Arkansas Sports 360.com - July 2008 - (Page 37) ArkAnsAs BAptist Preview Buffaloes Continue Baby Steps Toward Success Building on Winless Season Tops Priority List for Arkansas Baptist By Jim harris BuffaloeS to Watch Second-year Arkansas Baptist head coach Richard Wilson listed several players that fans as well as four-year college recruiters should keep an eye on this season for the Buffaloes. What follows are Wilson’s comments about six players who should have an impact on the Buffaloes’ season: Antonio Leaks, DE, 6-3, 237. The Palestine-Wheatley product is back for his second year. “He’s probably one of our most explosive players, but he tore up his shoulder last season. He’s unselfish. I changed him from linebacker to putting his hand on the ground (defensive end). He’s a tremendous athlete, can run. He was just a big-body guy who was at a small school, a lot bigger than everyone else. For us he can be a really good outside rush guy. He wants to stand up and play outside linebacker, but he took the challenge and stepped up in the spring up front.” Arthur Ballard, S, 6-foot, 175. The former Rison Wildcat lacked the hours to play last fall and had to sit out. “But he got his hours and came out and had a real good spring.” Ballard is penciled in at safety. Josh Brewer, LB, 6-0, 185. Maybe a little undersized at inside backer, this Fort Smith Northside product could end up on the outside. “I’m thinking about moving him to outside linebacker. He has a feel for that position. He’s another good one who had a good spring. He played a little last year.” Terrance Wright, OL/DL, 6-4, 255. Out of Forrest City, Wright started out at ABC on the defensive line. “I’m looking for big things from him. He’s another unselfish kid who played defense but we had some holes in the offensive line and he was willing to make the change to go to offensive tackle.” Robert Shepard, DT, 6-foot, 290. Another Fort Smith Northside product on the ABC roster, he played regularly at nose tackle. “He was our most consistent player last year, he always answered the bell.” Travis George, RB, 5-7, 180. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., running back was a solid backup to starter Michael Harris last season. “ This guy is the epitome of what you’re looking for. Everybody always wants to talk about Michael Harris, but Travis a good one and he’s just a joy to coach. He’s a heckuva ball player. Michael came with the notoriety, but this kid can play. He’s like one of those guys who are chiseled out of rock. He’s strong physically and strong in the weight room.” m COACH RICHARD WILSON, ATHletic director Charles Ripley, school president Fitzgerald Hill – they all knew the Arkansas Baptist inaugural football team would be in for a rough go in Year 1. The Buffaloes, the first junior college squad in the Capital City in half Richard Wilson a century, accepted the challenge of playing in the Southwest Junior College Football League, perennially regarded as one of the nation’s strongest junior college football leagues. As expected, they took their lumps hard. Occasionally, though, there was a glimmer or two of hope in an 0-8 season. Such a time came at Kilgore, Texas, the week after the Rangers had upended defending national champion Blinn Junior College. Either Kilgore was sleepwalking or ABC was playing above their heads, but in the second quarter the Buffaloes were up 15-3. Kilgore wore down the undermanned Buffs in the second half for a 30-15 win, but for a while the Little Rock team knew it could compete. Building off of that is the goal for this season, the second for Arkansas Baptist. “Our first-year goal was establishing a team and taking them through spring practice, a first full year as a program and establishing a foundation,” Wilson said. “The second step in the process is to become competitive in the fourth quarter. I’d like to be like anybody else and talk about winning, but we’ll talk about winning when we can get competitive in the fourth quarter.” Getting there means finding more quality depth and building up the talent in the offensive and defensive lines. Arkansas Baptist started its program with 175 people trying out, but as Wilson points out, many of those dreamed of being a quarterback, a running back or a receiver. Lineman were tough to find, certainly enough to be scrimmaging in practice and banging up what few big men were available. Recruiting between the end of last season and the start of August drills figures to improve the situation, Wilson said. So too should offseason workouts. “We instituted an offseason where they’re stronger, they’re in better condition, they’ve lifted weights,” Wilson said. “Our staff has to take the challenge that if you’re going to help your team get better, you’ve got to recruit with the idea to make every first-teamer a second-teamer or to give competition to those kids we already have. With the combination of the transfer kids that want to come in and some of our recruits, we can promote that kind of competition. And in our recruiting we’re targeting more big-body guys, targeting high school offensive and defensive guys to be part of our program.” Arkansas Baptist kept the heavy workout scaled back in the spring, Wilson said, and 65 players made it through with flying colors. Another 30 or so were told in no uncertain terms that studies came first before football. Wilson said several have visited with him since the spring to see about coming back. Wilson expects the 65 from spring, maybe some holdovers and as many as 100 new players to arrive in August for the start of drills. Arkansas Baptist will begin its second of three seasons with probationary status in the Southwest Junior College Conference. But unlike last season, where the Buffaloes had just two home games, both on a Friday night in cavernous War Memorial Stadium, ABC will play five home games this year at Quigley Stadium, Wilson said. Local football fans should enjoy seeing some of the top junior college competition coming to Little Rock to take on the Buffaloes and featuring top-level talent that should move on to NCAA Division I – traditional JUCO powers Northeast Oklahoma A&M Junior College, Kilgore, Trinity Valley, Cisco and Tyler Junior College all come to Arkansas for games. Arkansas Baptist’s most heralded player, University of Arkansas 2007 signee Michael Harris, a running back from Tulsa Booker T. Washington, went through spring drills and is expected back in August, Wilson said, but the coach did have some concern that Harris had not been on hand for the first summer session at the school. Harris’ backup, Travis George, is an able hand too, Wilson said. The quarterback position was unsettled in the spring, with 2008 Schedule Aug. 30 Sept. 6 Sept. 13 Sept. 20 Sept. 27 Oct. 4 Oct. 11 Oct. 18 Oct. 25 Nov. 1 at Highland JC (Kan.) 1 p.m. at NE Oklahoma A&M TBA Open Blinn (Rockwall, Texas) 3 p.m. NEO Oklahoma A&M 1 p.m. Kilgore 3 p.m. Cisco 3 p.m. Tyler 3 p.m. at Navarro 3 p.m. Trinity Valley (HC) 3 p.m. Home games in bold at Quigley Henderson State transfer Nick Maxfield (6-1, 178) and Alabama product Nate Sims (6-foot, 180). Wilson said. Sims played a variety of positions last year for ABC, including wide receiver and defensive back, but was willing to try quarterback at Wilson’s behest in the spring because the position had no depth. Terrance Wright should anchor the offensive line, but newcomers will be counted on up front. On defense, Arthur Ballard could shore up the pass defense at safety, rangy end Antonio Leaks and nose guard Robert Shepard will be strong up front, and Josh Brewer is expected to lead the linebackers. “We’re going with that ol’ Jimmy Johnson philosophy on defense, and that is to get speed on the field,” Wilson said. Depth concerns kept Wilson from trying too much in the spring in the way of hitting, and the Buffaloes had a controlled scrimmage for a spring game to cover game situations – another area that seemed unfamiliar to many of the new players last year. This spring, it was about more structure. This fall, it will be about conditioning and heart and staying close through three quarters, then seeing how it falls from there. “You learn to win by learning how to be in that game in the fourth quarter,” Wilson said. Eventually, this baby of a football program will be walking with barely a stumble. m July 2008 ArkansasSports360.com 37 http://ArkansasSports360.com
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