July 22, 2005

The following is the third installment of a look inside the Texas State football program position by position. The defensive line will be featured next week.

SAN MARCOS - The following is the third installment of a look inside the Texas State football program position by position. The defensive line will be featured next week.

With the amount of experience returning along with talent new to the position, wide receivers coach Travis Bush will face a welcomed dilemma this fall. Play after play, Bush will have to make a determination of which personnel to use.

"My biggest problem is going to be determining who to put on the field," Bush said. "They are all good enough to be out there and playing. I am really excited to be coaching these guys."

The Bobcats have four wide receivers returning from last season that saw playing time, including three who started at one point or another during the year.

Leading the cast is two-year starter K.R. Carpenter who is listed as the preseason starter at the slot position. The senior has caught 85 passes for 1,205 yards and nine touchdowns over the last two seasons and is coming off a strong spring camp. Despite an ankle injury which sidelined him part of the 2004 season, Carpenter led the Bobcats in receiving yards catching 25 passes for 425 yards.

"K.R. is someone I can turn to and ask, `What are you seeing out there? What are they giving us? What do you think can hurt them,'" Bush said. "He's the type of player that has the experience to recognize what we need to run. And he's the one to do it even if it means him not getting the ball. He'll come back to the sidelines and say `they are double-covering me but you need to look at (another player).'"

Tyrone Scott started eight games last year as a red-shirt freshman and brings an emotional energy the rest of the receivers feed on. He played in all 11 games last year, catching 14 passes for 154 yards to rank third on the team. Scott is listed as one of the preseason starters at wide receiver.

The other expected starter at wide out is senior Markee White who got better and better during the year and finished with 11 receptions for 194 yards. He had a breakout game in his native California catching three passes for 90 yards against Cal Poly. Once the football season wrapped up, White played in 26 games for the Texas State basketball team, averaging 7.0 points and 3.2 rebounds.

Also returning at wide receiver is Justin Williams, who caught three passes for 43 yards.

"We're going to block our butts off when it's a running play and we're going to run our routes and catch the football when it is thrown to us." Travis Bush, Wide Receivers Coach

The newcomers include a pair of red-shirted freshmen as well as a transfer from the University of Houston.

Stan Zwinggi played running back in high school before being converted during his red-shirt season to wide receiver for the Bobcats. He is listed on the depth chart at slot. Clellan Cook is another red-shirted freshman who is listed on the two-deep behind White at one of the receiver positions.

Dameon Williams is one of the fastest players on the team and was a part of an indoor conference track championship at Houston before transferring to Texas State.

Texas State's philosophy to winning in the Southland Conference is to have an effective running game. Success running the football In turn could open up some things for the receiver corps.

"We're going to block our butts off when it's a running play and we're going to run our routes and catch the football when it is thrown to us," Bush said. "When people stack the box with defenders, there are going to be times we'll throw it deep to get them out of the box. Then there are the times that with great receivers, you just want to get it in their hands and let them run with it.

"Our receivers like the system and the new things we are doing. They are fired up about catching more balls. There is a lot to our passing game which is efficient and short. And with Barrick Nealy at quarterback, we have the capability of doing both depending on what the defense is doing to us."

While the Bobcats look to have plenty of talent, Bush said the squad will miss the leadership departed seniors Devin Freeman and John Tyson brought to the team. Tyson was the 2004 recipient of the J.C. Kellam Award.

"The two things that we are going to miss about those two guys is that not only were they great players but they were great leaders," said Bush, who also was a J.C. Kellam Award recipient as a player. "They did everything right both on and off the field. Those two guys kept the receiving corps going.

"Athletically, I think we have some talented players that are coming up but I am waiting for one of the younger guys to step up and match their leadership. I'm anxious to see who is going to be the one who steps up and does that because they have some big shoes to fill."