40 Years of the 12th Man Kickoff Team
The squad who defeated the odds and became
the epitome of the Aggie Spirit
By Will Johnson '01
They were given the opportunity of a lifetime. They loved football and Texas A&M. This was not just standing tall for their cherished university — they had the opportunity to take action.
When Jackie Sherrill created the 12th Man Kickoff Team in time for the 1983 season, many around the program and around the country were skeptical. They could not see how a team of walk-ons could be successful when matched up against scholarship athletes. A deeper look would have shown skeptics the burning desire these student-athletes had to represent Texas A&M to the fullest.
The 12th Man Kickoff Team went out and covered kicks with great success, defying the odds. Sherrill's gamble paid off, and for the kickoff team members, the memories they gained from their days in maroon and white were priceless.
Inaugural member Ike Liles said Sherrill showed a tremendous amount of guts and courage in his decision to entrust the group of walk-ons to cover kickoffs for the Aggies.
It all started when Liles made the first-ever tackle by a kickoff team member on opening night of 1983 season against the California Golden Bears.
"We were slobberin' hungry to go hit somebody," Liles said.
"I think after a while, the team realized if they had the same toughness as we did, we could beat anybody."
The team had to wait until after halftime to cover their first kick. The Aggies unsuccessfully tried an onside kick to start the game, and then were held scoreless through the first two quarters. Then, A&M kicked off following a third quarter field goal.
“The stands were going crazy,” Liles recalled. “We kickoff and run down there. I'm behind a 4.3 guy. They pick him up. So, it's just me and the returner. Luckily, I got him and hung on until the cavalry came.”
Liles first hit the Cal returner at the 12 yard line and finally brought him down with several teammates at the 16. The 12th Man in the stands erupted during a moment that will forever live in Aggie lore.
“At the time I didn't really understand how big a deal it was,” Liles said. “I thought it was just a tackle.”
COVERING THE KICK
In 1985, 12th Man Kickoff Team member David Coolidge made his debut on Kyle Field during A&M's home opening win over Northeast Louisiana (now ULM).
One of the most generous supporters of Aggie Football since his time on campus, Coolidge recounts standing on the sideline and looking at his teammates who were ready to cover a kickoff for the first time.
“We are getting ready to do this?” Coolidge recalled thinking in a questioning, surreal manner.
As his memory of taking the field for the first time comes rushing back, a grin spreads across Coolidge's face.
“I remember thinking, this is going to be awesome,” he said.
Coolidge successfully made the tackle on his first opportunity with the kickoff team.
The 12th Man Kickoff Team's crowning moment came against Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1, 1988.
Scott Slater had just made a 25-yard field goal to up A&M's advantage to 28-10 with 8:32 remaining in the game. The walk-on squad had to once again defend the dynamic 1987 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown.
Kickoff team member Sean Page had a front row seat.
Page had grown accustomed to seeing his teammate David Fly in the lane next to him. They had covered kickoffs side-by-side for quite some time.
“I look over and there is Warren Barhorst,” Page recalled. “I look at Warren and he says, 'Watch this.' I am like, 'Oh no. Warren thinks outside the box.'”
Barhorst tackled Brown, and Page came in for cleanup. Then things got messy.
“I see Warren sprinting, and I am thinking 'Warren, the play is over, and you did not run that fast down the field,'” Page said. “He has this towel in his hand and has a big grin.”
Barhorst had ripped Brown's towel off his belt and planned to keep it as a souvenir. However, Brown wanted it back and chased after the Aggie walk-on, tackling Barhorst from behind before he reached the sideline. A Cotton Bowl brouhaha ensued. The wrangle received national notoriety.
Barhorst was so seldom used that commentator Brent Musburger misidentified him as William Thomas on the CBS broadcast. Thomas, who wore number 11 like Barhorst, was a heralded linebacker who later received All-Southwest Conference accolades for the Aggies. However, on New Year's Day of 1988, the country was introduced to Barhorst.
“I covered kicks for three years,” Page said. “I never made as big of an impact as the one play Warren Barhorst was in on.”
EARNING STRIPES
The 12th Man Kickoff Team's influence as a group went far beyond covering kicks. They were instrumental in preparing the Aggies in practice every week. They proved to be quite a talented scout team and often gave the starters a good look. Sometimes too good.
Liles recalls a particular practice when he stood out playing strong safety.
“They were lead blocking with the fullback on me,” Liles said. “Over and over and over. I was giving it everything.”
Liles took the job seriously, and he did not intend on just going through the motions.
“I am going to win this fight,” he recalled thinking. “A coach called me over to the side and said, 'Ike, would you let up a little bit.'”
On another occasion, Liles was getting the better of a teammate who was much higher on the depth chart.
“He got angry, and we started fighting,” Liles said. “They just let us fight until we could not fight anymore. We earned our stripes.”
Coolidge likened the group's determination to Rocky Balboa.
“He kept getting beat up, but he kept fighting,” Coolidge said. “I think after a while, the team realized if they had the same toughness as we did, we could beat anybody.”
Interestingly enough, Balboa's triumph over Ivan Drago in “Rocky IV” was released one day before Coolidge, the kickoff team and the Aggies dropped Texas, 42-10, on Thanksgiving of 1985 to start an Aggie trilogy. Three straight Southwest Conference titles, and trips to the Cotton Bowl, began that night. Cotton rained down from all of Kyle Field's decks, and 12th Man towels were twirling feverishly.
The bond between the fans in the stands and players on the field cemented that evening.
BRIDGING THE GAP
The fan-team connection is another aspect that Sherrill elevated when he created the kickoff team. One of the most valuable commodities in sports, the unique bond between A&M students and Aggie Football was not quite there prior to the advent of this walk-on group.
“The talent we had at A&M was separated from the student body,” Page recalled. “They were at Cain Hall doing their thing, and the students were doing their thing. There was a disconnect.”
When the students came out of the stands to join the team and put forth all they had, things changed.
“When Coach Sherrill came up with the kickoff team because of their love and passion, he created a conduit between students, former students, fans and scholarship athletes,” Coolidge said.
After a while, it was not just the student section on their feet on Saturdays at Kyle Field.
“Even those scholarship guys who came off the field after we scored a touchdown, who would normally sit on the bench, got off their chair,” Coolidge recalled. “They walked toward the sideline and looked over the shoulder of the guy in front of them. They wanted to see what we could do. We had earned their respect.”
It was clear this was the start of something special.
“It really brought the scholarship guys and the student body together,” Coolidge said. “It created a bond.”
That connection has served as the foundation of this school's spirit ever since. The role of the kickoff team has changed over time, but the same energy and passion at Kyle Field remains.
It started when Sherrill defied the skeptics and gave a group of walk-ons the chance to live out their dreams of representing Texas A&M on the football field. Defeating the doubters is usually how dreams come true.
It all began with the opportunity of a lifetime.