LSC Roundup 7-9

Texas Tech receiver headed to UIW
The upstart Incarnate Word football program has received another gift — only this time it doesn’t come courtesy of New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson, a UIW athletics benefactor.

Texas Tech reserve wide receiver Todd Walker, who has a year of eligibility remaining, said he plans to play out his final season of with the Cardinals this fall.

A 6-foot-1, 180-pounder who runs a sub-4.4 second 40-yard dash, Walker joins suspended wide receiver Jerrell Wilkerson (Texas) as the Cardinals’ only players from Division I schools.
Walker also considered Arizona.

“I got to meet with the coaches and players and definitely fell in love with it,” said Walker, a Pflugerville graduate. “I wanted to be part of the start of a new program for the record books.”

Walker caught seven passes for 37 yards last season. In 2007, he redshirted after suffering two hernias. He had 21 catches for 214 yards and two touchdowns in 2006.

While Walker figures to challenge for a starting spot from Day 1, Wilkerson’s presence might not be felt as soon.
Wilkerson passed his spring courses but must still pass summer school — which runs into the second week of camp — to regain his eligibility, Santiago said.

But even if Wilkerson does that, Santiago said he would not play in the Aug. 29 season opener against Monterrey Tech.
--------------------------------------------------
***(Scout had Walker rated as a 4 star recruit and the #20 WR nationally coming out of HS in 2005, Rivals had him rated a 3 star recruit and #44 nationally as an athlete)***

Related: Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe // 07.09.09
Related: Reagan football filled with new faces

OCC players head on
Several former Orange Coast College football players, as well as one current Pirate, have found a home at four-year programs, Pirates Coach Mike Taylor confirmed Wednesday.

Taylor said Shad Baichtal and Benjamin Soza, both sophomore safeties in 2008, will play next season at West Texas A&M and Lenoir-Rhyne College, respectively.

Summer two-a-days: AFC East, NFC West
4. Who the heck is Anthony Armstrong, and why should the rest of the NFL take notice?
Want a fantasy football "sleeper" this year that not every one of your buddies knows about already? Spend a last-round pick on Miami Dolphins wide receiver Anthony Armstrong. Who the hell is Anthony Armstrong?

Good question.

Though he was a star at tiny West Texas A&M, Armstrong went understandably undrafted by the NFL after college and ended up with the Dallas Desperados of the Arena Football League instead. In Dallas, he became a fan favorite and a breakout star. He caught the eye of current Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland, who was with the Cowboys front office at the time. When Ireland made the move to Miami, he brought Armstrong with him, adding the lightning fast receiver to the Dolphins' practice squad in 2008.

Still a relative unknown to even the Dolphins' rabid fan base, Armstrong turned a lot of heads in minicamps last month. When OTA sessions began in May, he was likely the eighth or ninth receiver on the depth chart. After lighting it up throughout the OTA sessions and in five minicamp sessions in June, Armstrong might very well end up being one of the main go-to wideouts in Miami this season. It's certainly not a given that he'll make the final 53-man active roster. But if he's on the field, watch out.

At 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, he's not a giant. But he's got speed — tons of it. Like No. 1 wideout Ted Ginn Jr., Armstrong's biggest task at hand will be learning to harness that speed, managing it to run precise and timely routes.

Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington spoke about Armstrong's lightning fast quickness with the South Florida Sun Sentinel last month.

"You can really tell the difference from his route-running from a year ago until now," he said. "He understands that his speed is his weapon, but only when he uses it appropriately. He can't just outrun everybody. He has to have proper technique getting off the jam and get good, clean releases. He's done a really good job of that this spring."

Every year, there's a receiver that emerges from nowhere to make an impact. Whether it be Marques Colston or Mike Furrey, these guys work their way up the depth charts and make it impossible for coaches to keep them off the field.

Anthony Armstrong could be that guy in 2009.

Just don't tell your fellow fantasy league owners. You'll want him all to yourself.

Cooper signs track scholarship with TSU

LSC Roundup 4-27

LSC Softball Championship: ACU, ASU advance to championship series
Abilene Christian and Angelo State both prevailed at the four-team tournaments of the 2009 Lone Star Conference Softball Championship to advance to the three-game championship series next weekend. ACU earned the right to host the best-of-three series by virtue of being the higher seed to advance as South Division regular season champions. The Wildcats and Rambelles will play the first game on Friday at 5 p.m. With the second and if-necessary contests set for Saturday beginning at 12 p.m.

The two teams have played three times this season with ASU winning two of the three contests in early April.

Click here for photos from the ACU-UCO game
Click here for photos from the ASU-SE game
Relaed: Power, Partin lead ACU to LSC finals
Related: ASU softball team advances to LSC championship against ACU
Related: Wildcats Eliminate UCO
Related: Rambelles Advance to LSC Final

LSC Baseball Championship field set
The top six Lone Star Conference baseball squads will meet in Abilene, Texas, next weekend for the annual LSC Baseball Championship. The tournament features six teams for the fourth straight year. The double-elimination event starts on Saturday and concludes on Tuesday.

LSC champion Cameron is the top seed, while Angelo State is the No. 2 seed. Abilene Christian is seeded third, followed by Southeastern Oklahoma at No. 4, Eastern New Mexico at No. 5 and Tarleton State at No. 6.

All games will take place at Crutcher Scott Field on the campus of Abilene Christian University. Tickets can be purchased online by clicking here. Fans interested in pre-ordering an all-session tournament pass can order those online for $20, or they can order single-day tickets for $10 apiece.

Click here for the championship web page
Related: ACU salvage series split
Related: Baseball Sweeps Javelinas
Related: Hounds Punch Ticket for Abilene, Texas, with Series win over West Texas A&M
Related: Texans split with Wildcats, earn No. 6 in LSC Tournament
Related: Baseball Tournament Bid Ended

Knox, Null and Scott selected in 2009 NFL Draft
Former Lone Star Conference standouts Johnny Knox, Keith Null and Bernard Scott were selected Sunday on the second day of the 2009 NFL Draft.

Knox went to the Chicago Bears with the fourth pick of the fifth round (140th overall), Null was 23rd pick of the sixth round (196th overall) by the St. Louis Rams and Scott was the final pick of the sixth round (209th overall), going to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Knox will join former Abilene Christian all-America defensive back Danieal Manning on the Chicago Bears' roster. He became ACU's all-time leader in touchdown receptions in 2008, finishing his two-year career with 30 TD receptions. He also finished in the top 10 in ACU history in catches and receiving yards.

Null, the offensive MVP of the 2009 Cactus bowl, concluded his career holding the West Texas A&M single-season and career records for passing yardage, TDs and total offense and became the first WT quarterback to pass for 9,000 yards during his career. He ranked first, nationally, in passing yards per game and second in total offense and threw for at least 300 yards in all but two games this past season (he was pulled after throwing for 227 yards and two TDs against Tarleton and 261 yards and two TDs in two quarters against Northeastern State). He recorded his second 500-yard passing game of the season when he completed 42-of-63 passes for 595 yards and sevens TDs at Abilene Christian in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.

Scott, the 2008 Harlon Hill Award winner as the top player in NCAA Division II football, became ACU's all-time leading rusher in just two seasons, piling up 4,321 yards in just 25 games (172.8 yards per game). He topped the 2,000-yard mark twice, becoming the only player in LSC history to put together multiple 2,000-yard rushing seasons. His 63 rushing touchdowns are second in ACU history, and his 73 total touchdowns are second in both ACU and LSC history.
Related: Knox goes to Bears in 5th; Bengals grab Scott in 6th
Related: Wildcats' Knox, Scott taken in NFL draft
Related: Rams draft WT's Null in sixth round
Related: Wrap-up: Defense takes major step
Related: Bengals are headed in the right direction
Related: NFL: CenTex trio Miller, Iglesias, Null drafted on second ...
Related: Bears' fifth-round pick clocked 4.34 40 time
Related: D-II offers Day 2 bright spots
Related: Bengals take a chance on troubled RB Scott
Related: Bengals Draft Bernard Scott, Another Player With Extensive Legal ...