Aggie coaches, players have ties to Oklahoma
By: David Baker
Issue date: 9/14/07 Section: Sports
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With 15 Aggies hailing from Texas, one might think some bad blood from the Red River Rivalry between the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma would spill into Saturday's game against the Sooners in Norman, Okla.
But one might be wrong.
At least three Texans-turned-Aggies seem very disconnected from one of the nation's most heated rivalries.
"When (the University of Texas) was playing USC, I was rooting for UT, but other than that, not really," freshman fullback Jacob Actkinson, said.
In fact, Actkinson may even lean more toward the red of Oklahoma than the Longhorn's burnt orange. Before he decided to come to Utah State, Actkinson said he was actually going to OU to try to walk on to the Sooner track team.
For junior tight end Rob Myers, it was another Texas team, Texas Tech, that garnered his allegiances. Myers, who's from Houston, said his family were fans of the Red Raiders, and he didn't really realize how big of a deal the UT-OU rivalry was until high school.
Sophomore wide receiver Xavier Bowman is another Houston native who said he has never been a Sooner fan, but doesn't hold strong convictions about the rivalry.
Besides the players, a few Aggie coaches have ties to rivalries with Oklahoma. Head Coach Brent Guy and offensive line coach Vance Vice both played at Oklahoma State - the Sooners' in-state rival.
Guy played linebacker and defensive end for the Cowboys from 1979 to '82 and coached at OSU. But Guy said it wasn't much of a rivalry in his day, because Barry Switzer's Sooners were a powerhouse.
Vice also didn't have much luck against OU - in his five years as a Cowboy tight end from 1985 to '89, he never beat the Sooners - but that doesn't stop any animosity Vice has toward Oklahoma.
"I'd probably root for Russia if they were playing OU," he said. "…That's how it is. I don't know anybody in Oklahoma that's both (a Sooners and Cowboys fan). You draw a line in the sand, and you're on one side of it."
But one might be wrong.
At least three Texans-turned-Aggies seem very disconnected from one of the nation's most heated rivalries.
"When (the University of Texas) was playing USC, I was rooting for UT, but other than that, not really," freshman fullback Jacob Actkinson, said.
In fact, Actkinson may even lean more toward the red of Oklahoma than the Longhorn's burnt orange. Before he decided to come to Utah State, Actkinson said he was actually going to OU to try to walk on to the Sooner track team.
For junior tight end Rob Myers, it was another Texas team, Texas Tech, that garnered his allegiances. Myers, who's from Houston, said his family were fans of the Red Raiders, and he didn't really realize how big of a deal the UT-OU rivalry was until high school.
Sophomore wide receiver Xavier Bowman is another Houston native who said he has never been a Sooner fan, but doesn't hold strong convictions about the rivalry.
Besides the players, a few Aggie coaches have ties to rivalries with Oklahoma. Head Coach Brent Guy and offensive line coach Vance Vice both played at Oklahoma State - the Sooners' in-state rival.
Guy played linebacker and defensive end for the Cowboys from 1979 to '82 and coached at OSU. But Guy said it wasn't much of a rivalry in his day, because Barry Switzer's Sooners were a powerhouse.
Vice also didn't have much luck against OU - in his five years as a Cowboy tight end from 1985 to '89, he never beat the Sooners - but that doesn't stop any animosity Vice has toward Oklahoma.
"I'd probably root for Russia if they were playing OU," he said. "…That's how it is. I don't know anybody in Oklahoma that's both (a Sooners and Cowboys fan). You draw a line in the sand, and you're on one side of it."
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