GAME 10
Arkansas State (4-5, 2-2) hosts Florida Atlantic (5-5, 3-2)
November 22, 2008 l ASU Stadium (30,406)
Jonesboro, Arkansas l 2:00 p.m.
Radio: Arkansas State Radio Network (KFIN 107.9 FM, flagship)
Television: ESPN Plus, Suddenlink Ch. 26 (Jonesboro), Jump TV Webcasting (astateredwolves.com)
Live Stats: astateredwolves.com (broadcast & media link)
-Click here for PDF version of ASU game notes vs. Florida Atlantic-
ON TAP: Arkansas State plays its fifth Sun Belt Conference game and final home game of the season Saturday when it hosts Florida Atlantic on the Red Wolves Senior Day. Every Arkansas State game can be heard live on 107.9 FM in the Jonesboro area and the live radio broadcast can be accessed through the Arkansas State athletic Web site (astateredwolves.com).
THE PRINCIPALS: ASU wrapped up a three-game road swing its last time out and is coming off its third and final open week of the season to play Florida Atlantic in another key Sun Belt Conference game. The Red Wolves will try to snap a three-game skid and get back to .500 in a game that could have big implications on the Sun Belt Conference race. The Red Wolves take a 3-1 home record into Saturday's game, while Florida Atlantic takes a 2-4 road record into the game. After dropping five of its first six games, the Owls have won their last four games that includes a 40-29 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette last weekend.
HEAD COACH STEVE ROBERTS: Arkansas State head coach Steve Roberts is in his seventh year at Arkansas State after leading the Red Wolves to the 2005 Sun Belt Conference Championship and their most single-season wins over NCAA FBS opponents in 2006. During his first six seasons as the Red Wolves' head coach, he guided ASU to 31 wins for its most over a six-year span at the school since 1986-1991. Roberts was named the 2005 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year. Under Roberts, the Red Wolves have had 53 All-Sun Belt Conference selections, an Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year, SBC Offensive Player of the Year, SBC Defensive Player of the Year and SBC Newcomer of the Year.
ROBERTS CLIMBING VICTORIES LADDER: In his first six-plus seasons as the Red Wolves head coach, Steve Roberts already has the fifth most victories among ASU's 26 all-time head coaches with 35 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.
DEBUT OF THE RED WOLVES: The Arkansas State football team is competing in its first season as the Red Wolves after changing its nickname and mascot from Indians at the conclusion of the 2007-08 athletic seasons. More information on the Red Wolves mascot and logos, as well as the change in names can be found on page 171 of the 2008 ASU Football Media Guide.
THE ARKANSAS STATE - FLORIDA ATLANTIC SERIES: The Red Wolves and Owls have met just three times since their first meeting in 2005, which ASU won 3-0 in overtime at ASU Stadium. However, the Owls have won the last two seasons to take a 2-1 advantage in the series. FAU claimed a 29-0 win at Lockhart Stadium in 2006 to even the series and then picked up a narrow 34-31 home victory last season.
ARKANSAS STATE vs. SUN BELT CONFERENCE: Arkansas State is 54-53-1 all-time against current members of the Sun Belt Conference. Since the league's inaugural football season in 2001, the Red Wolves are 25-26 against all opponents that have been a member of the league. Against current members of the conference, ASU is 20-22 since 2001. The Red Wolves 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 five. The Red Wolves have defeated every team in the Sun Belt Conference since the football league was formed in 2001.
ASU BLACK OUT SET FOR HOME FINALE: Fans are encouraged to “black out” ASU Stadium for the final home game against Florida Atlantic. ASU Athletics is asking that fans wear anything black to show their support for the team and seniors that will be playing in their last game at ASU Stadium. They want to finish the season strong and show off the great fan support of this season.
ASU/FAU NEW ORLEANS BOWL SCENARIOS: Both Arkansas State and Florida Atlantic must win all their remaining regular-season games to have a shot at representing the Sun Belt Conference in the New Orleans Bowl. If Arkansas State wins out and Troy beats Louisiana-Lafayette this Saturday, the Red Wolves clinch the New Orleans Bowl by virtue of a head-to-head win over Troy (ASU and Troy meet in the last game of the regular season). If Florida Atlantic wins out, UL Lafayette beats Troy, and Middle Tennessee beats UL Lafayette, then Florida Atlantic clinches the New Orleans Bowl by virtue of a head-to-head win over UL Lafayette.
SENIOR DAY: ASU will have 16 seniors take the field Saturday for their final game at ASU Stadium. ASU's 2008 seniors are:
DEFENSE (5): Dominique Williams (DB), Brian Flagg (DE), Anthony Harris (DE), Page Gill (DL), Ben Owens (LB).
OFFENSE (10): Mark Clemons (OL), Brandon Ciaramitaro (OL), Zach Eichenberger (OL), Matt Mandich (OL), Sean Marshall (OL), Travis Hewitt (QB), Vernon Catlin (TE), David Johnson (TE), Kevin Jones (WR), Richard Neal (WR).
SPECIAL TEAMS (1): Brett Shrable (P).
COMING OFF THE OPEN WEEK: ASU is 1-1 after coming off its first two of three open weeks this season, the most ever under a Steve Roberts coached team. The Red Wolves are now 3-2 all-time under Roberts in games following an open week. Following is ASU's scores after coming off an open week under Roberts:
10/11/08 vs. UL Monroe W, 37-29
11/1/08 at No.2 Alabama L, 0-35
9/15/07 vs. SMU W, 45-28
10/13/05 vs. UL Lafayette W, 39-36
11/5/05 at Middle Tennessee L, 7-45
THREE-TIME ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT VI: Senior defensive end Brian Flagg (Ripley, Tenn.), was named a First Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI selection for the third time of his career on Nov. 6. Flagg, also an Academic All-District VI selection as a sophomore and junior, has started every game this season for the Red Wolves while holding down a 3.78 GPA in Electrical Engineering.
NICE CROWDS: ASU's first four home crowds of the 2008 season all rank among the top 10 in ASU Stadium history. Not only that, it is the first time in ASU history that the football team played four home games each in front of 20,000 or more spectators during the same season. The combined crowds for ASU's first three games this season(94,680) is the largest for any four games played at ASU Stadium in the same season. ASU's current average home attendance of 23,670 is nearly 6,000 spectators higher than its school record for average home attendance during a single season. Following is attendance for each home game this season and where it ranks all-time at ASU:
Southern Miss 25,938 4th
Middle Tennessee 24,256 6th
ULM 22,745 8th
Texas Southern 21,741 10th
ROBERTS AND ASU STADIUM: Arkansas State head coach Steve Roberts has led the Red Wolves to a 25-8 record at ASU Stadium over the last seven years for a .781 winning percentage. Not only that, the Red Wolves are 16-3 at ASU Stadium over the last four seasons.
ARAUCO NAMED LOU GROZA SEMIFINALIST: Josh Arauco has been named as one of 20 semifinalists for the 2008 Lou Groza Collegiate Placekicker Award presented by the FedEx Orange Bowl. Arauco is the seventh leading scorer in the nation among kickers and is sixth for field goals made this season. He has been named Sun Belt Conference Special Teams Player of the Week three times. He is a perfect 15-of-15 on field goal attempts this year, is the ASU career field goal leader with 42 and is second all-time in the Sun Belt Conference.
ARAUCO BREAKS SCHOOL RECORD: Junior kicker Josh Arauco has made 15 field goals this season to push his career total to a school-record 42. Arauco passed Jeff Caldwell for the record. Caldwell hit 40 field goals from 1993-96. Arauco's 42 field goals also ties the second most in Sun Belt Conference history and leave him eight shy of tying the league record of 50 that is held by Troy's Greg Whibbs.
AUTOMATIC ARAUCO: Junior kicker Josh Arauco has made his first 15 field goals this season, breaking the school record for consecutive field goals made. Arauco broke the record against ULM, topping the previous record of 10 straight field goals that he shared with two other players in school history. He has also made his first 28 extra points this season, extending his streak of consecutive makes to 66. His 66 straight successful extra points is the second longest streak in ASU history, behind only Eric Neihouse's 78 straight makes from 2003-05.
SPREADING THE WEALTH: Junior quarterback Corey Leonard has completed at least one pass to 12 different players this season. Six of those 12 players have double figure receptions and no more than 17 percent of quarterback Corey Leonard's completions this season have gone to any one player.
CLOSING IN ON 1,000: Junior wide receiver Brandon Thompkins needs just 99 receiving yards to become the 12th player in ASU history to record 1,000 career receiving yards. With 69 career receptions, Thompkins also needs just 13 receptions to take over 10th place for the most receptions in ASU history.
REACHING THE END ZONE: Arkansas State has 15 players that have scored a touchdown this season, which is the fourth most in the nation. Just six teams have more players with a touchdown. Miami leads the nation with 17 players. Senior tight end David Johnson and junior running back Reggie Arnold lead ASU with five touchdowns each.
USING THE CLOCK: Arkansas State is ranked 18th in the nation in time of possession and has used more clock than seven of its nine opponents this season. The Red Wolves are 4-3 in those games and is averaging 32:05 in time of possession. While ASU finished 63rd in the nation in time of possession last season, it was ranked fourth in 2006 with an average 33:03.
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: Arkansas State has taken care of business in the red zone this season, raking first in the Sun Belt Conference and tied for fifth in the nation. The Red Wolves have scored 94 percent of the time they have entered the red zone this season, which includes 20 touchdowns and 12 field goals in 34 trips.
PICK IT OFF: ASU has 11 interceptions on the season to rank tied for 48th in the nation in the stat. The Red Wolves have posted at least one interception in seven of their nine games this season and 13 of their last 15 dating back to last year.
GETTING TO THE QUARTERBACK: ASU recorded 25 sacks over its first nine games, including a season-high five against Louisiana-Lafayette. While ASU posted a season-high three sacks last season, it has already had four or more sacks in three games this season. ASU finished with 13 sacks for all of last season. ASU is ranked No. 1 in the Sun Belt and tied for 11th in the nation in sacks.
WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE: ASU is currently 16th in the nation in turnover margin, forcing 19 opponent turnovers while giving up just 10 of its own. ASU has recorded multiple turnovers in a game five times this season. The Red Wolves are also 4-0 this season when winning the turnover battle.
PUTTING POINTS ON THE BOARD: ASU, ranked third in the Sun Belt Conference and 45th in the nation in scoring offense, has scored at least 30 points in a game three times this season, including a season-high 37 points against ULM. The Red Wolves have posted at least 30 points in three games this season. ASU has now scored 30 or more points in at least three games during four of seven seasons under head coach Steve Roberts. Under Roberts, ASU is 16-3 when scoring at least 30 points in a game.
THOMPKINS BREAKS SCHOOL RECORD: Brandon Thompkins broke the school record for career kickoff return yards this season, and now has 1,906 for his career. Thompkins is also ranked second for career kickoff return yards in the Sun Belt Conference behind only Troy's Leodis McKelvin (2,346 yards from 2004-07).
GLOVER POSTS TOP TACKLE NUMBERS: Sophomore linebacker Darius Glover's 14 tackles against Louisiana-Lafayette were not only a personal career high, they were the most by an ASU player since the Red Wolves' 2007 season opener (a span of 19 games). Glover is currently fourth on the team and 36th in the Sun Belt Conference in tackles with 43.
BUCKLE DOWN: The ASU defense has not given up more than 14 points in three games this season, while the lowest score by an ASU opponent last year was 16 points. The last time ASU held more opponents to 14 or fewer points was 2006 when it did so five times. ASU is ranked first in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring defense, giving up 23.1 points per game.
TOUCHDOWN GRAB: Senior tight end David Johnson has five touchdown catches. Those five touchdown grabs not only top Johnson's total touchdown receptions for the last three years combined (4), they are enough to rank tied for the fifth most in school history for a single season. Just four ASU players have ever caught more touchdown passes in a single-season than Johnson already has this year.
LEONARD MILESTONES: Corey Leonard has already hit several milestones this season. The junior quarterback is just the third player in school history to pass for over 5,000 yards (5,246), the third player to throw at least 30 touchdowns (36) and the third player to record over 6,000 yards of total offense (6,509). Leonard is already ranked second all-time at ASU for passing touchdowns and third for completions (396), passing yards and total offense.
DISRUPTING THE BACKFIELD: Alex Carrington already has a Sun Belt Conference-high 16.0 tackles for loss, which more than doubles his previous career best for a single season (5 in 2007). Carrington has a league-high 11 sacks as well, which easily tops his total of two for his freshman and sophomore seasons combined. The junior defensive end is ranked third in the nation in tackles for loss and second- in sacks.
AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE: ASU is currently ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation in four statistical categories: turnover margin (16), sacks (11), tackles for loss (16) and rushing offense (16). ASU is ranked among the top 50 teams in the nation in 10 statistical categories.
LEADING THE SUN BELT: Arkansas State leads the Sun Belt Conference in nine statistical categories, including turnover margin and scoring defense. ASU is ranked among the top two teams in the league in 13 statistical categories, including total defense and rushing offense.
OFFENSIVE UPRISING: ASU surpassed 400 yards of total offense in four of its first nine games, while only reaching the 400-yard mark in three games for all of last season. ASU is ranked third in the Sun Belt Conference and 37th in the nation in total offense after the season's first 12 weeks of play.
ROBERTS IN CLOSE GAMES: Seventh-year skipper Steve Roberts has seen numerous close games during his tenure with the Red Wolves, holding a 20-12 record in games decided by eight points or less (38 percent of all his games). Roberts' teams have been especially successful recently in games decided by just one score, holding an 18-9 record in its last 27 games that ended under those circumstances. Following is his record in close games:
Margin Roberts record
1 point 1-1
2 points 1-0
3 points 5-5
4 points 6-1
5 points 0-2
6 points 2-1
7 points 3-1
8 points 2-1
17 AND UNDER: Arkansas State holds a 16-3 record under head coach Steve Roberts when holding its opponents to 17 points or less. The Red Wolves have won 13 of their last 14 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.
DOUBLE-DIGIT COMEBACKS: Arkansas State has rallied for a victory in seven games when trailing by double-digits under head coach Steve Roberts. Following is a year-by-year list of ASU's double-digit comeback victories under Roberts:
Year Opponent Trailed by Final
2002 ULM 11 33-2
2003 ULM 14 44-41
2003 NMSU 10 28-24
2005 ULL 16 39-36
2005 UNT 10 31-24
2007 Memphis 25 31-24
2007 UNT 21 31-27
2008 TAMU 11 18-14
GAINING GROUND: With 2,872 career rushing yards, junior running back Reggie Arnold is ranked sixth among the career rushing leaders in ASU history. Arnold has rushed for at least 100 yards in a game 12 times, including the Texas A&M and Texas Southern games, for his career for the fourth (tied) most in school history.
ASU TWICE SWEEPS WEEKLY SBC AWARDS: Arkansas State has swept the weekly Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week awards twice this season. ASU was awarded the offensive, defensive and special teams awards following their victories over Texas A&M and Middle Tennessee. Junior quarterback Corey Leonard has been named the league's offensive player of the week twice this season and six times for his career. Daylan Walker and Ben Owens have been named the SBC Defensive Player of the Week this season, while Josh Arauco and Kevin Jones have both been named the league's special teams player of the week. Arauco has been named the special teams player of the week three times.
ASU swept all three awards for the first time in school history on Sept. 1.
A Sun Belt team has swept the awards three time this season, but just the 12 times in Sun Belt Conference history. ASU also became just the second school in league history to sweep the awards two different weeks during the same season.
MID-SEASON ALL-CONFERENCE RECOGNITION: Arkansas State had a league-high 13 players, including six first-team selections, named to Phil Steele's Mid-Season All-Sun Belt Conference Team, announced Tuesday by the publication.
First Team: Corey Leonard (Jr., QB), Derek Lawson (RS Fr., RB), Matt Mandich (Sr., OL), Bryan Hall (So., DL), Josh Arauco (Jr., K).
Second Team: Reggie Arnold (Jr., RB), David Johnson (Sr., TE), Kevin Jones (Sr., PR).
Third Team: Dominic Padrta (Jr., OL), Ben Owens (Sr., LB), Daylan Walker (Jr., CB), M. D. Jennings (So., S).
A LARGE CROWD: The crowd of 92,138 for Red Wolves game at Alabama last week was the second largest ever to watch an Arkansas State game, just ahead of the 91,611 for its 2004 game at LSU and behind only the 102,368 for its 2007 game at Tennessee. The Red Wolves have now played in front of three of the largest five crowds to ever watch an ASU game over the last two seasons (Alabama in 2008, Tennessee and Texas in 2007).
THE TOP 25: Alabama was the eighth ASU opponent ranked among the nation's top 25 teams at the time of a game with the Red Wolves under head coach Steve Roberts. Not only that, Alabama's No. 2 ranking stands as the highest for an ASU opponent at the time of a game with a Roberts' coached team. Following is a list of ranked opponents that ASU has played under Roberts:
No. 2 at Alabama 2008 L, 0-35
No. 4 at Texas 2007 L, 13-21
No. 4 at LSU 2004 L, 3-53
No. 6 Auburn 2006 L, 0-27
No. 16 Virginia Tech 2002 L, 7-63
No. 17 Missouri 2004 L, 20-52
No. 25 Memphis 2004 L, 35-47
No. 25 Mississippi 2002 L, 17-52
CBSSports.com Ranks ASU's Lawson Among Nation's Top Freshmen: Arkansas State redshirt freshman running back Derek Lawson was one of 10 players recognized by CBSSports.com on its Sept. 24 “Freshman Watch” list, which will feature the best freshmen in college football throughout the remainder of the season.
94th SEASON UNDER WAY: Arkansas State kicked off its 94th season of football with its game against Texas A&M. ASU holds a 406-434-37 record since the inaugural 1911 season and have played in seven bowl games.
TAKING ADVANTAGE: ASU took advantage of a big fumble in its game against ULM as Marcus Brown picked up the loose ball and rumbled 71 yards for a touchdown. Brown's 71 yard return was the second longest in school history behind only a 76-yard return by Clark Watkins vs. Northern Illinois in 1995.
OUT OF THE GATES: Arkansas State's 3-1 start through its four games this season was not only its best ever as an NCAA FBS member, but also its best at any level since it was 3-0-1 in 1986.
HOMECOMING HISTORY: Arkansas State defeated Middle Tennessee in its 81st Homecoming game this season. ASU, which has now won its last six consecutive Homecoming games, is 54-26-1 all-time in Homecoming contests.
UNBUCKLE THE BELT: ASU improved to 7-1 all-time in Sun Belt Conference openers after defeating Middle Tennessee in its first league game of the season. ASU caught Middle Tennessee in its SBC opener for the first time ever.
LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD: Arkansas State broke the Sun Belt Conference and ASU Stadium record for points in a game with 83 against Texas Southern. The 83 points are also the second most in school history, behind only the 101 scored against Arkansas Teacher's College in 1917. Additionally, ASU is the first NCAA FBS team to score 80 or more points in a game since Texas Tech scored 80 against Sam Houston State on Sept. 17, 2005 .
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST: ASU piled up 670 yards of total offense against Texas Southern, which ranks as the second highest total in school history and the fourth highest in Sun Belt history. ASU has now posted its top two offensive games in school history under head coach Steve Roberts, also recording a school-record 681 yards of total offense last season against Louisiana-Lafayette.
RECORD BREAKER: Kicker Josh Arauco broke the Sun Belt Conference record for points by kicking (17) and extra points made (11) in the Red Wolves 83-10 victory over Texas Southern.
LAWSON BUSTS OUT: Derek Lawson became just the 11th player in school history to rush for over 200 yards in a game with his 209-yard performance against Texas Southern. His 209 yards ranks as the eighth most in school history.
TWICE AS NICE: Running backs Derek Lawson rushed for 209 yards and Reggie Arnold 123 yards against Texas Southern to become the first ASU duo to rush for over 100 yards in the same game since 2005 when Shermar Bracey and Antonio Warren did it against North Texas.
NATIONAL RECOGNITION: Senior linebacker Ben Owens (Bearden, Ark.) was named the FWAA/Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week for games of the weekend of Aug. 30 after helping lead the Red Wolves to a season-opening victory over Texas A&M.
Owens, a preseason All-Sun Belt selection, became the first player in ASU history to be named a national defensive player of the week and the first Sun Belt Conference player to receive the recognition since FAU cornerback Tavious Polo last season after the Owls defeated Minnesota on Sept. 20. Owens, already on the Butkus Award Watch List, was added to the 2008 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy will be presented to the best defensive player in college football on Dec. 7 by the FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, N.C. Five finalists for the Nagurski Trophy will be announced on Nov. 17.
TEXAS A&M GAME NOTABLES: ASU won its first ever game over a BCS school since it joined NCAA FBS. The Red Wolves also broke Texas A&M's 20-game winning streak in home openers, handing the Aggies just their fourth loss over their last 50 non-conference home games. ASU picked up its first victory in 15 games against current members of the Big 12 Conference.
PRESEASON ALL-SBC ACCOLADES: Five Arkansas State football players have been tabbed Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference. Junior running back Reggie Arnold (Little Rock, Ark.), senior tight end David Johnson (Pine Bluff, Ark.) and senior offensive lineman Matt Mandich (Hattiesburg, Miss.) all represented ASU on the offensive team, while junior defensive end Alex Carrington (Tupelo, Miss.) and senior linebacker Ben Owens (Bearden, Ark.) were named to the defensive squad . . . ASU's five players on the 28-man squad tied Troy for the second most among all the schools. Florida Atlantic had a league-high eight players named to the team. Louisiana-Lafayette and Louisiana-Monroe each had three players on the team, while North Texas and Middle Tennessee both had two players.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS: The Red Wolves are predicted to finish fourth in the conference according to the league's 2008 preseason coaches poll, announced Monday, July 21 at the Sun Belt's annual Football Media Days in New Orleans . . . ASU received 39 points, just seven fewer than third-place Monroe, in the poll. Florida Atlantic received six of the eight first-place votes and a league-high 62 points, while Troy was picked to finish second with 51 points and one first-place vote. Louisiana-Monroe picked up the final first-place vote and finished with 46 points in the voting. Middle Tennessee was picked fifth with 32 points, Louisiana-Lafayette sixth with 26 points, North Texas seventh with 19 points and Florida International eighth with 13 points.
TELEVISION TIME: Three Arkansas State games will be televised by ESPN Plus and another game televised by CSS in 2008. The Red Wolves' home games against Louisiana-Monroe on Oct. 11 (6:00 p.m.) and Florida Atlantic on Nov. 22 (2:00 p.m.) and road game at Troy on Dec. 6 (6:00 p.m.) will all be televised by ESPN Plus, while their game at Alabama on Nov. 1 will be carried by CSS . . . ASU's four regular-season televised games for 2008 ties the second most in school history, matching the 2005 season. The Red Wolves' had a school-record six televised games during the 2007 campaign.
NEW FLAGSHIP RADIO STATION ANNOUNCED: The Arkansas State University Athletic Department, along with East Arkansas Broadcasters, announced July 16 that KFIN 107.9 FM, a 100,000-watt radio station located in Jonesboro, will become the new flagship station and home of Red Wolves' football broadcasts for the 2008 season. KFIN's 100,000-watt signal reaches parts of Tennessee, Missouri and a large portion of Arkansas, giving more ASU football fans the opportunity to follow the Red Wolves during the upcoming season. The full release can be found on astateredwolves.com.
SHRABLE NAMED TO RAY GUY WATCH LIST: Senior punter Brett Shrable has been named to the watch list for the 2008 Ray Guy Award, given annually to the nation's top collegiate punter. Shrable, one of 46 players on the watch list, is the second player in ASU history to be named to the Ray Guy Award Watch List. Andy Shatley is the only other ASU player to receive the recognition, making the list in 2000. Shrable was a 2007 Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection as a junior and was named 2008 preseason All-Sun Belt Conference by Athlon's and Phil Steele's.
ARNOLD ON DOAK WALKER WATCH LIST: Junior running back Reggie Arnold has been named to the list of candidates for the 2008 Doak Walker Award, announced by the Guaranty Bank SMU Athletic Forum.
Arnold is a candidate for the award, presented annually to the nation's top running back, for the second straight year and joins former ASU running back Jonathan Adams as the only two players in school history to make the watch list during two different seasons. Adams was a candidate for the award in 2000 and 2001.
Arnold is among 43 candidates, including two from the Sun Belt Conference, to be named to the award's 2008 watch list. The Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selection rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons at ASU. He was named the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year in 2006 and is a two-time all-conference pick.
OWENS ON BUTKUS WATCH LIST: Senior linebacker Ben Owens has been named to the watch list for the 2008 Butkus Award, given annually to the top linebacker in college football. Owens, a preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selection, was one of 66 players named to the watch list after posting a career-high 96 tackles last season that ranked fifth in the Sun Belt. His 96 tackles were just five fewer than team-leader Koby McKinnon, who was on the 2007 Butkus Award Watch List.
MANDICH WATCH LIST: Senior offensive lineman Matt Mandich is not only a preseason First Team All-Sun Belt Conference by a number of college football publications, he is also on a couple of prestigious watch lists. Mandich is on both the Outland Trophy Watch List and Rotary Lombardi Watch List. Not only that, he was named preseason Honorable Mention All-America by Sporting News.
FAST TRACK TO DEGREE: Corey Leonard, just a junior on the football field, went through ASU's Summer Commencement ceremony this year after earning his bachelor's degree in just three years in Business. Leonard is now enrolled graduate school and will begin working toward his master's degree this fall.
400TH VICTORY: With its victory over Louisiana-Lafayette on Oct. 13 of last year, ASU became the fifth Sun Belt Conference school with 400 all-time wins. ASU is in its 94th season of football and holds an all-time record of 406-434-37 since its inaugural 1911 season. The Red Wolves have played in seven bowl games, including the 2005 New Orleans Bowl.
SIX-YEAR IMPROVEMENT: During seventh-year head coach Steve Roberts' first six seasons at Arkansas State the football program saw its win total increase by almost 100 percent over the previous six years. ASU posted 31 wins over Roberts' first six years, 14 more than it recorded the six years prior to Roberts. In fact, ASU's 31 wins over those six years are the most for a six-year span since 1986-91.
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.
TEAM ACADEMIC AWARD: The Arkansas State football team has won the Sun Belt Conference Team Academic Award four of the past five years, including 2007.
A VISIT FROM THE GOVERNOR: Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe looked on as the Arkansas State Red Wolves went through a two-hour practice at the ASU practice fields during 2008 fall camp. Beebe, who was the guest speaker at the ASU Touchdown Club banquet Tuesday that night, addressed the team following practice, then took time to pose for pictures with ASU players and fans. “Obviously, it was a privilege for us to have the governor of the state of Arkansas here at our practice and to speak to our team,” said ASU Head Coach Steve Roberts. “We are very proud of what he has accomplished and continues to accomplish as the governor and as an ASU Alumnus.”
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.
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.
