UCAFANS.COM http://www.ucafans.com The unofficial home for the UCA Bears and Sugarbears Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:36:51 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 SLC Baseball Preseason Awards & Picks http://www.ucafans.com/2012/02/02/slc-baseball-preseason-awards-picks/ http://www.ucafans.com/2012/02/02/slc-baseball-preseason-awards-picks/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:59:59 +0000 treyuca http://www.ucafans.com/?p=1205 Jonathan Davis was the SLC Freshman of the Year in 2011. He’s been voted to the preseason SLC 1st team in 2012 and is one of two underclassmen on the first team. He’s the only Bear to make the first or second team.

Davis is the lone returning player to garner one of the conference’s major individual awards. The 2011 conference freshman of the year led Central Arkansas and ranked fifth in the Southland with a .350 batting average and 21 stolen bases. Last season, the second-team all-conference outfielder and Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American ranked 37th in the nation in stolen bases per game and led team with 43 runs scored, a .522 slugging percentage and a .441 on-base percentage and tied for lead with five home runs.

And after finishing 11th (out of 12) in the SLC standings dd that to this good news, the Bears are picked to finish last in the conference.

Coaches’ Poll

Rk. Team (first-place votes) Points
1. Texas State (11) 121
2. Southeastern Louisiana 88
3. Stephen F. Austin 84
4. UTSA 82
5. Sam Houston State (1) 77
6. Lamar 67
7. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 51
8. UT Arlington 49
9. McNeese State 43
10. Northwestern State 42
11. Nicholls State 39
12. Central Arkansas 31

Sports Information Directors

Rk. Team (first-place votes) Points
1. Texas State (11) 121
2. Stephen F. Austin (1) 92
3. Southeastern Louisiana 88
4. UTSA 83
5. Lamar 79
6. Sam Houston State 74
7. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 66
8. UT Arlington 52
T9. McNeese State 39
T9. Nicholls State 39
11. Northwestern State 31
12. Central Arkansas 27

]]> http://www.ucafans.com/2012/02/02/slc-baseball-preseason-awards-picks/feed/ 0 Wallace Hopes to Grow at UCA http://www.ucafans.com/2012/02/02/wallace-hopes-to-grow-at-uca/ http://www.ucafans.com/2012/02/02/wallace-hopes-to-grow-at-uca/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:23:25 +0000 treyuca http://www.ucafans.com/?p=1202 VYPE Magazine has a story on Aum’Arie Wallace and his signature to become a Bear.

Three years ago, Aum’Marie Wallace played football for the first time. Wednesday he signed a scholarship to play at Central Arkansas.

“His upside is huge, since he has only played for three years,” Pulaski Academy coach Kevin Kelley said. “He is just going to keep learning and getting better. I think it is what schools liked about him. I will give him credit. He committed early, and some schools came in on him late, and he stayed committed. He showed a lot of integrity.”

]]> http://www.ucafans.com/2012/02/02/wallace-hopes-to-grow-at-uca/feed/ 0 Signing Day: Rounding Up the Press http://www.ucafans.com/2012/02/02/signing-day-rounding-up-the-press/ http://www.ucafans.com/2012/02/02/signing-day-rounding-up-the-press/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:38:53 +0000 treyuca http://www.ucafans.com/?p=1199 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette -

“I feel like I can fill the void at the quarterback position and bring in all the things I’ve learned in the past at Arkansas,” [Jacoby] Walker said. “I think my leadership skills can help our team and accomplish our goals.”

Log Cabin Democrat - “We open with Ole Miss next season; we want players who will help us win that game,” [Conque] said.

Log Cabin Democrat -

“I’m passionate about an early-signing period. Let the big boys get who they want early. We’ll know what they’ve got and they’ll know. We’ll all better know what the pool is in January and February.”

Conque has been frustrated by the seemingly meaningless nature of commitments in today’s culture.

ArkansasSports360 – Kicker Luke Ferguson of Jonesboro, who had committed to Central Arkansas, accepted an offer as an invited walk-on.

The SugarLand Sun -

Bush’s Darius Reed told his mother when he was a sophomore she would not have to pay for his college education. On Wednesday the defensive back signed to play with the University of Central Arkansas.

“It’s great to make that promise come true,” Reed said.

Video

KTHV – Includes interview with Jacoby Walker, Coach Conque

UCASports.com Youtube – Start here for the part 1 of the entire Signing Day press conference

]]> http://www.ucafans.com/2012/02/02/signing-day-rounding-up-the-press/feed/ 0 Signing Day: The Players http://www.ucafans.com/2012/02/01/signing-day-the-players/ http://www.ucafans.com/2012/02/01/signing-day-the-players/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:12:51 +0000 treyuca http://www.ucafans.com/?p=1195 (You can check out the official list and the stats and things here. This is more quoting/paraphrasing the press conference comments of Coach Conque.)

  • When the coaching staff looks at transfers, they should be able to provide immediate help. And the main rule is “don’t pass up a great player – particularly if they fit a need.” One thing that helps us land transfers is that you obviously don’t have to sit out when transferring from FBS to FCS.
  • Speaking specifically about Walker and Haywood – “The existing team has accepted these two young men into our locker room and onto our roster… Jacoby as well as Austin are both going to be counted on to come in and provide immediate impact.”
  • Feel like we hit a homerun at tight end and a linebacker.

Transfers

Austin Haywood TE 6-5/252
Moore, Okla. (U of Oklahoma)

  • We felt like we needed to bring a more experienced piece into this position.
  • We can be pretty dynamic when we have a quality tight end. When you add him to Thomas Hart, they really like the possibilities.
  • 2 years left

Jacoby Walker QB 6-2/216
Houston, Texas (U of Arkansas)

  • Quiet young man.
  • Coming out of high school was rated one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in all of high school football.
  • Was an early graduate from high school and got to the U of A for the spring and played extremely well before injury
  • Is available to go through spring practice; Important because Wynrick has been “extremely limited this offseason” after having surgery on his hand. “[Wynrick's] status will be touch-and-go in the fall”
  • 3 years left

Courtney Whitehead WR 6-2/195
Air Force Prep (Athens, TX)

  • Courtney is a young man that we recruited extremely hard last year.
  • A couple of weeks ago decided that the military life is not something that he wanted to move forward with.
  • He’s going to school at a community college back home.
  • 4 years to play 3, but will be ineligible for 2012 season
  • Big play guy, a big target

2011 Re-Sign

Wes Foster RB 5-10/182
Clarksville HS (Clarksville, AR)

  • A re-sign from 2011 class
  • The thing that’s exciting is that he still has five years to play and a redshirt year.
  • He’s excited. He’s in our offseason program.
  • You all will get a chance to see him in action this spring.

High School Kids

Justin Carpenter OL 6-4/290
Lonoke HS (Lonoke, AR)

  • I believe we signed 7 instate prospects from Arkansas.
  • Was in our camp this summer.
  • The first Jackrabbit we’ve had in our program during Conque era.
  • Projects at guard or center

Cody Dauksch ATH 6-1/215
West Memphis HS (West Memphis, AR)

  • Coaching staff has him listed as an athlete
  • Initial plans are to play him at H-back/full back/slot position
  • Similar to Rico Moss, Marquez Branson
  • The thing that’s impressive is that he’ll transfer in approximately 27 hours of college credit.
  • Start him on the offensive side of the ball

Prince Ene DB 5-10/180
Bush HS(Houston, TX)

  • “He’s a long 5-10.”  When you look at him, he looks taller than that.
  • Very athletic
  • Had an offer and trip to Iowa State back in the fall; Visit to LaTech
  • Received overtures from other schools including Ole MIss

Dawson Hadnot DL 6-1/265
Garland HS (Garland, TX)

  • Defensive lineman projection for us that played quarterback, tight end, defensive end and defensive tackle
  • We felt like one of the best athletes on our board.
  • May start at defensive end, but will likely grow into a defensive tackle
  • Had some interest from Minnesota

Bo Harper TE 6-4/235
Ouachita Christian (Monroe, La)

  • Had to beat several of the Louisiana conference schools to get Bo.
  • Threw the shot put 50 feet as a junior
  • Long and explosive
  • We feel like we’ve addressed some immediate needs with Austin and some future needs with Bo.
  • Probably the best bona fide tight end prospect we’ve signed since Landon Trusty.

Haywood Jeffires III DB/S 6-1/190
Glenda Dawson HS (Pearland, TX)

  • Comes from great stock; Dad 3-time NFL pro bowler
  • Wonderful momma, just a great family
  • Also had offers from 3 or 4 conference schools
  • Gives us that length and size that we’re all looking for at corner

Jameson Johnson WR 5-10/170
Tomball HS (Tomball, TX)

  • Over 1,200 all purpose yards
  • Chose us over Air Force
  • Outstanding speed, great agility, super feet.
  • Possibly a slot receiver

Lance Kloker OT 6-5/275
Owasso HS (Owasso, OK)

  • Had him in a camp
  • This young man visited us, Ohio. Had offers from both, committed from us and had calls and offers from both Memphis and ULM in last 24 hours.
  • Got to get bigger and stronger, but a tremendous prospect

Jazz Mason LB 6-1/210
Arlington HS (Memphis, TX)

  • I don’t know if Jazz will make a tackle here, but he’s got one of the great football names of all time.
  • Very physical, great hips
  • Project him as an inside guy. Possibly as a will linebacker
  • Really excited about Jazz

Bailey McIver DE 6-4/235
Sheridan HS (Sheridan, AR)

  • Looked fantastic on recruiting visit, had gained about 15 pounds
  • Offer from Mo State, really wanted to be at UCA
  • Plays with a hot motor
  • We’ve got a long history of turning out great defensive ends

Nathan O’Connor DT 6-3/270
Lovejoy HS (Lucas, TX)

  • Very strong.
  • Interior defensive lineman.
  • Has an opportunity to possibly come in and play early on in his career
  • This was the first senior class at his high school, so Conque thinks people overlooked him because of the lack of tradition.

Darius Reed S 6-2/185
Bush HS (Houston, TX)

  • Second player from George Bush HS
  • Was apparently committed to NW State at 11pm last night; we thought he was committed to us
  • 6’7” high jumper; made Texas state finals last year with expectations of jumping 6’9” this year
  • Probably going to be 205/210 when he gets to train year round.
  • Probably about 100 pairs of shoes in his closet. “The young man like shoes.”
  • We think both of the safeties we signed will have a chance to come in and contribute right away.

Desmond Smith WR 6-1/186
Bentonville HS (Bentonville, AR)

  • Projected in the slot, gives us some size in there.
  • One of the best pure route runners we’ve seen.
  • Was at our camp this summer
  • Has great hands and enough speed to play at our level
  • I think if there was one recruit that I would put the sleeper tag on, it would be Desmond.

Kamane Thomas LB 6-1/195
Elkins HS (Missouri City, TX)

  • Said last night he was 200+ lbs last night
  • Played behind some Big 12 players early in high school career
  • They expect him to play a safety/drop-down linebacker like Seth Allison
  • Dad played on national championship team at the University of Colorado
  • Really, really like this young man

Tony Troung DE 6-2/236
Creekview HS (Carrollton, TX)

  • Wrestling right now, so he’s down to about 224 right now
  • Love wrestlers; they understand leverage and how to use their hands
  • He’s part Vietnamese. On his visit they had to bring a translator for his mother on his visit.
  • Conque requested a meal from his mom when they visited Carrollton. They ate on the floor with chopsticks. It meant a lot to their family that we accepted their culture.
  • We’re going to make sure this young man gets a good educated.
  • He’s going to be a good player and a good person. I’m excited about that.

Aum’arie Wallace S 6-1/195
Pulaski Academy (Little Rock, AR)

  • Took visits to Arkansas State, Mo State, Memphis, Tulsa
  • He runs, he hits, he returns kicks
  • Great ball skills at safety
  • And he’s got a little brother that’s also going to be a big-time prospect
  • Again, along with Darius Reed, both of those young men are going to have the opportunity to come in and help immediately, not only on defense but also special teams.

Dillon Winfrey RB/DB/KR 5-8/154
Bryant HS (Bryant, AR)

  • If this man was an inch or two taller, he’d probably be wherever he wanted to go.
  • I love his mentality. He’s a competitor. He’s explosive. He’s very physical for his size.
  • He reminds you of Tristan Jackson. Dillon has the same return skills and same ball skills that Tristan had.
  • There has been discussion on playing him on offense, but they plan for him on defense.

Tony Winslow Jr DE 6-3/231
Kingwood HS (Kingwood, TX)

  • Same high school as CJ Simon – an OL we signed last year
  • Had early offers from Nevada, Missouri, Utah, maybe Arizona; As schools started filling up, he ended up with us
  • Projected by some as outside backer
  • After he came back from McNeese and then visited our place, he was absolutely all in.
  • Will probably have the chance to come in and impact our team on defense next year.

Ricky Wyatt LB 5-11/227
Neville HS (Monroe, LA)

  • NOTE: I (me, the person writing this) had mentioned that I was really hoping for them to sign a big-time middle backer. Conque said he was disappointed I wasn’t there, because here he is.
  • He’s a bad man now!
  • Probably one of the most highly recruited players within our conference.
  • His family said that we blew away the competition with the total package.
  • He sees an opportunity to come in and make an immediate impact with Newsome finished up.
]]> http://www.ucafans.com/2012/02/01/signing-day-the-players/feed/ 0 Signing Day: Before we get to the players http://www.ucafans.com/2012/02/01/signing-day-before-we-get-to-the-players/ http://www.ucafans.com/2012/02/01/signing-day-before-we-get-to-the-players/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:43:34 +0000 treyuca http://www.ucafans.com/?p=1192 (Paraphrased from the signing day press conference)

This wasn’t the first thing said, but it may be the most important:
“Every one of these men are academically qualified.”

The recruiting process for us involved taking about 1,000 recruits and narrowing that list to 23-24 young men.

What helped in recruiting:

  • Immediate success: 9-win season, playoff success
  • Consistency of the program back to 2005 (11, 10, 9, 8 and 7 win seasons; 5 top 25 finishes)
  • Getting parents on campus to talk about “school” (academics)
    • Top APR for D1 schools in the state
    • Top APR for four-year rolling average in all of the Southland Conference
  • Facilities
    • “The stripes… The stripes guys.” We’re still undefeated on the new field.
    • The new strength and conditioning facility
    • Indoor practice facility that no other SLC school has
    • Sky boxes on the east side
  • Vision, commitment and the expectation of our football program
    • Who we are
    • Where we’ve been
    • Where we want to be

What the coaching staff was looking for:

  • Athletic ability
  • Academic model
  • Need based (immediate and future needs)
  • A chance to get in to their homes

 

]]> http://www.ucafans.com/2012/02/01/signing-day-before-we-get-to-the-players/feed/ 0 Sugar Bears-McNeese Showdown #1 http://www.ucafans.com/2012/01/27/sugar-bears-mcneese-showdown-1/ http://www.ucafans.com/2012/01/27/sugar-bears-mcneese-showdown-1/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:10:42 +0000 SteveO http://www.ucafans.com/?p=1186 The Sugar Bears got their win Wednesday night over a pesky Southeastern La. team to set up the first of two regular season showdowns with the reigning Southland Champions, the McNeese State Cowgirls. McNeese has won 7 in a row, sport the best record in the SLC (16-4), and are a perfect 6-0 this year in the SLC. The Cowgirls beat Nicholls State in Lake Charles on Monday night and have had a few extra days to prepare to make the trip to Conway.

McNeese State is ranked #11 in this week’s Colleginsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, and again feature the Baggett twins and Kendra Wells, MSU’s top rebounder. I believe both teams are ranked 1-2 in 7 or 8 categories in the SLC heading into the match up tomorrow. They finished 15-1 last year in SLC play, with their lone loss coming in OT here at the Farris Center. In fact, MSU’s last 2 SLC losses have come at the hands of the Sugar Bears.

UCA is now 15-4, 5-1 in league play, and sit 1 game behind the Cowgirls after the win over SLU. The Sugar Bears, ranked #17 in this week’s Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, are riding a 4 game winning streak, the third such streak this season, and are still perfect at home at 11-0. I hope the fans show up in force like they did for the Indiana and Alabama games, this is a big SLC battle to say the least. Tip off at the Farris Center is set for 2 pm, and the radio broadcast will begin at 1:40 pm on The Bear 91.3 and UCAsports.com.

]]> http://www.ucafans.com/2012/01/27/sugar-bears-mcneese-showdown-1/feed/ 0