Football Hosts Texas State for Home Opener
9/7/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
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GAME 2
Floyd Casey Stadium (50,000) •
Baylor returns to the field Saturday, Sept. 11, hosting
This is the first meeting between Baylor and
Baylor (0-1) dropped its season opener Sept. 4, falling 56-14 at UAB. That same night,
The Bears are coached by second-year head coach Guy Morriss, who is in his fourth season as a collegiate head coach. He has a career record of 12-24 with stops at
BAYLOR-TEXAS STATE NOTES: Baylor's 76-0 win in 1916 is the third-largest margin of victory and the third-most points scored in Baylor history. The Bears' 55-0 victory over the Bobcats in 1909 ranks tied for eighth in margin of victory and 11th in points scored. ... Baylor rushed for 339 yards in its last meeting with
BAYLOR-
Two current Bears began their careers at
BAYLOR IN HOME OPENERS
Baylor is 75-22-5 all-time in home openers, including a 37-17 mark since moving to Floyd Casey Stadium in 1950. The Bears are 6-4 in their last 10 such contests.
ANDREWS NEARS KICK, PUNT RETURN CHARTS
OS Willie Andrews continues to rapidly move up Baylor's career kick and punt return records charts. Andrews enters the
Last season, Andrews established school season records for total kick returns (55) and total kick return yards (873). He also set school single-game marks with eight kickoff returns for 196 yards against Texas A&M. Last Saturday against UAB, Andrews tallied 171 yards on six kickoff returns, including a career-long 58-yard return.
SEPULVEDA CONTINUES TO BUILD RESUME
P Daniel Sepulveda moved into sole possession of seventh place on Baylor's career chart with his 27th punt of 50-plus yards last week at UAB. Ron Stowe set the school record with 47 punts of 50-plus yards during his career (1979-1982). Sepulveda established the school single-season record with 26 such punts last season, including three punts of 60-plus yards.
BAYLOR AMONG NATION'S YOUNGEST TEAMS
With 96 underclassmen out of 135 players on its 2004 roster, Baylor ranks as the second-youngest team in Division I-A football behind only SMU. The Bears are 71.1 percent underclassmen, while SMU is 76.1 percent (86 of 113). Only one school has more underclassmen on its roster: Army, which lists 120 underclassmen on a roster of 178 players.
Baylor's depth chart features 28 underclassmen out of 50 spots (two-deep at 25 positions). Nine underclassmen are listed as starters at their respective positions: WR Dominique Zeigler, OL Chris Evans, OL Chad Smith, DT Corey Ford, OS Maurice Linguist, CB James Todd, CB Anthony Arline, P Daniel Sepulveda and DS Jonathan Weeks.
WEBB AMONG CONSECUTIVE PAT LEADERS
According to recent research conducted by the
Jonathan Nichols of Ole Miss leads the nation with 98 consecutive true PAT attempts. Here is a look at the active list entering the 2004 season:
98 Jonathan Nichols, Sr., Ole Miss
91 Jared Siegel, Sr.,
66 Dustin Bell, Sr., Houston
66 Robert Menchinger, Sr.,
57 Taylor Begley, Jr.,
56 Tyler Jones,
53 Stephen Gostkowski, Jr.,
50
48 Matt Leach, Sr.,
47 Xavier Beitia, Sr.,
46 Mike Gruzwalski, Jr.,
41 James Wilhoit, So.,
40 Brennan Landry, Jr., Rice
38 Joe Rheem, Sr.,
37 Jared Parseghian, Sr., Miami (Ohio)
35 Brett Visintainer, Fresno State
32 David Dyches, So., Nebraska
26 Kenny Webb, Sr., Baylor
NOTES FROM THE UAB GAME
• Baylor's six turnovers were the most by a Baylor team since the Bears had six turnovers Sept. 6, 2003 at North Texas.
• Baylor's three interceptions thrown were the most by a Baylor team since the Bears were intercepted five times Oct. 12, 2002 against Texas A&M.
• Several Bears made their first career starts: WR Dominique Zeigler, OL Chris Evans, OL Chad Smith, QB Dane King, DT Corey Ford and DE Montez Murphy.
• Four Bears extended streaks of consecutive starts: OL Quintin Outland (27 games), FS Maurice Lane (24), LB Justin Crooks (14) and OS Willie Andrews (13).
• Baylor completed 28 passes, one shy of the single-game school record. The Bears have completed 29 passes in a game on three occasions, the last time coming at Missouri in 2001.
• Baylor's 43 pass attempts were the most by a Baylor team since the Bears attempted 43 passes Nov. 17, 2001 against Oklahoma State
• QB Terrance Parks appeared in his first career game, lining up at receiver and catching a pass on his first play from scrimmage.
• OS Maurice Linguist snagged his second career interception during the first quarter.
• WR Trent Shelton extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one catch to 12 games. His 39-yard TD reception in the second quarter was a career long. Shelton also established career highs with five catches and 64 yards receiving.
• Career high rushing yards and carries for RB Paul Mosley. His fourth-quarter TD run was the first of his career.
• WR Shaun Rochon registered his first career reception.
• OS Willie Andrews kickoff return yardage of 171 ranks third in school history. His six kickoff returns ties for second in school history.
• LB Justin Crooks tied his career high with 10 tackles, while DE Khari Long established his career high with eight tackles.
CROOKS NAMED TO NAGURSKI WATCH LIST
Baylor senior LB Justin Crooks was one of 60 players named to the Football Writers Association of America's 2004 Bronko Nagurski National Watch List, which is a compilation of college football's best defensive players regardless of position. He and P Daniel Sepulveda were also named to the FWAA 2004 Preseason All-America Checklist.
The Bears' second-leading tackler as a junior in 2003, Crooks was credited with 72 stops a year ago, including 45 solos. He also ranked second on the team in tackles for loss with 9.5 for 21 yards, and had a quarterback sack, six quarterback hurries, a team-high three fumble recoveries, two pass breakups and a forced fumble. In addition to being one of eight Big 12 players on the Nagurski Watch List, Crooks was a 2004 honorable mention preseason All-America selection by Street & Smith's magazine.
The winner of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, presented by the FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club, will be named on Dec. 6 at a banquet in Charlotte, N.C. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops will be the banquet's keynote speaker. The complete preseason watch list can be found at www.touchdownclub.com.
LANE, SEPULVEDA ALSO MAKE PRESEASON LISTS
Baylor junior FS Maurice Lane and sophomore P Daniel Sepulveda also earned preseason honorable mention All-America honors from Street & Smith's magazine.
Lane, an honorable mention All-Big 12 choice as a sophomore, led the 2003 Bears in tackles (129), solo tackles (89) and assisted stops (40). He ranked fifth in the Big 12 and 30th nationally with 10.75 tackles per game, while his 7.42 solo tackles per game led the Big 12 and ranked 13th nationally.
Rated as the nation's 15th-best free safety in The Sporting News' 2004 preseason magazine and a member of Street & Smith's Thorpe Award Watch List, Lane's 129 tackles equaled the seventh-best one-season total in school history (and were the most since James Francis' 129 total tackles in 1989), while his 89 solo tackles ranked as the third-best single-season total in school history behind Mike Singletary's performances in 1978 and 1979. He also earned 2004 preseason second-team All-Big 12 honors from The Sporting News and Rivals.com, and he was ranked as the 29th-best player (regardless of position) and the fifth-best defensive back by College Football News.com.
Sepulveda was rated as the nation's 11th-best punter by The Sporting News and earned 2004 preseason first-team All-Big 12 honors from Street & Smith's, College Football News.com and Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook, and second-team All-Big 12 recognition from The Sporting News, Athlon and Rivals.com, College Football News.com also tabbed Sepulveda as the Big 12's best overall kicker.
A 2004 Ray Guy Award candidate, Sepulveda, despite not having any previous punting experience, earned 2003 first-team All-Big 12 honors from College Football News.com and second-team recognition from the league's coaches as a redshirt freshman. Baylor's 2003 special teams MVP, he also earned first-team Academic All-Big 12 honors and and was named to The Sporting News' freshman All-Big 12 squad while also earning honorable mention All-Big 12 recognition from Associated Press. Sepulveda ranked third in the Big 12 and 23rd nationally with his 43.1 yard punting average a year ago. He recorded a BU single-season record 26 punts of 50 or more yards and had at least one such punt in every game.
2004 CAPTAINS NAMED
Head coach Guy Morriss named the trio of LB Justin Crooks, WR Marques Roberts and P Daniel Sepulveda as team captains for the 2004 season, representing the defense, the offense and the special teams, respectively. A team vote was held to determine captains.
FORMER WALK-ONS MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS
This season's roster features 11 players who joined the program as walk-ons and have since earned scholarships. The group features three starters -- C Joseph DeWoody, DT Michael Gary and TE Marcus Venus -- along with P Daniel Sepulveda and PK Kenny Webb. Four others rank second or third at their respective positions on the Baylor depth chart -- WRs Baylor Barbee and Shaun Rochon, and DTs Quincy Jenkins and Julian Hill. Tyler Lindstrom and David Schieck also have established themselves as key members of Baylor's special teams units and could see spot action at linebacker and in the secondary, respectively.
BAYLOR AGAIN RANKS HIGH IN GRADUATION RATES
According to the most-recent NCAA Graduation Report, the Baylor football program's 75 percent graduation rate again led the Big 12 Conference, marking the second consecutive year and the fourth time in the league's eight-year history that the program posted the league's best rate. BU also recorded the Big 12's top graduation rate for football student-athletes in 2002, 2000 and 1998.
Since the NCAA began tracking graduation data in 1991, the Baylor football program has averaged a graduation rate of nearly 65 percent. Over the last six seasons, however, more than 73 percent of the Bears have left with degree in hand.
Overall, Baylor owns a 72 percent rate for its student-athletes according to the most-recent NCAA s figures, which places it fourth in the Big 12 Conference. BU has led the Big 12 in overall student-athlete graduation rates four times and finished second on three occasions.
Four members of this year's team, fifth-year seniors FB Jonathan Evans, DE Khari Long and LB Michael Tolbert, and fifth-year junior WR John Martin have already earned their degrees.
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Baylor's 2004 football roster includes the sons of five former Bears. Senior TE Luke Groth's father, Walter, lettered three years for the Bears from 1967-69; junior WR Ryan Jeffrey follows in the footsteps of his dad, Jay, who quarterbacked the Bears to the Southwest Conference title, uncle, Neal, the starting signal caller on BU's 1974 SWC title team, and his grandfather, James, a Baylor letterwinner in 1949 and 1950.
Redshirt freshman DB Braelon Davis' father, Bruce Davis (1981-83), was a standout wide receiver who earned four All-America awards as a sprinter and went on play in the NFL. Another redshirt freshman, walk-on DB Jason Reaux, is the son of Tommy Reaux (1967-69), a star defensive lineman for the Bears who was named to the school's 1960s All-Decade honor squad.
True freshman DB James Francis Jr. is the son of James Francis (1986-89), an All-America linebacker for the Bears in 1989 and a first-round draft choice of the Cincinnati Bengals who spent nine seasons in the NFL. The junior Francis' uncle, Ron Francis, was a four-year letterman (1982-86) and two-time All-SWC performer at Baylor who would become a second-round pick of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and play four seasons for that organization.
COACHING STAFF BOASTS 186 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
The 2004 Baylor football coaching staff boasts a combined 186 years of coaching experience in the professional, collegiate and high school ranks. Seven members of this year's Baylor staff have worked for Guy Morriss since he first became a Division I-A head coach in 2001 at Kentucky.
Not only is the Baylor staff steeped in sideline experience, but it features three men, Morriss (one), defensive coordinator Bill Bradley (three) and receivers coach Harold Jackson (five), who combined to earn nine NFL All-Pro awards between them. Two others, Mark Nelson and Brent Pease, also enjoyed professional football playing careers.
SPECIAL SPECIAL TEAMS
The strongest facet of Baylor's 2003 team was the play of its special teams, which produced four scores on the season. The Bears' special team units provided two kickoff return touchdowns and a pair of blocked kicks returned for points (one for a safety and one for a touchdown).
Sophomore P Daniel Sepulveda, who had never punted prior to the 2003 season, ranked third in the Big 12 and 23rd nationally (fifth among freshman punters) with his 43.1 yard average. The 2004 Ray Guy Award and All-America candidate's average ranks second among returning Big 12 punters and 18th among returning NCAA leaders.
In addition, junior OS Willie Andrews returns to solidify the Bears' return game. He ranked fourth in the Big 12 and 29th nationally in kickoff returns with his 24.65 average, and his 8.0 mark on punt returns was good for 10th in the Big 12 and 71st nationally.
Baylor averaged 22.9 yards per kickoff return in 2003, its highest average since a school-record 24.2 mark in 1995, and its 1,212 yards was a school record.
BAYLORBEARS.COM
Baylor's official athletic web site can be found at www.BaylorBears.com. The comprehensive site, which includes releases, photos, biographical sketches and audio broadcasts, is part of the College Sports Online network. CSO currently hosts sites for more than 100 universities, including four Big 12 schools and the conference office.
BAYLOR GAMES ON THE INTERNET
The radio call from all of Baylor's games can be heard free of charge live on the Internet at www.BaylorBears.com.
INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW
Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour look at the world of Baylor athletics, will air weekly throughout Central Texas and other outlets. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV Channel 6, Fox Sports Southwest, College Sports Television and the College Channel (Waco cable 18).
NEXT UP...
After a weekend off, Baylor returns to the gridiron Saturday, Sept. 25 for a
