Sun Belt News and Notes:
Arkansas State
JONESBORO
(4/23/12) - Gus Malzahn said in his introductory press conference as Arkansas
State's head football coach that the Red Wolves were going to recruit the state
of Arkansas like its never been recruited before, and the A-State coaching
staff continues to back the statement up this week with what they are calling
an "A-State Ambush" on the Natural State.
The
Red Wolves are putting their full recruiting attention on the state of Arkansas
this week with their "A-State Ambush," sending their assistant
coaches across the entire state the next five consecutive days to visit all 215
football-playing high schools in Arkansas. In anticipation of the
week-long recruiting blitz of the state that begins today, the coaching staff
rallied around the slogan "215 schools, 5 days, 1 staff, 1 purpose."
"Like
we said when we first got here, we're going to recruit this state like its
never been recruited," said Malzahn. "We are big believers in
the players here in Arkansas and the coaches here in Arkansas, so that's going
to be the foundation of our program and we're going to do everything in our
power to recruit this state."
After
meeting with Malzahn, ASU's assistant coaches departed ASU Stadium in various
directions leading to all parts of the state. Each coach will be
responsible for visiting different regions of the state, and their time on the
road will be documented and available to track on AStateRedWolves.com, the
official Web site of ASU Athletics.
MTSU
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – White
avenged its only loss under head coach Rick Stockstill from a year ago with a
strong performance Saturday afternoon to defeat Blue, 40-17, under
non-traditional scoring rules during the annual Spring game at Floyd Stadium in
front of 4,214 fans.
In a contest pitting offense versus defense the entire game,
White was awarded seven points per quarter and four for each turnover it
created. It grabbed two interceptions for eight points and caused a fumble near
the goal line to raise its total to 40.
Meanwhile, the Blue offense found the offense only twice and
tacked on a field goal to provide its 17 points.
North Texas
DENTON, Texas – Derek
Thompson and the Green squad rolled to a 41-20 win over the White in
the annual Spring Game at Apogee Stadium on Saturday.
Thompson played the opening half for the Green squad and was
4-of-6 for 162 yards and two scores. His favorite targets, Ivan Delgado
and Brelan
Chancellor, combined for five catches and three touchdowns. Delgado
caught two passes for 114 – including a 99-yard score – while Chancellor caught
three balls for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
The first and third-string squads made up the Green team,
while the White was made up of the second and fourth stringers. NT head coach Dan McCarney
spotted White a 20-0 lead to start the game.
The spring game was just one of the attractions of a busy
day at Apogee Stadium. NT hosted a “garage sale” for fans to pick up Mean Green
gear, and Reckless Kelly rocked in a postgame concert in the stadium
grandstands.
ULL
BATON ROUGE, La. --
The University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors has approved a new
five-year contract for Ragin’ Cajuns head football coach Mark Hudspeth.
The action came at its April meeting earlier today (Tuesday).
The contract is a show of support by the UL Board and university administration for the performance of coach Hudspeth since taking over the Ragin’ Cajuns program in December of 2010.
“Our goal when coach Hudspeth and I sat down was to put together a contract that would keep him here for a long time, and I believe that this contract gets that done,” Director of Athletics Scott Farmer said. ”This agreement shows that both sides were interested in doing what was best for the Ragin’ Cajuns football program and I am excited to work with Coach Hudspeth to take the program to even bigger accomplishments.”
“I am very grateful to Dr. Savoie, Scott Farmer and the members of the Louisiana Board of Supervisors for the commitment that they have made to the Ragin’ Cajuns program,” Hudspeth said. “This shows the great trust that they have for the coaching staff and the belief that the program is headed in the right direction.”
The contract is a show of support by the UL Board and university administration for the performance of coach Hudspeth since taking over the Ragin’ Cajuns program in December of 2010.
“Our goal when coach Hudspeth and I sat down was to put together a contract that would keep him here for a long time, and I believe that this contract gets that done,” Director of Athletics Scott Farmer said. ”This agreement shows that both sides were interested in doing what was best for the Ragin’ Cajuns football program and I am excited to work with Coach Hudspeth to take the program to even bigger accomplishments.”
“I am very grateful to Dr. Savoie, Scott Farmer and the members of the Louisiana Board of Supervisors for the commitment that they have made to the Ragin’ Cajuns program,” Hudspeth said. “This shows the great trust that they have for the coaching staff and the belief that the program is headed in the right direction.”
ULM
MONROE,
La. - ULM's 2012 football home opener against nationally-ranked Baylor has been
moved to Friday, Sept. 21, and will be televised nationally on ESPN or ESPN2,
ULM Director of Athletics Bobby Staub announced Thursday. The game is slated to
kickoff at 7 p.m. at Malone Stadium.
"This
is a tremendous opportunity to garner national exposure to a prime time
audience for our football program, institution, community and region,"
Staub stated.
"We
are very excited about having a great opponent such as Baylor on national
television in Malone Stadium," ULM head coach Todd Berry said. "What
a tremendous way to open up a great home schedule."
Baylor
is coming off one of its best seasons in school history as it finished 10-3 in
2011 and ranked as high as No. 12 in the final USA Today Poll. If the Bears
remain in the Top 25 entering the game with the Warhawks, it would mark the
first time ULM has hosted a nationally-ranked Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)
opponent on campus.
WKU
Bowling Green, Ky. - Members
of the 2011 Western Kentucky University football senior class will be hoping
for a phone call this weekend as the 2012 NFL Draft takes place starting
tonight in New York City.
The first round of this year's draft will be held starting
at 7 p.m. (CDT) this evening, with rounds two and three getting underway at 6
p.m. on Friday. The final four rounds will start at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
NFL.com currently lists two Hilltoppers - running back Bobby Rainey and defensive back Derrius Brooks - among its prospective
draftees. Several mock drafts have also projected Rainey to be taken
anywhere from rounds five through seven, while Brooks has been tagged as a
possible late-round selection. A number of other Hilltoppers took part in
Pro Days on campus this spring, putting their talents on display for a number
of NFL scouts. There is hope those performances could equate to either
late-round selections or possible free-agent signings following the draft.
WKU football has a rich history of players being selected by
NFL teams on draft day, but a selection in 2012 would be the first since Jeremi Johnson was picked in the
fourth round by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2003. The Hilltoppers last saw
multiple players taken in the same draft a year earlier in 2002 when Joseph Jefferson (3rd round,
Indianapolis) and Mel Mitchell (5th
round, New Orleans) were selected.
Troy
TROY, Ala. – After
four weeks of physical spring drills, the Troy football team ended it's spring
schedule on Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The original plan was to end with a scrimmage, but head coach Larry Blakeney decided that the full-out scrimmage wasn't needed. Practice opened with the typical fundamentals and drills, and closed with a 50-play scrimmage.
“We're a work in progress,” Blakeney said. “I think were ahead offensively of where we've been in the past. Corey has had a good spring and our runners have had a good spring.”
Blakeney's message after practice was important to the players for the rest of the spring heading into summer camp and the fall.
“After spring ball is over, it's not over,” Blakeney said. “We still go to school and have to do everything to get well and get stronger.”
With the first game still over three months away, Blakeney said that staying focused will be important as the time passes before the fall semester begins.
"We don't need distractions,” Blakeney said. “We need the football team to be the best citizens around, as a group and individually.”
Defensively, the Trojans have yet to see the full potential as they have more players coming in for summer camp.
“We got two or three guys out and have two or three guys coming in that can help us out in an All-American corner and a big noseguard,” Blakeney said. “We've got to get a master's degree in our defense and we've got to know what to do. When that call comes in we've got to pop, especially in the fast-paced world we face every week in college football.”
With the spring schedule complete, Larry Blakeney field will be quiet again until the summer when the Trojans return for summer camp.
The original plan was to end with a scrimmage, but head coach Larry Blakeney decided that the full-out scrimmage wasn't needed. Practice opened with the typical fundamentals and drills, and closed with a 50-play scrimmage.
“We're a work in progress,” Blakeney said. “I think were ahead offensively of where we've been in the past. Corey has had a good spring and our runners have had a good spring.”
Blakeney's message after practice was important to the players for the rest of the spring heading into summer camp and the fall.
“After spring ball is over, it's not over,” Blakeney said. “We still go to school and have to do everything to get well and get stronger.”
With the first game still over three months away, Blakeney said that staying focused will be important as the time passes before the fall semester begins.
"We don't need distractions,” Blakeney said. “We need the football team to be the best citizens around, as a group and individually.”
Defensively, the Trojans have yet to see the full potential as they have more players coming in for summer camp.
“We got two or three guys out and have two or three guys coming in that can help us out in an All-American corner and a big noseguard,” Blakeney said. “We've got to get a master's degree in our defense and we've got to know what to do. When that call comes in we've got to pop, especially in the fast-paced world we face every week in college football.”
With the spring schedule complete, Larry Blakeney field will be quiet again until the summer when the Trojans return for summer camp.
South Alabama
MOBILE,
Ala. – Tyrannace Brazil provided the only points of the second half on a
seven-yard touchdown run, and Damian McGaskin forced a fumble at the goal line
with a minute and a half remaining to lead the Blue to a 17-10 victory in the
University of South Alabama football program’s annual Red & Blue Game
Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Brazil’s
touchdown came with 7:37 remaining in the final quarter, capping a four-minute
and 58-second drive that covered 80 yards in 12 plays. After taking over
with 45 seconds to go in the third period, Brandon Bridge connected with Jeremé
Jones for a 16-yard gain and a first down on the first snap of the
possession. A 20-yard completion to Brazil helped move the Blue across
midfield, with Bridge moving the chains again with a 10-yard completion to Wes
Saxton on fourth-and-one at the Red-35.
Bryant
Lavender caught a pass for nine yards, with the ball moving to the Red-7 after
a personal foul called on the play, and two snaps later Brazil crossed the goal
line to give the Blue a 17-10 advantage.
FIU
Constant
pressure, speed, explosiveness and six forced turnovers, the FIU defense --
which was the No. 14 scoring defense in the nation last season -- played as
advertised in the Blue & Gold Spring Game.
Behind
the stellar play of veteran defenders Tourek
Williams, Isame Faciane,
Winston
Fraser, Jordan Hunt and Jonathan Cyprien, the Panthers defense sprung to a 17-0 lead
before the offense rallied against the second team defense for a 29-22 win.
"As
you saw they didn't hold back much," FIU Head Coach Mario
Cristobal said of his defense. "They brought pressure from
every angle, played multiple coverages and duped the quarterbacks into making
some mistakes."
The
defense, which returns 10 of 11 starters this coming season, intercepted four
passes and forced two fumbles to get a jump on the offense. Justin Halley, Chuck Grace,
Sam Miller
and Luis Rosado picked off the passes. Rosado returned his interception 58
yards and would have scored if not for a saving tackle by running back Darian Mallary.
FAU
BOCA RATON, FL - Florida
Atlantic University's athletics department has agreed to a three-game series
with south Florida neighbor University of Miami, announced Melissa Dawson,
FAU's interim athletics director.
The
three game set will begin with the Owls traveling to Miami on Saturday, August
31, 2013. The season opener will be the second season under the direction of Carl Pelini,
FAU's newly hired head coach.
"It's
a great match-up," said Pelini. "Miami is a prestigious program of
which we would like to emulate. It will be great for our players to challenge
the names they played against in high school and for the fans to have a close
away game to attend."
FAU
will then play host to the Miami Hurricanes in 2015, with a date yet to be
determined. The game will mark the first time the Hurricanes will play in Palm
Beach County and the first time UM has played an away game south of Tampa. FAU
will return to Miami in 2016.
No comments:
Post a Comment