Category: Sacramento State Hornets
Big Sky Suspends Sacramento State Football Player
OGDEN, UTAH (Oct. 28, 2009) - The Big Sky Conference announced it has suspended Sacramento State football player Avery White for his actions in last Saturday’s game against The University of Montana.
White, a freshman linebacker from Manteca, Calif., will be suspended for Sacramento State’s Oct. 31 home game against Northern Arizona.
Griz Trickery Surprises Sac State
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gerald Kemp is a redshirt freshman quarterback who has made only one pass - an interception - for the Montana Grizzlies, though he’s shown himself to be a dangerous runner.
On Saturday, in Montana’s 45-30 Big Sky Conference football win over Sacramento State, it was his sticky hands and not his arm or legs that boosted the Griz.
Kemp had a Marc Mariani-like leaping grab of Brody McKnight’s onside kick to set up the Grizzlies’ go-ahead TD.
Sac State football plans to go deep
Scan Sacramento State’s football roster and notice something the Hornets appear to have for the first time since Marshall Sperbeck took over as coach two seasons ago: Quality depth.
When the Hornets begin fall practice Monday, they’ll be missing their biggest stars from 2008: linebackers Cyrus Mulitalo and Mike Brannon, wide receiver Tony Washington and running back Bryan Hilliard.
But a deep talent pool could become their new calling card.
Running back might be Exhibit A. Although Hilliard is expected to miss the season after undergoing shoulder surgery, Washington sophomore transfer Terrance Dailey, freshman Sam McCowan and returnees Evander Wilkins and Jake Croxdale give Sperbeck plenty of options.
Weber State Dominates Preseason All-Conference Team
GDEN, UTAH (July 22, 2009) – Four players were unanimous selections to the 2009 Big Sky Preseason All-Conference team, which was released Wednesday.
The team was picked by select media and sports information directors.
- 939 words - Big Sky Conference, Montana Grizzlies, Montana State Bobcats, Sacramento State Hornets, Portland State Vikings, Northern Colorado Bears, Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, Weber State Wildcats, Eastern Washington Eagles, Idaho State Bengals Big Sky: Coaches, Media Like Montana
OGDEN, Utah (July 21, 2009) - The Montana Grizzlies, whose 2008 season ended with a loss in the Division I Football Championship, have once again been selected by the media and coaches to capture the Big Sky Conference football championship.
The 2009 preseason polls were released by the conference on Tuesday, with Montana selected first in both polls, and 2008 co-conference champion Weber State picked second.
- 663 words - Big Sky Conference, Montana Grizzlies, Montana State Bobcats, Sacramento State Hornets, Portland State Vikings, Northern Colorado Bears, Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, Weber State Wildcats, Eastern Washington Eagles, Idaho State Bengals Big Sky Announces 2009 Scholar Athlete Award Winners
The Big Sky Conference announced the 2009 Scholar Athlete Award winners today. The following student athletes were selected by their respective institutions based upon football athletic and academic performance during the 2008-09 school year.
- 129 words - Big Sky Conference, Montana State Bobcats, Sacramento State Hornets, Weber State Wildcats, Eastern Washington Eagles Big Sky Conference Spring Outlook
- 1364 words - Big Sky Conference, Montana Grizzlies, Montana State Bobcats, Sacramento State Hornets, Portland State Vikings, Northern Colorado Bears, Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, Weber State Wildcats, Eastern Washington Eagles, Idaho State Bengals At Last, a Big Game to Rile Delaware
Proximity, history could charge UD-DSU meetings.
The University of Delaware and Delaware State University have some catching up to do.
Football rivalries don’t form overnight. But UD and DSU already have many of the ingredients to make this one special.
On Tuesday, the schools announced their first regular-season meeting will take place Sept. 19, followed by three annual games beginning in 2012.
Weber State's Big Sky Drive Starts Now Against Sacramento State
Weber State and Sacramento State have long been afterthoughts in the annual Big Sky championship race. It’s been eight years since either team has finished in the top three in the conference standings.
The Wildcats and Hornets, both of whom have conference-title aspirations this year, meet in their Big Sky opener in Sacramento this afternoon. Kickoff is at 3:05 p.m. (MST), and the game can be seen online at www.bigskytv.org.
“Our big goal is to win the Big Sky, and this is going to start off our league play in the direction we need to be in,” said Wildcats defensive tackle Bryce Scanlon. “We’re not going to take them lightly. We’ll go there and play hard and do what it takes to win.”
Sac State hopes new facilities can entice local talent to stay and play
As he rebuilds a college football program, Marshall Sperbeck sees signs of progress.
The new $11 million Broad Fieldhouse gives the second-year Sacramento State coach a spacious office with a view, something he didn’t have last season. Downstairs, the locker room is much improved and the weight room gives the Hornets something they can show recruits without being embarrassed.
Better facilities should help Sperbeck’s vow to build a strong local recruiting base. Already, there are more local players on the roster – 26 from the Sacramento area, and another 30 from within roughly a two-hour drive.
That’s a big jump from the 17 Sacramento-area players, plus 18 others within two hours, on the 2007 roster, or the 13 locals and 15 others within two hours on the 2006 team, Steve Mooshagian’s last as head coach.
Schedules could help or hinder
Give the Big Sky credit. At least its teams are giving themselves ample opportunity to pull off an Appalachian State-like upset this season.
Take one look at the nonconference schedules of the nine teams in the league, and it becomes apparent that Idaho State isn’t alone in signing up for a brutal stretch of games to make a few hundred thousand dollars outside the already arduous Big Sky lineup.
Combined, the conference teams will play 12 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, including eight that hail from BCS conferences.
Heck, compared to some teams, the Bengals’ back-to-back journeys to Boise State and Idaho look like a relief.
That type of scheduling will provide added intrigue and potential pitfalls in the battle for the Big Sky title.
2008 BIG SKY PREVIEW: SACRAMENTO STATE
Offense
Two sophomores are vying for the quarterback spot, and incoming Jason Smith had the stronger first scrimmage of the fall compared to UCLA transfer McLeod Bethel-Thompson. Their main targets are Tony Washington and 2007 walk-on Dylan Lane. Washington was honorable mention all-Big Sky after making 29 grabs. The corps includes speedster Torrell Baker and big newcomers Chase Deadder and Jon Blea. But the biggest pluses are four letterwinners back on the offensive line - led by tight end-turned-left tackle Matt Navar - and sophomore tailback Bryan Hilliard. A local product (Laguna Creek), Hilliard ended 2007 with three straight 100-yard games, including a 243-yard outburst against Idaho State.
Confident sophomores duel to be Hornets' starting QB
Jason Smith knows the system, carries himself with confidence and takes the field with the competitive fire needed to win.
McLeod Bethel-Thompson believes in himself, too, and has a season at UCLA on his résumé that shows he can handle himself against high-caliber opponents.
So which sophomore starts at quarterback for Sacramento State?
Second-year Hornets football coach Marshall Sperbeck isn’t saying yet. But Smith appears to have built an early edge based on being the incumbent and performing well in practice this month.
Lot of respect for Big Sky Conference in preseason polls
Nobody who follows NCAA Football Championship Subdivision schools should be surprised to learn that Appalachian State is the odds-on favorite to win another national championship.
All three major preseason polls listed the Mountaineers as the team to beat in 2008, and who can blame them? Appy State has won the last two FCS national titles and in 2007 stunned powerful Michigan, giving an emotional lift to the 100-plus schools that play in a division all but forgotten come bowl time.
Lindy’s, The Sporting News and AnyGivenSaturday.com each gave Appalachian State its stamp of approval, and with quarterback Armanti Edwards back at the controls, coach Jerry Moore’s Mountaineers are poised for a three-peat. The Boone, N.C., program gets another chance to make a national statement when it challenges BCS champion LSU on Aug. 30 in Baton Rouge, La.
Big Sky and regional players in the NFL
Other Big Sky teams with pros
Sperbeck has good feeling about Hornet football
Marshall Sperbeck, Sacramento State’s second-year head football coach, expects his offense to deliver more often this season.
With returning starter Jason Smith and UCLA transfer McLeod Bethel-Thompson vying for the quarterback job, standout runner Bryan Hilliard back and some experience returning up front, Sperbeck would like to see the Hornets do a better job when they have the ball.
“I’d like to think we’ll be much improved on offense,” said Sperbeck, whose team is scheduled to begin practice today in preparation for its Aug. 30 season opener at 6:05 p.m. against visiting Humboldt State.
Leading Off: College camps open, and Sacramento yawns
In case you haven’t heard, most of the nation’s Division I college football teams open training camp this week. The only problem is you’re in Sacramento, so you’re probably oblivious to this.
This is no attempt to disrespect Sacramento State football, but everywhere else in the country, college football is huge. In TV ratings, it ranks right behind the NFL and NASCAR. Except in Sacramento. I’m a huge college football fan. But I’m in the minority in this city.
The Top 10 quotes from Big Sky media days
Put nine football coaches, nine football players and more than a dozen media members in a cramped hotel room and what do you get? A few good quotes.
If you’re lucky, sometimes they can all pump out one of those perfect novels 100 monkeys with 100 type writers can produce.
I don’t think we were that fortunate in Park City, Utah last week. But we did get some good quotes at the Big Sky media days. From my point of view, here’s what the Top 10 were:
Commentary: Griz In Customary Top Spot
Any college football program talented enough to win or share its conference championship 10 straight years should be a good bet to make it 11 in a row, right?
That’s what the brain trust in the Big Sky Conference obviously believes. It was announced Tuesday at the annual Big Sky Kickoff in Park City, Utah that the Montana Grizzlies are the choice of both the coaches and media to win their 11th straight Big Sky football title this fall.
Montana Targeted as Top Team in Big Sky
PARK CITY, Utah - It’s a familiar name atop the coaches and media preseason polls for Big Sky Conference football, meaning the Montana Grizzlies are still wearing the bulls’ eye.
The Griz, who’ve won or shared the last 10 Big Sky titles, drew seven of nine first-place votes from league coaches to lead the way with 63 points. Eastern Washington and Northern Arizona came in second and third, each drawing one first-place vote, and scored 52 and 50 points.
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