinesiology junior Eleanor Jones wrote. “He allowed himself to be. Be excellent. Be passionate. Be sel ess. I hope that we nd inspiration to seek our purpose in life and be con dent in it, as Scott has shown us is possible.”
26 years later: We Remember
Traditions Council to hold annual Bonfire Remembrance Ceremony Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 2:42 a.m. at Bonfire Memorial
By Kynlee Bright Managing Editor
A cool breeze ripples across the dimly lit pathway, the howl of the wind lling the thick and silent air. The girl glances to the left, where the traditional words of “The Last Corps Trip” are carved into the concrete wall.
The sound of crunching rocks fades as she approaches the crowd, each person silent, holding a candle in their hands. She looks around, eyes bouncing from portal to portal, each one lled by a student representing the lives lost 26 years ago.
Candles begin to burn as each name is called aloud.
Miranda Denise Adams ‘02. Christopher D. Breen ‘96. Michael Stephen Ebanks ‘03. Jeremy Richard Frampton ‘99. Jamie Lynn Hand ‘03. Christopher Lee Heard ‘03. Timothy Doran Kerlee Jr. ‘03. Lucas John Kimmel ‘03. Bryan A. McClain ‘02. Chad A. Powell ‘03. Jerry Don Self ‘01. Nathan Scott West ‘02. They are all, “Here.”
Twenty-six years ago, a 92-year-old tradition ended in tragedy.
At 2:42 a.m. on Nov. 18, 1999, Texas A&M’s annual Bon re collapsed, taking the lives of 12 Aggies and injuring 27 others. Now, each year on that date, Aggies gather at the Bon re Memorial located on campus to honor the lives lost. Each year, a new Aggie leads the charge, and this year’s Traditions Council Bon re Remembrance chair is communication junior Ella Claire Williford.
After being selected as chair during the summer, Williford immediately began planning the logistics behind the scenes. From coordinating campus entities and stakeholders to spearheading marketing and promotion, Williford has worked on preparing the day to be just as special as every other year.
“Last year was a huge year for us with the 25th anniversary,” Williford said. “We saw a crowd bigger than we’d seen in quite a few years, and so a huge goal this year is continuing that momentum … of seeing such a huge crowd and so many people … connect, maybe for the rst time, with Bon re
Remembrance.”
Following last year’s 25th anniversary, Traditions Council is looking to not only maintain the momentum but also improve the experience for current students, and more importantly, for the families of those lost.
“We’ve been told by [the families] every single year: ‘You cannot begin to understand how much it means to still, 26 years later, turn around and see those thousands of students showing up to support the memories of our loved ones. There’s truly nothing more validating than that site,’” agricultural leadership and development junior and Vice Chair Truett Marrs said.
Last year, Traditions Council hosted a dinner for the families of the 12 — an event it will bring back this year.
“It was kind of a way for us to o er support to the families and to show them that the university still recognizes them and deeply cares for them,” Williford said. “We
Another way the Bon re Remembrance Committee is honoring the 12 is through individual re ection displays in front of buildings corresponding to their majors, helping students form a personal connection by following in the footsteps of the fallen.
“I think that having those individual displays really allows people to more deeply connect with the honorees and realize these people were students at this university just the same as I am,” Marrs said. “I think that these students really serve as model Aggies. They were up in the wee hours of the morning contributing to something that they consider bigger than themselves, and I think that it’s our job as the student body to reciprocate the favor by showing up to Bon re Remembrance.”
Williford pointed out that oftentimes, students tend to forget that the Aggies lost in 1999 were students just like them. Students who walked the same paths to class,
We also get to recognize the legacies of the 12 students who walked this campus and who are very similar to you and I. Their stories are worth remembering.
Ella Claire Williford
Communication Junior and Bonfire Remembrance Chair
are continuing the dinner this year, just providing a space for families to be with each other … and just kind of share memories and re ect and have a space for them to be together before the ceremony.”
In addition to organizing the dinner, Traditions Council has also put in place a coffee and re ections event, open to the community prior to Remembrance, in hopes that students will connect with each other and the stories of the Aggies lost. The event will take place in the Jack K. Williams Administration Building from midnight to 2 a.m. before the ceremony.
Re ection displays were also set up in the Memorial Student Center Flag Room on Nov. 9 and will remain there until Wednesday, Nov. 19, for students to observe.
Through sharing the stories of the 12, Traditions Council is able to foster a connection among students and the Aggie community — stories of which almost anyone can relate to.
yelled in the crowds of Kyle Field while cheering on the football team and even sat in the same classrooms that Aggies sit in today.
When students consider the connection between themselves and the 12, a new understanding is revealed, according to Williford.
“We’re very much attached to the lives of these students; they’re very similar to us in a lot of ways,” Williford said. “ … I think when you’re able to connect with their stories and the kind of people they were, that’s what helps you be able to relate to the ceremony and see its signi cance.”
The community that came after Collapse — football players carrying logs from the Stack, immediate memorial services with thousands in attendance — is something that, according to Williford, is di cult to understand.
The impact of the tragedy was felt by family, friends, students and Aggies across
the world. However, Williford says it’s the community and support that still reign today that embody the fullness of the Aggie Spirit.
“The loss of 12 students, I mean, I don’t think we can fully comprehend that,” Williford said. “ … In the face of such grief, though, Texas A&M embodied that same spirit that was fostered at Bon re. That camaraderie was completely showcased through the tragedy … through a really difcult time on our campus. I think that Texas A&M today is still this place of resilience.” Remembrance and resilience are two words that Williford used to describe the university: a community that comes together in times of need. Each month for Silver Taps, each year for Bon re Remembrance and Muster and even each day as Aggies uplift their fellow Aggies.
Support like this — strong and united in the face of both fortune and tragedy — can only be found in one place, according to Williford.
“Because we go to Texas A&M University, we remember them,” Williford said. “ … Not a lot of other college campuses, maybe not anywhere else, have this culture surrounding life that Texas A&M does. Bonre Remembrance was the rst thing that showed me just kind of what it meant to be an Aggie, to recognize the signi cance and recognizing people … that otherwise, you wouldn’t even know anything about.” From the community that was fostered through tragedy and still remains today to the cold air that’ll whip through hair on next Tuesday morning as ames dimly light a sea of Aggies, Bon re Remembrance is about more than just showing up.
“Bon re Remembrance is a time we get to recognize … the history of a tradition that was really amazing and brought so many students together and kind of made A&M what it is in a lot of ways,” Williford said. “We also get to recognize the legacies of the 12 students who walked this campus and who are very similar to you and I.Their stories are worth remembering.”
The ceremony will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 2:42 a.m. at Bon re Memorial. Upon arrival, Traditions Council asks that attendees be respectful of the solemnity of the event. A reading of “The Last Corps Trip,” a chorus from the Singing Cadets, a roll call of the fallen by the Yell Leaders and a nal playing of “Amazing Grace” will be presented in the ceremony.
As Bon re Remembrance commemorates its 26th anniversary, Aggies far and wide remember the 12 and one important message: They are all, “Here.”
Clockwise from top: Bonfire Memorial on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. Chad A. Powell ‘03 Memorial at Bonfire Memorial on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. Chad A. Powell ‘03 Memorial at Bonfire Memorial on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025.
Photos by Ashely Bautista — THE BATTALION
Howdy Marketplace: Girls’ day redefined
is to celebrate and support woman-owned businesses by giving them a visible, more vibrant platform to display their products and services,” Perez said.
By Ava Whelan Life & Arts Writer
From the porch of the Kyle House, a tune from the piano plays, accompanying the conversations of shoppers. On the lawn, visitors browse through an arrangement of pop-up tents lled with racks of clothing, personalized jewelry and baked goods.
Howdy Marketplace, a pop-up exclusively featuring female entrepreneurs, hosted its rst event at Polite Co ee Roasters on Nov. 9. A space for local vendors to sell, connect and promote their brands, the market served as a centralized platform for emerging businesses to bloom.
Marketing graduate student Amber Perez founded Howdy Marketplace this past summer as a rebrand of Ninth Market, a prior pop-up vintage shop. Alongside her other business, Howdy Charm Co., Perez served as the lead event organizer, overseeing merchant selection, event planning, logistics, community outreach and the company’s strategic vision.
“The purpose of Howdy Marketplace
While completing her rst master’s degree in entrepreneurial leadership at Mays Business School, Perez said she met many Aggie women running small businesses. Rather than a market that just sells products, Perez said Howdy Marketplace strived to create a curated experience where empowerment, connectivity and celebration of female entrepreneurship is at the center.
“Talented, local women entrepreneurs often lack dedicated platforms to showcase their businesses and connect meaningfully with the community,” Perez said. “The dening moment came when I attended similar market events and realized, ‘Why not create one here, but just exclusively highlighting woman-owned ventures to build a place where creativity, entrepreneurship and community all converge?’ That vision really propelled me to launch this rst event.”
Perez said she selects vendors through a careful process when building the market’s lineup, visualizing what she calls “the perfect girls’ day.” From handmade goods and fashion to charms and art, the selected businesses each re ected their own unique work and purpose.
“I look for woman-owned businesses that demonstrate passion for their craft, pro-
fessionalism in their operations, alignment with our marketplace and vision of community,” Perez said. “We aimed for a diverse mix of products and services to create rich, varied experiences for the people attending.”
Blinn student Rubiella Alvarado started her vintage thrifting business, Earthy Finds Vintage, in Summer 2022 as an exclusively online showcase for creative and sustainable clothing. Alvarado said that being invited to sell in person at Ninth Market that winter completely changed her business model, leading her to sell at in-person events periodically.
“When Amber reached out and told me about what she was planning, I was denitely all hands on deck,” Alvarado said. “I think it’s important for women to stick together in business, to uplift each other.”
Karah Welch founded Studio Muse in January and described her business as electric, empowering and joyful. Welch said Studio Muse encourages clients to prioritize feeling free and authentic through spin and pilates classes.
This past summer, Welch and Perez collaborated in the brainstorming process that brought Howdy Marketplace to life.
“Oftentimes [woman-owned businesses] are underestimated; we put so much thought and energy into our businesses and really care about customers and cli-
ents,” Welch said. “To get attention from the community is not only validating that we’re doing something right and reaching the right audience, but also encouraging.”
Participating vendors received not only brand visibility and foot tra c from Howdy Marketplace, but also support from other female entrepreneurs within the community. Perez said she hopes to continue building a network that creates ongoing opportunities, such as events, promotions and collaborations, in the market’s future.
“Entrepreneurship has shown me that success doesn’t come from doing everything alone, it comes from community, purpose and persistence,” Perez said. “The community has really enforced that when you build something with heart and purpose, people do respond, they show up.”
Perez said she hopes Howdy Marketplace continues to connect female entrepreneurs with customers and other owners to promote growth beyond the event. She said her motivation is rooted in staying focused on the market’s long-term goal of becoming a place where the local community is strengthened and valued.
“It is deeply gratifying to see woman-owned businesses gaining attention and support from the event,” Perez said. “Witnessing that recognition and community backing is one of the most rewarding aspects of this venture.”
Annual Empty Bowls event raises funds
By Lillian Haynes Life & Arts Writer
Mismatched bowls line every available surface as participants gather around warm servings of soup and fresh bread donated by local restaurants. Around them, young children and elderly community members alike peruse the handmade pottery, choosing their favorites from the 500 vibrant options available.
The 20th Annual Brazos Valley Empty Bowls event took place on Sunday, Nov. 9, at Blackwater Draw Brewing Co. Focused on lessening food insecurity in Brazos Valley, eight local pottery shops partnered with the Brazos Valley Food Bank to fundraise money for the local pantry.
“The empty bowl … is a symbol of the vast amount of people who have food insecurity in our community,” White Lotus Pottery owner and Co-Event Coordinator Amanda Bartel said. “We ourselves donate a lot of the bowls … and we have a huge selection of soups this year, which have been donated from restaurants from all over the community.”
One out of every ve individuals faces food insecurity in Brazos Valley, with over 50% of them being children. However, through fundraisers such as the Empty Bowls event, the Brazos Valley Food Bank can provide community members with fresh produce, school pantry meals and even nutritious, take-home bundles through the Children’s BackPack Program.
“Our goal is to have a community event where we share a simple meal,” Bartel said. “The proceeds go to the Brazos Valley Food Bank to help decrease the number of folks in our community with food insecurity. … One bowl has the potential of … creating 40 meals … and with the economy as it is, the number of people with food insecurity is even higher.”
Co-Event Coordinator and U Paint-It
co-founder Penny Woodcock-Bane em-
phasized the importance of community funding following the recent pause in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program bene ts due to a lack of federal funding, as she said food insecurity is projected to only get worse.
“Last year we raised close to $8,000,” Woodcock-Bane said. “And the nice thing about it is that … the food bank can really make that money go so far. So $20 for a bowl might not be a lot for somebody, but it’s hundreds of pounds of food that the food bank can then turn it into.”
The event’s history dates back to 1990, when Michigan high school art teacher John Hartom worked with his students to raise funds for a local food drive. Now, Empty Bowls events occur nationally, serving as local outreach events ghting against the wider food insecurity epidemic in the United States.
“Empty Bowls started with a school
teacher in Michigan,” Brazos Valley Empty Bowls founder Greta Watkins said. “So I’d heard of it over the years, and … I knew a lot of potters in the area … and so I thought it would be fun. So I contacted a couple people … and we just decided to do it.”
Since then, the event has expanded from a few donated, homemade soup containers to having over 10 event sponsors and food donors support its cause, including BT Longhorn Steakhouse, Fish Daddy’s Grill House, MARFA Texas Kitchen, Los Cabos Mexican Grill, Must Be Heaven, Madden’s Casual Gourmet and more.
“It’s grown every year, and it’s certainly bigger than it’s ever been,” Watkins said. “It just really feels good to be able to give back to the community and support the food bank.” Pottery shops in attendance included Joy Pottery, Bluebonnet Pottery & Gift Gallery and Doug Peck Studio, which each donated
bowls and materials to the cause. This collaborative e ort also incorporated the artistic creations of Cindy Gomez, the owner of Living Water Pottery Studio, who o ered her time as a volunteer.
“We’ve donated bowls for 15 years,” Gomez said. “The money that we raise … goes to our local community. … So I encourage students in the studio to make bowls. We’re … a tight-knit artist community here, so if there’s a way I can help people, I’ll do it.” Living Water Pottery employee Bonnie Garba spoke of her excitement in seeing her designs being chosen by participants, emphasizing how her art plays a small role in combating food scarcity.
“Giving back is important,” Garba said. “I used to be in the military, and sometimes members of the military … don’t even have enough money to get food stamps. So giving back to the community … is super important. All the restaurants donated all the food, everyone donated all their time for free, every single bowl, Cindy made with her clay in her studio. … It’s all for the community.”
Many folks in attendance have supported the event since its beginning in 2005 and were excited to see both old and new faces rally around the cause, according to Donna Hajash, who was there when the local fundraiser rst began 20 years ago. Hajash spoke of her excitement regarding the new venue and the work that has been done to make it more accessible to everyone in the community.
“I’ve been attending year after year,” Hajash said, holding up her bowl. “It’s a great way to support the food bank.You get good food and you get these gorgeous bowls.” Looking out at the participants smiling over their bowls, Co-Event Coordinator and Salamander Hands Pottery owner Carla Ponder spoke of the camaraderie the event brings as community members are brought together by a shared goal.
“I … just love to see people support it,” Watkins said. “Support the event, support the food bank, support their local parties and other artists. … Because there’s denitely a need for the food bank and the services they can o er. So if we can help, it’s our opportunity.”
Local pop-up market celebrates female entrepreneurship, commerce, business success
Local fundraiser addresses food scarcity, fosters community through handmade pottery
A customer looks at clothes during the Howdy Marketplace pop-up showcase at Polite Coffee Roasters on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025.
Ashely Bautista — THE BATTALION
Bowls on display for purchase during the 20th Annual Brazos Valley Empty Bowls event at Blackwater Draw Brewing Co. on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025.
Researchers mimic human heart, discover potential new designs to prevent valve failure, improve patient outcomes
By Yelisey Romanov News Writer
Among the most dangerous issues facing patients in need of replacement mechanical heart valves is aortic regurgitation — a condition where the heart valve between the lower left heart chamber and the body’s main artery isn’t able to close tightly.
Aortic regurgitation can lead to fainting, infection, arrhythmia, heart failure or death. Researchers at Texas A&M’s Department of Mechanical Engineering are working to uncover why mechanical valves close too late, and how smarter designs could make them behave more like the human heart.
“Mechanical valves are not perfect,” principal investigator and professor Iman Borazjani, Ph.D., said. “They also have some type of regurgitation. The bioprosthetic valves are quite good — they have very small or no regurgitation. Mechanical valves, on the other hand, have a large regurgitation volume. We wanted to understand why that happens, and whether the way the valve closes has something to do with it.”
The most widely used arti cial heart valve is a bi-lea et heart valve, a design consisting of two carbon lea ets mounted in a ring covered with fabric. It is employed because of its high durability and nonbiodegradability.
However, a major issue concerning the bilea et design is its high risk of aortic regurgitation. In response, several companies have been working to develop new valve models that more closely mimic the natural motion of the human heart.
“Novostia, a company that develops a new tri-lea et mechanical valve, contacted us and asked if we could simulate their design — tell them how the ow looks, what the shear stresses are, what the forces on the blood cells are,” Borazjani said. “That’s how the project got started.”
Borazjani and his team tested Novostia’s tri-lea et device in comparison to the bilea et in the way it opens and closes. Unlike the bi-lea et design, the model developed by Novostia features three exible lea ets that more accurately mimic the natural motion of a human heart valve. The researchers also compared the bi-lea et design to a bioprosthetic valve, made from biological tissue and used as a reference for how a natural valve behaves.
To compare blood ow, Borazjani’s team utilized a 3D computer simulation to mimic uid-structure interactions in the di erent models. By comparing ow velocity, pressure and back ow, the team could better understand why bi-lea et valves tend to close later than tri-lea et or prosthetic ones.
“The tri-lea et valves, which have a similar design to bioprosthetic or natural valves, close toward the center,” Borazjani said. “Whereas bi-lea et valves close by rotating toward the aortic walls — they move in the opposite direction when they want to close.”
The di erence in valve motion was found to play a signi cant role in closure timing.
“We saw that when there is still forward ow but the ow is decelerating, the trilea et and bioprosthetic valves start to close way earlier than the bi-lea et valves,” Borazjani said. “Bi-lea et valves don’t close until you have backward ow.”
Aggies 3D print new medicines
Professor Mansoor Khan leads project to explore new solutions for more effective drug dosing for children
By Amber Pettit News Reporter
Achieving proper drug dosages, particularly for pediatric patients, has been a pivotal point of research in pharmacology. While adult medications are produced in standardized forms and amounts, children’s bodies require precise, smaller doses that are often unavailable in commercial form.
According to Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences Mansoor Khan, Ph.D., RPh, the issue stems from the limited capacity and little incentive that pharmaceutical companies have to manufacture dosages tailored to children.
“I have seen the way medications are given to children,” Khan said.
“Pharmaceutical companies do not want to make medications for children, because it is not a good pro t for them.”
uses a layering technique, which allows medications to be customized to print precise dosages, shapes, sizes, colors and even avors for each patient. This not only increases the e ciency of these medications, but it also allows patients to have more control over how they are taking them.
Khan’s research has already received $6 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health, supporting both the development of the 3D printing technology and the creation of monitoring equipment to ensure the accuracy and stability of printed medications.
“Our goal is to have this 3D printing technology in hospitals,” Khan said. “The problem is that the hospitals do not have the equipment necessary for testing. We wanted to create good, real-time monitoring equipment that can evaluate how good or
patients will start getting accurate drugs, which will lead to fewer hospitalizations and lower costs when patients are getting proper treatment,” Khan said. “It will have a dramatic impact on the quality of medication for children.”
Canberk Kayalar, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research associate in Khan’s lab, said that collaboration across a variety of disciplines has been key to the project’s success.
“There are a lot of people from various backgrounds working together to achieve goals such as the 3D printing of medication,” Kayalar said. “My Ph.D. was to learn about the pharmacy and pharmaceutics so that I can apply that knowledge and my engineering background to solve these issues.”
With his background in chemical engineering, Kayalar said that joining the project required learning new pharmaceutical principles, but it also allowed him to contribute expertise from an engineering perspective.
Canberk Kayalar, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Research Associate “
If a doctor can do this, the FDA can do this too. The sky is the limit.
Instead, pharmacists use a process known as compounding, in which an adult dosage is crushed, ground and mixed into liquid form to create a child-appropriate dosage. However, this transformation process can compromise the medication’s stability, and, once in liquid form, the drug may not distribute evenly. This can lead to inconsistency in the amount of active ingredients per dose.
These inconsistencies can result in underor overdosing, putting patients at risk for ine ective treatment. Liquid formulations can also be unpleasant for children, making it di cult for them to take the full medication as prescribed.
To address this challenge, Khan and his team turned to the idea of utilizing 3D printing in medicine. The team
bad the product is.”
With these advances, Khan’s team is building on a growing movement to bring 3D printing into everyday pharmaceutical practices. Currently, there is only one 3D-printed drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, and Khan was the lead reviewer for that approval. Building on that experience, his team hopes to expand the technology’s use to create personalized, hospital-based medication production that can respond to speci c patient needs.
This technology also opens doors for combining multiple drugs into a singleprinted tablet, simplifying treatment and improving adherence for young and elderly patients.
“If children start using it, our pediatric
“The FDA labels 3D printing as an emerging technology,” Kayalar said. “That means it has a very good chance of becoming part of the current landscape in pharmaceutical manufacturing, but there is still debate over whether it should be labeled as manufacturing or compounding.”
The goal is that the technology will be categorized as a compounding technique, making it much easier for hospitals to adopt without the regulatory hurdles that come with commercial manufacturing.
“There are a couple of children’s hospitals in Texas that already are interested and want to implement this technology in their hospitals,” Kayalar said.
As the research continues, Khan and Kayalar said they see 3D printing as a future cornerstone of medicine. According to the team, the technology o ers the potential to revolutionize the e ciency and success of personalized treatment.
“If a doctor can do this, the FDA can do this too,” Kayalar said. “The sky is the limit.”
Photo courtesy of Alana Hayes/Texas A&M University Division of Marketing & Communications
Texas A&M professor Mansoor Khan, Ph.D., RPh, discusses his research on toxoplasmosis treatment in his lab on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2025.
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Aggie painter collaborates with athletes
Balancing classes and brushstrokes: Barrett Hanselka engineers portrait painting success in College Station
By Sophia Munoz Life & Arts Writer
A uorescent lamp clips to the top of an easel marked by colorful streaks of paint. The artist, petroleum engineering senior Barrett Hanselka, wields the paintbrush in his right hand, carefully mixing vibrant acrylics to best match his reference photos. Late nights are always worth it to Barrett, because his clients — student athletes at Texas A&M — are some of the gures he has grown to admire.
On Aug. 27, 2023, during a signing event at The Warehouse at C.C. Creations, Barrett’s hobby of painting pivoted into a part-time commissioning business for collegiate athletes. With support and orders from athletes, including former Aggie wide receivers Moose Muhammad III and Noah Thomas, along with current A&M players redshirt sophomore running back Rueben Owens II, redshirt sophomore quarterback Marcel Reed and junior linebacker Taurean York, Barrett continues to grow his business while balancing challenging coursework.
“I’ll stay up pretty late and then I’ll just wake up early to go to class,” Barrett said. “Sometimes I’ll take a nap after and then paint more, but mostly just trying to manage my time as much as possible. Not as much free time as I used to have, but it’s still fun. It’s worth it.”
Roots in creativity
According to his parents and high school art teacher, Barrett thrived in both academic and creative environments. He excelled in his classes while also competing for La Vernia High School’s speech and debate team and art competitions.
“He’s always been very creative,” Barrett’s father, Je rey Hanselka ‘93, said. “I mean, he did lots of artwork even when he was young — kindergarten, early elementary. He always had that free spirit to do a lot of creative artwork.”
A third-generation Aggie, Barrett said it was never a question whether he would attend A&M — in fact, it was the only school he had applied to. However, his love for the university extended beyond his family’s in uence as he found a neighborhood mentor in Stephen W. “Skip” Seale Jr. ‘62.
“He was the neighborhood engineer,”
Barrett’s mother, Brandi Hanselka ‘97, said. “He had his excellent woodworking shop and just all the tools — everything you’d need to build stu . Skip would be always helpful for the group of kids in the neighborhood, and he would help foster that creativity and supervise and watch and do.”
When Barrett began his college career as an engineer at A&M, Seale wanted to show his support.
“Skip wrote him a note and said when it was time for him to order his Aggie ring to let him know that Skip wanted to pay for his ring,” Brandi said. “I read that letter and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ it still makes me want to cry a little bit, but that’s just true Aggie Spirit, right?”
Outside of engineering, Barrett still devoted time and energy to his art classes and competitions like the Visual Arts Scholastic Event, or VASE.
“He’s one of those rare kids that has both sides of the brain that are strong,” La Vernia High School art teacher Janean Mills said.
paint a picture of the celebration Moose Muhammad [III] and Noah Thomas had after a touchdown. It was just for fun to put it in me and my roommate’s living room, I thought it’d be cool.”
Coincidentally, Barrett found out that a signing event involving Muhammad and Thomas, among other players, was to be held at The Warehouse in the following weeks. Barrett brought his painting to the meet and greet to nish o the living-space piece with signatures from the featured players.
To his surprise, the athletes inquired about commissioning art from him.
“I’d always been an A&M fan, like my whole life, and I just thought it was cool,” Barrett said. “You know, they wanted something from me because I’d always watch them on TV or at the games and stu . I’d always been a fan of them.
And for them to want something that I’m good at or I do, it was just kind of surreal at the time.”
He took the opportunity for recognition
There’s no doubt that he can do everything he wants to do at the same time. That’s just the way he is.
Janean Mills High School Art Teacher “ “
“Every few years, I’ll get a kid like that where they’re just as smart with math and science as they are with their creativity. It’s a hard thing to do.”
Both Mills and Brandi de ned a pivoting point in Barrett’s progress as a painter with a single piece he submitted to the VASE competition in 2022.
The underwater-themed acrylic painting, “Ka Manu Ka’upu Halo ‘Alo Moana,” featured his developing, detail-oriented style combined with a vibrant color palette, earning him state quali cation in the competition.
A brush with opportunity
After graduating from high school, Barrett went on a painting hiatus. It wasn’t until the summer after his freshman year of college that he began to go back to palettes and brushes, creating for his empty apartment living room walls.
“I just got really bored,” Barrett said. “I had nothing to do, so I decided to
by completing his rst few custom orders free of charge, but soon began to sell the pieces. He said his most recent works have featured football athletes like York and Reed.
He has also expanded his clientele to other collegiate athletes from Alabama and Kansas State such as wide receivers Ryan Williams and Jayce Brown.
“I want to make sure when I give them the paintings, that they recognize themselves,” Barrett said. “It’s of them, so it’d be kind of weird if they can’t even see themselves in it. I kind of think of it that way. If I was getting a painting, I’d want it as good as possible.”
From hobby to hustle
Barrett has temporarily paused commission requests as he continues to work on his 12 current orders. His sister, nutrition freshman Cecily Hanselka, helps ease part of the load by taking over his online Shopify store, BH Fine Art, where
she manages requests and the website’s updates.
His growing reputation has led Barrett to be noticed by other creatives, like Producer and Editor of 12th Man Productions, Brittany Lancaster.
“We love to do local businesses and people and really highlight those with College Station,” Lancaster said. “We saw his stu and we were like, ‘I think it’d be really cool to implement him somehow,’ and kind of got the idea to do it where the painting kind of becomes real life.”
Though he has already been working directly with the players for their commissioned pieces, Barrett felt the collaboration with 12th Man Productions carried a di erent importance.
“I was taking the bus, and I was like, ‘This is the coolest thing’ because I’d be collaborating actually with A&M and with the football team,” Barrett said. “And I know at least me and my roommates and all of my friends — we look forward to the jersey reveals and see how they do it. So to be a part of that, it was really cool.” Lancaster reached out to Barrett through social media to set up a series of meetings to discuss a potential role in the Arkansas jersey reveal. With just over a week’s notice, Barrett was tasked with painting Owens in a white A&M jersey and lming his progress with camera equipment lent by 12th Man Productions.
“He blew it out of the park,” Lancaster said. “He needs to take videography for another job because he really got the di erent angles, even more than I even asked him to.”
Looking forward
As of now, Barrett’s attention to detail remains constant, but he hopes to explore more with di erent mediums such as oil paints.
“Painting-wise, my favorite parts are always doing the faces,” Barrett said. “It’s weird, the really detailed parts I like. It’s more tedious and more work, I know, but I just enjoy it more.”
With his recent success and reignited passion for art, Barrett has been wondering what comes next. As he continues to plan for his future, his family and friends said the only thing they wish for Barrett is for personal ful llment in whatever path he takes.
“There’s no doubt that he can do everything he wants to do at the same time,” Mills said. “That’s just the way he is. But I would love to see his artwork grow, no doubt, even more. But bottom line is: I just want him happy. It’s not about money. It’s about what drives him to be happy.”
Photo courtesy of Barrett Hanselka
Clockwise from top: Petroleum engineering senior Barrett Hanselka poses with his pallet in the Langford A Building on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. A painting of redshirt sophomore quarterback Marcel Reed by Barrett Hanselka. Junior linebacker Taurean York and Barrett Hanselka pose for a photo with a painting of York by Hanselka.
Photo courtesy of Barrett Hanselka
Corby Maupin THE BATTALION
Why are women saying that dating a man is embarrassing? Men are the real victims here
By Wyatt Pickering Opinion Columnist
Why does having a girlfriend feel “woke?”
On Texas A&M’s campus, there has been a shift in the dating tendencies of our most eligible bachelorettes, choosing to “love themselves” rst and forgo dating our best and brightest Aggie gentlemen.
Why is this happening? Apparently, women now feel as though they don’t need a man in their lives for ful llment. All they need is a job, a house and food to keep themselves happy.
In an Instagram post made by pop culture studies junior Regina George, she complained about her many failed and lame relationships, saying, “It’s embarrassing to have a boyfriend here. Dating is dead at Texas A&M, and I am SO over it.” She even made the claim that dating men was actually embarrassing.
Maybe if Regina put a little bit more e ort into her relationship, she wouldn’t be forced to make such posts. If anything, having a girlfriend is actually embarrassing.
Women have stopped centering their entire lives around relationships, and that is shameful for us guys. Nothing makes me happier than when I am referred to as the most important person in someone else’s life. I work out, play video games and look pretty for all of the special ladies out there. Basically, I provide everything that they need to survive.
The standards women have for men are too high, and our standards as men are way too low. Just look at all the girls wearing scandalous costumes for Halloween and not respecting their future husbands. The only thing scarier than a girl in a black cat costume is the attention she is getting from men who aren’t me.
So what can we men do to make sure we regain the attention of women and become their outlet for everything in their lives?
Satire: Are girlfriends embarrassing?
The rst thing is that we should be present for them in all aspects of their lives. Do they have a birthday coming up? Make sure to be there and make yourself the gift. She doesn’t need that fancy purse, but she does need the reward of your charming
personality and your good looks.
You should also be making every moment about you. If you are at her college graduation, talk nonstop about missing your favorite team’s basketball game. At your wedding, tell your bride how pretty she
is, but also how she would look so much hotter in a better-looking dress. If you are at the hospital while she is in pain birthing your child, complain about how exhausted you are.
I’m con dent that if you say any of these things to the girl in your life, she would appreciate your honesty and be grateful for her amazing partner.
Also, our girls should be proudly posting us online.
There has been this growing trend for girls to soft launch their boyfriends by posting a demure photo of our hands intertwined or the image of us getting co ee, but only making it apparent if you see there are two cups.
My ex-girlfriend said she wouldn’t post any photos of me because she didn’t want her followers to know she was dating a man as wonderful as I.
Apparently, her friends were jealous of my dashingly good looks and couldn’t bear to see such a happy couple. I wonder why we broke up.
Our women should be proud of our relationships and show o our faces fully. As professional woman appreciator and kickboxing legend Andrew Tate once said, “You cannot be responsible for a dog if it doesn’t obey you, or a child if it doesn’t obey you or a woman that doesn’t obey you.”
Yes, he actually said this. To be honest, I don’t know what that has to do with Instagram photos, but I do like to hear Andrew Tate speak. We men should be more comfortable with speaking our minds. For hundreds of years, we have been oppressed by the women in our lives and made to feel less than. We men understand women and their many complicated needs, and we can provide for them.
Boyfriends aren’t embarrassing; it’s the girlfriends who think men are good for nothing that are. Be the Kanye West to your girlfriend’s Kim Kardashian and prove for once that men are truly worth it.
Wyatt Pickering is a business honors and nance junior and opinion columnist for The Battalion.
Book review: ‘The Running Man’
Racing to finish the dystopianturned-adaptation nightmare
By Maeva Elizabé Opinion Writer
Rating: 4/10
I fell asleep reading this book. Twice. Now, let me preface this review with the disclaimer that I have historically not been a fan of Stephen King’s corpus. His novels are, for me, exactly that: corpses.
They are vessels in which the fundamental skeleton is present, but the essence, the life, is wholly absent.
Is this an unpopular opinion?
Very much so, if his crowning as the “King of Horror” is any indication to go by.
“The Running Man” is actually the rst of King’s books that I read from cover to cover. Prior to this, the closest I’d ever gotten was when tackling “The Shining” — arguably one of King’s most acclaimed works — while on a plane.
Fortunately for “The Running Man”, King limited the premise to a digestible length of about 230 pages. Though quite uncharacteristic of an author showered with accolades for writing 1,000-page behemoths, the decision was nonetheless very much appreciated by this selfproclaimed King critic.
All in all, I think it would be safe to say that I didn’t exactly dive head rst into this literary venture with high hopes. Indeed, my low expectations ended up being my saving grace, for the fall was very manageable —
Man” would surely drive audiences away with its depressing depravity and lack of a eshed-out storyline.
The blurb on the back cover of the novel is certainly promising enough: Down on his luck in a totalitarian society in the not-so-distant year of 2025, the desperate protagonist, Ben Richards, joins a deadly televised program in which he must evade capture at the hands of hunters to earn the grand payo . Was this book reminiscent of Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game?”
I was trapped in a metal cage, suspended in the air for just over nine hours, and yet it was the sluggish pace of King’s plain prose that had me feeling truly imprisoned. I made it roughly 80% of the way through, and even my desperation to pass the time wasn’t compelling enough of a motivation for me to drag my jaded mind through one more paragraph.
about as impactful as the book’s supposed commentary, which is to say not in the least.
At that point in the book, I could just make out the light at the end of the tunnel, but it was ultimately neither bright enough nor enticing enough to justify trudging through the dark and twisted maze of King’s imagination.
And I’m sorry, Joey Tribbiani, but there was absolutely no need for that book to be sequestered in the freezer; the scariest aspect of my experience reading “The Shining” was when my Kindle slipped out of my hand as I began to drift o .
If you’ve seen the trailer for the upcoming cinematic adaptation, starring University of Texas student Glen Powell as the titular “running man,” you may have gotten the impression of a cut-and-dry action ick with a generous sprinkling of slapstick humor.
Powell’s de nitely got nothing on his “Top Gun: Maverick” co-star Tom Cruise in that eld, but I digress.
If that characterization of the movie proves to be accurate, then it will be all the better for the lmmakers’ nancial spoils, as any faithful adaptation of “The Running
which, paradoxically, left a lot to be desired. Somewhere between the absence of any world-building and the excessive mundane imagery, there was so much thrown at me that it felt akin to being dropped inside a fever dream.
With the story being written from the third-person perspective, I also felt very detached from the narrative; I was a passive onlooker as opposed to a champion of the masses alongside Richards, whose “rebellion” was essentially just his sparkling personality shining through.
Absolutely, especially as it touched upon themes of class disparity and dehumanization.
Did it seem like Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games” on sadistic steroids? Also yes, most notably that an oppressive regime and the exploitative manipulation of the media took center stage.
But could “The Running Man” be considered a must-read for any literary element beside the social critiques that were piled upon the reader by the heaping paragraphful? Not in my book.
The most blinding issue I had with this novel — and King’s work as a whole — was the overwhelming writing style,
And though King is often lauded for prioritizing character development over plot progression, Richards was pitiful from start to nish. Rather than a multi-dimensional personage with which the reader could empathize and root for, King created a brash and unhinged gure to spearhead his book.
Of course, all these details I’ve vili ed are undeniably symbolic. Richards was the stone that became the chisel; the stark prose re ected the dreariness of society and its prospects; the lack of syntactical embellishment mirrored the absence of hope in a world stripped down to its bare bones.
Perhaps I’m just not pessimistic or philosophical enough, but I would argue that King painted a picture so abstract with his words that countless hidden details were lost in translation, and consequently, his chef-d’œuvre just fell at.
And because he focused so heavily on conveying his message, the supporting — yet equally crucial — content was neglected. Personally, I would’ve entrusted Michael Crichton, Lee Child or James Patterson with bringing the brilliant concept of “The Running Man” to life.
So, was the novel a page-turner?
De nitely.
But only because I was rushing to reach the nish line.
Maeva Elizabé is a neuroscience junior and chemistry minor and opinion writer for The Battalion.
Illustration by Allison Fernandes — THE BATTALION
ENTERTAINMENT
Campus squirrel’s POV
Comic by Chi-Chi Zhang — THE BATTALION
SPORTS
Aggies look for revenge against Gamecocks
One year after South Carolina handed A&M its first loss of late-season skid, 9-0 Aggies seek redemption at Kyle Field
By Diego Saenz Senior Sports Writer
Just over a year ago, Texas A&M football traveled to South Carolina as the No. 8 team in the nation.
They didn’t know it then, but a 44-20 loss in Columbia, South Carolina, sparked a three-game skid that turned a promising 7-1 start into another all-too-familiar 8-4 nish.
Coach Mike Elko’s program will look to avenge that loss this Saturday, Nov. 15, when the Gamecocks march into Kyle Field.
And the two programs could not be trending in more opposite directions.
The Aggies sit atop the Southeastern Conference standings with an undefeated record, while the Gamecocks have stumbled to a 3-6 start after what was supposed to be a follow-up to last year’s resurgence under coach Shane Beamer.
Still, facing an SEC opponent is never a freebie, especially with the individual talent South Carolina brings to the table.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback LaNorris Sellers remains South Carolina’s biggest hope of spoiling A&M’s 9-0 run.
“I see the same big, physical, athletic kid that ran and threw all over us last year,” Elko said in Monday’s press conference. “LaNorris Sellers absolutely lit us up last year. If we want to have any success on Saturday, we better understand the challenge this year.”
Last season, Sellers entered the matchup as an unproven rst-year starter and left as the talk of the SEC.
He torched A&M for 244 passing yards and two touchdowns, while adding 106 yards and a score on the ground.
Elko believes that the game was a turning point for his team’s maturity.
“Last year was such a learning moment for us,” Elko said. “Nobody appreciated the challenge that was being in that position for the rst time. We learned a lot about what would come with it and how to handle it. We’ve handled it the right way for nine games, but there are still three more that we have to handle one at a time.”
A&M has been great at that this season, already handling then-No. 8 Notre Dame and Auburn, two programs they lost to last season. The Gamecocks are next on the Aggies’ radar.
On paper, A&M is a nightmare matchup for South Carolina. Whatever Beamer’s squad struggles with, the Aggies excel at. And the few areas where A&M shows vulnerability are the same ones South Carolina can’t take advantage of.
The Gamecocks rank last in the SEC in total o ense and scoring, managing just 294.1 yards per game and 19.7 points per
contest. Their protection issues have been glaring, giving up 34 sacks for 302 yards, the second-worst mark in the nation.
That is a recipe for trouble against an elite A&M defense that leads the nation with 34 sacks, and ranks sixth in the SEC in total defense and fth in passing defense.
The Aggies are allowing just 317.3 yards per game, including 189 through the air, giving them a matchup advantage in nearly every facet of the game.
Even amid a disappointing season, South Carolina still features some elite playmakers.
At 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, junior wide receiver Nyck Harbor poses a unique challenge for A&M’s secondary.
He’s become Sellers’ top target, posting 21 receptions for 401 yards and four touchdowns, ranking second in the SEC among receivers with at least 20 receptions with 19.1 yards per catch.
On defense, sophomore edge rusher Dylan Stewart remains a disruptive force despite a quieter season by his standards. He’s totaled 3.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, 30 total tackles and two forced fumbles on the year so far.
Sophomore linebacker Fred Johnson and junior safety Jalon Kilgore round out the defense. Johnson anchors the middle with 41 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and an interception, while Kilgore, a three-year starter, leads the secondary with 38 tackles and ve pass breakups.
If the Gamecocks have any shot at pulling o an upset, it begins with their sec-
ondary. Kilgore’s group ranks sixth in the SEC, allowing 190.6 passing yards per game — the lone bright spot in an otherwise inconsistent unit.
The rest of the numbers paint a bad picture for South Carolina’s defense.
It allows 344.2 total yards per contest, compared to an A&M o ense that averages over 450 yards per game.
If that wasn’t concerning enough, the Gamecocks rank third to last in the conference in rushing defense, surrendering 153.7 yards per game.
Against an Aggie o ense averaging 459.8 yards and 37.8 points per game, the only favorable matchup for the Gamecocks is against the pass. And that is against an o ense featuring the wide receiver duo of sophomore Mario Craver and junior KC Concepcion, one of the top tandems in the nation.
Add in redshirt sophomore QB Marcel Reed, who is playing at a Heisman-contending level, and it seems like a near-impossible task for Beamer’s side.
As A&M gears up for their home stretch, Saturday’s matchup serves as a nal conference test before the much-anticipated Lone Star Showdown against No. 10 Texas.
In a conference known for chaos, Elko and his team understand no win is guaranteed.
But if his squad plays to their established standard
Photos by Adriano Espinosa
SPORTS
Players to watch against South Carolina
These key players will be sure to make an impact during A&M’s return to Kyle Field against South Carolina
By Ava Loth Sports Writer
It’s been over a month since the lights of Kyle Field have lit up the faces of more than 100,000 of the 12th Man faithful. Now the long-awaited return to College Station will host a showdown between No. 3 Texas A&M football and South Carolina on Saturday, Nov. 15, at 11 a.m.
against Missouri. He contained the Tigers, recording ve total tackles and disrupting their scoring abilities with a strip sack. His season started o hot after he entered a starting role in his third year with the Maroon and White following an injury to senior LB Scooby Williams. He hit peak midseason form against Mississippi State, where he totaled nine tackles, including four solo stops while landing his rst sack of the season.
Since then, he has added to his totals with 18 solo tackles, 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. With a scrambled South Carolina o ense, there will likely be gaps for Sanford to exploit.
Rahsul Faison, graduate student running back, South Carolina
The Aggies look to be the rst in the Southeastern Conference to reach double-digit wins, while also looking to reclaim the Bonham Trophy after last year’s 44-20
The Gamecocks are in the midst of a four-game losing streak and have yet to secure a win on the road. All ngers are pointed at their struggling o ense, which has managed to score less than half its opponents’ totals in the last 3 out of 4 games.
The Gamecocks’ No. 1 rusher comes in the form of graduate student running back Rahsul Faison. The Utah State transfer has reached the end zone three times so far this season, including his season-high two touchdowns in South Carolina’s win over Kentucky. However, he has yet to score since September.
Mario Craver, sophomore wide receiver, Texas A&M
One of the fastest-moving targets for the Aggies has been sophomore wide receiver Mario Craver. Leading the team in receiving yards at 775 through nine games, Craver has put up 16.8 average yards per catch, resulting in four trips to the end zone.
In his debut season with the Gamecocks, he has totaled 350 rushing yards on 81 carries, averaging 4.3 yards per attempt, but has yet to post a standout performance or come close to reaching a 100-yard game. South Carolina’s loss against No. 14 Vanderbilt marked his highest rushing yard game at 74 yards.
Posting three games of over 100 receiving yards, he has continually shown the capability to stretch the eld. But in A&M’s most recent road trip, he saw his numbers dwindle to 59 receiving yards and 17 rushing yards against Missouri. But with the power of Kyle Field in his grasp, he could be pivotal if he returns to his old habits.
Faison has put up a majority of his rushing yards against his ranked opponents, but A&M will put his capabilities to the test as its defense will be one of the most intense South Carolina will encounter this season.
LaNorris Sellers, redshirt sophomore quarterback, South Carolina
Dalton Brooks, junior safety, Texas A&M
A rather quiet contributor made his presence known in A&M’s win over Missouri.
Junior safety Dalton Brooks recorded six tackles, including two solo takedowns and a fumble recovery, but the highlight of his outing came elsewhere. A proven rusher for the Shiner Comanches at the UIL 2A level in high school, Brooks recorded 48 rushing yards on a fake punt that returned him right back to his glory days behind the o ensive line.
His season highlight on defense came in his outing against Arkansas, where he totaled nine tackles, including seven solo stops. With 38 tackles throughout ve games so far, he has consistently contributed when on the eld and poses a threat if he continues that pattern against the Gamecocks.
Daymion Sanford, junior linebacker, Texas A&M
Junior linebacker Daymion Sanford earned his second SEC Defensive Player of the Week honor on Nov. 10 after his outing
The arm of the Gamecocks’ o ense belongs to redshirt sophomore quarterback LaNorris Sellers. In conference play, Sellers has so far completed 61.9% of his attempts, his biggest detractor being his accuracy. The Florence, South Carolina, native has thrown ve interceptions, including two in South Carolina’s last loss against Ole Miss. Through nine games, he has totaled 1,536 yards and seven touchdowns, ranking him at the bottom of starting quarterbacks in the SEC. Sellers has kept games close but has mostly put pressure on big plays to keep drives alive, while his o ense struggles to maintain a consistent conversion rate on key downs.
DQ Smith, senior defensive back, South Carolina
For the Gamecocks’ defense, senior defensive back DQ Smith has recorded 51 tackles this season, ranking 14th in the SEC in that category. His steady presence in both run and pass defense makes him one to watch out for against the Aggies.
While he hasn’t recorded any sacks this season, Smith snagged an interception against LSU, which halted the Tigers on a potential scoring drive before halftime and kept the Gamecocks in striking distance for the second half.
Reforged: How A&M’s defense rose from ashes
Elko,
Bateman’s defensive rebuild that put Aggies at forefront
of college football
By Mathias Cubillan Associate Sports Editor
Mike Elko watches frustratedly from the sideline as his defense chases USC up and down the eld in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 27, 2024. After a desperate attempt at a miracle lateral play predictably sputters out, Elko goes through the motions of his post-loss routine — clasp hands with Trojan coach Lincoln Riley in a sweaty embrace, trudge up to the dais, take the slings and arrows from a gaggle of reporters.
The rst-year Texas A&M football coach is hardly the rst person to reevaluate their decisions after a trip to Sin City. But following the 35-31 loss and a defensive performance that allowed 400 yards to a milquetoast USC out t, Elko’s re ections cut deeper than just one loss.
“The story of the game is the story of our season,” Elko said after the loss. “We can’t cover the forward pass well enough to be a good football team. That is my fault.”
The late-season collapse and shakiness of a defense that nished 12th in the Southeastern Conference in total yardage allowed led Elko to make a seismic gamble in the o season: He snatched the playsheet away from defensive coordinator Jay Bateman to take over play-calling duties.
Under Elko’s direct tutelage, the tattered remains of a defense once fraught with coverage breakdowns now ies high under the Aggieland sunset — an ironclad unit leading the country by allowing a 24.1% conversion rate on third down.
“We never make excuses inside the program we are, but you had a group of guys who had never really worked together,” Elko said. “ … We weren’t very familiar with each other, with a hodgepodge group of [defensive backs] that we had just thrown together from the transfer portal, and you had to build it as fast as you could and as quick as you could. … I just think it’s the group being together and more on the same page.”
The unit’s cohesion shows not only on the eld, but also in the structure of the coaching sta on game day. The shift in responsibilities brought Bateman down from the press box and onto the sideline, trading a mic for the face-to-face conversation of yesteryear — a necessary adjustment as Elko now juggles the dual demands of coach and play-caller.
“I think the biggest bene t is probably with the linebackers,” Bateman said. “Just to be able to look them in the eye … and then I do feel like the ability to kind of tie it all together. … Mike’s kind of busy though sometimes, so to be able to kind of say, ‘Hey, look, everybody good? We’re going to do this this way.’ … Not that you can’t do it over the headset, but it’s not quite the same.”
Those linebackers have emerged as the chess pieces in the Aggies’ scheme, spearheading the third-down defense, highlighted by junior linebacker Daymion Sanford’s strip sack of Missouri freshman quarterback Matt Zollers. The trio of Sanford, senior LB Scooby Williams and junior LB Taurean York have combined for 103 tackles, 4.5 sacks, two interceptions and three forced fumbles.
“I think it’s a privilege to play on third down,” Bateman said. “That’s what we thought. So when you go out there on third down we’re basically telling you we trust you to go. … There’s a privilege in playing that, on that situation with our sta , and then I think they trust each other.”
That trust has been a cornerstone of the linebackers’ play this season, especially with York’s incessant lm study allowing him to ostensibly function as an on- eld avatar for his coaches, which allows the sta to be creative on a down-to-down basis with that group.
“Having [associate head coach Lyle] Hemphill come in and kind of be the box guy, which has allowed Jay the freedom to come down to the eld, and so now the linebackers see him in between every possession,” Elko said. He’s also able to make the adjustments that are necessary across all 11 guys. And you know that that’s been, obviously, something I know he’s been really excited about, because I think that allows us to adjust in game at a much higher level than we were at times last year.”
SPORTS
Aggies prepare for purple pairing
What to expect as A&M women’s basketball takes on Tarleton State, Kansas State in hopes of starting
By Brody Vaughn Sports Writer
Coming o of a decisive 81-43 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas A&M women’s basketball looks to continue its success against Tarleton State at Reed Arena on Thursday, Nov. 13, before heading to Manhattan, Kansas, to take on Kansas State on the following Sunday.
The Aggies got revenge over the Islanders’ for last year’s loss, with a high-powered showing on o ense o the backs of a stingy A&M defense holding A&M-Corpus Christi to only 43 points. Another strong defensive showing like that could keep the Maroon and White alive in any matchup.
The Fightin’ Farmers’ defense locked down the Islanders, notching 21 steals — the most by the Aggies since 2014. A major contributor to that record was senior guard Ny’Ceara Pryor, who grabbed eight steals in the season opener.
“I’m a small guard, so I got to be able to defend, and I take pride in that,” Pyror said. “So that’s what I’m going to bring to every game.”
Another point of emphasis going forward for the Aggies will be continuing to grab second-chance points. Securing 24 putback buckets made the di erence on the offensive side of the ball against the Islanders.
“I’m excited about some of the things we did, o ensive rebounds and defensively,” coach Joni Taylor said on her weekly radio show. “So that was the right rst step for us to take last week.”
But with a team that only has three returning players, growing pains are inevitable. The Aggies committed 11 turnovers in their rst game as the team began to build chemistry. Free throws were also a struggle, knocking down only 12 of their 23 attempts.
A&M takes on Tarleton State in front of a roaring crowd of school children at Reed Arena on Thursday for the Aggies’ annual Elementary School Day game. Having already played two overtime games this season, the Texans have already seen their fair share of hard-fought battles.
The Aggies will need to watch out for junior forward Shadasia Brackens, who’s shooting an impressive 72% from the eld.
“O ensively, everything is to go to her [Brackens], and defensively, she just stands at the rim and tries to block everything,” Taylor said. “So we’ve gotta be creative in moving her away from the basket to create opportunities for us to get to the rim and score in the paint.”
The Texans will try to push the pace on
the Aggies, as they are averaging 96 possessions per game. If A&M wants to take Tarleton State to school on the court, a continuation of strong defense will be needed to slow the ball down and limit points.
A&M will then take a trip up to Manhattan to face another purple foe in Kansas State on Sunday. In their two games, the Wildcats have demonstrated two completely di erent styles of play, rst with a 100-point blowout victory against Omaha followed by a defensive battle in a 46-44 win over SMU.
A&M will need to keep track of K-State guards junior Taryn Sides and sophomore Izela Arenas, who are both averaging 14 points a game. The Wildcats’ backcourt has contributed to nearly half of the team’s points in its past two contests, so it will be important for the Aggies to disrupt their guards in order to leave Kansas with a win.
“It’ll be obviously our rst road game, but a Power Four opponent for us,” Taylor said. “So it’ll be a good opportunity for us to again just measure and see where we are.” The next two matchups will serve as an important checkpoint for a very new Aggie squad still trying to nd its rhythm. Taylor’s team will be tested on how well its defensive prowess will perform against the fastpaced Texans and disciplined Wildcats. With two very di erent tests ahead,
at Reed Arena on Wednesday, Nov.
Coach
Texas A&M football coach Mike Elko runs onto the field during Texas A&M football’s game against Auburn at Kyle Field on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025.
Adriano Espinosa — THE BATTALION
