Offensive leader Gallegos accustomed to big stage

In an effort to pump some competitive juice into the A&M-Commerce football team, the Lions needed a proven winner to lead the squad into the 2011 season, and their new quarterback is certainly no stranger to winning.

Redshirt junior Chase "Yogi" Gallegos, a transfer from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, has taken the reigns of the A&M-Commerce offense, and is hoping to guide the Lions to a new level of success this season.

"This team has had a rough time over the past few years," Gallegos said. "I'm part of the family now, and I'm doing everything I can to help us become a better team."

Gallegos, a communications major, grew up in a baseball-loving household, as evident by his nickname "Yogi" after New York Yankee great, Yogi Berra.

"My father loved the Yankees, and we have a big baseball family," Gallegos said. "My older brother's nickname is ‘Pudge', after [former Texas Ranger catcher] Ivan Rodriguez."

Although baseball was the dominant game in the family, Gallegos found his calling in football, and was faced with a tough decision before high school graduation.

"I was expected to be drafted for baseball during my senior year, but I loved football and committed to TCU during my junior year," Gallegos said. "My dad was okay with the decision because he knew how much I loved football. It was a very tough decision."

Another difficult choice came after his first two seasons at TCU, when Gallegos considered transferring to A&M-Commerce.

"I did a lot of praying and had a lot of one-on-one time with God," Gallegos said. "I had loved TCU since I was a kid, but there were some business decisions made, a couple of coordinators fired. But things happen for a reason, and I felt like coming to Commerce was the best decision for me."

Gallegos was on teams at TCU that made trips to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and the Rose Bowl; experiences that Gallegos said are simply amazing.

"It was awesome to be able to be there for that," he said. "Those were some of the best times of my life."

Even though he traded the big city for the country town, Gallegos says the game of football, the reason he transferred, has not changed.

"Obviously, the atmosphere is completely different, but that's not why I'm here," Gallegos said. "I'm here to play football and to help this team win. I wanted to come here and have fun playing football and have a good career."

Gallegos started at quarterback in his first game for the Lions, throwing for 220 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Lions' 15-14 defeat in Upper Iowa on Sept. 3.

"We could give a ton of excuses for why we didn't play well, but the bottom line is we just didn't get it done," Gallegos said. "That's on me as the quarterback of the team. It's my job to lead and we've got to get better. I have to get it going early in the game and get into a rhythm."

Gallegos is already a big fan of Commerce, referring to the town as a friendly place. He spends free time playing golf at Sand Hill Golf & Country Club, as well as hunting and fishing. But with the season in full swing, there's only one thing on his mind

"We are looking for that first win," he said. "What happened last week doesn't matter, but our next game is the start of conference play and we need to win. We're going to turn this thing around. We had a heartbreaker last week, but this team is going to be good and in a hurry."

After a bye week this Saturday, Gallegos and the Lions will take on Midwestern State at noon in the first game of the Lone Star Conference Football Festival at Cowboys Stadium on Sept. 17.