NEW ORLEANS -- He came out of high school carrying a load of labels and expectations. They said Branndon Stewart's were instincts impeccable, his leadership abilities laudable, his future secure. They were right.

	Texas A&M quarterback Branndon Stewart led the Aggies to a Big 12 championship a year ago.

And he's turned out to be a pretty fair quarterback for No. 8 Texas A&M as well.

Once touted as an up-and-coming star, Stewart was beaten out at Tennessee by Peyton Manning and then at A&M by Randy McCown.

But if you think he's dissatisfied at the way things turned out, think again.

"Number one, I have enjoyed my career at Texas A&M," Stewart said. "I don't have any regrets. I've enjoyed every minute of it. Sure, there have been some ups and downs, but overall, I've had a good time, played in some big games, won a lot of big games. I really couldn't ask for anything more."

Well, one thing more. Stewart will start for the Aggies Friday night in the Sugar Bowl and he would very much like to contribute to an upset of No. 3 Ohio State.

Add that to the comeback victory he led in the upset of then No. 1 Kansas State to earn a trip to the Sugar Bowl, and you'd really have a storybook ending to a career that only those who don't know Stewart call disappointing.

"Branndon Stewart is a great story, a misunderstood story," coach R.C. Slocum said. "Branndon has been a very solid member of our team. A year ago, we won the Big 12 South championship with him at quarterback."

Stewart came out of high school touted as one of the guys to watch in college. He was a high school All American coming out of Stephenville, Texas and hit Tennessee expected to beat Peyton Manning out for the starting spot.

"Peyton was a lot more into football than I was," Stewart said. "He grew up with the game. I grew up in a family that never even watched football."

It wasn't so much losing the starting spot to Manning, who Stewart said was a friend and a player he admired, as just feeling lost in the big-school atmosphere of Tennessee that cause him to transfer back to his home state.

Stewart said it was his senior year before he realized he could get a scholarship to a division I-A school.

"My mom kept telling me not to get my hopes up, that scholarships were hard to get," he said.

Stewart became an on-again, off-again starter at A&M until finally this season Slocum decided to go with McCown.

"Our offense was not going well, but it was not all Branndon's fault and I told him that," Slocum said. "When I told him that Randy was going to start, he said, `O.K., Coach.' There was never any bitterness, any sulking, any display of negative attitude."

And when Stewart did get into the game, he made the most of it. After McCown went down with a fractured collar bone against Texas, Steward stepped in and led the Aggies to the Big 12 title against Kansas State.

With the Aggies down 27-12 in the fourth quarter of the Dec. 5 matchup, Stewart led them to a 36-33 double overtime victory and spoiled the Wildcats' chances to play for a national championship.

"I couldn't have been more happy at the end of the Kansas State game than I was for him," Slocum said. "He's a wonderful guy."

And Stewart has also made the most of his off-field opportunities, turning his scholarship into a degree in business management.

Now, Stewart has one more chance to be the hero when he leads the Aggies on New Year's Day against Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.

"I really didn't expect to get another chance and I did in the Kansas State game," Stewart said. "But I did, and now I have one more. It would be wonderful to end it all with a win, but any way it goes, I had a wonderful time in college."