March 30, 2006

SAN MARCOS - Texas State's final practice before Saturday's spring game culminated in the squad utilizing both the program's practice fields as well as Bobcat Stadium as both the Maroon and Gold teams installed some trick plays in preparation for Saturday's spring game.

For the second straight year, the Maroon and Gold Classic will pit teams coached by campus and community leaders. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. and will be preceded by the Time Warner Junior Bobcat Clinic for grade school and junior high students at 11:30 Saturday morning.

The Maroon team will be coached by Dr. Joanne Smith, Texas State Vice President of Student Affairs; Dr. Denise Smart, Dean of the McCoy College of Business Administration; Charles Blackwell, General Manager of Chartwells Dining Services; Associated Student Government President Jordan Anderson and ASG Vice President Cassie Holman. Coaching the Gold team will be Bobcat Athletic Foundation President John Navarrette, BAF Board of Director O.C. Haley, 3D Welding's Greg Davis and San-N-Pac's Cheryl Warren.

On Wednesday, the two coaching staffs drafted from the Bobcat spring roster. Junior quarterback Chase Wasson was the first pick of the draft and will play for the Maroon team.

"You could tell a lot of research went into the coaches' draft decisions," said Texas State head coach David Bailiff. "They spent a lot of time huddling up and making decisions and at times we would have to speed them up between their picks. They were very thorough and both coaching staffs drafted well."

Saturday's scrimmage counts as the final day of spring drills as the Bobcats wrap up a camp in which the squad looked to begin replacing 27 seniors who led Texas State to an 11-3 record, a Southland Conference championship and an appearance in the NCAA Division I-AA national semifinals.

"Overall we had great competition," Bailiff said. "We saw a lot of young men improve and are further along than what we thought they would be."

The Bobcats will look to get back several offensive linemen from injuries during the off-season but the dilemma provided an opportunity this spring for some young linemen to see more reps in practices. Several linemen will play for both the Maroon and Gold teams on Saturday.

On Saturday, Texas State's coaching staff will get one final look at the `Cats in a team setting before preseason camp begins in August.

"It will be interesting to see how hard they compete," Bailiff said. "Everyone wants to win this game. It's hard to take losing when you get back in the locker room after the game. It is a fun day. It's a great day to have players' families on campus and an opportunity for fans to see this team one final time before the fall."

Capping the day for the program will be the Texas State Football Banquet Presented by Chartwells Saturday night in the LBJ Student Center. Members of the 2005 Texas State team will receive their championship rings and post-season awards will be presented. The event has been sold out for over a week.