Official Blog of Texas State University - San Marcos Department of Athletics.

Countdown to Kickoff 2011

Written by Bill Culhane on 9:35 PM

Countdown to Kickoff 2011

Along with the extensive coverage by the Sports Information and Marketing departments, Brant Freeman and I will be stopping by here, from time to time, to give our observations from Fall Camp 2011...Bobcat style.

A little over one week of Fall practice is in the books as the Bobcats continue to work out in the drought and record-breaking heat. As expected, there has been no drought in terms of competition for positions as the Bobcats prepare for the 2011 season opener at Texas Tech on Saturday, September 3rd. The rising tide lifts all ships and competition during practice elevates the play of everyone. At this point, the depth charts are in pencil so we will hold off on that topic for now.

Very early observations: We talked about it throughout Spring practice. Under Bobcat Head Coach Dennis Franchione and his staff, the practices are uber-organized and repetitions are precious and maximized. Every drill, station, period is “on the hop”. Having gone through Spring Camp, and now that the newcomers have a week under their belts, it is apparent that everyone knows the when, where, and why. Observing practice, I can’t help but think that this approach will help to slow down the game when the Bobcats lace ‘em up in real game situations.

In his big picture review of camp to this point, a focused and energetic Coach Fran said, “The guys who went through Spring practice had good retention and carry over which helps the newcomers learn...” “…the guys are in shape…which means we get more done in practice.”

In talking about the work done during the 8th practice of camp (Friday afternoon), Coach Fran noted, “We are fairly along in situations, today we worked on our 2-minute offense and defense. Most of our installation is in.”

Game program, get your game program! Coach Fran pointed out that there are some new names in the mix for valuable playing time. Specifically regarding the transfers, “I think there is a good number of the new group who will help us this year.” As far as the incoming freshmen, “I think it’s a little early to qualify any freshman on how big of an impact they will make yet…with the freshmen it‘s to survive the test of time, see the reps, and see how they handle things until the first game.”

Bobcat fans know that the Bobcats are returning to the 4-2-5 defense which yielded a lot of success for the Bobcats in years past. Defensive Coordinator Craig Naivar, who was the DC here from ‘04-‘06, returns to Texas State to orchestrate the deceptive, aggressive, attacking flavor of defense.

Senior linebacker Brian Iwuji recently pointed out that, regardless of the defensive formation, the basics for the linebackers remain the same, “It doesn’t really matter to us (linebackers) what style of defense we run, we are excited to do our jobs, be aggressive, and make plays.”

Offensively, like teams across the nation, the Bobcats have arrived at camp with questions to be answered. Two of the concerns centered around the health of sophomore quarterback Tyler Arndt, who reports, “I am at 100% percent”, and who will take over for record setting wide receiver Da’Marcus Griggs. The Bobcat signal-caller said, “It’s hard to replace a guy like Da’Marcus, but we feel like we have a bunch of guys who are working hard and can get the job done.” Both items are great news for ‘Cat fans who like to see pigskins fill the air at Bobcat Stadium.

I spoke with Chris Park, Assistant Athletics Director - Development, and he confirmed that all of the luxury suites will be occupied for 2011 and there are fewer than 75 club-level seats available! As Bobcat fans know by now, the Bobcat Club membership numbers continue to climb to new record setting levels on a daily basis. Join today and become a part of the invaluable team of Bobcat supporters.

Be a part of history. Do you have your 2011 season tickets yet?

If you have any comments or questions, let me know at lightthestar@gmail.com

Eat 'Em Up!

Bill

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Ministers of Defense - All Time SLC Defense

Written by Bill Culhane on 6:27 PM

Ministers of Defense

Late last week, Brant and I released the Bobcat’s all-time All-Southland Conference offensive team. It is now time, as Brant wrote, to “tackle” the defense. More than a coach or two has said, “You can’t lose if they don’t score.” With the way offensive football has evolved over the years, “three yards and a cloud of dust” and shutouts have gone the way of the dinosaur and leather helmets. However, history shows that the Bobcats have enjoyed their most collective success, during the Southland years, when the Bobcat defense has wreaked havoc on the opposing offenses. We all enjoy the points, but great defense has always been a key ingredient in “Light the star on Jackson Hall!”

Comparing players and defenses over the years isn’t exactly an apples-to-apples exercise. Sure, defense is always about assignments, alignments, and tackles. However, from 1994 through the earliest 2000’s, my initial years of following Bobcat football, the Southland was absolutely littered with premier running backs working out of the “I“, variety of two back, and option. Since the turn of the century, similar to football virtually everywhere, the SLC has added an up tempo component with multi-receiver sets, and expanded passing game. Remember 2009 when practically every team in the SLC had an elite passing quarterback? Heck, even Nicholls has scrapped the option-based in favor of the aerial…huh?

Regardless of the Southland team, points, passing yards, pass attempts, and completion % against have markedly climbed compared to ten years ago and prior (go to page 113). As always, coaches are looking for defensive players who can make plays to stifle the current attacks. The guys below would make plays on any day, in any era. Brant and I would stack up this Bobcat all-time All-Southland defense against any old, current, or future offensive system you concoct. As with the offense, here are our Maroon and Gold defenders going back to our entry into the Southland in 1987. Here, our friends in all things Bobcat, are your guardians of the Bobcat turf…

Note: Honoree (years lettered)

DEFENSIVE LINE

Travis Upshaw (’02 – ’05)
Clint Bendele (’96 – ’99)
Fred Evans (’04 – ’05)
Clenton Ballard (’98 – ’01)

Brant: Can’t go wrong with the two DT’s from ’05 can you? Fred and Travis were literally two big reasons why opponents averaged 3.3 yards a rush that season and just 122 yards/game (the TXST offense ran for an average 233 yards/game that year). “Double Nickels” was to the defense what Barrick was to the offense that season. Ballard is the only one of these players to be named as an All-American more than one season, and Bendele’s sack numbers are impressive. By the way, some great nicknames among this group…

Bill: Yes, clever monikers, but serious d-linemen. These hard hitters piled up the hardware. Now a Minnesota Viking, “Big Fred” was twice selected First Team All SLC and Defensive Player of the Year for the ‘Cats. He was the SLC Newcomer of the Year in 2004, SLC‘s Defensive Player of the Year in 2005, and named to three All American teams in 2005. “Biscuit”, aka Clenton Ballard, was a two-time First Team All SLC pick in '00 and '01, Bendele in ‘99, and Upshaw (page 131) in ‘05. Good luck running between the tackles on these guys and you may consider moving the pocket around for your QB.

LINEBACKERS

Greg Pitts (‘99-’02)
Glen Mangold (‘86-’89)
Brad Fulks (’85-’88)
Honorable Mention: Jeremy Castillo (’03-’06), David Simmons ('03-’05), Chad Coleman ('89-’90)

Bill: Greg, simply made plays all over the field. Pitts was 1st Team All SLC in 2001, our all time leading tackler at 447, our two-time Defensive Player of the Year and is an obvious choice. A guy whose career includes 50 career QB hurries, 44 tackles for loss, and 18 sacks is playing defense for me. Speaking of tackles, Fulks, 1st Team in 1987, is right behind Greg in career tackles and has two of the top four single season tackle marks ever. Mangold, short for “Swiss Army Knife“, was a three-time 2nd Team All SLC pick at three different positions. You add Castillo and Simmons, a combined three 1st Team nods, and I’m thinking of a 3-4 defense package or two.

Brant: Remember what I said about the offense and that I was disappointed I didn’t see Claude Mathis play? Ditto for Pitts (page 16) who as you highlighted put up some gaudy numbers. A case can be made he’s the best defensive player ever to play at SWT/TXST (more on that in a moment). While neither of them played on a team that finished with a winning record, Mangold and Fulks sure gave Bobcat fans a reason to watch in the infant Southland years (late 80s). Not a bad 1-2 punch at linebacker rivaled only by Castillo and Simmons who were teammates from ’03 – ’05.

CORNERBACKS

Walter Musgrove ('03-’06)
AJ Johnson (’85-’88)
Honorable Mention: Darrick Vaughn (page 142) ('96-’99)

Brant: Walter is one of my favorite players ever to play at Texas State. Great interview, hard worker, tremendous leader…just an infectious guy to be around. He certainly set the bar high for the position and I didn’t hesitate to put him up on this list. AJ is another player from those late ‘80s teams who could shutdown opposing WRs. Did you know that in the 1st three SLC years, the Bobcat defense posted two shutouts (just five since then) and held opponents to 14 points or less seven times?

Bill: For Walter, now an attorney/agent, I’ll let SLC voters, his coaches, and his teammates provide the testimony. Honored twice as 1st Team All SLC, in '05 and '06, and the ‘06 JC Kellam Award and Jim Wacker “Unbelievable” Award. He cracked the opposition and the books, witness four SLC All-Academic selections and the SLC’s Football Student Athlete of the Year in ‘06. I rest my case, your Honor. AJ is a great choice for the other side. He was a 2nd team All SLC DB in ‘87, but HM in ‘88. Why just HM? Well, he was busy earning 2nd team All SLC honors at wide receiver that season. He was also a top shelf kick returner…did he ever leave the field?!

SAFETIES

CJ Carroll ('97-’00)
Cliffton Black ('95-’99)
Honorable Mention: Epsilon Williams ('03-’06)

Brant: Remember the blurb on Pitts about the case can be made that he’s the best defensive player ever for the Bobcats? Meet CJ Carroll who played with Pitts for two seasons (’99 & ’00). Bill will get you all of the numbers and accolades on CJ, but I can tell you that he was the best defensive player on the 2000 team that went 7-4 holding opponents to 13 points or less four times including a shutout of Nicholls in the Southland opener. Looking at CJ, you probably wouldn’t think he’d be the force that he was, but his name is one you continue to hear when talking about best Bobcat players ever. So CJ, Pitts and Cliffton Black all played together? How many career tackles did they have combined Bill, 6,792?

Bill: Nobody has discovered the number to represent the tackles and plays those guys made. Usually, you hope walk-ons can contribute at some point. By the time he was done, CJ was pound for pound the best defensive football player in SLC history (insert serious face emoticon here). He ran under, over, and around opponents for 32 career sacks, most ever by a Bobcat. CJ was 1st Team All SLC in '99 and '00 and the no-brainer choice for Southland Player of the Year in 2000. Throw in 73 unassisted tackles in 2000, (foreshadowing), tied with Cliff Black for most in a season by a Bobcat. Speaking of Cliff, and homage to earlier nicknames, Cliff was “Tylenol“, due to the headaches he delivered. A second team All League pick in 1999, with him prowling in the secondary, the Bobcats had the Southland's best pass defense in '99. He was named Defensive Player of the Year for a very good Bobcat “D” in 1999.

KICKER

Andrew Ireland ('06-’08)
Honorable Mention: Ray Whitehead ('91-’94)

Bill: Once Ireland won the kicking job in ‘06, it was his for the duration. As 10-11 in 2006, 10-15 in 2007, and 14-17 in 2008 will attest to, the equation was simple: Ireland on + kickoff team get ready = put three on the board. He owns a school record-tying 52 yarder against Southeastern Louisiana. I recall fondly his 28 yard game winning FG at Northwestern State in ’07, with one tick left on the clock, that put a fork in the Demons. Ray Whitehead wasn’t short of ice water in his veins. His 36 FGs are the most in a Bobcat career. Against third-ranked Northern Iowa in ‘94, he kicked a game winning 48-yard field goal in the closing seconds at Bobcat Stadium. That was my first blessed taste of “unbelllievaaable”!

Brant: Automatic Andrew. His numbers are so darn close to Whitehead’s (Ireland: 34-43 on FGs, 117-119 XPs…Whitehead 36-45 FGs, 70-72 XPs), but like you, I cannot forget the Montana game. A Texas native (Cedar Hill HS) who started his career at Baylor, one would think the coldest conditions he played in was late November in Texas (in what, 65 degree temperatures?). The box score states the game day temp was 41 degrees that day, but it was wet and felt like 21 degrees on the field. He calmly nailed both FG attempts (47 & 25 yards) (:39 and 7:15 in).

KICK RETURNER

Karrington Bush ('07-’10)
Honorable Mention: Claude Mathis ('94-’97)

Brant: Ahhh the Ninja. Owner of two of the biggest plays of the year in the ’08 SLC Championship season, both in the same game. But without the first the second doesn’t happen (his 79-yard KO return for a TD when the ‘Cats were down 28-13 in the 3rd quarter in the final game of the season @ Sam Houston State, then scored on the option play on 3rd & Goal to win the game in OT). Every time the ball was kicked to him, you held your breath. Especially if you were the kicking team.

Bill: He did a lot as a rookie, but like Claude in 1994, Karrington locked up the 2007 SLC Freshman of the Year award through his ahhh-inspiring talent in the kick game. It isn’t common that a guy can rush and return for 1,000 yards. In 2008, “KB” returned an all-time SLC season high 42 kickoffs for a single season best 1,055 yards. My humble opinion, that kickoff return to paydirt at Sam is arguably one of the Top 5 biggest plays in Bobcat SLC history. Claude Mathis (page 127) in the Bobcat record books is like sand on the South Padre beach…it’s everywhere. This includes kick returns.

Alright Maroon and Gold faithful, let us have it. Did we get it right, almost nailed it, or did we miss by an Elolf punt? Email us at lightthestar@gmail.com with your selections and/or opinions.

Special thanks: John McElfresh, our esteemed and very talented Athletic Video Production expert, for his assistance. Of course, we also take our hats off and thank each and every Bobcat who has ever put on the pads and taken the field for our great university.

Reminder: Get your season tickets for your Bobcats and we will see you on Gameday!

Eat ‘Em Up!

Bill and Brant

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Blogging Maroon & Gold (July 21st, 2011)

Written by Brant Freeman on 3:45 PM

Bobcat Fans and followers! Let the countdown to the 2011 Texas State Football season begin! Kick-off from Lubbock is just a little more than six weeks away, and I know many of you can’t wait. It’s worth noting that the Bobcats, while playing predominantly a Southland Conference heavy schedule, are NOT an official member of the SLC this coming season (football only). The reason being is scholarships, Texas State received 11 more than the limit for FCS schools (therefore gaining an “unfair” advantage) and will receive 11 more again for the next recruiting class bringing the total amount of scholarships to the FBS number of 85. As a result, the Bobcats will not be eligible for the SLC Championship, any SLC awards nor the FCS post-season.

This got myself and my broadcast partner Bill Culhane thinking back to Texas State’s time spent as a member of the Southland Conference and all of the great players to wear the maroon & gold uniform during those 23 years from 1987-2010. So we thought: “Hey, wouldn’t it be fun to come up with an All-Southland Conference Texas State team?” And while yes, it was fun to come up with this list it wasn’t easy. There have been a lot of great players to play for the Bobcats during that time so some didn’t make the cut but Bill and I feel like we put together a pretty strong list and if you were to put this team on the field it would win a lot of football games.

This will be a two part blog and we’ll start by giving you our All-Southland Texas State Offense, next we’ll “tackle” the defense. Without further ado, here we go…

WIDE RECEIVERS (years listed are years player lettered)

Cameron Luke (’06 – ’08)

Da’Marcus Griggs (’08-’10)

Honorable Mention: Markee White, Eric Tennessee

Bill: Cam had arguably the single best season ever for a Bobcat wideout. He received 1st team All-SLC honors in ’07 & ’08 with numerous All-American recognitions. His stats alone make him a no-brainer. There have only been two 1,000 receiving seasons ever by a Bobcat…both by Mr. Luke in ’07 & ’08. His 32 career touchdown catches are the most in a career in Southland history, and 13 more than the next closest Bobcat (Johnny Parker had 19 from ‘69-’71).

Brant: Yeah, and 17 of those scores came in that unreal ’08 season from Cam. Remember how we thought no one will top him? Da’Marcus came close the following season with a single season school record 80 catches in ’09. Griggs was 2nd team All-SLC that year and followed it up with 65 grabs in 2010 and 1st team All-SLC honors. 154 catches is 2nd most in school history behind Parker and fell just 10 yards short of 2,000 career receiving yards.

Bill: That was the one thing that separated those two from Markee, Cam and Da’Marcus had two great seasons. Markee, who was instrumental in the ’05 run, had that one stellar season during the national semi-final season.

TIGHT END

Brian Forshee (’00 – ‘02)

Brant: This was a tough position to name a player for, simply because Texas State didn’t have many great pass-catching tight ends during the Southland years.

Bill: You may have thought differently had Forshee been able to play more. Despite an injury at Missouri early in the 2001 season, and a career cut short due to a coaching/offense philosophy change in 2003, Forshee was a legitimate downfield pass catching threat from the tight end position. Due to his blocking skills, was also an asset in the run game.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Ervin Thomas (’88 – ’91)

Jeff Novak (’87 – ’89)

DJ Hall (’08 – present)

Adam Means (’94 – ’97)

Spicer Sigman (’90 – ’93)

Honorable Mention: Thomas Keresztury, Luke Horder, Ken McKoy

Brant: In this group, there are a total of 10 1st or 2nd team All-SLC selections, four All-American nods, one team Offensive Player of the Year honor (Novak ’89) and five Texas State top offensive lineman awards (Sigman was the recipient of the first two John O’Hara Memorial Offensive Lineman of the Year awards in ’92 & ’93, Means got the award in ’96 & ’97, Hall in 2010).

Bill: And we’ll get to running backs in a moment, but some of the great ones in Texas State Southland history have these guys to thank in part. Without Sigman, Means and Hall, perhaps Donald Wilkerson, Claude Mathis and Karrington Bush don’t put up the numbers they did. Oh, and Novak went on to represent the ‘Cats in the NFL for 8 years with the Giants, Dolphins and Jaguars.

QUARTERBACK

Barrick Nealy (’03 – ’05)

Honorable Mention: Bradley George, Spergon Wynn, David Williams, Gilbert Price

Brant: Most people would say this is a no-brainer and that Barrick is the best player the Bobcats had during the Southland era. One would have a hard-time arguing against that since Barrick was: so fun to watch (fast forward to the 2:21 mark), electric, a tremendous leader, likeable on/and off the field, and pretty much was the driving force behind the 2005 run. Here’s Barrick’s ’05 checklist: Finished 5th in Walter Payton FCS Player of the Year award, 1st team SLC and SLC Player of the Year…2nd team All-American and Hula Bowl invitee…Threw for 400 yards and ran for 126 in 1st Round Playoff win over Georgia Southern…School record 3,932 total yards…1,057 rushing yards in ’05 is most by any QB in a single season in Bobcat history (as well as his 13 rushing TDs). What…a…season.

Bill: Barrick’s ’05 was a season for the ages, but let’s not forget how Bradley George made this a tougher decision than we initially thought. Look up the numbers and you’ll see that Bradley’s passing numbers were better than Barrick’s, and he too led the Bobcats to the FCS playoffs, almost twice. Spergon Wynn was the Southland Newcomer of the Year in 1998 and, despite just two seasons in maroon and gold, his 3497 passing yards and 24 TD throws are each the sixth most in a Bobcat career. There’s a reason he got drafted by the Browns in the 6th round of the 2000 NFL Draft.

RUNNING BACK

Claude Mathis (’94 – ’97)

Donald Wilkerson (’93 –’94)

Honorable Mention: Karrington Bush, Reggie Rivers, Lee Davis

Bill: Where to start when talking about Claude? If you let me, I could spend the next 1,000 words on the guy. Four-time All SLC selection - one of just five ever to be so honored in SLC history. Southland's Player of the Year in '96 and '97 - the only SLC player in history to be honored twice. Ended his career with the SLC's top two single game rushing records, top two single season rushing records, and the league's career rushing record with 4,691 yards. He reached the endzone 49 times, 17 of them in 1996!

Brant: The only thing I’m disappointed in when it comes to Claude is I personally didn’t get to see him play. The gap between him and 2nd place in the rushing record books at Texas State is insane. And those two single game rushing records you speak of? In the history of Bobcat football, there have only been two 300 yard rushing games, both belonging to Mathis (310 vs. SFA in ’96, 308 vs. Jacksonville State in ’97). Barrick may have had the best single season ever but Claude’s career is probably the best of any Bobcat in the Southland years and probably ever.

Bill: Speaking of single seasons, Donald Wilkerson’s ‘94: Named to three All American teams by rushing for an, at the time, SLC single season record 1,569 yards. Was First Team All SLC and Offensive Player of the Year in ’94. His 107.1 rushing yards per game in his career are the most ever by a Bobcat.

FULLBACK

Blake Burton (‘05-‘08)

Bill: Two time All-SLC pick was a freight train as a lead blocker and could also catch the ball out of the backfield (30 career receptions). Remember his TD grab and run at A&M in 2005? (1:04 into the clip)

Brant: Another position that hasn’t had a lot of “greats” outside of Burton who was one of the few players to be on both of Texas State’s SLC title teams. He was no doubt the best fullback for the Bobcats I’ve ever seen.

PUNTER

Cory Elolf (’03 – ’05)

Honorable Mention: Chris MacDonald, Paul Alsbury

Brant: The ‘Cats have had some pretty good punters during the SLC years, but the curly haired kid from Judson was the best. 1st team All-SLC in 2003, 2004 and 2005 earning 1st team FCS All-American honors in ’04 and is 2nd in school history in average yards per punt (41.9).

Bill: Don’t forget, only one other Bobcat player had been named 1st team All-SLC three years in a row other than Elolf (Claude got the honor four times). Who could forget Elolf’s school record 86-yard punt vs. McNeese in ’03? Alsbury went onto the NFL and MacDonald was REALLY good in another tough call.

Brant: No doubt, and there will be more tough decisions to be made for the All-Southland Bobcat Defense coming up in the next blog a few days from now so let the debate continue! By the way, would this offense even need a punter?

Eat ‘Em Up!

- Brant & Bill (Questions or comments? Shoot us an e-mail at txstradio@gmail.com)

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Blogging Maroon & Gold (June 16th, 2011)

Written by Brant Freeman on 1:42 PM

Bobcat fans and followers,

The 2010-2011 chapter of Bobcat Athletics officially closed, but the start of the 2011-2012 chapter is right around the corner, and will be the final year that Texas State will be in the Southland Conference. Let the countdown to the WAC begin! Recently, WAC Commissioner Karl Benson announced that Seattle will join the conference effective July 1st, 2012, which brings membership to nine schools: Texas State, UTSA, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, San Jose State, Utah State, New Mexico State, and two non-football schools in Seattle and Denver.

Did you know that Seattle plays basketball at the KeyArena? An NBA arena that the Seattle Supersonics used to call home, and with the Sonics (ahem) no longer occupying the building, the fans in Seattle are basketball hungry and show a lot of support for the Redhawk program: their men’s team averaged over 4,600 fans a game this past season. Pretty cool to think that the Bobcats and Redhawks will play in the same arena that hosted Games 3, 4, and 5 of the 1996 NBA Finals which featured the 72-10 Chicago Bulls.

So once Seattle accepted its invitation into the WAC, it got me thinking of how Texas State stacks up against the competition…

- Football: None of the returning teams had a winning record this past season (juggernauts Nevada, Fresno State, Hawaii and Boise State had a lot to say about that), San Jose State had 1 win (Southern Utah), New Mexico State had just two. UTSA hasn’t played a down yet, so one would like to think that this conference could very well be up for grabs and could see Texas State competing for the WAC title under Coach Franchione soon.

- Men’s Basketball: Tough conference. Utah State is the bully of the WAC with back-to-back-to-back-to-back regular season titles and three WAC tournament titles the last six years. New Mexico State has been to the NCAA Tournament twice the last five years, with 7 seasons of 20 or more wins since 1998. Both Idaho and San Jose State had winning records this past season. The bar has been raised significantly in this sport.

- Baseball: Returning WAC members La Tech, San Jose St and New Mexico St won 34, 35, and 34 games respectively this past season. Sacramento State, which plays in the WAC in baseball only, finished 20 games below .500. Utah State, Denver and Idaho don’t have baseball. I think the Bobcats can compete right away in this conference who’s RPI was below that of the Southland’s this past season.

- Women’s Sports: La Tech’s women’s hoops program is historically good …Denver’s women’s team made the WNIT this season…the best volleyball team in the conference (and one of the best programs in the country) is leaving (Hawaii), Utah State won 24 matches this season, New Mexico State and Seattle each won 18…La Tech (15 wins), Idaho (14 wins) and San Jose State (12 wins) are all coming off pretty good seasons in women’s soccer…BYU will be a WAC member in Softball and won 40 games this season, New Mexico State won 44.

That’s a look at the competition the WAC has to offer at least for now…By the way, I’ve been a father for over a month now, and for those who are wondering, Zoey’s doing great! Being a parent changes a lot, and you turn into the kind of person you never thought you would. I am a dog person however, and that won’t change. Zoey can’t have cats. Why have cats when you can have this, this and this (pics of our dogs…more shameless photos, I know). Bobcats however, are perfectly fine.

Eat ‘Em Up!

- Brant (e-mail me at txstradio@gmail.com)

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The Road to Omaha Begins...

Written by Bill Culhane on 12:16 PM

SLiCed and diced! Just one way to describe what our Bobcat baseball team did to the opposition in Southland Conference play this season. Fresh off an exhilarating five game run in the SLC tournament, in which the Bobcats had to win twice on back to back days, the Bobcats are again headed to the NCAAs.

Congratulations to Coach Harrington, his staff, the student-athletes, and everyone who contributed to what has been earned so far. The kudos most certainly extend to the fans who supported the 'Cats all season long and helped make the SLC tournament extra memorable for all involved. You could light up Paris (Paris, France, not Paris, Texas), for a week with the electricity in Bobcat BallPark on Saturday night during the championship game.

As all of Bobcat Nation knows by now, our Bobcat baseball team pulled off the trifecta by again winning the Southland Conference regular season championship (three in a row), won the SLC tournament title, and are travelling north to Austin for the NCAA regionals. While it is one thing to be picked to and/or believe you can do something, it's a different mountain to climb to actually go out and reach your goals.

At the Bobcat Baseball Leadoff Banquet back in early February, I asked Bobcat Senior Bret Atwood, aka Superman, to review the 2011 team's goals for the audience. Saturday night Bret touched on the subject again, "We had four goals...leave no doubt in getting in the regional. Our fourth goal is getting to Omaha. We're growing as a team, this week brought us all together, I think right now we have a lot of momentum going into next week."

I also visited with a happy, proud and blissfully tired Coach Harrington after the champsionship game. While ecstatic about the performance of the entire team, Ty mentioned the contributions of the 2011 seniors, "...great leadership and determination by our seniors."

Good things do indeed come in threes. The Bobcats won the SLC in 2009 with a 24-7 record, went 23-10 in 2010, and raced away with the league title at 24-9 this season. I got out the calculator and that translates to a 71-26 combined record in the past three seasons. That there is a lot of W's.

That is so offensive. Go to the baseball stats page and look at the Bobcat offensive numbers. The one and only significant stat that opponents bested the Bobcats in was triples. On that note...

New bats, shmoo bats. The new bats mandated by the NCAA were supposed to remove the power, "gorilla ball", from college baseball. Obviously, the Bobcats didn't get the memo. In 2010, with the "old" bats, the Bobcats launched 47 homers. This season, the Bobcats led the Southland and have hit 58 bombs so far. UTSA and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi tied for second in the league with 44.

Toeing the rubber. Bobcat Junior RHP, Carson Smith, was deservedly named the Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year for the second year in a row. However, all would agree that it was the pitching staff that helped lead to the 2011 success. For example, did anyone check out J-Vo, Jospeh Dvorsky, on Saturday night vs SFA? Pitching coach Derek Matlock did an outstanding job in piecing together the group...and they delivered. Get it?..delivered. Sorry.

A little historical perspective. The SLC began sponsoring baseball in 1964. In 2011, the Bobcats became the fourth team in SLC history to win three regular season crowns in a row. Trinity won from 1964-1966 (in those years "conference competition" was only a tournament). Lamar earned the titles from 1975-1977, shared 1977 with La Tech, and the league consisted of six teams and a 15 game SLC schedule. Northwestern State won 1993-1995, 9 team league, 24 game schedule. The Demons didn't win the tournament in any of those three seasons. Note: A team has never won the title four years in a row. Hhmm. We are not just watching Bobcat baseball. We are witnessing history!

Been there, done that. The Bobcats have tasted success before in NCAA regionals. In the 1997 Lubbock regional, the Bobcats knocked off Texas Tech and Clemson. In the 2000 Waco regional, the Bobcats beat Baylor. I am fully prepared and willing to add to this paragraph. Now for the strange connections: I have worked at Clemson and Baylor and got my start in broadcasting from a guy from Texas Tech. 2011 regional foes: I have done work on the UT campus, grew up on Kent Island (Maryland), and went to Princeton. Well, actually drove by the campus. Just sayin...

Did you know? Former Bobcat great and current assistant coach Jeremy Fikac helped lead the 1997 team. Former Bobcat football and baseball great, and current assistant Football coach, Jason Washington was an important member of the 2000 team.

I asked Coach Fikac about playing on Bobcat championship teams and now helping coach the Bobcats to trophies. "We have talked about this from day one. The hardwork that they put in has paid off...it's a total team effort..."

Coach Fikac on the support of Bobcat Nation, "...they were vocal, they were loud, they understood what Joseph Dvorsky was doing out there and you could see them appreciating his efforts. They were great...a huge part of what went on here this weekend."

Following the 'Cats. The Bobcat NCAA games will be broadcasted on 89.9 by Mason and Weston from KTSW. Brant Freeman and I will be on hand to put together BobCasts (podcasts) postgame and other coverage. You will be able to find the podcasts here: BobCasts. Steve Applehans, our incomparable SID for baseball, will also be providing stem-to-stern coverage on our Bobcats in Austin.

Fellow member of Bobcat Nation - we will see and hear you in Austin!

Any questions or comments, feel free to send an email to me at lightthestar@gmail.com

Light the Star on Jackson Hall,

Bill

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Blogging Maroon & Gold (May 6th, 2011)

Written by Brant Freeman on 6:07 PM

Bobcat fans and followers,

It’s good to be blogging again, a lot has happened since my last entry roughly about a month ago. The Maroon/Gold Spring Football Game came and went, Texas State hired its new Women’s Basketball Head Coach, the men’s and women’s golf seasons came to a close as did the Texas State tennis season. I also became a first time father to Zoey Lorraine Freeman on April 28th! My daughter is a beautiful blessing who’s also very…loud (no, that’s not Zoey). A week into parenting and now I know what everyone was talking about when it came to losing sleep. But I feel rested and energized enough to share some thoughts about all things Texas State, so let’s get to blogging…

I’ll start with the Spring Football game, won by the Gold Team 16-9 over Maroon. What a neat experience it was to broadcast the game with Head Coach Dennis Franchione. Bill Culhane and I couldn’t thank him enough for making himself available for the broadcast, although I don’t think we’ll be getting to do that again in the 2011 season. I guess we’ll just have to wait until next spring. As for the game itself, the defense stole the show for both teams. LB Joplo Bartu (7 tackles, 3 TFL and a sack) and CB Darryl Morris were particularly impressive, as was Jason MacLean, who played solid at safety. Remember, Texas State is replacing two starters at safety from this past season (TP Miller, Kenneth Hampton), so it’s good to see someone stepping in early to fill the void at that position. The pressure up front and the blitzing was extremely effective for both teams, so hopefully this is sign of things to come once September rolls around.

That’s the glass half full look at the game.

The offense on the other hand…let’s just say struggled in the Spring Game. The case can be made that the defense had a lot to do with that, and there’s certainly some truth to that. Coaches will also tell you that the defense always comes along faster than the offense, especially when it comes to adjusting to a new scheme. That being said, 14-of-38 passing just won’t cut it, and neither will 6-of-22 on third downs. There were overthrown/underthrown passes, dropped passes, breakdowns in protection, you name it. The running game had a tough time as well, as the two teams ran the ball 57 times for 170 yards (24 of those yards coming on the fake punt by Tight End David Lewis). But keep in mind, WR Darius Bolden didn’t play in the game due to a broken foot, OL Jason Hannan missed the game with a concussion and QB Tyler Ardnt (0-3 passing) played sparingly as he’s coming back from the ACL injury he suffered in October of this past season. One also couldn’t help but be impressed by some of the plays made outside of the pocket by transfer QB Shaun Rutherford (9-yard TD run on a 4th and goal play) and the playmaking ability of QB Tim Hawkins who rushed for a game high 65 yards and made a good throw to an open Cedric Alexander late in the 1st half for 59 yards setting up a field goal. Other offensive superlatives included a 7-catch, 56-yard day for WR Ed Amerson and RB Marcus Curry who ran for 26 yards and a score.

All-in-all, there was some good and bad from the game, which is to be expected in the spring. Just has me, and I’m sure most of you, all that more excited about the upcoming season!

By the way, Coach Franchione is no longer the newest coach on campus. Enter Zenerae Antoine as the new head coach of the Women’s Basketball program at Texas State. Great hire by the athletic department. While this is Coach Antoine’s first go-around as a head coach, she has an impressive background and is genuinely excited to be a Bobcat. She’s also a former D-I player, which can make it easier to relate to the players. Bill and I actually had the chance to visit with Coach Antoine in our latest podcast.

I’ll wrap things up by reminding you the chapter of the 2010-2011 athletic season isn’t quite over yet at Texas State. The Bobcat Track & Field team is headed to the SLC Championships, and as of this writing the Texas State softball team still has a shot at its 4th consecutive Southland Regular Season title and is headed to the SLC tournament…again (13 straight years). Bobcat Baseball, looking for a third straight SLC regular season title of its own, is tied with SFA for 1st in the Southland with just nine conference games left to go. How do a few more titles and NCAA appearances sound before say goodbye to this season?

For me, as good as sleep…

Eat ‘Em Up!

- Brant (reach me at: txstradio@gmail.com)

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Volleyball Coach Sean Huiet - April 21, 2011

Written by John on 10:09 AM

Hey Bobcat fans… What’s going on? It’s April 21st and the Volleyball Bobcats have officially ended their spring playing schedule. We had four play dates, and even with limited numbers we saw some really good things. We were very competitive with Texas, beat SLC opponent Sam Houston and then we had some fun matches against UTSA, St. Ed’s and Blinn just to name a few. Some young players got to play a lot and get the experience they will need for this fall. Some of our recovering from injury players actually got to be on the court and compete.

Compete was the word of the spring. We really wanted to work our mental side of the game and make sure every time we stepped on the floor we were competing with Bobcat desire. It didn’t matter who was across the net from us, we were always going to be the same team. It was definitely a learning experience for us all and I think it has prepared us for this coming fall- and our quest for the last SLC championship!!

We are two weeks away from the semester coming to a close and sending the team home for Summer! Actually most of the Bobcats are sticking around town to work out together and keep preparing for the fall, which is always exciting for a coach to hear. Keep the team in your thoughts and prayers as they prepare for finals, they are making a strong push to keep those grades up to Texas State standards.

On a personal note- boot camp started and I’m in pain just writing this. I know this is going to benefit me and make for a healthy lifestyle… blah blah blah, I’m SORE!!!! No really it has been a great experience and baseball coach Ty Harrington’s lovely wife Leila is joining me on Monday and Wednesday’s which is making it a lot of fun. We are pushing each other and more importantly laughing at each other as we go.

Well, I am off to Baltimore for the weekend with my club volleyball team. I’m excited for the Inner Harbor which has some great restaurants and entertainment, namely Cheesecake Factory. The diet will be off for a slice of cheesecake, no doubt!!! Sunday is Easter and I hope you all enjoy a blessed day with your family and friends. As always, remember to keep supporting your Bobcats on and off the court, we love all the support.

Eat ‘em Up!

Coach Sean

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The Drive is more than new buildings and championships. It's an increased sense of pride. The essence of Texas State makes this school one of the best universities in the country. Get Loud, Be Proud! It's A Great Day to be a Bobcat!

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