LSC Roundup 8-20

Mustangs returning experienced players to their secondary
With four seniors and a junior returning in the secondary, the Midwestern State Mustangs appear to have a great deal of experience — and they do. But one of the seniors, Danny Jackson, will be playing a new position, free safety, leaving that group as another question mark for the team.

“This is a senior-laden group, and I expect them to execute and be a group that gets better every day,” MSU secondary coach Nate Jones said. “They work hard and pay attention to details. They’re very focused. Each one has a different strength, and we try to get them to play to their strengths.”

Jackson (6-0, 193) played corner last year but, because of his size, was moved in the spring to shore up the free safety spot.

“He was a big corner with skills to move inside,” Jones said. “His potential is unlimited, but he just needs to stay focused.”

LSC Fall Sports Preview Series: Texas A&M-Kingsville
No team owns more LSC football championships than Texas A&M-Kingsville, a 26-time winner of the conference crown. The Javelinas haven't won the LSC or made the playoffs since 2004, but third-year head coach Bo Atterberry knows his team isn't too far away. In fact, Kingsville just missed the playoffs in 2008, finishing 7-4 and seventh in the regional football rankings, just one spot out of the playoffs. While his team was picked to finish fourth in the LSC South, Atterberry was surprised by that preseason ranking and expects a much stronger finish from his football team.

"I hope those great minds weren't right," Atterberry halfway joked at the LSC Football Media Days, referring to the coaches' preseason picks. "This might be my last media day if we finish fourth. But that's the way we like it. We've got a lot of guys returning and I think we're going to have a team that can compete for a championship."

Click here to see video from LSC Football Media Day

The Javelinas have 16 returning starters - eight on defense and eight on offense. The leader of that group unquestionably is senior quarterback Billy Garza, a transfer from Illinois two years ago. Garza, an honorable mention LSC pick last year, passed for 2,787 yards and 23 touchdowns, and added four more scores on the ground.

"It all starts with Billy Garza," Atterberry said of his offense. "We're looking for some big things out of him in his second season with us."

Viewpoint: Student athletes are not the exception to the rule
Recently, former Clark High School football star Jurrell Wilkerson was dismissed by the new University of the Incarnate Word football program. The reasons given: poor academics and disciplinary problems.

With the high school football season starting next weekend, I asked myself: Who will be the next Jurrell Wilkerson? Wilkerson graduated Clark in 2005. He was a phenomenal football player.

In the fall of 2005, he attended the University of Texas at Austin on a football scholarship. He left UT before the season ended. He has not played football since then. He now has a child, but has no skills to support a family. I think I know where this began to unravel.

(Scoop note: should be Jerrell not Jurrell. Misspelling was by author of article)

Eagle Extravaganza tonight
ACU ranked No. 5 in AFCA pre-season poll
Abilene Christian University is ranked No. 5 in the American Football Coaches’ Association pre-season national poll that was released this week. Northwest Missouri State University, the Wildcats’ opponent in the season opener on Aug. 27 at Shotwell Stadium, is ranked No. 2 in the same poll. Grand Valley State (Mich.) is ranked No. 1.

Martin makes plays in debut for Chargers
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."

NATHAN WRIGHT: Rams hope summer league play pays off
Despite a record-breaking season at Angelo State last spring, Keith Towne didn’t win a championship of any kind.

The new single-season ASU and Lone Star Conference home run king spent the summer in Wyoming and did win a championship — with the Laramie Colts of the Mountain Collegiate Baseball League.

Towne was one of eight Rams who went off to play in collegiate leagues this summer to help improve their games for the 2010 ASU season