The Citadel football team will open the 2006 season against the Aggies of Texas A&M on Saturday at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas. Kick-off is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. central time. To listen in on the live audio broadcast, go to www.CitadelSports.com and click on Bulldog Insider. There will be no television broadcasts.
Opening their 99th season of football, the Bulldogs will play in their 952nd game when they take on the Big 12 opponent for the first time. The last time The Citadel opened the season against a Division I-A opponent was in 2002 when the Bulldogs traveled to Baton Rouge, La. to take on the LSU Tigers. The Citadel, led by Ellis Johnson, was defeated 35-10. However, the Bulldogs were on the winning side of the ball when defeating Arkansas in their 1992 season-opener in Fayetteville. The Bulldogs topped the Razorbacks 10-3, and claimed the school's only Division I-A season-opener win for the Bulldogs during a season that ended with a conference championship title. The Citadel will look to repeat history as they take on Division I-A Texas A&M on Saturday.
During Higgins' debut season at The Citadel, the Bulldogs went 4-7 overall and 2-5 in the Southern Conference. Returning 14 starters for the 2006 season, The Citadel is picked to finish seventh in the conference (out of eight) by both the coaches and the media.
Junior quarterback Duran Lawson, who tore his ACL in the final play of the third quarter against Western Carolina and missed the final seven games of the 2005 season, will return 100 percent and reclaim his starting position to lead the Bulldogs in the 14th largest college football stadium on Saturday. On the defensive side of the ball, look for fifth-year senior defensive end James Wilson to create problems for opponent offenses this season. The All-SoCon selection has speed and experience that is expected to cause a threat in the Southern Conference.
TAMU lost their final five games of the 2005 season and will look to break that streak on Saturday. Led by Dennis Franchione, who enters his fourth season with the Aggies, Texas A&M enjoyed a trip to the Cotton Bowl in 2005 where they lost to Tennessee, 38-7. They finished the season 5-6 overall and 3-5 in conference play and the media picked the Aggies to finish third in the Big 12's south division behind Oklahoma and then Texas.
The Aggies, who open their second consecutive season with a team from South Carolina, will welcome the Bulldogs Saturday as they introduce the new “12th Man TV,” a state-of-the-art video board that stands 110 feet tall in the south end zone of Kyle Field. Just as The Citadel, the Aggies have spent the last few months making video upgrades to their stadium.
More Notes:
Game of Firsts...
Saturday's game against Texas A&M will be the first meeting between the two teams. Not only has The Citadel never played a school from the Big 12, the Bulldogs have never taken on an opponent from the Lonestar State. However, for the second consecutive season, the Aggies open their season against a South Carolina school. Last season, TAMU traveled to Clemson, S.C. to take on the Tigers at Memorial Stadium, where they were upset by Clemson 25-24 in the season opener.
Bulldogs Become Familiar with Big Stadium Atmosphere...
While Saturday's competition is the first trip to the state of Texas for the Bulldogs, it's not the first time The Citadel will be among the big college football atmosphere with 80,000 or more fans. Within six years, The Citadel will have visited and played in four of the top-10 college football stadiums, according to a selection by CBSSportsLine.com. In 2002, the Bulldogs competed at LSU's Tiger Stadium (No. 5), at Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium (No. 9) in 2004 and Florida State's Doak Campbell Stadium (No. 7) in 2005. TAMU's Kyle Field, the 14th largest stadium (82,600), is ranked the top college football stadium. The Citadel also played against Florida in 1998 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, ranked No. 4 among college football stadiums.
Season Openers Against Div. I-A...
The last time the Citadel opened the season against a division I-A opponent was in 2002 when the Bulldogs took on the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge, La. The Citadel, led by Ellis Johnson, was defeated 35-10. However, the Bulldogs found success in 1992 when they opened the season against Div. I-A Arkansas in Fayetteville. The Citadel, who finished the season as SoCon Champions under the leadership of Charlie Taaffe, defeated the Razorbacks 10-3, with the assistance of hall of famers Jack Douglas and Lester Smith. It is the only Div. I-A season opener win for the Bulldogs in recent time. In 1910, The Citadel defeated Wake Forest , 9-5.
Bulldogs' McKnight Recruited by Franchione...
Fifth-year senior Marcus McKnight, who transferred from Alabama and will play second team wide receiver for the Bulldogs this fall, was recruited and redshirted one season by Texas A&M's Head Coach Dennis Franchione. McKnight signed with Crimson Tide in 2002, a year before then-head coach Franchione decided to accept a head coaching job with the Aggies. McKnight, disappointed with the departure and the amount of playing time received after Coach Fran left Alabama, decided to earn his degree from Alabama, which he did in 2006, and transfer to The Citadel to play his fifth year of college football. Now, the two will reunite as the Bulldogs go to College Station to take on the Aggies at Kyle Field.
Homecoming for Kaspar...
When signing with the Bulldogs in 2005 Mark Kaspar had no idea that he would be playing in front of his home crowd just a year later as The Citadel's starting punter. However, the 6-1, 200-pound sophomore will experience that and more as he heads home on Saturday to College Station, Texas to take on the Aggies of Texas A&M. Kaspar, who saw action in all 11 games last season as a true freshman, came to The Citadel from Navasota High School in College Station where he averaged 41 yards a punt. As the only punter for the Bulldogs in 2005, he punted the ball 80 times for a total of 2,999 yards, the most number of punts for any Bulldog in one season at The Citadel. For the first time since leaving Navasota, Kaspar will have the opportunity to perform before his home crowd...this time as the opponent. Also from Texas are sophomore defensive back Jonathan Vest and freshman linebacker Patrick Connor.
Bulldogs Picked Seventh in SoCon Preseason Poll...
The Citadel football team was picked to finish seventh in the Southern Conference on both the coaches and media polls. The Bulldogs, who concluded the season tied for fifth, finished last year with a 4-7 record. The Citadel, who is expected to finish ahead of only Elon, earned 54 points in the media poll and 19 in the coaches.
Three Bulldogs Named Preseason Second Team...
Junior wide receiver Ta'Mar Jernigan, junior linebacker Andrew Rowell and
fifth-year senior defensive lineman James Wilson were all named to the 2006 preseason second team...Jernigan, who started nine of 11 games for the Bulldogs last season, caught 40 passes for 359 yards, averaging nine yards a reception and totaling five touchdowns for the season as last year's leading receiver...Rowell started all 11 games for The Citadel, finishing the season second on the team defensively with 67.5 total tackles (51 solo, 33 assisted)...Wilson, who also started all 11 games, recorded 25 solo tackles and assisted on 18 stops. He totaled nine tackles for a loss of 54 yards, recovered two fumbles and recorded four solo sacks on the year, giving opponents a loss of 41 yards. Three of Wilson's tackles came against Florida State. The 2005 All- SoCon selection is expected to create problems for opponent offenses this season with his speed and experience on the field.
Cooper Making Moves...
Since junior Tory Cooper made the move to running back in mid-season last year, he has been on a path of steady success. Cooper, who played running back at South Florence High School, spent the beginning of the season in the wide receiver position. Not seeing much action, Cooper moved to a position he knew and felt more comfortable playing. Although he finished the 2005 season only with four carries for 23 yards, he continued to show steady improvement. He was named the Bulldogs' Most Improved Player after impressive spring training. According to Coach Higgins, Cooper is getting better and better and will hold the No. 2 spot behind Nuru Goodrum for the 2006 season.
Bulldog Freshmen Expected to Get Action...
At least three Bulldog freshmen of the 22 signees in the 2006 class are expected to
get significant playing time this season. Listed in The Citadel's two-deep in the No.
2 spots are offensive lineman Colton Cliffton, defensive lineman Terrence Reese and wide receiver Andre Roberts. Clifton, a 6-5, 275-pounder from Fayetteville's Jack
Britt High School, will play back-up to junior Chris McDowell. Clifton was a two-time Mid-Southeastern All-Conference team honoree and a member of an All-Region team, while ranking among the top-50 lineman in North Carolina... Reese, who stands at 6-0, 294 pounds, comes to The Citadel from North High School in North, S.C. The two-time All-Region honoree played in the North-South All-Star football game his senior season and is expected to backup junior Jacob Bryant this season... Roberts, a 6-0, 205-pound freshman from Spring Valley High School in Columbia, S.C., rushed for 888 yards in eight games during his senior year while also recorded 79 tackles. He will play behind junior Ta'Mar Jernigan.
SoCon Track Champion Plays First Collegiate Football Game...
He won his first SoCon championship title in the high jump for The Citadel during his freshman track season in 2006 and now the Spring Valley High (Columbia, S.C.) standout will enjoy playing before a crowd of thousands at Texas A&M. Smith, a redshirt freshman defensive back for the Bulldogs, will start for the The Citadel in what is his college football debut on Saturday in College Station. Smith hopes to fi nd as much success on the gridiron as he did on the track after being named the SoCon Freshman of the Year in 2006.
The Citadel Opens West Stands...
For the first time in almost three years, Bulldog fans will have the opportunity to sit on the home side (west stands) of Johnson Hagood Stadium. The west stands, which were torn down after the 2003 season for a multi-million dollar renovation, will open on Sept. 9 for The Citadel's home opener against Charleston Southern, “The Chucktown Throwdown.” While the stands will reopen, the completed project, which will feature luxury suites, club seats, a state-of-the-art press box and all the modern-day amenities of athletic facilities, is scheduled to be complete in 2008. The new west stands, consists of over 2,000 personal seat license seats (PSLs) and returns the stadium's capacity to approximately 21,000.
