College Football: Garelick deemed medically ineligible

Texas State sophomore kicker Justin Garelick was recently deemed medically ineligible and will no longer be kicking for the Bobcats. Garelick was diagnosed with Spinal Facet Arthropathy.

You can read more about Spinal Facet Arthropathy by CLICKING HERE.

As a freshman in 2009, Garelick converted 28-of-32 extra points and made all six of his field goals within 30 yards. Garelick was also named Southland Conference Special Teams Player of the Week after knocking home two field goals in the fourth quarter against Northwestern State, including a game-winning 21-yard chip shot with 0ne minute, 55 seconds to play.

Garelick struggled with his accuracy as a sophomore, missing 8-of-12 attempts. He was 2-of-9 from 30-49 yards.

Texas State now has three kickers on its roster (Taylor Matlock, Joshua Nino de Guzman and Zac Ammar) with a heralded freshman coming in the fall (Will Johnson). Ammar saw action in 2010, converting both of his attempted field goals.

College Football: Observations from spring practice (3-26)

• It looks as if the No. 1 secondary, at least for Saturday, was Derek Lopez and Darryl Morris at the corners, Jason McLean, Xavier Daniels and Matt Harris at the safety spots.
  
• Coaches have been impressed by Harris' work ethic on the field and in the weight room.
• Phillip Benning had a tough day, but made up for it late. Benning was beat by Daren Dillard early in practice for about a 30-yard touchdown but Benning broke up a touchdown pass at the end of practice.
  
• Texas State had a ton of mistakes on offense, especially when trying to run the option. Counted at least five fumbles during those exchanges.
• Tyler Arndt and Tim Hawkins are splitting duties at the No. 1 QB spot, with Shaun Rutherford getting time at the No. 2 spot. Bryan Hill is the No. 3 guy.
  
• Players seemed surprised at the amount of people that showed up for Saturday's Bobcat Bonanza.

College Football: Notes from Pro Day

• Scouts from three teams (Packers, Panthers and Texans) watched several soon-to-graduate Texas State seniors participate in agility, speed and strength drills Wednesday morning.
• Cornerback Drenard Williams had the best vertical (37") and broad jump (10'3") out of those seniors put through their paces with wide receiver Da'Marcus Griggs coming in a close second (32", 10'2").
• Griggs lowered his personal best 40-yard dash time from 4.6 to 4.3 while Williams clocked a 4.4.
• Griggs' marks in the 40, broad jump and vertical leap were all personal bests.
• Sam Pier knocked out 22 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press while Marcus Clark and Woody McClendon each got 19.
  

College Football: Spring practice update

• Texas State head coach Dennis Franchione had the practice fields rearranged so that the Bobcats now have two 80-yard fields instead of one full-sized pitch.
• Former Texas State defensive coordinator Fred Bleil was out at Tuesday's practice to help chart plays for Franchione. Bleil, who had to go to the hospital not too long ago, lost a lot of weight but said he's feeling healthy.
• Franchione said the coaches decided to move former TE Devin Baker to offensive line. Baker supported the move and Franchione said Baker could be a "great" tackle if he bulks up and learns the technique.
• The Bobcats will don the pads again Thursday afternoon.
  

College Basketball: Breaking down the brackets

• First No. 1 seed to fall — Pittsburgh
• If only one No. 1 seed reaches the final, it is — Kansas
• Upset Alert: East — No. 11 Marquette vs. No. 6 Xavier
• Upset Alert: West — No. 13 Oakland vs. No. 4 Texas
• Upset Alert: Southwest — No. 12 Richmond vs. No. 5 Vanderbilt
• Upset Alert: Southeast — No. 11 Gonzaga vs. No. 6 St. John's
• Final Four — Ohio State (East), Arizona (West), Kansas (Southwest), Kansas State (Southeast)
• Absolutely bananas pick — Old Dominion to reach the Elite Eight
  

College Basketball: Bobcat opponents in the NCAA Tournament

• Texas-San Antonio will play Alabama State in the play-in game for the right to take on Ohio State.
• Long Island will play North Carolina in the first round.
• Texas will play Oakland in the first round.

Halftime Update: McNeese State 37, Texas State 29

• The Bobcats finally found a team that can run with them -- or better than them. The Cowboys have 10 fast-break points to Texas State's zero.
• The Bobcats aren't shooting well, only knocking down 36 percent of their shots from the field (9 of 25).
• McNeese also has 24 points in the paint, compared to 12 by Texas State.
• The Cowboys are also outrebounding the Bobcats, 21-15.
• Texas State needs to a better job of running its fast-break offense and defending McNeese's secondary break, when its shooters settle into their places.
  

College Basketball: Lede-ing the way

Here's a preview of my story in Thursday's Daily Record:

KATY -- Like the stars that they are, Texas State seniors Tony Bishop’s and Ryan White’s performances get better as the spotlight and stage grow.

Wednesday night in the quarterfinals of the Southland Conference Tournament, Bishop and White carried the Bobcats like they had throughout league play.

Bishop and White combined for 44 of Texas State’s 72 points in a 72-68 victory against Southeastern Louisiana. With the win, the Bobcats advanced to their first semifinal since 2003.

“These two guys next to me,” Texas State head coach Doug Davalos said during the post-game press conference, pointing at Bishop and White, “have two of the biggest hearts in the country. There’s not anybody else that I’d say have bigger hearts than these two guys.

“Whether it be laying out on the floor, trying to dive for a loose ball or battling against bigger or thicker guys every game, these guys give it their all and you saw what Ryan did tonight.”

For the rest, pick up a print edition of the Daily Record or check our Web site later Thursday afternoon.

College Basketball: Bobcats EARN a victory

Texas State head coach Doug Davalos made the best point of his post-game press conference in the middle of the nine-minute, 31-second interview.

After fielding a question from a reporter about what it meant to beat Southeastern Louisiana, Davalos took a breath and then spoke about the resolve of his team.

"These guys are just so resilient and I think it's because they've been through so much together that they don't ever think they're going to be out of a game," Davalos said. "I'd like [this win] to be a little bit easier, but in the postseason, you have to earn it."

Davalos' squad did exactly that Wednesday night. The Bobcats finally delivered for a full 40 minutes in the Southland Conference Tournament.

Not only did it advance Texas State into the semifinals for the first time since 2003, it got a two-year weight off its back. In their last two trips to the Merrell Center in Katy, the Bobcats choked away double-digit leads in losses to Nicholls State (2009) and Southeastern Louisiana (2010).

Texas State didn't let another disappointment happen again as it held the Lions to eight points in the final six minutes. The Bobcats recorded four stops (two steals), grabbed three defensive rebounds and went six-for-six from the free-throw line during that span.

After a 22-hour break, Texas State is back on the court Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. against McNeese State. The Bobcats lost to the Cowboys earlier this season, 97-92, but were without Cameron Johnson, who played one of his best, if not the best, defensive games of the season Wednesday night.

College Basketball: Quick poll

With two days to go until the SLC Tournament, I am feeling ____________ about what Texas State might do.survey software

College Basketball: An opportunity lost

Time to take stock of what Texas State lost yesterday in failing to defeat Sam Houston State:

• A share of its first regular-season title in the Southland Conference since 1998-99
• An automatic berth in the NIT, should the Bobcats not win the SLC Tournament
• A No. 2 seed in the SLC Tournament
• An opportunity to play UTSA again
• An opportunity at a winning record in the regular season

College Football: Darryl Morris, ladies and gentlemen

I prepared to write a Pulitzer Prize-winning blog entry about the first day of spring football practice and then I talked with Texas State junior cornerback Darryl Morris.

Take it away, Darryl.

On what it feels like to be back on the field — "It's exciting for everybody now. It's not like, 'Ugh, practice.' It’s like 'Yeah, practice.'"

On what it's like with the new coaching staff — "It's crazy out here. Every coach is just yelling, coaching up everybody left and right. In one day, I feel like we elevated all of our games up that much more than before. When we were doing workouts, just lifting, we were like 'This is good stuff.' Then we started meeting up with our coaches and everybody could tell this is going to be something special. We can trust the coaches now because they know what they're doing."

On if he felt the previous coaches were holding the team back (Morris led on throughout his answers that this was the case and when asked, he was given ample opportunity to pass on the question or say 'No comment') — "Yeah. I don't mind answering that. It's just a totally different atmosphere. It's exciting. I feel like we're getting coached better. The coaches we had here before, they were cool, but I feel like with these guys, we took a step up. We're going to the WAC. We have coaches that are actually Division I coaches. And just look at it out here [Morris points around the field]. It looks way different. We have all new equipment. A new board. The other time keeper board we had like tape wrapped around it. Sometimes it didn’t work at all. People actually care now. It’s fun to be out here.

College Basketball: Fox to retire

Texas State women's basketball coach Suzanne Fox will retire following Saturday's game against Sam Houston State.

You can read Texas State's release by CLICKING HERE.

College Football: Bobcats add two to 2012 schedule

Texas State announced this afternoon that Nevada and New Mexico have been added to the 2012 schedule. The Bobcats will host the Wolfpack on Sept. 29, 2012 and travel to play the Lobos the next week.

Spring practice for the 2011 season begins Saturday morning at 10 a.m.

College Basketball: Scenarios, scenarios

For the Texas State men:

• The Bobcats can clinch the West Division with a win OR a loss by Stephen F. Austin.
• The Bobcats can earn the No. 1 seed in the tournament if; they win out and McNeese State loses one of its final two games (both at home).

For the Texas State women:

• The Bobcats are currently out of the Southland Conference Tournament picture with two games remaining.
• Texas State needs to win one of its last two games and have Southeastern Louisiana and Texas-Arlington lose out.
• The Bobcats don't have a forgiving schedule, with 12-2 Lamar coming to Strahan Coliseum Wednesday night and Sam Houston State traveling to San Marcos on Saturday.

What do you think will happen?