GAME 11
Arkansas State (4-6, 2-4) hosts North Texas (1-8, 1-4)
November 15, 2007  l   Indian Stadium (30,406)
Jonesboro, Ark.   l  6:00 p.m.
Radio:  Arkansas State Radio Network (KWHF 95.9 FM, flagship)
Television:  ESPN Regional, Suddenlink Ch. 26 (Jonesboro)
XOS Webcasting (ASUIndians.com)

-Click here for PDF version of ASU game notes vs. North Texas- 

ON TAP:  Arkansas State will play its final home game of the season Thursday, hosting North Texas at 6:00 p.m. in a Sun Belt Conference game.  Every Arkansas State game can be heard live on 95.9 FM in the Jonesboro area and the live radio broadcast can be accessed through the Arkansas State athletic web site (ASUIndians.com).  The game is also being televised by ESPN Regional (Sam Smith and Doug Graber).

THE PRINCIPALS:  Arkansas State, which is 4-1 this season and 21-7 all-time under head coach Steve Roberts at Indian Stadium, will play its 2007 home finale Thursday against North Texas.  Holding a 2-4 Sun Belt Conference record, ASU will also wrap up its conference slate Thursday night before playing Southern Miss in its final game of the regular season.  The Mean Green is 0-5 this season in road games and 1-8 overall heading into Thursday's game.  North Texas has dropped its last three games, including a 74-62 setback at Fouts Field last Saturday. 

HEAD COACH STEVE ROBERTS:  Arkansas State head coach Steve Roberts is in his sixth year at Arkansas State after leading the Indians to the 2005 Sun Belt Conference Championship and its most single-season wins over Division I-A opponents in 2006.  During his first five seasons as the Indians' head coach, he guided ASU to 26 wins for its most over a five-year span at the school since winning 33 from 1986-1990.  Roberts was named the 2005 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year.  Under Roberts, the Indians have had 44 All-Sun Belt Conference selections, a Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year and a SBC Offensive Player of the Year.

ROBERTS CLIMBING VICTORIES LADDER:  In his first six seasons as the Indians head coach, Steve Roberts already has the fifth most victories among ASU's 26 all-time head coaches with 30 wins.  Larry Lacewell (1979-89) holds the record for victories with 69 and is followed by Bennie Ellender (1963-70) with 52 wins, Bill Davidson (1971-78) with 51 and Forrest England (1946-53) with 49.

SCOUTING THE MEAN GREEN:  North Texas is 1-8 on the year with its lone victory coming at home over Sun Belt Conference foe Louisiana-Monroe on Oct. 13.  The Mean Green dropped its next two SBC games to bring its league record to 1-4.  Last time out, North Texas lost a 74-62 shootout against Navy that set the NCAA record for combined points scored in a game.  Under new head coach Todd Dodge, NT has unleashed a high-powered passing attack that ranks No. 1 in the Sun Belt Conference and eighth in the nation with 317.9 yards per game through the air.  The Mean Green offense is led by freshman quarterback Giovanni Vizza, named the Sun Belt's Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after throwing for 478 yards and eight touchdowns against Navy, and junior wide receiver Casey Fitzgerald.  Fitzgerald is ranked third in the nation with 125 receiving yards per game and Vizza is ranked No. 2 in the Sun Belt in passing yards with 253.3 yards per game.  The Mean Green's rushing attack is paced by former national rushing champion Jamario Thomas, averaging 50.9 yards per game.  While the North Texas offense is putting up big numbers, its defense is ranked eighth in the Sun Belt Conference as it is giving up an average of 518 yards and 49.6 points per game.  Senior linebacker Derek Mendoza has posted a team-high 6.2 tackles per game and linebacker Craig Robertson has a team-best three interceptions.

THE ARKANSAS STATE - NORTH TEXAS SERIES:  The all-time series between Arkansas State and North Texas is tied 8-8 after ASU picked up a 29-10 victory over the Mean Green last season at Indian Stadium.  The Indians snapped a five-game skid to North Texas in 2005 with a 31-24 second-half comeback victory in Denton to end the regular season and clinch a berth to the New Orleans Bowl.  The all-time series dates back to the 1983 season, when NT defeated ASU 17-0 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

OLD TIES: While Arkansas State and North Texas have met the past six seasons as Sun Belt Conference opponents, it is not the first time the two teams have shared a league. Both the Indians and the Mean Green were members of the Big West Conference from 1999-2000 and the Southland Conference from 1983-1986.

LAST TIME vs. NORTH TEXAS:  JONESBORO (10/21/06) - Freshman tailback Reggie Arnold rushed for 121 yards and three touchdowns, and freshman Corey Leonard added 77 rushing yards, 187 passing yards and a touchdown through the air to lead Arkansas State to a 29-10 win over North Texas at Indian Stadium.  After battling to a 10-10 halftime tie, the Indians scored touchdowns on their first three possessions of the second half - all one-yard runs from Arnold - to distance themselves from the Mean Green, while ASU's defense limited North Texas to just 94 yards after the break.  Arnold's first touchdown capped a 77-yard drive on the Indians' initial possession of the second half. His second score followed an interception by Indian safety Khayyam Burns late in the third quarter, and his final touchdown came with 9:44 remaining in the game, giving the Indians a 29-10 lead that would prove to be the final score.  Offensively, Leonard finished the night with 264 yards of total offense, then a career high. Kevin Jones also posted career-best numbers on the night finishing the game with three receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown.

ASU vs. SUN BELT CONFERENCE:  Arkansas State is 51-51-1 all-time against current members of the Sun Belt Conference.  Since the league's inaugural football season in 2001, the Indians are 22-24 against all opponents that have been a member of the league. Against current members of the conference, ASU is 17-20 since 2001. The Indians hold their most all-time victories against Louisiana-Lafayette with 17, while its most victories against a Sun Belt opponent since 2001 is Louisiana-Monroe with four. The Indians have defeated every team in the Sun Belt Conference since the football league was formed in 2001.

LAST TIME OUT:  FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (11/10/07) - Florida Atlantic overcame a back-and-forth 60-minute battle to power past Arkansas State 34-31 with a late fourth-quarter touchdown.  FAU's Rusty Smith completed a six-yard touchdown pass with 2:49 left in the game cap its fourth-quarter rally.
 Sophomore quarterback Corey Leonard was 19-for-33 with 131 yards, while sophomore Reggie Arnold rushed for 58 and two touchdowns. Sophomore Brandon Thompkins recorded 156 kickoff return yards for the Tribe.
 FAU took a 17-10 halftime lead before the Indians came back to score two unanswered touchdowns to start the third quarter.  Following an FAU field goal with 1:15 remaining in the third quarter that made the score 24-20 in favor of ASU, the Indians extended their lead to 31-20 13:06 remaining in the game.  However, FAU scored the games final 14 points, including the game-winner with 2:49 to play, to claim the win.

ROBERTS AND INDIAN STADIUM:  Arkansas State head coach Steve Roberts has led the Indians to a 21-7 record at Indian Stadium over the last six years for a .750 winning percentage.  Not only that, the Indians are 12-2 at Indian Stadium over the last three seasons.

ROBERTS IN CLOSE GAMES:  Sixth-year skipper Steve Roberts has seen numerous close games during his tenure with the Indians, holding a 17-8 record in games decided by eight points or less (33 percent of all his games).  Roberts' teams have been especially successful recently in games decided by just one score, holding a 15-5 record in its last 20 games that ended under those circumstances.  Following is his record in close games:
Margin   Roberts record
1 point 1-0
2 points 1-0
3 points 5-4
4 points 4-1
5 points 0-1
6 points 2-0
7 points 3-1
8 points 1-1

INDIAN FAMILY SALUTE:  The ASU Athletics Department will hold a special salute to its long-time mascot, the Indian Family, at halftime of the football team's 2007 home finale Nov. 15 against North Texas.  The salute will pay tribute to an integral part of ASU's proud history as the Indian Family will make its final appearance at Indian Stadium as the University's official mascot.  ASU will proudly continue to use its Indians' nickname and Indian Family mascot throughout the remainder of the 2007-08 athletic seasons, but will hold an official retirement of the nickname and mascot this spring at one of its basketball games.  ASU is currently in the process of changing its nickname and mascot in order to be compliant with the NCAA's policy on the use of Native American nicknames and imagery.

SENIOR NIGHT: ASU will have 17 seniors take the field Thursday for their final game at Indian Stadium.  ASU's 2007 seniors are:
 DB(4):  Darren Toney, Tyrell Johnson, Montis Harrison, Khayyam Burns
 RB (1):  Chris Easley
 WR (3):  Chris Miller, Levi Dejohnette, Joe Smith
 LB (1): Koby McKinnon
 OL (4):  Matt Reibe, Heath Lockley, Vincent Thrower, Kyle Koets
 DL (4):  Prince Hickman, Curtis Bonds, Brandon Rollins, Rob Ramage

WHAT GIVES?:  North Texas is ranked No. 1 in the Sun Belt Conference in passing offense, while ASU is ranked No. 2 in pass defense.  The Mean Green is averaging 317.9 passing yards per game, while the Indians are giving up 208.4 passing yards per game.  While the Mean Green has passed for over 300 yards four times this season, ASU has allowed 300 passing yards just once.  North Texas has posted over 200 yards passing seven games this year, while ASU has not allowed 200 passing yards five of its last six outings.

LEONARD O'BRIEN AWARD SEMIFINALIST:  Sophomore Corey Leonard is one of 15 players nationwide to be named a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award.  In addition, Leonard is one of just four players named to the list that is not a junior or senior.  Leonard is ranked 39th in the nation in total offense and has been named the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week three times this season.

QUICK CLIMB:  Corey Leonard is making a quick climb up the all-time passing records at Arkansas State.  Leonard is already ranked seventh all-time for career completions (257), eighth for passing yards (3,129) and tied for fifth in passing touchdowns (22).  With 1,812 passing yards over his first nine games played, Leonard has already passed his total  for all of last season (1,321).

DUAL THREAT:  Corey Leonard is ranked 39th in the nation in total offense with 247 yards per game.  He posted a career-high 359 yards of total offense against Louisiana-Lafayette and has recorded more total yards of offense in five of his first nine games played than he had in a game for all of last season.  Leonard combined to throw and rush for 329 yards against Memphis, 318 yards against SMU and 296 yards against both Texas and Louisiana-Monroe.

FLAGG NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT:  ? Junior defensive Brian Flagg has been named a First Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI selection for the second time of his career.  Flagg, also an Academic All-District VI pick as a sophomore in 2005, missed the entire 2006 season with an injury before coming back to start every game this season for the Indians.  He has posted 36 tackles, including 4.5 for loss, and 1.5 sacks this season while holding down a 3.84 GPA in Engineering.

TWICE AS NICE:  While senior safety Tyrell Johnson broke the Sun Belt Conference record for career tackles, his teammate and fellow safety Khayyam Burns also broke the old record of 300 tackles two games ago against Florida International.  Burns tied his career high for tackles each of the last two games with 11 against both FIU and FAU, giving him 313 for his career.

SPECIAL TEAMS SUCCESS:  Arkansas State has consistently performed well this season on special teams, actually ranking among the top three teams in the Sun Belt Conference for kickoff returns (1st), punt return average (3rd), punting (3rd), PAT kicking (T-1st) and kickoff coverage (3rd).  In fact, ASU is the only team in the league ranked among the top three teams in all the above categories.  The Indians have not allowed a kick return for a touchdown since 1998 and FIU's punt return for a touchdown two games ago was the first allowed by ASU since the 2003 campaign.

DEFENSE SHINING:  The Indians are backing up their defensive performance from last season when they ranked second in the Sun Belt Conference in total defense, ranking first in the league this season.  However, while ASU finished last season ranked 34th in the nation in total defense, it is currently ranked 50th this year.

back-to-back-to-back:  ASU must win its last two regular-season games to finish with a .500 record for the third consecutive year.  If ASU wins its last two games, it will have posted six wins in three consecutive seasons for the first time since 1985-87.  ASU won six games three times in head coach Steve Roberts' first five years.

pick it off:  ASU recorded two interceptions last game to tie its season high, also set against Texas, Tennessee and FIU, and has now intercepted at least one pass in each of the last four games after going three straight games without an interception.  ASU's six interceptions over its last four games is more than it had for its first six games combined (5).  ASU, which has 11 interceptions on the season, ranked ninth in the nation last season with 19 picks.

multiple weapons: ASU completed at least one pass to a season-high nine receivers each of the last two games and has now completed a pass to at least eight different players in five games this season.  ASU has completed a pass to at least seven players in eight of its 10 games.

DEJOHNETTE POSTING CAREER-BEST NUMBERS:  Ten games into the season, senior wide receiver Levi Dejohnette already has more receptions (50) and yards (565) than he posted his freshman, sophomore or junior seasons.  His 50 receptions are seven more than his previous best of 43, set his junior season, and he has 11 more yards than his previous career-best total set during his junior year (2005) as well.  Dejohnette was an All-Sun Belt Conference selection in 2005.

THOMPKINS BREAKS ASU KICK RETURN RECORD:  Sophomore Brandon Thompkins has 42 kicks for 927 yards this year to break the single-season record at ASU.  Thompkins replaces Robert Kilow, who picked up 724 yards during the 2000 season, as the single-season leader in the stat.  Thompkins' 927 kickoff return yards are also the second most in Sun Belt Conference history for a single season, just 61 yards shy of the most in SBC history.

FINISHING IN THE RED ZONE: ASU reversed its fortune in the red zone in a big way.  Since posting just two scores in six red zone trips against Texas in its season opener, the Indians have scored on 30 of its 36 trips in the red zone over the last eight games for an .833 scoring percentage.

PICKING UP THE PACE:  While junior linebacker Ben Owens did not record more than eight tackles in any of ASU's first four games, he has posted double-figure tackles in three of the last six.  Owens is ranked seventh in the SBC in tackles.

TEAM DEFENSE:  Arkansas State has four players ranked among the top 10 in the Sun Belt Conference for tackles, including linebacker Koby McKinnon at No. 3.  Joining McKinnon as ASU players ranked in the top 10 in the SBC for tackles are linebacker Ben Owens and safeties Tyrell Johnson and Khayyam Burns.

arauco tOPS personal best:  With one field goal last game, Josh Aruaco now has 13 on the season to top his total for all of last season.  His 13 field goals ties the fourth most in school history for a single season and leaves him ranked tied for 45th in the nation in field goals made (1.3 per game).  His 25 career field goals leaves him two shy of tying the sixth most in school history for a career.

AUTOMATIC ARAUCO:  Sophomore kicker Josh Arauco has made 25-of-25 extra point attempts this season and has made 29 in a row dating back to last season, which ranks as the sixth longest streak in ASU history.  Arauco had a streak of eight consecutive field goals made earlier this season that ranked as the second longest in school history and tied the school record last year with 10 in a row.

OFFENSIVE OUTBURST:  Arkansas State posted a school-record 681 yards of total offense against Louisiana-Lafayette on Oct. 13, recording 406 rushing yards and 275 passing yards.  The game is one of two this season in which the Indians have posted over 500 yards of offense (516 vs. SMU).

AMONG THE BEST IN THE BELT:  Arkansas State is ranked among the top three teams in the Sun Belt Conference in 11 statistical categories and in the top half of the league in 16 categories.

MOVING THE CHAINS:  ASU racked up a season-high 33 first downs against Louisiana-Lafayette on Oct. 13, a total good enough to rank as the second most in school history for a single game.  ASU also posted the fifth most first downs in school history earlier this year with 29 vs. SMU.

NEW LEAGUE LEADER: Preseason Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year Tyrell Johnson recorded seven tackles against Memphis on Sep. 27 to give him 302 for his career and break the Sun Belt Conference record, previously held by ASU's Steven Tookes.  Tookes, who played for the Indians from 2001-04, finished his career with 300 tackles.  Johnson now has 342 career tackles to his credit.

BREAK IT UP: Senior safety Tyrell Johnson has recorded a career-tying four interceptions and four pass break-ups this season.  He now has 11 career interceptions and 15 break-ups for his career.  Ten games into the 2007 season, Johnson needs just one more pass break-up to tie his career best of five for an entire season (2004).

THOMPKINS OVER 1,000:  Brandon Thompkins has returned 42 kickoffs for 927 yards this season, the most in ASU history, to give him 1,475 yards for his career and move him into third place all-time for career yards in the stat.

GAINING GROUND:  With 898 rushing yards this season, sophomore running back Reggie Arnold now has 1,974 career rushing yards to leave him just  208 yards shy of joining the top 10 career rushing leaders in ASU history.  Arnold has rushed for at least 100 yards in four games this season and has reached the mark nine times for his career for the seventh most in school history.

RUSHING REGGIE:  Reggie Arnold rushed for a career-high 225 yards against Louisiana-Lafayette this season, a total good enough to rank as the third most in ASU history for a single game and the most ever by an ASU player at Indian Stadium.

LEONARD BREAKS RECORD:  Corey Leonard broke the school record for touchdown passes in a single game with five against Louisiana-Lafayette.  Nine games into the season, Leonard has 14 touchdown passes to leave him just one shy of the school record for a single season.

400TH VICTORY:  With its victory over Louisiana-Lafayette this year, ASU became the fifth Sun Belt Conference school with 400 all-time wins.  ASU is in its 93rd season of football and holds an all-time record of 401-426-37 since its inaugural 1911 season.  The Indians have played in seven bowl games, including the 2005 New Orleans Bowl.

REIBE named draddy trophy semifinalist: The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) has announced the 67 Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) semifinalists, including ASU senior offensive lineman Matt Reibe (El Dorado, Ark.), for the 2007 Draddy Trophy.  One of college football's most sought after and competitive awards, the Draddy Trophy recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the country for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary community leadership.  Each semifinalist on the list must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.

CALL IT A COMEBACK:  ASU posted its biggest comeback victory in school history Sept. 27 against Memphis, erasing a 31-6 halftime deficit by scoring 29 unanswered second-half points to claim the 35-31 win.  ASU's next closest rallies came from 21 points down (vs. Lamar, 1989, and Southern Illinois, 1992).

FAN SUPPORT:  The crowd of 27,774 on hand for the Memphis game (Sept. 27) was the third largest in Indian Stadium history.  Seven of the top 14 crowds in Indian Stadium history have been played since 2002, head coach Steve Roberts first year at ASU.

ASU PLAYS IN FRONT OF RECORD CROWD:  The crowd of 102,368 in attendance at Neyland Stadium for the Tennessee-ASU game Sept. 22 was the largest to ever watch an Indians' football game.  The previous largest crowd was 91,611 when the Indians played at Louisiana State in 2004.

HOME OPENERS:  ASU improved to 5-1 in home openers played at Indian Stadium under sixth-year head coach Steve Roberts with its victory over SMU on Sept. 15.  The Indians are now 23-11 all-time in home openers at Indian Stadium, which opened in 1974.

SBC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:  The Indians have had four players named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week at least once this season.  Most recently, Corey Leonard was named the offensive player of the week for the third time this season on Oct. 14. ASU has now had a player named the league's offensive, defensive or special teams player of the week a combined six times.  Tyrell Johnson (Sr., S) was named the defensive player of the week Sept. 3, while Brandon Thompkins (So., WR/KR) and Kevin Jones (Jr., WR/PR) were both named the special teams player of the week earlier this year.

STRINGING IT TOGETHER:  ASU has had two scoring drives that went at least 93 yards, including a 97-yard drive against SMU, and nine that covered at least three quarters of the football field.  ASU had seven drives that covered at least 75 yards, including a long of 84 yards, for all of last season.

FIVE-YEAR IMPROVEMENT:  During sixth-year head coach Steve Roberts' first five seasons at Arkansas State the football program saw its win total increase by almost 100 percent over the previous five years.  ASU posted 26 wins over Roberts' first five years, 11 more than it recorded the five years prior to Roberts.  In fact, ASU's 26 wins over those five years are the most for a five-year span since it collected 33 victories from 1986-90.

a good HOMECOMING:  Arkansas State won its fifth consecutive homecoming game with its 52-21 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette, bringing its record to 53-26-1 all-time in homecoming games.

TEAM CAPTAINS:  ASU's senior class will alternate throughout the year as team captains.  The team will vote on permanent captains at the end of the year.

SBC Preseason awards:  The 2007 preseason accolades continued to pile up for Arkansas State football players Tyrell Johnson (Sr., S), Matt Mandich (Jr., OL) and Koby McKinnon (Sr., LB) as all three were named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference Team and Johnson was tabbed the league's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, announced at the conference's annual media days.

ASU Predicted to Finish Third in 2007 SBC Race:  The Arkansas State football team was picked to finish third in the 2007 Sun Belt Conference race according to the league's preseason poll of its eight head coaches, announced by the conference office.
 ASU received one first-place vote and 43 points, finishing just one point behind second-place Middle Tennessee in the voting.  Defending New Orleans Bowl champion Troy received five of the eight first place votes and 59 points to finish first in the poll.

TV TIME:  ASU's six regular-season televised games for 2007 are the most in school history, just ahead of the 2005 season when the Indians were on television four times during the regular season.

17 AND UNDER:  Arkansas State holds a 14-2 record under head coach Steve Roberts when holding its opponents to 17 points or less.  However, ASU is 11-30 over the last five seasons when allowing 17 or more points. The Indians have won their last 11 consecutive games when holding their opponent to 17 or fewer points and has won 26 straight games when holding their opponents to 10 or fewer points.

ASU ADDS DEEP SNAPPER ADAM GASTON:  Included among the 105 players reporting for ASU's fall camp was one additional scholarship player in deep snapper Adam Gaston.  The 5-9, 215-pound Gaston was a three-year varsity letterman for the Oak Grove High School (Hattiesburg, Miss.) football team, where he earned first team all-district honors as a senior.  He helped lead Oak Grove to a 34-7 record in three years.
 He was ranked among the top 10 high school long snappers in the nation according to several websites, including prokicker.com's No. 1 spot for its Ray Guy/ProKicker.com National Camp rankings.  He was also ranked among the top 12 underclassmen deep snappers in the nation at the 4th annual National Kicking Competition hosted by Chris Sailer Kicking in Las Vegas in January of 2006.  Gaston was a member of the Oak Grove High School swimming team.

ASU Football Radio Broadcasts to be Carried by KABF 88.3 FM in Little Rock:  Arkansas State football fans in and around Central Arkansas will have no problems following the Tribe this season, as ASU Athletics and East Arkansas Broadcasters have announced that all ASU Football games this year will be carried on KABF 88.3 FM in Little Rock.
 KABF is operated by the Arkansas Broadcasting Foundation and has a 100,000-watt signal. The station's signal reaches more than 70 miles on any side of the Capitol City, reaching Brinkley to the east, Fordyce to the south, Clarksville to the west and the Twin Lakes area to the north.

ARNOLD ON DOAK WALKER AWARD WATCH LIST:  Reggie Arnold has been listed among the 51 candidates for the 2007 Doak Walker Award, presented annually to the nation's top college running back.  Arnold was named All-Sun Belt Conference, Sporting News Third Team Freshman All-America and Football Writers Association of America Scripps Freshman All-America after rushing for 1,076 yards and four touchdowns in 2006.  The 2006 Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year was twice named the league's Offensive Player of the Week and finished last year ranked third in the nation among all freshmen for rushing yards.  Arnold has also been named Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference by 2007 football publications such as Athlon's, Phil Steele's and Lindy's.

McKINNON ON BUTKUS AWARD WATCH LIST:  Koby McKinnon (Junction City, Ark.) has been named to the 2007 Butkus Award Watch List, announced Tuesday morning by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, Inc. (DACO).  McKinnon, a 2007 Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selection, is one of 66 candidates for this year's award that also includes three players from the Sun Belt Conference.  McKinnon has been named Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference by several football publications, including Athlon's, Sporting News, Phil Steele's, Lindy's and Street & Smith's magazines.

JOHNSON ON BRONKO NAGURSKI WATCH LIST:  Safety Tyrell Johnson (Sr. Rison, Ark.) is one of just 49 players from across the nation to appear on the watch list for the 2007 Bronko Nagurski Trophy.  The award is given annually to the best defensive player in college football by the Charlotte Touchdown Club.  Johnson was the only Sun Belt Conference player to appear on the watch list, which is compiled by the FWAA All-America committee, with input from schools and conferences from across the country.

O'NEAL DRAFTED & MAKES ROSTER:  Former Arkansas State standout fullback Oren O'Neal (Stuttgart, Ark.) was selected by the Oakland Raiders with the first pick in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft on April 29, and has made the Raiders roster for the 2007 season.  The Raiders made O'Neal the 175th overall pick and the third fullback taken in the draft.  O'Neal became the 40th ASU player to ever be selected in the NFL draft and the first since Corey Williams was taken in the sixth round of the 2004 draft by the Green Bay Packers.  Over 90 all-time Arkansas State players have signed pro contracts with a NFL franchise.

TEAM ACADEMIC AWARD:  The Arkansas State football team has won the Sun Belt Conference Team Academic Award three of the past four years, including 2006-07.

AFCA AWARD:  Prior to the start of the 2007 season, the American Football Coaches Association announced that the Arkansas State University football team was one of just 34 Division I-A football programs that graduated 70 percent or more of its student-athletes  from their freshman classes of 2001-02.

THE WOLF NEW FLAGSHIP FOR ASU RADIO:  The Arkansas State University Athletic Department, along with East Arkansas Broadcasters, announced July 6, 2007, that radio station KWHF 95.9 FM “The Wolf” will become the flagship station for ASU football for the 2007 season.

ROBERTS PARTICIPATES IN YOUTH FOOTBALL CLINIC:  Arkansas State Head Football Coach Steve Roberts joined the head football coaches from all the Sun Belt Conference schools on July 22 in hosting a free youth football clinic as part of a recent $750,000 contribution by NCAA Football to Youth Football Initiatives in the city of New Orleans.  The Sun Belt and Conference USA are working with NCAA Football and the New Orleans Recreation Department to provide two clinics. Roberts and fellow Sun Belt coaches participated July 22 at the Wilson Athletic Center at Tulane University, while Conference USA coaches will host July 30.

A TIME TO BOND:  When Head Coach Steve Roberts came to ASU, he brought a tradition with him which caught on in a hurry with the players.  The night before each game, team members and coaches get together for milk and cookies.  During this time, each player sits by and visits with at least three other players he has not visited with throughout the week in order to learn more about his teammates.