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Texas State Season Preview
SS GARY SHEPARD
10
2006 Texas State Football Media Guide
to watch him grow from the season opener
against Delta State to the Sam Houston State
game.”
Ultimately, it was the shoulder injury in
the Sam Houston State game which will end
up being a moment in Musgrove’s career
that will be a life saver. A follow-up X-Ray
following the injury led to the discovery of
a mass in Musgrove’s upper chest. Testing
proved the mass to be Hodgkin’s disease.
Musgrove’s strong faith quickly led him
to an understanding that his injury the night
the Bobcats won a Southland Conference
title was a blessing.
“We may have never known about the
cancer,” Washington said.
There were no indicators of the cancer
growing in Musgrove’s body and earlier this
year he began chemo treatments which
have set the senior on a course toward a full
recovery.
Despite the bi-weekly chemo treatments,
Musgrove continues to be a fi xture with the
program as he readies for his senior season.
He was held out of contact drills in the spring
but was on the practice fi eld all he could. He
has been in the weight room with his teammates
and on the playing fi eld of Bobcat Stadium
going head-to-head with Texas State’s
receivers.
“Walter is the type of guy you have to stay
on his tail and not allow him to do more than
he should,” Washington said, looking back
on spring drills. “He has that self-drive about
himself that he is going to get himself prepared
and ready to go. He’s self-motivated.
He motivates me and is an inspiration.”
Look for both Musgrove and O’Neal to be
the motivators for a new crop of corners joining
the Texas State squad this season.
Reedley College transfer Jervoress Crenshaw
and Cisco Junior College transfer Morgan
Taylor could both come in and be backups
at the cornerback positions.
“Jervoress is a cover corner who will
come up and stick you if he has the opportunity,”
Washington said. “His playing time is
going to depend on how he picks up our system.
Having been a wide receiver out of high
school, he brings an inside knowledge of
wide receivers to the cornerback position.”
Washington summed up Taylor as “having
a lot of raw ability.”
“You can tell Morgan has a lot of athletic
ability which he has not utilized to the fullest,”
he said. “He is a student of the game just
like Walter and Jamarqus and could also be a
special player.”
SAFETIES
It is a toss up when it comes down to one
word to describe Texas State’s safeties. Take
your pick – experienced or versatile.
The Bobcats’ projected starter at weak,
strong and free safety all have previous experience
in a fi rst-team role. And with the
group of players Texas State has currently
in the system, the Bobcat coaching staff will
be able to make adjustments in personnel to
always guarantee the best fi ve players are in
the secondary.
Take three-year starter Epsilon Williams,
for instance. Last year he started nine games
at free safety for the Bobcats. When cornerback
Walter Musgrove suff ered a shoulder
injury in the Bobcats’ fi nal regular-season
game against Sam Houston State, Williams
moved into a starting role at the right corner
position.
“We always want to put our best fi ve
guys on the fi eld,” said Naivar, who coaches
the Bobcats’ safeties in addition to serving as
defensive coordinator. “Epsilon made some
key plays against Georgia Southern and had
a big game against Cal Poly.”
Williams registered 25 of his 59 tackles
during the season in the Bobcats’ three playoff
games. In transitioning to the cornerback
position, he had nine tackles in the Bobcats’
win over Georgia Southern. A week later he
had six tackles and broke up a pair of passes
in Texas State’s quarterfi nal game against
Cal Poly. He also registered a double-fi gure
tackle game against Northern Iowa in the
semifi nals.
“Epsilon knows our defense inside and
out,” Naivar said. “He could play any position
in our secondary – he could be a blitzer off
the edge, coverage guy, a deep half safety,
a quarter safety or he could spin down and
be a linebacker. That is what our weak safety
is, a jack of all trades. He makes plays and is
very explosive.”
For his career, the Dallas native has recorded
178 tackles for the Bobcats including
96 solo stops. He also has six career interceptions
and 21 pass breakups.
While Williams is penciled in at weak
safety, Shepard is expected to start at strong
safety and Varvel at free safety.
Shepard started a few games as a sophomore
at cornerback before starting all 14
games at the KAT position last year. He was
the third-leading tackler a year ago, fi nishing
with 75 solo stops along with two interceptions
and six pass breakups.
Varvel transferred to Texas State from
Arizona State a year ago and made an im-