Texas State Bobcats - Community

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Texas State Bobcats Texas State Season Preview FS Epsilon Williams was the third backer in the rotation last year and has plenty of experience from three seasons as a ‘Cat. He’s the best blitzer of the bunch and with his size is a very physical player. Last year he ranked fi fth in total tackles with 36 total stops, including 2.5 tackles for lost yards. He also had an interception broke up two passes during the season. Despite missing three games with a knee injury, Simmons’ play when he was in the lineup propelled him to First-Team All-Southland Conference honors. In eight games, Simmons registered 34 tackles, including 10 for a total of 21 lost yards, intercepted a pass, broke up two more passes and recovered a fumble. Two years ago as a sophomore, he led the team in tackles with 76.5 total stops. Heading into his senior year, his leadership has been very evident. “David has been in a position to infl uence guys on this team for quite awhile,” Eliot said. “He has been able to earn their respect through his playing ability. He realizes now how important it is for him to be a leader and he has accepted that role. Every day I see him improve in that area more and more.” While Castillo is listed as the starter at Sam linebacker and Simmons is listed at Mike linebacker with Brown also listed at mike on the two-deep, all three can play either position. In diff erentiating the two positions which have a lot of similarities, the Sam linebacker is called on to make a majority of the adjustments, checks and calls. The Mike linebacker will draw more isolation blocks from the fullback and has to be a more physical player. The Mike linebacker position also will draw more diffi cult coverages in defending against the pass. Junior Shola Obafemi made major strides during spring camp after moving from safety to the sam linebacker position where he will back up Castillo. As a defensive back last year he was credited with 4.5 tackles, including one for a loss. Behind the fi rst four players on the depth chart, Texas State returns red-shirt freshman Courtney Smith, squadman Jeff Gotte, who is coming off two knee injuries, and Texas Lutheran transfer Cameron Dunk. “The biggest question mark will be our depth,” Eliot said. “We have to determine how players like Shola Obafemi and Courtney Smith are going to play. If they play up to the potential that I think they have, then we will have great depth at the position.” CORNERBACKS In an eff ort to get the fi ve-best defensive backs on the fi eld any given Saturday, the Bob- 8 cats made a signifi cant move in the spring, shifting two-year starter Walter Musgrove from safety to cornerback. In each of his fi rst two seasons at Texas State, Musgrove has ranked second on the team in total tackles. Last year he was in on 49.0 stops – 38 solo hits and 22 assists. He also had two quarterback sacks and intercepted a pair of passes. “We are very fortunate to have some safeties step up,” said cornerbacks coach Jason Washington. “With Walter’s ability to be a physical, it was a natural move. We want to be able to put our fi ve best defensive backs on the fi eld at the same time, and moving Walter to corner will help allow us to do that. “ Despite being a well-conditioned member of the football squad, Washington could easily see how Musgrove struggled early in the move because of the type of shape someone needs to be in to play the position. “Walter never realized how much you run as a corner,” Washington said. “The fi rst couple of practices he was winded because he would go on a fl y route, come back to the line and the next play go on another fl y route. The quarterback may not throw to the receiver he was covering but he had to work his tail off every play.” Washington said the Duncanville native quickly made the transition to the position and continues to strive to prepare for this fall. “I think he’s taken it upon himself to step up and work on his conditioning,” Washington said. “He’s a warrior on the fi eld and does the little things that a lot of the time goes unnoticed.” Also returning on the two-deep at the boundary corner position is senior Edmund Pringle. The junior college transfer saw playing time last year and with his work ethic will see plenty of action as well this season. Derwin Straughter returns at the other corner position after sharing time as a starter last year as a junior. “I am looking for a lot out of Derwin both as a player and a leader for this team,” Washington said. “He doesn’t have great size but he plays big on the fi eld.” Behind Straughter on the two-deep is junior college transfer Jamarqus O’Neal. Last year he was named to the Southwest Junior College All-Conference team after intercepting fi ve passes for Trinity Valley Community College. “We play the cornerback positions by committee. What I mean by that is who ever is playing well at a given time, that’s who we want on the fi eld,” Washington said. “It could change week in and week out.” Washington added he was also impressed
with how the group of position players had become a family. “They do a good job of teaching each other,” he said. “You’ll always do well if you’re technique sound and they do a good job pointing out the little things to one another that can make them all better.” SAFETIES When it comes to the starting secondary, there is plenty of returning experience when you look at the fi rst player on the depth chart at any given defensive back position. But that experience tails off when it comes to the players currently in back up roles. Texas State established some roles during the spring for its younger players but will be looking to add playing experience to each player’s résumé early in the year. “We were able to develop some depth during the spring but the non-conference portion of our season is going to be critical to getting some of our younger guys the game reps they need to become comfortable playing Saturday afternoons and Saturday nights,” Naivar said. Some of the Bobcats’ lack of depth was internal. Former defensive backs Hayden and Obafemi have been moved to defensive end and linebacker, respectively. “We’ve been around these guys for a full year and now know what their capabilities and limitations are,” Naivar said. “We want to put our guys in the best possible situation to be successful.” However, the Bobcats’ expected starting three at the safety positions have extensive experience. Free safety Epsilon Williams is a two-year starter. Melvin Webber makes the move to strong safety after playing primarily at cornerback last year. Gary Shepard started three games at cornerback but will play at the KAT position in Texas State’s defense this fall. From his free safety position, Williams will continue to serve as the quarterback on the defense – making a lot of the coverage calls and adjustments on defense. Last year the Dallas native registered 41 total tackles, broke up four passes and recovered three fumbles. Behind Williams at the position is redshirt freshman Michael Rutledge who has transitioned from running back to the secondary position. Webber made an immediate impact for the Bobcats last season when he moved from cornerback to safety prior to conference play. He anchors the strong safety position and will be backed up by another red-shirt freshman, Jamiell Turner. This season Shepard moves to KAT, a hybrid position between a linebacker and safety. “The KAT back has to be versatile enough to play in the box and be physical, then turnaround and be in coverage the next,” Naivar said. Adding depth to the KAT position is returning letterman Dallas Coleman while former high school quarterback Josh Edmond could also see playing time at one of the safety positions. Texas State also will also have the infl ux of two junior college transfers who will play in the secondary — O’Neal who is listed on the two-deep at cornerback and Ricky McKinley. “Ricky McKinley is a versatile athlete who could play either at cornerback or safety,” Naivar said. “He was a highly recruited running back out of high school and will help us at either of those positions. Jamarqus O’Neal will be an impact player for us and will defi nitely fi ll some needs we have.” SPECIAL TEAMS Texas State returns three kicking game specialists including All-America punter, Cory Elolf. Also back is deep snapper Dominic Giametta as well as Stan Jones, who took over the placing kicking chores during Southland Conference play in 2004. Elolf averaged 41.9 yards per punt last season en route to being named to the American Football Coaches Association All-America team. The senior from Converse also handles the kickoff chores for the Bobcats. For his career Elolf has averaged 42.6 yards per punt. One reason for Elolf’s success has been having the same deep snapper for his previous two seasons. Giametta has been steady handling deep snapping chores both on place kicks and punts. The Brookshire native was also effi cient getting down the fi eld after snaps and had fi ve total stops as part of the Bobcats’ punt coverage team. He also recovered a muff ed punt and returned it for a touchdown during the Bobcats’ win over McNeese State. Jones, a walk-on from Corsicana, took over place kicking responsibilities during Texas State’s game at McNeese State and proceeded to convert a 34-yard fi eld goal in the game. He went on to convert on 13-of-14 point-after tries and would add a 20-yard fi eld goal against Sam Houston State in his only other attempt of the year. 9 P/PK Cory Elolf Texas State Bobcats
Page 1 and 2: Table of Contents 1 Credits 1 2005
Page 3 and 4: the Bobcats. The New Braunfels nati
Page 5 and 6: “You want a guy who is going to s
Page 7: strengths and weaknesses. They have
Page 11 and 12: No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl./Exp. Home
Page 13 and 14: 57 J.D. Machacek OL 6-1 277 Jr./SQ

Texas State Bobcats - Community

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?