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| Volume 11, No. 49 |
September 1-7, 2010 |
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| | BATES TO LEAD TEXAS | | By Steve Escajeda | | 
While in the NFL, Bill Bates helped make winning a habit with the Dallas Cowboys. At this Saturday’s Pro Football Hall of Fame Texas vs. the Nation Challenge, he’ll try to start another winning tradition.
Bates, a former Pro Bowler who performed as a defensive back and special teams guru on three Dallas Cowboys’ Super Bowl teams, will be the head coach of the Texas squad when they take on the Nation at high noon in the Sun Bowl.
“It’s a pretty big deal following Coach Stallings,” said Bates, referring to Gene Stallings, who coached Texas the last two years. “It’s a great honor to follow the man who gave me some great opportunities when he coached me with the Cowboys.”
Bates feels the ultimate goal of this game is two-fold.
“The goal is always to win the game but you also want to help the guys get to the next level,” he said. “If we can make a difference in a players’ life by helping him make it to the NFL, that would be fulfilling for me and the rest of the coaching staff.”
To achieve his goal, Bates brought a few friends along to help him out.
“I brought in guys that I trust like (former NFL quarterback) Steve Beuerlein and my old high school football coach Ken Sparks,” said Bates. “I wanted to bring him along because of all he did for me.”
The game gives college players, especially those from small schools, a legitimate chance to prove they can play professional football.
“It means a lot to me and it means a lot to my school,” said running back A.J. Cooley, a running back from Shorter College in Rome, Ga. “I’m just here to do a good job and show everybody that I can play and that there is not such a big difference at the NAIA level of play.”
Cooley, who rushed for 1,429 yards and scored 17 touchdowns this season, is beginning to feel at home among the big-school athletes.
“I was a little intimidated at first but not now,” he said. “I have a lot of confidence that I can play at the next level. I just have to prove it.”
Another small-school running back hoping to make a big splash is Southern Illinois’ Deji Karim.
Karim, the MVC Offensive Player of the Year, finished third in the balloting for the Walter Payton Award, which goes to the most outstanding player in FCS (formerly Division 1-AA).
“Getting so close to winning the Walter Payton trophy means a lot to me,” Karim said. “Just to be mentioned in the same sentence with him is a great honor.”
Karim rushed for 1,694 yards, scored 18 touchdowns while averaging 130 yards per game.
“I just want to raise my stock,” he said. “I feel like I had a strong year but this whole week is important to try to get the NFL scouts to see something in me to say, ‘This kid’s a great player.’”
The Texas squad should also have little trouble moving the ball through the air.
The three quarterbacks are Levi Brown (Troy), Thaddeus Lewis (Duke) and Ryan Perrillox (Jacksonville State).
Brown, who ranked in the top 10 nationally in many passing categories, completed 63.7 percent of his passes (321-504) for 4,254 yards.
The Sun Belt Conference’s offensive MVP, Brown averaged 327.2 yards per game and threw for 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Lewis, who set 48 career records at Duke, connected on 61 percent of his passes (274-449) for 3,330 yards. He threw 20 touchdown passes to just eight interceptions and averaged 278 yards per game.
Perrilloux, the Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year, completed 58 percent (138-236) of his passes for 2,350 yards. He threw 23 touchdown passes and just two interceptions.
Perrilloux is also dangerous with his feet, rushing for 443 yards and eight touchdowns.
The game, which drew a crowd of 42,387 last season, will be nationally televised on CBS College Sports and can be heard locally on KROD-AM 600.
For tickets call (800) 745-3000 or log on to Ticketmaster.com.
Comments or questions about this story? E-mail Secret@whatsuppub.com
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