Arkansas Sports 360.com - July 2008 - (Page 27) contributions. Brandon Kennemer (6-2, 200) also returns after having knee surgery for a torn anterior-cruciate ligament. The Bears have a solid one-two punch at running back with Grimes and Leonard Ceasar. Grimes (5-9, 194) carried the bulk of the load, rushing 140 times for 618 yards and 11 touchdowns during his sophomore year. Ceasar, a 5-9, 182-pound sophomore from Monroe, La., had 67 rushes for 399 yards and four touchdowns. “Grimes has been a commodity for us,” Conque said. “Ceasar has shown signs of brilliance. He’s had problems with durability. He’s a home-run threat.” Spencer Hebert (6-0, 230) also could see some action at the running back position. He had three touchdowns on 11 carries last season. Nick Cowger (6-1, 236) emerged as a prime candidate at fullback last season. Chris McKnight (5-10, 235) has been moved from linebacker to fullback and could help share the load. “We’ve got to run the ball a little better this year,” Conque said. “We’ve got to run it more and get more production from the run game.” The success of the offense, which was first overall in the conference, starts up front. Experience isn’t much of a factor there, as UCA has eight lettermen back on the offensive line. “We’ve gotten more experience,” lineman Lane Freiwald said. “We were young, but now we’ve got another year under our belt together. We all know what we need to do. We’ve just got to do it.” UCA’s Brown Thriving Under Pressure of Final Season By Mark Burke The Defense Experience is something the defense boasts as well. The front seven will have many familiar faces. Taylor Scott (6-4, 264), Tim Holloway (6-2, 286), Markell Carter (6-4, 264) and Quad Sanders (6-2, 244) all started on the line last season and will be heavily counted on this year, too. They won’t have to share the burden alone. Larry Hart (6-1, 255) transferred from Holmes Community College in Goodman, Miss., during the fall and will help in the pass rush. Conque said Hutton Andrew (6-1, 274) “emerged last season” and provides depth. Redshirt IF THERE’S ANyoNE WHo FEELS the pressure for the University of Central Arkansas Bears, it’s much heralded quarterback Nathan Brown. Brown, last year’s Southland Conference offensive Player of the year, has certainly been in the spotlight a lot. That’s something Nathan Brown he’s grown used to. In fact, it’s what he is most comfortable with. “I enjoy having pressure put on me,” Brown said. “If you told me, ‘We’re going to give you the ball with two minutes left and you have to drive 70 yards,’ that’s what I thrive on.” Brown thrived last season as the Bears finished 6-5, including 5-2 in the Southland Conference. He completed 256 of 377 pass attempts (67.9 percent) for 3,084 yards and 26 touchdowns. During his career at UCA, Brown has won 20 of his 28 starts. He holds virtually all the passing records in the school’s history and has a chance of being one of the most prolific passers in the history of college football in Arkansas. Consistently putting up numbers is one characteristic of greatness. That’s something Brown has shown capability to do. “College athletics is about coming back and doing it again and doing it better,” UCA head coach Clint Conque said. “He wants to make better decisions, reads and being the best quarterback he can. He’s bigger and stronger than he’s ever been.” Dealing with pressure has caused Brown to have a desire to continue to freshman Norvel Gabriel (6-4, 252) also will be in the mix. “We feel like we have eight to 10 quality candidates,” Conque said. “There’ll also be some freshmen who may be able to improve. That’s something he hopes continues in 2008. “you’ve just got to stay humble and know there’s always someone better than you,” Brown said. “We had the best total offense in the Southland Conference last year, but we still had things we’ve got to improve.” Handling that pressure well and putting up impressive numbers at the same time has put Brown in the limelight when it comes to football in Arkansas and the SLC. “All the recognition I get is recognition for UCA football,” Brown said. “I’m excited about the recognition but humbled because of what it does for the university.” For the Bears quarterback, his role is what he can do for the team’s success, despite all the individual honors. “I just want to do what I have to do,” Brown said. “I don’t have any particular goals in terms of numbers. My biggest thing is to do everything I can to help the team.” Brown attributes his success to the coaches and players he’s been around. From his days at Russellville High School to learning under Zak Clark, another of the top passers in UCA history, and the coaches he’s had along the way, Brown thinks he’s been quite fortunate. “It all starts with being in good situations,” Brown said. “I’ve had great coaches. To be honest, I’ve been a product of good coaches and being around great players.” With a well-experienced offense returning and many playmakers to help, Brown isn’t shying away from the pressure the 2008 season will bring. on the contrary, it’s what the senior is counting on as he finishes a historic phase of his athletic career. m give us depth.” The Bears return their linebacker corps as well. James Lancaster (6-0, 224) and Corey McMurrian (6-1, 218) both led the team with 64 tackles each and will be the main weakside linebackers. McMurrian had a team-high four forced fumbles in 2007. Conque described the battle between Tok opeloye (5-11, 218) and Jacob Bane (6-0, 235) as a “fierce competition” for the middle linebacker spot. opeloye had 53 tackles last season. Vance Fizer (6-2, 218), Mike Neal (6-0, 227) and Mississippi State transfer Anthony Summers (6-2, 216) will be vying for the strongside linebacker spot. “We feel like we’ve shored up the linebacker corps,” Conque said. “It should help us in the pass coverage, especially in the perimeter game.” The biggest question mark may be in the secondary. However, Conque isn’t too worried. “I feel excited about our secondary,” he said. “We’re two-deep plus.” Tristan Jackson, who had 55 tackles and was a return specialist, is the biggest piece missing from last year. However, Conque said, UCA still has “quality depth.” Jamie Hill (5-10, 194), Henry Minor (5-10, 172) and Anthony Gambles (5-9, 174) will be among the main candidates at the cornerback position. Pieri Feazell (5-11, 206), a transfer from Jones County Community College in Ellisville, Miss., and Derrick Boyd (6-0, 204), a transfer from East Mississippi Community College in Scooba, Miss., will bring fresh faces to the safety position. Phillip Johnson (6-0, 194) and Zach Hyatt (6-0, 194) will provide depth. “I like the athleticism,” Conque said of the defensive backs. “I really like the look I saw coming out of spring drills.” Special Teams If Conque were to pick out the biggest anticipated weakness of the 2008 team, he’d probably start with the kicking game. “We did not get accomplished in the spring what we had hoped to,” the coach said. “We got done a little early in the spring, and the weather didn’t cooperate, so we didn’t get as much work in as we would have liked.” It rained so hard in March that UCA spent a lot of time indoors, and its spring game for Estes Stadium was canceled. UCA graduated all-SLC kicker James Paul. John Beard, Ryan Duhon and Eddie Carmona are the top prospects for the place-kicker and punter positions. m By the nuMBers: Returning starters Home games the Home games Bears have won the Bears over the past have on their four seasons. 12-game 2008 They are 22-2 chedule at home during that stretch. Games the Bears will play within the state’s borders Touchdowns quarterback Nathan Brown threw last season Touchdowns Letter-winners Brown threw in the Bears return one game — a from ’08 63-21 win over Texas State Players the Bears signed on February’s National Signing Day Receivers who Points the Bears average caught at least 25 passes in under coach 2007 Clint Conque in his first eight years July 2008 ArkansasSports360.com 27 http://ArkansasSports360.com
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