Friday, September 21, 2007 9:46 PM CDT
Panthers' freshman punter hoping to continue strong start
EASTERN (1-2) at INDIANA STATE (0-3)
Kickoff: 5 P.M. CDT TODAY AT MEMORIAL STADIUM IN TERRE HAUTE
Radio: WEIU-FM 88.9
BY BRIAN NIELSEN Sports Editor
bnielsen@jg-tc.com
In any of those soccer vs. football feuds, Stan Cook could probably be put in the neutral category.
“Dad was a hockey player,” Kevin Cook said.
Of course, the dad also wanted what was best for his son.
He had seen that while concentration on soccer made his son an all-conference player in that sport for Carmel High School and provided some NCAA Division I soccer offers, Kevin had hardly touched the surface of his football potential when earning All-East Suburban Catholic honors as a Friday night kicker/punter.
So in a change of plans the summer after high school graduation, Cook decided to try college football.
By then Eastern Illinois had no more scholarship money to offer that year but allowed him to walk on.
Now the EIU coaches can be glad they made that invitation and that Stan Cook gave his son the advice.
Heading into today’s 5 p.m. game at Indiana State, Cook ranks third among Football Championship Subdivision punters with a 44.9 average.
“Kevin Cook is a great find,” EIU coach Bob Spoo said. “He’s a walk-on who has come out of nowhere. He can kick the ball a long, long way.”
Of course, the Panthers’ first preference today would be that new starting quarterback Bodie Reeder and the EIU offense would have such success that the punter could go play soccer or whatever today.
Considering Indiana State ranks 109th among 116 FCS teams in pass efficiency defense, 105th in rushing defense and 101st in total defense, you might think Ohio Valley Conference pass receiving leader Micah Rucker and his Eastern teammates would be ready to beef up their stats today.
The doormat of the Gateway Football Conference that this week has five teams in among the top 19 in FCS national rankings, the Sycamores were 0-11 two years ago and 1-10 last year and stand 0-3 this season.
While still No. 20 in Sports Network FCS rankings, Eastern is reeling a bit itself after last week’s fumbled snap in the final seconds finalized a 24-21 loss to intrastate nemesis Illinois State.
So Spoo said overconfidence should not be a problem.
“I wouldn’t think so,” the EIU coach said. “We’re 1-2 as well.”
Plus, Indiana State has shown progress since a 55-7 statistics-skewing opening loss to Indiana.
Last week the Sycamores lost just 13-10 to Southeast Missouri, the fewest points allowed by an Indiana State team in Lou West’s three seasons as coach.
So Cook has a seat on Eastern’s bus and is to be ready if needed.
He could have to deal with a dangerous punt returner in junior cornerback Ryan Patrick, who ranks 13th in the nation and first in the Gateway averaging 14.2 yards on four returns.
While Cook leads the Ohio Valley and is near the top of the country in his punting average, Eastern ranks just 40th in the FCS net punting with a 35.63 average allowing 80 yards of returns to go with two touchbacks.
Some of that goes with an explanation.
“We don’t put a lot of credence in stats,” EIU special teams coach Justin Lustig said. “At Purdue the two touchbacks, I told him I don’t want Dorien Bryant returning a kick so kick it in the end zone.”
Two weeks after facing Bryant, who still leads the Football Bowl Subdivision in kickoff returns, Eastern’s punting team has to deal with Patrick, who last week had a 42-yard return against SEMO reminding Cook he is not in high school anymore.
“It’s more pressure,” Cook said of his adjustment to college punting. “I have to place the ball where (Lustig) wants me to. In high school I could just go back and punt it.”
His high school accomplishments put Cook on Eastern’s radar screen with defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni initiating the recruiting process that brought him here.
The soccer prospect turned football freshman started making an impression in practice during his redshirt year while Zach Yates averaged 36.1 yards per punt during the season.
“The first week of camp coach Spoo called me into his office,” Cook said. “I think he kind of saw I was the real deal, that I wasn’t just a typical walk-on.”
Shelbyville’s Brady Woolverton, now EIU’s junior long snapper, said, ““I knew he had the leg last year.”
Now others are seeing that.
“It was yes, I was doing it in practice but in games there is more pressure,” Cook said. “I’m relieved to see I am carrying it over from practice. I’m not just a practice player. I’m also doing it on game day.”
Averaging 44.9 yards on 14 punts through three games, Cook is on pace to break Eastern’s school season record of 43.0 yards set in 1977 by Charleston’s Jeff Gossett on his way to 16-year NFL career.
But of course, most of the season remains.
“I feel good I’ve had a couple of good games,” Cook said. “But I’m more worried about keeping it going I have a long way to go. If anything, I want to do better.”
Contact Brian Nielsen at bnielsen@jg-tc.com or 238-6856.
EASTERN (1-2) AT INDIANA STATE (0-3)
Series: Eastern Illinois has won the last two meetings for a 39-37-4 series edge. Last year marked the first time in EIU history that two Panthers topped 150 rushing yards in the same game as Vincent Webb had 179 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries and Norris Smith 165 yards and a TD on 17 runs as EIU rallied from a 9-3 halftime deficit for a 31-21 win. Mike Donato completed 12 of 18 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns with Micah Rucker scoring both TDs on a day he totaled six catches for 183 yards. Indiana State’s Reilly Murphy completed 19 of 36 passes for 250 yards and also ran 16 times for 39 yards including a touchdown.
Eastern Illinois leaders: The Ohio Valley Conference’s leading receiver with 20 catches for 289 yards and three touchdowns, Micah Rucker is tied for 18th in the Football Championship Subdivision with 96.3 receiving yards per game and tied for 21st with 6.67 catches per game. Travorus Bess is the OVC’s eighth leading rusher at 77.67 yards per game. The junior has 233 yards on 43 rushes and also has caught seven passes for 49 yards. Alicus Nozinor has seven receptions for 100 yards. Bodie Reeder, 12-for-16 passing for 94 yards with no interceptions or touchdowns, is scheduled to start at quarterback in place of Cole Stinson, who stands second in the OVC and 33rd nationally with a 136.03 passing efficiency rating. Stinson is 45-for-7 for 561 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Kevin Cook is the FBC’s third leading punter and OVC leader averaging 44.9 yards on 14 punts. Donald Thomas has 23 tackles, including one for loss and a pass breakup, while Ke’Andre Sams adds 22 tackles. Rashad Haynes has three pass break ups and an interception to go with 21 tackles.
Indiana State leaders: Quarterback Reilly Murphy is a double threat. Sixth in Gateway passing efficiency with a 98.12 rating, the senior has completed 46 of 88 attempts for 497 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions. He also leads the Sycamores in rushing with 91 yards on 37 attempts as last season’s leading rusher Tony West is sidelined with an injury. Leading receivers are Brian Jackson with 10 catches for 143 yards and a touchdown and Rafael Price with 10 catches for 105 yards and a TD. Ryan Patrick is the Gateway Conference leader and ranks 13th in the Football Championship Subdivision averaging 14.2 yards on four punt returns.
Next week: Eastern, 1-0 in the Ohio Valley so far, resumes defense of its conference title with a 6 p.m. Saturday game at Southeast Missouri.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
Eastern Illinois offense
WR – Michah Rucker, 6-2, 221, sr.
LT – Will Norris, 6-9, 315, so.
LG – Ryan Spears, 6-5, 328, sr.
C – Drew Cairo-Gross, 6-2, 325, sr.
RG – Chaz Millard, 6-3, 305, so.
RT – Anthony Rubican, 6-6, 289, sr.
TE – Trent Steckle, 6-2, 230, jr.
WR – Jason Fisher, 6-2, 198, sr.
WR – Alicus Nozinor, 6-0, 172, jr.
QB – Bodie Reeder, 6-0, 203, so.
RB – Travorus Bess, 5-8, 176, jr.
Eastern Illinois defense
LE – Michael Torres, 6-1, 255, sr.
LT – Tim Kelly, 6-4, 277, sr.
RT – Jeff Sobol, 6-3, 254, jr.
RE – Pierre Walters, 6-5, 261, jr.
OLB – Jack Kosinksi, 5-11, 219, jr.
MLB – Donald Thomas, 5-10, 237, sr.
OLB – Matt Westrick, 6-1, 241, sr.
LC – Bobby Mercier, 5-10, 172, r-fr.
Rov – Ke’Andre Sams, 5-11, 200, jr.
FS – Adrian Arrington, 5-11, 187, jr.
RC – Rashad Haynes, 5-11, 164, r-fr.
Indiana State offense
WR –Rafael Price, 6-1, 185, sr.
LT – Zach Odle, 6-4, 285, sr.
LG – Janssen Hayes, 6-3, 295, fr.
C – Prenny Stokes, 6-4, 300, sr.
RG – Jacob Carpenter, 6-3, 280, jr.
RT – Matt Winger, 6-7, 310, jr.
TE – Eric Monroe, 6-6 230, fr.
WR – Alex Thomas, 5-11, 200, sr.
WR – Brian Jackson, 6-3, 210, sr.
QB – Reilly Murphy 6-3, 230, sr.
TB – Bryan McCulley, 6-1, 220, sr.
Illinois State defense
LE – Kevin Wilson, 6-5, 200, fr.
NT – Nate Brown, 6-0, 275, so.
RE – Dan Millington, 6-2, 250, so.
RLB – Jayden Everett, 6-0, 215, sr.
MLB – Josh Jones, 6-2, 200, so.
LLB – Shonda Faulkner, 6-1, 215, sr.
LC – Ryan Patrick, 5-10, 180, jr.
RC – Warren English-Malone, 5-11, 200, sr.
SS – Quinton Scott, 5-10, 185, so.
FS – Darrius Middlebrooks, 5-11, 190, fr.
Ban – Donye McCleskey, 6-0, 200, so.
Add your comments
Not already registered?
Then click Here.
Comment policy:
JG-TC.com encourages readers to engage in civil conversation with their neighbors. Comments that are submitted are not posted to the site immediately. They go into a queue to be moderated and may take several hours to be reviewed. Comments posted on Saturday may not be reviewed until Sunday afternoon.
In order to keep the page a set width, long lines (mostly long links) will be chopped. Try putting spaces in your links or consider using tinyurl.com to make a smaller link that you can include.
We will never edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to remove comments that violate our code of conduct.
No comment may contain:
* Potentially libelous statements; such as accusing somebody of a crime, defamation of character, or statements that can harm somebody's reputation.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults, threats, harassment or inciting violence.
* Commercial product promotions.
If you have any questions, please contact our moderator.
|
|
|
