Texas A&M-Kingsville returns bevy of talent
KINGSVILLE — The scorching South Texas heat is doing nothing to chill the enthusiasm and expectations in and around the Texas A&M-Kingsville football camp. With 40 lettermen, 16 starters and both kickers back in the fold, curbing that anticipation won’t be an easy task.
“Our expectations are high this year. We’ve got everybody basically coming back,” junior wide receiver Ryan Lincoln said during Wednesday’s Media Day. “I think we can fill everybody’s shoes. I think we should turn out to be way better than last year, so our expectations are high for this year.”
The Javelinas are coming off a 7-4 season and third-place finish in the Lone Star Conference South Division. That followed successive 3-8 campaigns that marked the end of Richard Cundiff’s run and the beginning of Bo Atterberry’s era as A&M-Kingsville’s coach. Thus the four-game improvement has the Javelinas teeming with confidence despite a prediction to finish fourth in the seven-team LSC South.
Carey making plans for physical offensive attack
Scott Carey knows one thing for sure as Tarleton State enters its 2009 football campaign - the offense has to be physical. And if anyone knows something about being physical, it’s a former lineman.
Senior moment
On a team with lots of experience, the Midwestern State defensive line seems to have more than its fair share. With four seniors — two of them fifth-year seniors — along with a pair of sophomores who saw a great deal of playing time last year, the defensive front is definitely a strong point for the Mustangs heading into the 2009 season.
“We’ve got some depth at (defensive) end with three returning players who played a majority of the time last year,” D-line coach Richard Lage said. “And inside, all the returning kids saw time in every game. So we have a good nucleus with four seniors up front who will give us the leadership we need. But then we also have a good nucleus of people coming in that will give us some good depth up front.”
UIW tight end Mocio makes name for himself
Walk-ons such as Incarnate Word's Andrew Mocio typically receive something less than a where-have-you-been-my-whole-life, bear-hug welcome from their coaches. True to form, quarterback Thomas Specia is certain coach Mike Santiago didn't even know the tight end's name for much of last year.
Neither did Specia, for that matter. Then Mocio took the field in fall drills, forcing everyone to learn his name while making them quickly forget he was a walk-on.
“Where ya been? I've been looking for you for 33 years,” Santiago told Mocio then.
Tall, athletic and powerful at the point of attack, Mocio is the kind of matchup problem-creating tight end Santiago had been searching for his entire coaching career.
UIW Cardinals: Part of a historic moment
Sporting new, crisp black and red jerseys, Incarnate Word's football team stepped out of the Benson Field House and onto the well-manicured field it will call home. With the coaching staff and members of the media looking on, one by one they lined up in the end zone, taking their spots for the program's first team photo.
As the camera quickly captured the image, it occurred to Todd Walker what exactly it all meant.
“It's crazy,” the former Texas Tech wide receiver said. “We're probably going to have our picture up forever. It's just a great opportunity.”
'Belles Make a Difference
The Angelo State women's basketball team has always made time for charity. It has been a priority for head coach Sally Walling Brooks throughout her career.
This past season, the 'Belles donated more than $3,000 to The V Foundation in support of the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. As part of the WBCA's Pink Zone campaign, the ASU women's team wore commemorative pink uniforms when the 'Belles hosted rival Abilene Christian on Feb. 14 and collected silent bids on the uniforms over the next week with the proceeds benefitting The V Foundation.
The V Foundation awards 100 percent of all new donations and net event proceeds directly to cancer research and related programs. Since the formation's founding in 1993, it has raised more than $80 million to fight cancer nationwide.
'Just go out and play football'
Keith Null has never been to New York. Never been to an NFL game. During his entire college career at West Texas A&M, the team took only one plane trip. (Everything else was via bus.) So Friday's preseason opener against the New York Jets will be more than just a football game for Null. Call it Keith's Big Adventure. During pregame, he might be the guy gawking at the sights and sounds of Giants Stadium.
"I'm sure it's going to be an experience," Null said. "I can't wait. It's going to be a lot of fun."
A sixth-round draft pick by the Rams in April, Null is competing with Brock Berlin for the No. 3 quarterback job. The pride of Lampasas, Texas, Null threw for 9,231 yards and 89 touchdowns during his final two seasons with the NCAA Division II Buffaloes.
Rookie's goal: Make Chargers say, 'We've got to keep this guy'
SAN DIEGO – Philip Rivers breaks into that good-ol' boy, Southern drawl when asked about Charly Martin.
“He's one of those guys who as camp goes on, he just grows on you,” said the Chargers quarterback. “I expect him to make some plays in the preseason.”
Which, unless you're a roster-memorizing, summer-camp Bolts fanatic, begs one question: Who's Charly Martin? He's a 25-year-old rookie free agent wide receiver out of Division II West Texas A&M. A guy who admits the odds against him are long. A guy who happily signed for a $5,000 bonus because all he wants is a chance to prove he can play at the next level.
Said Martin, “I'm going to put a team in a situation where they're like, 'We've got to keep this guy.'”
Martin has proven the skeptics wrong before.
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