X Days until 2017 Leatherneck Football

[letsgonecks]

Waddell won the last roster spot on the first season of Hard Knocks. Sucks he only made it one game, but one more than the millions that have tried.

[ST_Lawson]

#22 is Freshman Defensive Back Brent Carter

Brent is from Valdosta, GA (home of one of the best DII football programs in the country, Valdosta State, won DII championships in '04, '07, '12 and has only missed DII playoffs 3 times since 2000), and has had 4 members of his family play in the NFL.

Other #22's in Leatherneck History include:
Richard Rous............................... 1966
Michael Cunningham................... 1971
Felix Lobdell.......................... 1972, 74
Mike Marquardt......................1975-76
Barry O’Neal................................ 1981
Gustine Ross............................... 1983
Steve Williams........................1985-86
Tom Rayhill....................... 1987-89, 91
Scot Stermitz..........................1992-93
Ephron Crump........................1994-98
Jon Warren.............................1999-01
Travis Glasford.......................2002-05
Aaron Miller................................. 2006
Andrew Briones......................2007-09
David McDaniel...................... 2011-14

Felix Lobdell played in the NFL for two years with Washington and...well, he's listed under Tennessee Titans, but it was 1977, so it must have been the Houston Oilers at that point.

Steve Williams was a First Team All-Conference WR in 1988 and 1989, and received an AP Honorable Mention in '88. He's in the record books at #7 (tied) and #9 (tied) for TDs in a season (8 in 1988, 7 in '87), #8 in career receptions (130), #7 in career yards (1,891), #6 for consecutive games with a reception (25), and #3 for career TDs (19). He was also a significant part of one of the most amazing come-from-behind wins in Leatherneck History...

Sept. 17, 1988 (Western Illinois 35, Missouri State 31)
The Leathernecks scored three touchdowns in the final quarter to overcome what was at one time a 23-point deficit. Steve Williams caught a 28-yard pass in the end zone from Paul Singer for the game-winner with 1:11 to play to finish the Leathernecks’ greatest comeback of all time.

While many consider Aaron Stecker to be the best RB to have played at Western (at least in the DI era), he only played here for two years. Because of this, if you're looking at career numbers, there are two running backs who stand ahead of Stecker, and one of them is Travis Glasford. Glasford led the team in rushing for three years (2003-2005).
For season records, he's got the #4 spot for attempts (296 in '03), the #7, #15, and #17 spots for yards (1,368 in '03, 1,080 in '04, and 1,052 in '05), the #3 and #9 (tied) spot for TDs (20 in '03 and 12 in '05), the #6 (tied) position for 100+ yard games (7 in 03) and #3 (tied) and #6 (twice, and tied) for 200+ yard games in a season (2 in '04, 1 each in '03 and '05). He also has the 2nd best performance for rushing yards in a half with 229 yards against Cheney in 2004).
For career numbers, Glasford is #1 in attempts (918), #2 in yards (4,189...one of only 2 Leathernecks to rush for over 4k yards in a career), #2 in TDs (48), #4 in 100+ yard games (17), and #3 in 200+ yard games (4).
In addition to his rushing performances, he was also the team's receiving leader in 2004 with 464 yards and 3 TDs. On the list for receiving yards by a RB in a season, he holds the #1, #2, and #6 spots (464 yards, 432 yards, 270 yards), and is...as near as I can tell...the only RB to have gone over 1000 yards receiving, with a total of 1,277 receiving yards in his career (good for #19 on that list). He is also the only player to have rushed and received over 100 yards (each) in a game, with 143 rushing yards and 111 receiving yards against Indiana State in '04.
Because of his combined rushing and receiving abilities, he has the #2 best game for all purpose yards (368 against Missouri State in '04), the #7 and #9 best seasons for all-purpose yards, and is #1 for all-purpose yards in a career with 5,466 total yards. For total points, he has the #3 best season (126 points in '03), and the #3 and #9 (twice, and tied) seasons for TDs. What this all adds up to is for career total points, he is #2 (the highest non-kicker) with 332), #2 in points per game (8.5), and is #1 in Leatherneck history for total TDs with 55 in his career. His 36 points scored against Cheney is tied with 3 other players for the conference record for points in a game.
Glasford was named to the conference all-newcomer team in '02, All-Conference second team and FB Gazette Third Team in '03, All-Conference first team, Sports Network Third Team, FB Gazette Third Team, and AP Third Team in '04, and All-Conference First Team in '05.
Nowadays, he's the CEO and Founder of TMG Fitness in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

David McDaniel had the 2nd (tied) best season for blocked kicks with 3 in 2014. He had 4 in his career which puts him at #2 (tied) on that list.

[ST_Lawson]

This one's a little different. Due to shifting around of numbers and stuff, we've actually got two #21s on the roster. Just FYI, NCAA rules say that you can have more than one player with the same number, with the only stipulation being that they can't be on the field at the same time. Usually teams will have them be on either sides of the ball, but in this case, they're actually both offensive players.

First up is Senior Running Back Devon Sanders

Sanders is from Chicago, IL and has played in 18 games in his Leatherneck career. Mostly used as a backup RB and on special teams, he's had 13 runs for 44 yards.

Also at #21 is Sophomore Wide Receiver Tony Tate

Tony is from DeKalb, IL and played in 11 games last season for Walsh University (DII in North Canton, OH).

Other #21s in Leatherneck History include:
Charles Kero............................... 1969
Darryl Keyes...........................1971-73
Jerry Just................................1975-77
Al Bussone.............................1979-81
Jeff McKinney.........................1984-85
Layne Bennett........................1988-89
Chuck Fox..............................1990-91
Reggie Mathews.....................1992-93
Hiawatha Phifer......................1993-94
Fred Price.................................... 1995
Brian Knuckles............................ 1996
Donnie Caldwell.....................1997-98
Charles Tharp.........................1999-00
Quentin Brown............................. 2001
Charles Hayden......................2001-05
Tim Jackson...........................2005-08
Keith Enderlein.......................2010-12

Jeff McKinney was a Second Team All-Conference RB in 1984. In '85 he was named to the "National Strength Team", was a First Team CoSIDA Academic All-American and an NCAA Postgraduate Scholar (one of only 3 Leathernecks to ever receive this honor). He was the team's rushing leader in 1984 and 1985 with 518 and 528 yards respectively. He was also the team's scoring leader in 1985 with 7 TDs. (4.2 points per game).

Layne Bennett was an All-Conference Honorable Mention placekicker in 1987, then Second Team in '88 and '89 and was also the team's scoring leader in all three of those years. Bennett is tied for 8th with the most FGs in a season (11 in 1987) and tied for 9th for XPs in a season (37 in 1988). His career numbers put him at #6 in FGs (26), #7 in XPs (88), and 6th overall in kick scoring (166 points).

Brian Knuckles was really the first in a long string of phenomenal RBs through the '90s and '00s. He was named to the conference All-Newcomer team and received an All-Conference Honorable Mention in 1995, then was Second Team All-Conference in 1996. For season stats, he has the 6th spot for attempts in a season with 270 in 1996. That same year, he racked up 1,310 yards (9th in school history) with a 4.852 yards per carry average (10th) and 131 yards per game average (4th). He also had 14 TDs that season (tied for 6th). His career numbers include placing 10th on the list of most attempts (452), 10th in yards (2,158), 3rd in yards per game (119.89), 7th (tied) for TDs (21), and 9th for 100+ yard games (7). He also has the 17th best rushing game in Leatherneck history with 218 yards against Northern Illinois in '96. Knuckles is also the only Leatherneck to have had a rushing, passing, and receiving TD in the same game (against Iowa Wesleyan in '95).

Donnie Caldwell was named to the conference All-Newcomer team in 1997 at DB and First Team All-Conference in 1998 at BOTH Defensive Back and Return Specialist. He also received a FB Gazette Honorable Mention in 1998. Caldwell holds the Leatherneck record for punt return yards in a season with 465 in 1998. He is also tied for 3rd most interceptions in a season (7 in '98). Following his Leatherneck career he played for a season for the Berlin Thunder (NFL Europe) and led the European League in punt return yardage, and then played for the NY/NJ Hitmen of the XLF for one season and three seasons in the Arena Football League for the Albany Firebirds and Chicago Rush.

Charles Tharp was another in the previously mentioned string of great RBs. In 1999 and was the conference Newcomer of the Year and was named First Team All-Conference in both '99 and 2000. He was also named FB Gazette Third Team in 1999 and 2000, as well as AP Third team in 2000. For single-game records, Tharp has two 200+ rushing yard games (213 against UNI and 209 against Nichols State, both in 2000). He has the #5 and #9 best seasons for attempts (282 in '99, 252 in '00), the #3 and #8 best seasons for yards (1,555 in '00 and 1,311 in '99), the second-best yards per carry average for a season (6.171 in 2000), and 5th and 8th best yards per game average for a season (129.58 in '00 and 119.18 in '99), as well as the 5th and 9th (tied) most TDs in a season (17 in '00, 12 in '99). Tharp and Aaron Stecker are tied for the most (and second-most) 100+ yard games in a season with 10 in '00 and 9 in '99. Career-wise, Tharp is #6 overall in attempts (534), 4th overall in yards (2,866), #2 in yards per game (124.61), #4 in TDs (29), #2 in 100+ yard games (19), and #4 in 200+ yard games (2)...all despite only playing 2 seasons. He also has the 3rd best season for receiving yards by a RB with 389 in '99 and is #6 on the career all-purpose yardage list with 3,354 total yards. His 8.5 points per game average through his career is second-best behind only Aaron Stecker. In 2000, Tharp was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award. He is currently an AAU youth basketball coach in the Palo Alto, CA area.

Tim Jackson has the 5th longest punt return in Western history with an 85-yard TD return against Northern Colorado in '06 and was the team's punt return leader in 2006, '07, and '08. He was also an Academic All-Conference Honorable Mention in 2007

Keith Enderlein was a DB who received the President's Academic Excellence Award in 2012.

[sealhall74]

I am running late today so I will make this #TBTT question an easy one or two.

True or False: The State of Illinois was the 21st state to join the Union.

Agree or Disagree: Raising the drinking age to 21 has caused an increase in binge drinking on college campuses.

[ST_Lawson]

I am running late today so I will make this #TBTT question an easy one or two.

True or False: The State of Illinois was the 21st state to join the Union.

Agree or Disagree: Raising the drinking age to 21 has caused an increase in binge drinking on college campuses.

21st State - yup, in 1818....next year will be the 200th anniversary (bicentennial).

Drinking age - Hard for me to say, since I don't remember a time when the drinking age was 18. I mean, I was around then, but I wasn't really old enough for it to have any impact/connection with my life. It feels like it was probably a big factor, probably not the only one, but a large part of it. Like, for me personally, when I turned 21 and was legally able to drink, it lost a lot of it's appeal for me, and by the time I was 22 (and ever since) I have very rarely drank alcohol (just personal preference, I have no problem with people who do). I feel like if the drinking age was 18, I would have had a similar progression, just a few years earlier.

[huskie]

I am running late today so I will make this #TBTT question an easy one or two.

True or False: The State of Illinois was the 21st state to join the Union.

Agree or Disagree: Raising the drinking age to 21 has caused an increase in binge drinking on college campuses.

True Illinois

False drinking

[leatherneckcountry]

I would say both are true.

[sealhall74]

Illinois was indeed the 21st state to join the Union
AND
I will go on the record as agreeing with quite a few college presidents who pushed for the Amethyst Initiative back in 2008.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amethyst_Initiative

[ST_Lawson]

#20 is Freshman Defensive Back Isaiah Cherrier

Isaiah is a Sports Science major from Mound, MN. While in HS, he was twice named all-state, and was named to the MN Vikings All-State Team.

Other #20's we've had include:
Pat Walsh...............................1961-62
Ken Kennedy..........................1972-73
Dwayne Tri.............................1975-77
Bobby Smith...........................1979-81
Victor Perrin................................. 1985
Mike Cox................................1986-90
Jessie Morris............................... 1991
Greg Scott..............................1992-95
Jamaine Blalock.....................1996-97
J.R. Ford.................................1998-99
Javon Sanders.......................2000-01
Kris Coffee..............................2003-06
Lavell Taylor................................. 2006
Quinntavias Smith....................... 2007
Brandon Heard............................ 2007
Lamor Hickman........................... 2008
Terry Barney...........................2008-10
Larry Patterson............................ 2011
Trey Garvey............................2012-13
Dwayne Phillips......................2014-15

Pat Walsh was named to the Leatherneck Hall of Fame as part of the 1959 undefeated football team.

Mike Cox was a Second Team All-Conference RB in 1990 and was the team's rushing leader in both 1986 (574 yards) and 1990 (646 yards). He has the 6th (tied) longest run in school history with a 77-yarder against Missouri State (guess they'd have been Southwest Missouri State back then) in 1986. He's 10th on the career TD list with 16 and 8th overall for career all-purpose yards with 3,148 (2177 rushing, 810 receiving, 161 return yards).

Jamaine Blalock was a named to the conference all-newcomer team and All-Conference Honorable Mention in 1996 as a return specialist. In 1997 he received both a First Team All-Conference award as a return specialist and Honorable Mention as a WR. That same year, he received a FB Gazette Honorable Mention. Blalock is in the record books with the 3rd (tied) longest punt return in school history, with an 86-yard TD return against Alcorn State in '96, 6th longest with an 84-yard TD return against Eastern Illinois in '97, and the 8th longest with a 71-yard return against NW Oklahoma in '96. He was the team's kickoff and punt return leader in 1996, and then in '97, was the leader in kickoff returns, punt returns, receiving yards, and receptions.

J.R. Ford has the 10th (tied) longest rush in Leatherneck history with a 71-yard TD against Mississippi Valley State in '99.

Kris Coffee has the 7th highest punting average for a game in Leatherneck history (2nd out of players not named Mike Scifres), and was named conference Special Teams Player of the Week in September of 2004.

Larry Patterson was the team's kickoff return leader in 2011 with 965 return yards. He's tied for the school record for kick returns in a game (8 against YSU in '11). That same year, he recorded the 2nd most kick returns in a season with 42, and the 2nd most kick return yards with 965.

[ST_Lawson]

Yesterday was #19, although there's no #19 on the roster currently.

Bradley Smith.............................. 1969
Sam Bass.................................... 1970
Rich Caravia................................ 1973
Glenn Johnson............................ 1974
B.J. Luke................................1975-76
John Staback..........................1977-79
Paul Marsalek.............................. 1980
Tom Pence.................................. 1981
Jeff Meyer.................................... 1982
Barry Woodruff............................ 1985
Mike Krause...........................1986-89
Marc Holler.............................1990-94
Jeff Baker...............................1995-98
K.J. Friday................................... 1999
Billy Burns................................... 2000
Victor Campball........................... 2001
R.J. Luke..................................... 2002
Blake Bainter..........................2002-04
Nijauh Woodard......................2005-06
Wes Carter.................................. 2006
Kevin Oleson............................... 2007
Luke Papke................................. 2007
Wil Lunt..................................2009-12
Hi-C Scott...............................2013-14
Craig Slowik................................ 2015

Sam Bass was a kicker who scored 70 XPs in his career, which puts him at #9 on that list in Leatherneck history.

Tom Pence was the passing leader in 1981, throwing for 1,293 yards and 9 TDs on 234 attempts with 22 interceptions. He had a .440 throwing percentage and threw for 117.5 yards per game.

Barry Woodruff was a Second Team All-Conference Punter in 1984, and then received First Team awards and an AP Honorable Mention in 1985. He has the second longest punt in Leatherneck history with an 83-yard boot against Northern Michigan in 1984, and the 9th best punting average for a season (41.3 yards per kick in 1985). He is 5th (tied) for best career punting average (39.1 yards per punt).

Mike Krause was named to the All-Conference First Team in 1987 and 1989 and Second Team in 1988. He was also on the AP Second Team and FB Gazette Second Team in 1987 and a Sports Network Honorable Mention in 1988. One of the better punters in Leatherneck history, Krause has the 4th (tied) longest punt with a 73-yarder against Eastern Illinois in 1986. His 42.5 yards per punt average in 1987 is the 5th best and 41.4 in 1989 is tied for #7. Career-wise, Krause has more punts and more punting yards than anyone else in school history with 280 punts totaling 11,414 yards, and his 40.4 career punting average is tied for #2.

Jeff Baker was an All-Conference Honorable Mention in 1997 and First Team in 1998 as well as a FB Gazette Honorable Mention. Statistically, Baker is probably tied with the previously mentioned Krause as the second-best punter to ever play for the Leathernecks. Baker has the Leatherneck record for consecutive games played and consecutive games started (50 on both), due to starting in all 4 years of his playing career, as well as being in the playoffs 3 of his 4 years and picking up 6 extra games in those 3 years. Baker has both of the 7th longest punts (tied with himself) in Western history, with 70-yard boots at UNI and at SIU, both in 1998, and is tied for the 9th longest with a 69-yard punt against Florida A&M the same year. His 44.2 per punt average in 1998 is the 2nd best season for a punter. For his career, he's #2 for punting yards with 10,451 and #4 in punting average with 40.2 yards per kick.

K.J. Friday was a DB named to the conference All-Newcomer team in 1999. He has the 4th longest interception return with a 92-yard pick-6 against MS Valley State in '99. Friday also holds the record for interception return yards in a season with 202 in 1999.

Victor Campbell was on the conference All-Newcomer Team, First Team All-Conference, and FB Gazette Honorable Mention in 2002 at DB.

R.J. Luke was a TE who was also on the conference All-Newcomer Team, First Team All-Converence, and was a FB Gazette First Team and Sports Network Third Team in 2002. He has the second-best season for TE Receptions with 40, tied for the most TDs with 6, is #1 in yards with 725 and 7th in yards per reception with 18.1 (all occurring in 2002). In his career, he's 8th overall in receptions, 6th (tied) in TDs, and 7th in yards.

Wil Lunt was a First Team Academic All-Conference and received the President's Academic Excellence Award in 2012. He never really was that great of a QB on the field, but he was, from everything I heard, a great leader and a great student. At one point being voted a captain, despite not being the starter at his position.

Hi-C Scott was a WR who is #25 on the list of career yards (1,118) and possibly #1 on the list of unique names He also has 7th longest streak of consecutive games with a reception (24), and is tied for 4th for most punt returns in a game (4 against Northwestern in 2014).