Dynamic Duo
10/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 10, 2006
(Editor's note: This article ran in the Baylor - Kansas State edition of Baylor Gameday on Sept. 30, 2006)
by CARROLL FADAL
Dominique Zeigler is a slightly built jumping jack with short hair. He chose Baylor after an outstanding high school career at Killeen because he could run track and play football at the same time. He is quick to laugh and light hearted in demeanor.
Trent Shelton is a muscular, run-after-the-catch specialist who wears his blonde-highlighted hair in braids. He picked Baylor after a standout three-sport career at North Crowley because he wanted to play both football and basketball. His on-the-record conversations tend to be all business.
At first glance, Zeigler and Shelton would appear to be the Felix and Oscar of Baylor football, and in some ways, they are. Like the fictional journalists, these two outstanding wide receivers are longtime roommates, having moved in together when Zeigler was a second-semester freshman; Shelton had arrived the prior year but took a redshirt season.
The pair also share similar academic interests and job aspirations. Both are communication majors who would gladly put off sports analyst careers for a shot at the NFL.
Unlike Neil Simon's Odd Couple, however, these two do not bicker. And you will have little luck getting them to tell you much about their lives outside football, even if it is no more than what they talk about in the apartment. By all indications, they are best friends; they can finish each other's sentences and appear to know as much about the other as they do themselves, including their eating habits.
"He puts ketchup on everything," Zeigler said. "Everything."
"That is true," Shelton said. "My mom had to buy me my own ketchup bottle at home."
It will not be long before every receiving duo who will play at Baylor in the future will have to "catch up" with these two. After last week's disappointing loss to Army in which they combined for 11 catches for 126 yards, the Zeigler-Shelton combo now has 253 career catches as teammates, just 12 behind Reggie Newhouse and Robert Quiroga in 2000-2002. That record could fall tonight; but, barring serious injury, it is all but a foregone conclusion that they will be atop that chart.
It will not be the only record at least one of this dynamic duo will hold. Shelton already ranks No. 1 among all Baylor players with receptions in 37 consecutive games. The mark ranks fifth nationally among active players. Zeigler now has catches in 24 straight contests as well.
With 128 career receptions, Shelton ranks No. 5 among Baylor pass catchers, just three behind fourth-place Quiroga and 16 behind No. 3 Lawrence Elkins. Zeigler's right behind him in sixth with 125 catches. Both are moving up the career yardage chart, as well. With 79 yards last Saturday, Shelton passed Quiroga and Matt Clark and now ranks No. 5 all time with 1,499. Next up are Melvin Bonner (1,984) and Elkins (2,094). Zeigler moved into the Top 10 with his 47 yards, bumping Charles Dancer (1,390) down to the 11th spot.
Both of them would trade personal records for those of the team variety.
"When a receiver gets in the zone, he just keeps wanting to get the ball," Zeigler said. "As a receiver, you are like, 'Man, I want the ball,' but it is more important to the team that the hot receiver gets the ball. Like Trent against Northwestern State, I wanted him to get the ball."
"I guess my best memory at Baylor was when I broke the (consecutive-games) record and had that big night (nine catches, 158 yards) against Northwestern State," Shelton agreed. "But, that memory will be erased by going to a bowl game."
To be sure, that goal seems more difficult after the Bears' 1-3 start, but neither of the senior leaders - Zeigler is one of BU's three captains - is giving up on the new Air Raid offense that, to this point, has yet to click.
"We just hope everybody can latch onto the system before the season is over so we can make it to a bowl game for our senior season," Zeigler said. "I do not really know what it is. We really just have not been putting points on the board. That is the bottom line. We need to be putting up at least 35 points a game."
"It's just a bunch of little things," Shelton said. "I have been telling everybody, we are probably the best team from 20 (yard line) to 20; but, when we get into the red zone, it is just the little things. This offense is perfect for a receiver; beside me and Dominique, we have other great receivers around here who can make plays in this offense. It is going to work out good."
Through their three-plus years together, Zeigler and Shelton have traded time in the spotlight. Zeigler (6-3, 182) will be forever remembered for first catching the touchdown, then the two-point conversion pass from Shawn Bell that allowed the Bears to beat Texas A&M, 35-34, in overtime in 2004. He finished the game with a career-high 12 receptions for 121 yards. Equally as impressive was his performance last season at Oklahoma, when he had nine catches for a career-best 141 yards, 55 of which came on a touchdown reception from Bell that helped the Bears take that game into overtime.
Shelton's most memorable moment came in the TCU game earlier this season, when he leaped high to haul in a SportsCenter-worthy one-handed catch along the home sideline. It was only a 12-yard gain, but it is indicative of Shelton's becoming the go-to guy this year.
Part of it is attributable to a shoulder injury Zeigler got in the first series in the opener versus TCU. It caused him to miss the Northwestern State game and still causes him pain; but, he is happy to play through it. Perhaps it is because he is a sports nut.
"Every Saturday morning, I can count on him waking me up with College Game Day (on ESPN)," Shelton said.
"I know pretty much everything about sports," Zeigler said.
"He does," Shelton added. "He needs to be on that ESPN show, 'Stump the Schwab.'"
"I would not mind going against him," Zeigler said. "Any time somebody has a question about sports, they always come to me; high school football, pro football. For some reason, I just know a lot of names, where they come from, what they do. That is what I like to do."
Shelton, on the other hand, prefers electronic media of another sort.
"I have got a little home studio," he said. "I like to rap a little bit. I got it from my dad. He is a poet. I like electronic things; I am always playing with something electronic, video games, iPod, computer, digital camera. I love electronics."
But both would rather give the NFL a shot before settling for network television.
"Since I was six years old, the NFL is what I have wanted to do," Shelton said. "Beside going to a bowl game, I think that is both of our dreams, so that is why we have got to stay focused, to better this team and to help achieve our dreams."
"You always hear things like 'Ziggy is too small,' " Zeigler said. "But, when you get out on the field, it does not matter how big you are, as long as you go out there and play, you will be able to make it."
It was the NFL dream that led both seniors to give up their secondary sports to concentrate on football. Zeigler did compete for two seasons in both the high jump and long jump for coach Clyde Hart's track squad but has concentrated solely on football for the last two years. Unlike teammate Carl Sims, Shelton never gave basketball a shot at Baylor.
"As a six-foot guard, unless you have got an Allen Iverson-type game, you are not going very far," Shelton said.
Since both decided to concentrate on football, they have gone a long way toward bringing Baylor football back to respectability.
