Aug 30 - ASU Athletics History

RedWolfNation will try to provide a look back at some of the events that happened in ASU athletics.

August 30, 2008

College Station, TX (Kyle Field - 78,691)

Arkansas State 18, Texas A&M 14

The first game of a new era provided what was arguably the biggest victory in the long history of Arkansas State University football.  Playing its first football game as the Red Wolves, Arkansas State left 78,691 Texas A&M fans at Kyle Field stunned, defeating the Aggies 18-14 in the season opener for both teams.   Texas A&M had won its last 20 home openers, and the loss was just the fourth defeat for the Aggies in their last 50 non-conference games at home. 

Arkansas State got its only touchdown of the night when it needed it the most.  After penetrating the Texas A&M 30-yard line five times and coming away with three field goals and two turnovers, Arkansas State went on top to stay when junior quarterback Corey Leonard connected with senior wide receiver Kevin Jones from 15 yards out, giving the Red Wolves a 15-14 lead with 4:39 to play. 

A missed two-point conversion attempt proved inconsequential when a Texas A&M turnover on its next possession led to junior Josh Arauco’s fourth field goal of the night. Arauco’s kick boosted the ASU lead to 18-14, and Arkansas State forced another turnover on the Aggies’ final drive to seal the win.

Junior tailback Reggie Arnold rushed 21 times for 145 yards on the night, Leonard added 86 yards on the ground to go along with 160 passing yards, and Arauco was a perfect 4-for-4 in the game.  His four field goals were a career high. 

Arkansas State scored on the game’s first possession when the Red Wolves drove 60 yards to set up Arauco’s first field goal.  Arkansas State used a 19-yard completion from junior quarterback Corey Leonard to junior wideout Jahbari McLennan on third-and-six from the ASU 35 to keep the drive alive.  A two-yard keeper by Leonard on fourth-and-one at the Aggie 37 again kept the possession alive, and Leonard passed complete for 15 yards to Jones on the next play to set up Arauco’s field goal.  Arauco’s kick wrapped up the 13-play drive and put the Red Wolves on top 3-0 with 8:45 remaining in the opening quarter. 

Texas A&M took control of the game over the next quarter taking a 14-3 lead into the half. 

Arkansas State took advantage of an interception by junior defensive back MD Jennings midway through the third quarter to cut into the Texas A&M lead.  Jennings picked off a pass from A&M quarterback Stephen McGee at the ASU 41 to give the Red Wolves possession of the ball and ASU marched 47 yards on nine plays to set up Arauco’s second field goal of the night.   Arauco connected from 28 yards out on the kick to cut the deficit to 14-6 with 5:28 remaining in the third. 

Junior safety Marcus Brown forced a fumble by Texas A&M wide receiver Howard Morrow on the Aggies’ next drive, and the ball was recovered by ASU defensive end Jeremy Gibson to set up the Red Wolf offense at the Aggie 47.  Arkansas State moved 39 yards on the possession, with 32 of those yards coming on a run from Leonard to the Texas A&M 15, and Arauco completed the possession with his third field goal of the night. Arauco’s kick was good from 29 yards out, trimming the Texas A&M lead to 14-9 with 14 seconds to go in the third quarter. 

Texas A&M went three-and-out on its next possession and Bean missed wide on a 27-yard field goal attempt the next time the Aggies had the ball, setting the stage for ASU’s game-winning drive.  Taking over at the ASU 20 with 9:30 remaining, Leonard directed the Red Wolves 80 yards in 10 plays on a drive that consumed 4:51 seconds on the clock. Arnold rushed for 44 yards on the drive and Leonard hooked up with McLennan for 15 yards and a first down at the A&M 21 on fourth-and-13 from the Aggie 36 to keep the possession going.

The beginning of a new era.  On August 30th 2008, the RedWolfNation was in full force and full belief!  After the opening game of 2007 where ASU had lost a heartbreaker to the University of Texas the fans began to believe that it was possible for Arkansas State to play against the big programs.  The win against the Aggies confirmed it was possible.  What began back in D1AA with coach Lacewell competing for National Championships had finally arrived in D1A.  It took several more years for the run that was made in 2011, but I believe the fanbase’s expectations were forged the night the newly named Red Wolves shocked the 12th man.

Birthday Shoutout - Ed Rufus

RedWolfNation strives to give ASU fans our prospective on the Arkansas State Red Wolves.  But we also like to talk about historical things about Arkansas State, so we will profile a former player and their time at Arkansas State each day on their Birthday.

Today's Birthday - Aug. 29th - Ed Rufus NG 6'0 285 - '93-'94


One of my favorite players of all time.  Ed Rufus transferred to Arkansas State from Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College and was an immediate impact in the fall of 1993.  Rufus was a bowling ball.  He was closer to 5'10 than 6'0 and closer to 300 than 285.  The Fort Lauderdale, Florida native was the strongest guy on the team the day he arrived in Jonesboro with a 465lb bench press.  He used his wrestling skills (Florida state wrestling champion at Coconut Creek HS) on the field to get leverage and get into the opponents backfield.  In his two seasons Rufus had 15 tackles behind the line and 4 sacks.  Rufus finished his career with 103 tackles.  He also had 4 passes broken up, which was from the pressure he had on quarterbacks by being so close to them.  He obviously wasn't batting down balls because of his height.  Head Coach John Bobo called him the best defensive lineman in the Big West.  Rufus was named first-team All Big West Conference by both the league coaches and Football News in 1993.  Football News also rated him as a Honorable Mention All-American.Ed was named the Balton Memorial Award winner in 1994.  The Balton Memorial Award was given to the ASU football player that deemed by the coaches to have shown the most courage for the team throughout the season.

Happy Birthday to former ASU Indian Ed Rufus!

Record Prediction - 2012

It seems like we’ve waited forever.  Eight months ago Arkansas State shocked the nation by pulling off one of the best hires in college football.  Since that day, the excitement and anticipation has grown and grown.  Now we are just days away.  This Saturday at 9:30cst inside Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon – The Gus Malzahn era begins!

In the past I have avoided making a prediction on season records.  What happens is I always have two trains of thought when reviewing the season and it is hard to find that middle ground.   I am a very passionate dreamer about my team and what they can do, but then I am also realistic.  For example, prior to last season I routinely told friends how we could finish the season 12-0.  I would point to the fact that James Madison showed Virginia Tech was beatable and we all knew that Illinois wasn’t that great, so the undefeated season was plausible.  But of course I could also explain how a 6-6 record was a real possibility, and often did so to a number of people.

This year I will try to find that place somewhere in the middle and make a prediction for RedWolfNation.  My picks will be based on easy picks as opposed to in the chronological order.

First let me start by saying that this schedule is really a difficult one.  Two “money” games and four of our five toughest opponents in conference are road games.   I would feel a lot better about this season if we had that 2011 defense to go with all the skill we have on the offensive side of the ball.  If that crew was back I’d be picking the Red Wolves 11-1 and talking about how we would be putting a major scare into the Oregon Ducks.  However we the defense will be a very inexperienced lot.

Okay, let’s start with the negatives.  I don’t think this defense is going to be as good as we need them to be early versus the two big boys – Oregon and Nebraska.  The Ducks are scary on offense and this year better than they have ever been on defense.  They very well could be in the national championship game again come January 2013.  We have a much better shot against the Cornhuskers, but it would require an offensive shootout as I don’t believe that our defense is going to be ready by game 3.

Now to the positives!  Alcorn State and South Alabama just will not have enough to keep up with the Malzahn’s offense.  Alcorn will be a better team than the Mississippi Valley State or Texas Southern squads but shouldn’t be able to stay anywhere close.  This game should allow our offense to fine tune themselves heading into conference play.  I believe that South Alabama will one day be a very good Sun Belt football program, but just not yet.  

The Red Wolves get Memphis, UL-Monroe, and Middle Tennessee at home this season.  Memphis has a new head coach and the Tigers should have a much better game plan and attitude this time around.  UL-Monroe was one of the 2011 games that the Red Wolves eked out and it vaulted them through the rest of the season.  Middle Tennessee struggled last year and ASU ran through them on their way to securing the conference championship.  I feel like all three of these teams will be better in 2012 than last season, but in ASU Stadium where our Red Wolves have built an excellent home field advantage, the good guys win.

That is 5 wins at home.  The only other home game is against Western Kentucky.  That game is the 5th game of the season and the first conference game.  WKU lost their stud running back Rainey, but they have a very good offensive line and should be able to run the ball.  If the Malzahn offense is ready, and they should be by game 5, then the ground and pound Hilltoppers shouldn’t be able to keep up with the Red Wolves.  Another season undefeated at home.

That leaves 4 road games – North Texas, Troy, UL-Lafayette and Florida International.  All of these teams have a legit shot to end up bowl eligible in 2012.  However I feel that North Texas is the weakest of this group, and Malzahn will have extra time to prepare coming off a Thursday night game the week before.  So even though they are playing in their nice new stadium, I believe Malzahn and company send the Mean Green out of the Sun Belt with a loss.  Okay, I know that I haven’t gone in chonological order but that is 7-2 with three games to predict.  I feel all three of these teams are beatable, but all of them will be capable of defeating the Red Wolves as well.  There will be more than a week to prepare for both Troy and UL-Lafayette and it will be interesting to see the things that Gus can do with time to prepare.  However versus Florida Int’l ASU will have only 4 days to get ready for the Thursday night ESPNU matchup.  I believe that ASU will pick up one win out of these three games and finish the season 8-4.

This defense really concerns me with so much inexperience on this side of the ball.  There is very little depth and there is a real lack of star power at the defensive end position.  The defense is what makes me nervous about my picks, thinking I’ve overpicked the wins.  But it is the offense that makes me believe we have a chance in every game we play.  If the offense is clicking, especially by conference play, I feel like it could be difficult for any Sun Belt team to keep up.  This is what makes me think we could be better than predicted.  To me 8-4 is a very good season for Arkansas State.  I believe the most important things for this season are to make it to a bowl game and get those extra practices.  Plus what an 8-4 season does is springboard the program into finishing the 2013 recruiting class and really jump into the 2014 class.

Birthday Shoutout - Josh Williams

RedWolfNation strives to give ASU fans our prospective on the Arkansas State Red Wolves.  But we also like to talk about historical things about Arkansas State, so we will profile a former player and their time at Arkansas State each day on their Birthday. 

Today's Birthday - Aug. 28th - Josh Williams LB 6'1 255 - '03-'04

I wanted to call Josh Williams a one-hit wonder, but I think I will change that to a one-YEAR wonder, because Williams recorded a ton of hits.  After redshirting in 2003, the former 2 star recruit from Beaumont, Texas became the most decorated freshman in ASU history.  Williams started all 11 games in 2004 and ended the season as the top freshman tackler in college football.  Josh led the Indians with 110 tackles, posting 5 games with double figure knockdowns.  The Hardin-Jefferson high school product, tied for the team lead with 3 sacks and finished with 10 tackles for loss.  Williams was the only freshman in the nation to finish among the top-50 tacklers in the nation in 2004.  After being named first team All-Sun Belt Conference, the national accolades started pouring in.  He was named to the first-team Freshman All-American by CollegeSportsReports.com.  The Sporting News named Williams a second-team Freshman All-American as did Rivals.com.

Williams was a one-year wonder for the Indians and Head Coach Steve Roberts because he couldn't take care of the business that comes with being a student-athlete for Arkansas State.  As a fan I wish he could have been here for a longer time, but I appreciate all he did in the year he competed for my University.

Dear Sports Illustrated...

Many of you guys have heard me say that I do my best to not listen to the local Little Rock sports radio shows.  I will listen to A-StateNation radio during lunch and will also listen to Game Time with Mickey Ryan in the afternoons.  But mostly during the day or on the daily commute heading home I will use my computer or phone to listen to a number of different national college football podcasts. 

One of the many podcasts I listen to is the Sports Illustrated college football podcast hosted by Stewart Mandel and Mallory Rubin.  The podcast is titled – The Mandel Initiative - and they do a pretty good job in a weekly podcast covering the big upcoming games and review the best games from the week earlier.  However during the summer they have some time to preview the upcoming season.  One day while listening they were begging for folks to send in emails for them to answer.  Well I obliged them and sent the following email…

I’m an Arkansas State fan and our new coach Gus Malzahn has continually used the phrase of trying to build Arkansas State into the “Boise State of the South”.  Now living in a dream world that Gus is going to pull a Chris Petersen and stick around longer than a couple of seasons, is it possible in this new era of playoffs and potential super-conferences for a program like Arkansas State to build themselves into the type of program that Boise State has become.

Stewart and Mal answered my email on the 7/25/2012 and I wanted to give you guys some of their thoughts and comments from the podcast. 

Mallory stated that she had three things that would affect whether or not ASU could become the Boise of the South.  The first of those three were coaching.  (First let me apologize to Red Wolf fans for the “dream world” comment about Gus staying long term.  I have been labeled by some as negative, though I usually say realistic, but I digress.)  Mallory made mentioned that I answered the coaching portion in my question.  She said you need a long term coach for continuity and that it is “hard to imagine that Gus Malzahn becomes an Arkansas State lifer”.  Stewart added that for ASU to build it would require “Malzahn digging in his heels and staying at ASU for a while”.  He added that most people are skeptical about that and see ASU as a springboard job.

Mallory then jumped into recruiting.  She stated that to become that BCS buster type program you have to be able to recruit really well.   Mal mentioned that ASU is in a better situation than Boise has when it comes to talent pool.  In the “football loving south” she believes ASU can find the guys that weren’t quite elite enough to play in the SEC but are fast, athletic, and often end up in the NFL.  That is much better than what Boise was getting until the last couple of years.

The New Playoff system could be the toughest to overcome.  After stating that many national college football writers believe that the mid major programs may be worse off with the new playoff system, both Mal and Stewart agreed that it is hard to say what will happen when the playoffs actually arrive.   Mallory did say “in order to be relative, you do have to break into those playoffs”. 

Stewart added a 4th component that is needed to become another Boise.   He explained that Boise State dominated their conference for a decade and then beat some of those larger programs.  It took that time to build the program and the national respect and then came the defining moment for Boise – Defeating Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.  Earning that respect of the media, fans, and other coaches is required.

The following week on the 8/9/2012 podcast, Mallory made a nice prediction that I thought everyone would like to read.  When previewing the Big 10, Mal brought up Nebraska as someone that was ripe for upset.  She wanted to “throw it out there” that she “wouldn’t be shocked to see Arkansas State upset Nebraska in game 3”.  She said that fans should “watch out for Arkansas State this year”. 

So I’ve thought about writing this out for a while now, but it wasn’t until the Little Rock Luncheon hosted by Jeff Hankins and his group at War Memorial that I felt like I can finally make more out of this entire story.  Malzahn was really impressive that day and it got me to rethinking the answers to my question.

Now I’m still realistic, but I believe Gus is here to build something.  There is no question he is the coach that can take Arkansas State to the “Next Level” and if ASU fans buy into this thing, maybe Gus does stick around.  It would take total immersion by ASU administration, ASU fans, and the state of Arkansas, but Gus could see something special in what he has created.  Gus absolutely loves the recruiting game.  He will always be a threat to the SEC and Big 12 schools while recruiting kids in the South because of his name and style of offense.  If ASU continues to put guys in the NFL, and the Red Wolves consistently dominate the Sun Belt, then the recruiting will continue to get bigger and better. ASU is in the right conference to dominate for a number of years.  If the Red Wolves keep putting top recruiting classes together, they should be able to pull a couple of upsets.   10 win seasons, chopping down the big boys, living in the top 25 would earn national respect, and then we are talking about the “Boise State of the South”.  Oh, and the “Boise State of the South” can make a run at that new playoff, you can bet on it!

The Hybrid!

The Arkansas State Red Wolves defense has a position that is called “the Wolf”.  It is a hybrid position that is designed to be half safety, half linebacker.  One of the best athletes on the ASU football squad is set to man the Wolf this fall – Don Jones.  But that is not what this article is about.

This is a story about 3 coaches.  One that came and rebuilt a program – Steve Roberts ; one that took the program where it had never been before – Hugh Freeze; and what I think we have now – the Hybrid – Gus Malzahn.

Steve Roberts took over at Arkansas State when the program was almost beyond repair.  One of the worst football programs in the country when Roberts took over in December 2001, ASU fans were coming off a Thanksgiving day massacre at the hands of the mighty Nichols State Colonels.  It seemed the program had hit an all-time low.    Roberts helped increase the talent pool by recruiting a very solid group of athletes over his 10 years at Arkansas State.  Roberts had 4 seasons of 6 wins and 2 seasons with 5 wins in the span from 2002-2008.  While that doesn’t all that wonderful, just remember that from 1990-2001 there was only one season that had more than 4 wins.  Roberts also had a number of athletes that were drafted during his time and it was practically all but 2 of his recruits that lead the Red Wolves to the 2011 10-3 season and Go Daddy Bowl.  He and his staff did a good job of evaluating talent and finding the “diamonds in the rough.  The Red Wolves squads under Roberts were hard-nosed teams that played hard and loved to strike you.  His kids worked hard to maintain a positive image for the university and they were very good students – winning multiple academic championships in the SBC. 

Roberts’ downside was his conservatism.  Unfortunately for him it crept into all facets of the football program eventually.  First off, it hurt the way he recruited.  He was not willing to spend time and money recruiting an athlete that he felt would end up jumping ship to a bigger school, so he wouldn’t recruit against the big teams and he waited until late in the year to really get his classes.  He hated the media and the fans.  He didn’t want to deal with the criticism that came with being a Division I head football coach and it ended up hurting him with some media and many fans.  But the biggest outpouring of his conservatism came on the field – particularly with the offense.  The game plan was vanilla.  It wasn’t difficult to see what was coming and it was on the field conservativeness that kept those 6-6 teams from being 7,8,9 win teams.  Thus after back to back 4-8 seasons and 10 years of conservatism, it was time for Steve to go.

Hugh Freeze was the offensive coordinator during the last 4-8 season, but it was his offense that kept that team from an uglier record.  Freeze wasn’t Roberts’ first choice as OC and I believe that Hugh was just too “wide open” for Steve.  But the offensive guru had become the fan and media darling during his one season as OC and was handed the reins to the program in December 2010.  Freeze put together a decent recruiting class in the few months he had and proved his worth as a recruiter by picking up some top guys like Josh Jarboe, Kyle Coleman, and Artez Brown.  Freeze was from the Ed Orgeron style of recruiting which was “offer them all, and take the best 25”.  After signing his first class in February, Freeze immediately began to make offers to guys everywhere.  Offering 5 star recruits and almost everyone else, I was a little perplexed with some of the early commits as they weren’t quite the talent level as I was expecting.  I was told that the evaluation of recruits lacked a little to be desired and there was a bit of “needing to have another commit to keep the publicity front going”.  

Well by now the season had quickly blown in and the perfect storm hit us like lightning.  Freeze’s offense was running to perfection and his motivational skills had all 100+ Red Wolves believing in themselves and the team.  After eking out victories on the road versus Western Kentucky and UL-Monroe, this team decided they were unbeatable.  They played like gangbusters.  The more confidence that got the better they were and by the end of the season, old rivals that routinely bullied the Red Wolves around were being pounded into the ground by Freeze, his up-tempo offense, and the battery of athletes on the ASU defense.  ASU fans were pounding their chests and proclaiming the coming of a new era when it became apparent that we were all about to really “Feel the Freeze”.  The man that had invited the press into team meetings and was beloved by ASU fans for bringing the program back to life was heading to Ole Miss for his “dream job”.  I was told by someone on the inside that Freeze was always ready to jump to the big time and the chance to go to Ole Miss was an easy choice (I do believe that Freeze loved his time at ASU and would have stayed if it hadn’t been a “big” program) so it was back to the drawing board for ASU.

The dream come true.  Never in my mind did I think it was possible for ASU to hire Gus Malzahn.  Well maybe when he was at Tulsa or the OC at Arkansas but I figured once his meteoric rise to fame landed him at Auburn we were out of the picture.  Well it happened and what I have found in this short time is what I believe to be a very interesting picture of a man. 

Malzahn is very similar to both Hugh Freeze and Steve Roberts.  How can that be you may ask as Freeze and Roberts seem like polar opposites. Well, let me see if I can explain my thoughts. 

On the field it is simple to see the similarities of Gus and Hugh.  Both want the fast paced, high octane attacking style offense and defense.  They want to put major pressure on the other team with the tempo and to get the most out of the game by getting in as many snaps as possible.  Completely opposite of Roberts, who would prefer a time consuming drive eat up an entire quarter if possible.  All coaches strive for balance in an offense but Roberts would love to just pound the ball with a 3 yards and a cloud of dust mentality.  Hugh seemed to prefer to throw it the majority of the time.  Malzahn is more similar to Roberts in that he would tell you that the running game is the way to go……just up-tempo!

Malzahn and Hugh both LOVE the recruiting game.  And though Malzahn understands the needs to make early offers to top recruits, you see more of the evaluation with this staff.  They are really only interested in those that they have truly evaluated as stars or hidden gems. (Note a number of the recruits that Freeze had committed to ASU that Malzahn dropped didn’t end up signing with D1 programs)  Roberts took the time to evaluate a number of good football players and Malzahn and company have the same mentality. 

Freeze was quick to tell the world what was happening with everything inside ASU football.  He was as open to the media as a coach can be.  Roberts was as closed off and secretive as you can be, sometimes to the point that it lost him publicity.  Malzahn can also play it close to the vest, though he does understand the times to use the media to his benefit for publicity sake.  Basically, to sums it up, Malzahn is conservative like Roberts, but like Freeze he understands the importance of being wide open when he needs to be.  All in all, he has the best of both and is the perfect Hybrid!   

Don Jones would be proud.