Texas State football two-deeps released

The Texas State football team released its two-deeps during the Southland Conference Football Media Days in Lake Charles, La.

There are some major changes on the defensive side of the ball, as the Bobcats graduated three starting defensive linemen. Offensively, not much changes other than a few wide receiver slots.

Here's the list (starter/back-up) and can change between now and the beginning of the season:

Offense

QB: Bradley George/Tim Hawkins

TB: Karrington Bush/Alvin Canady

X-WR: Da'Marcus Griggs/Darren Dillard

H-WR: Mishak Rivas/Unsettled

Z-WR: Darius Bolden/Joe Chaisson

FB: Trey Hampton/Jeff McVaney

LT: Alex Luna/Jonathan Vernon

LG: Winston Ruelas/Michael Schneeweis

C: Steven Kenney/Jason Hannan

RG: D.J. Hall/Taylor Hease

RT: Calvin Gore/Paul Sienkiewich

TE: Andrew Brooks/Kyle Anderson

Defense

Bandit: Travis Houston/Sam Pier

DT: Adley Eshraghipour/Jamil Kazen

NG: Garrett Hood/Ralson Dews

DE: Leon Woolsey/Ron Jackson

Rover: Marcus Clark/Joplo Bartu

MLB: Joe Bell/Patrick Strodtman

WLB: Brian Iwuji/Charles Holmes

CB: Drenard Williams/Derek Lopez

CB: Will Thompson/Darryl Morris

SS: T.P. Miller/Jason McLean

FS: Kenneth Hampton/Mario Wiggins

Special Teams

PK: Ryan Batchelor/Justin Garelick

P: Ben Follis/Ryan Batchelor

DS: Sam Pier/Adley Eshraghipour

Holder: Ben Follis/Alvaro Garcia

PR: Will Thompson/Drenard Williams

KR: Karrington Bush/Alvin Canady; Drenard Williams/Mishak Rivas; Will Thompson/Darius Bolden

LeBlanc leaves Texas State

Texas State lost a wide receiver before two-a-days began, but not to injury.

E.J. LeBlanc informed the coaching staff he will be transferring from the Bobcats to pursue other playing opportunities. LeBlanc reeled in 21 passes for 175 yards last season.

He also rushed four times for 40 yards.

Texas State now has eight receivers, not including incoming recruits. Da'Marcus Griggs, Mishak Rivas and Darius Bolden are listed as the three starters on the two-deep in the media guides.

Observations from the THSCA All-Star Game

• Texas State had five recruits play in Tuesday night's 2009 Texas High School Coaches Association Football All-Star Game.
• The Bobcats' quintet was the second-most to Rice's six.
• Beeville quarterback Eric Soza looked confident and poised in the pocket, as he went 4-for-7 with 63 yards passing. He threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Chris McCallister at the end of the second quarter.
• Soza provided the North defense plenty of looks behind center, as he guided the South offense in traditional I, Pro Set, Split Backs and Spread formations. He looked most comfortable out of the Shotgun, as he could survey the field and dance around the pocket longer.
• Soza also laid out for a touchdown attempt in the first quarter, but was upended and ruled out at the 1-yard line. The South team scored on the next play.
• Kilgore running back Frank Reddic had his moments both as a blocker and rusher.
• Reddic blasted his way through the South defensive line to get extra yards for his running backs, including one "de-cleater" of a South linebacker.
• The 190-pound fullback also rushed 10 times for 32 yards, as most of his carries were out of the Wildcat formation.
• Boerne-Champion running back Josh Wray didn't get much time on offense, but starred on kickoff coverage and even played on the defensive side.
• Wray said after the game that "...Texas State's coaches told me to enjoy my last time playing defense, so that's what I did."
• Texas State had two defensive recruits in the game — Jordan Norfleet and Blake McColloch.
• Norfleet recorded a quarterback hurry and McColloch's size stood out mostly. McColloch is 6-foot-5, 240 pounds.

Thomas signs pro contract with Japanese team

Former Texas State guard Brandon Thomas recently signed a one-year deal with the Kyoto Hannaryz in the Basketball Japan League.

Thomas played for the Bobcats from 2006-08. He averaged 7.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game as a senior.

The Hannaryz will be an expansion team this season in the 12-team bj-league. For more, read today's edition of the Daily Record.

Bobcat notes from 7-on-7

George on target
Bobcat senior quarterback Bradley George exhibited really good accuracy during Tuesday night’s 7-on-7 drills against a group of players from Texas Lutheran.
Da’Marcus Griggs was the recipient of at least two touchdown passes, while Darren Dillard displayed some nice footwork, making a nice juke move after a catch the helped set free to sprint to the end zone.
Tight end Andrew Brooks also had a touchdown catch, pulling in a pass on a corner route while gracefully dragging a foot inbound for the score.
In all, George fired six touchdown passes.

Sharp secondary
Defensively, the Bobcats looked really sharp, limiting TLU to just two scores. Senior Drenard Williams stood out with three interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown.
Linebacker Brian Iwuji also had an interception and would have scored had he not stepped out of bounds.
Teammates laughed as they were quick to point out his mistake, but Iwuji kept on running.

Chased from Oklahoma?
A number of new Texas State linemen were at he workout including University of Oklahoma transfer Jason Hannan, who comes to San Marcos with three years of eligibility and a very impressive resume.
The 6-3, 283-pound sophomore from Waxahachie was the nation’s top-rated center and No. 23 overall coming out of high school in 2007 according to Rivals.com.
And you’ll never guess who played a key role in luring Hannan to San Marcos: Former Bobcat quarterback/receiver Chase Wasson, who transferred to Oklahoma two years ago.
“We were roommates for a semester at Oklahoma and he told me about Texas State. I wanted to be a little more close to home, so I decided to come here,” Hannan said.
Hannan is currently enrolled in summer school at Texas State, and is not yet on the “official” roster. His name has been taken off the roster on OU’s official website.
The 7-on-7 workouts are entirely voluntary and no coaches are allowed to assist or watch. Players coordinate the times and places, but the workouts usually take pace on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

• Randy Stevens

By George! He's excited about the tight ends...

Last season, Texas State was forced to scramble with its tight ends last season.

The Bobcats struggled to find a good pass-catching tight end and regulated John Gilley and John Ford to blocking roles. Even though they helped pave the way for a solid trio of running backs (Karrington Bush, Alvin Canady and Stan Zwinggi), they were underutilitzed.

"We also have some athletic tight ends now," Texas State quarterback Bradley George said. "Don't get me wrong, (John) Gilley was a hell of a blocker, but he wasn't the fleetest-of-foot guy. He was about 275 and could run someone over, but we have some athletes now and it helps.”

Texas State promises to use its tight ends in a bigger role this season.

The Bobcats have Andrew Brooks back from injury (ACL) and Kyle Anderson fully comfortable in his role, as opposed to last season. Anderson was heavily recruited as a tight end out of high school. Also, with the addition of Woody McClendon, the position has a log jam, but will be cleared before the season begins Sept. 5.

Texas State football 7-on-7

• The Texas State football team will have a 7-on-7 game tonight at Bobcat Stadium beginning at 7 p.m.
• The game features whatever Bobcat players are around during the summer, taking classes or otherwise.
• The Bobcats routinely hold 7-on-7 games throughout the summer.
• Texas State opens the 2009 season Sept. 5 against Angelo State.

Rencher ready to put his UT days behind him...

We ran a story in today's edition about how new assistant coach Terrence Rencher is ready to start a new chapter in his life. He no longer wants to be known as the standout player with Texas, rather the coach from Texas State.

He seems like a calm, collected man ready to help the Bobcats reach the next level. The hires of Rob Flaska and Rencher should push Texas State over the top.

Here's the story from Sunday's issue about Rencher and we ran another about both Flaska and Rencher today.

Texas State loses another assistant basketball coach...

The Texas State men's basketball team recently hired two new coaches to their staff to fill vacancies within its program. Well, the Bobcats need to hire one more.

Omar Lowery, who was instrumental in landing John Rybak, left Texas State. He accepted an assistant coaching position with Cal-Poly.