Athletics

Philadelphia calling
Men's basketball makes tourney semifinals
Lady Bisons take first trip to tourney
Kern, Kosgei race to All-America honors

Philadelphia calling

By Scott Goode, sports information director

On Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006, former University linebacker Torrance “Tank” Daniels (’06) became the first Bison football player to appear in a National Football League regular season game.

On his very first play — the Philadelphia Eagles opening kickoff against future Super Bowl Champions Indianapolis Colts — Daniels made a tackle against returner Terrance Mathis.

He spent 11 weeks of the season on the practice squad. But when star quarterback Donovan McNabb went down with a season-ending knee injury, Daniels replaced him on the  Eagles’ roster.

In his first five games, Daniels played special teams only. During the final game of the season, he also played linebacker and defensive end, making five tackles against the Atlanta Falcons. He totaled nine special teams tackles in his six-game run and added three more in the Eagles’ playoff game against the New York Giants.

How nervous or scared do you get prior to a game or kickoff?

I get very, very nervous about 15 or 20 seconds before kickoff. I even start shaking a little bit. Then you feel like you are being shot out of a cannon, and those nervous feelings are gone.

How did it feel when you were called up?

I was at the game against the [Jacksonville] Jaguars and saw Donovan get hurt. I was thinking “I wonder what quarterback we are going to pick up.” One goes down, you bring another up. After our team meeting the next day, general manager [Tom Heckert] walked by. He calmly said, “Hey, we are going to bring you up, and I’ll get back with you on all the details.”

I remember going to another meeting and thinking the whole time, “Did the GM just say that he was going to bring me up?” Later he said they wanted to bring me up to play special teams. His telling me that and signing my contract were surreal. I was prepared to stay on the practice squad. To get called up and play was a dream come true.

How hard has the adjustment been for your family?

Challenging. We have benefited from being young and married. We are used to not having anything. God has blessed us so much with my opportunity to play football. But we’ve both adjusted. Courtney is from a small town in Nebraska of maybe 100 people. I’m from Clarendon [Ark.], which has 2,300 people.

We both moved to Searcy, and it’s a big town, but nothing like the culture shock and speed of life on the East Coast. We went from being around working-class people to being around millionaires and people who you see on television.

How difficult is it to stay true to your faith?

Temptations come to the forefront as an athlete. I’ve never really been around the type of people I’ve encountered here. Struggles come when players sell out and buy in to what the media say we are. I feel bad for guys who do not have something to hang their hat on. With my beliefs, I know where I stand, and with God being my Savior, I know better. But some guys get caught up going after girls and money and getting in a bunch of junk.

My faith has been tested, but I have chosen not to buy into that. That is a lot easier said than done, even coming from Harding. The media want juicy stuff. They don’t want to hear about a small-town college guy who is married with two kids and being an awesome husband. They want to hear about someone who is cheating or having a drug problem.

What has been the reaction of friends and family to your success?

For my family, and even me, the reactions have been shocking. What is funny is how my friends and family have watched football for years, and now they see me on the same field as all those players they have been watching, and they think, “Oh, they must not have been as good as I thought, because I know you.” My friends and family also feel like they know so much more about the NFL because they know me, and I’m still learning myself.

How did Harding prepare you for life in the NFL?

Harding prepared me to be a man. Men like Coach Tribble and Coach Huckeba  are awesome men and coaches. As a young man who was there for five years, I looked at them and watched how they carried themselves. The men in the Bible department and other faculty members really live what Harding is all about. It taught me how to be a man of God.

When we came to Philadelphia, I was overwhelmed by some of the things I saw. I thought to myself, “Do people really do some of these things?” Harding is such an awesome place. I wish there was some way to show the other side without having to live like many here do.

How did it feel to go to the playoffs in your first season?

At every level, but especially in the NFL playoffs, physical play is amplified. We had played the New York Giants twice before in conference action. We knew everything about them, and they knew everything about us. I had gone against the same person just a couple of weeks before, but he seemed so much stronger and faster. In the playoffs, winner takes all.

The night before the game I was in my hotel thinking I did not want to be the one player who lost the game for my team. I was watching the Seattle Seahawks play the Dallas Cowboys, and I felt bad for Tony Romo when he bobbled that snap. The next day I woke up thinking that I had to have my best game because I did not want to be that person. But after saying all of that, in the Giants game, I blocked a guy in the back on a play as Brian Westbrook ran a punt back for a touchdown. But it got called back because of my penalty. I thought, “Oh, no. I’ve lost the game.” But our kicker made a field goal, and we won.

What is it like to have your wildest dream come true?

Not too many days go by that I don’t feel overly blessed. I am definitely not the best player in the NFL, and I don’t deserve anything. I feel like God allowed me this opportunity, and I want to use it for his glory. Every morning I say, “Thank you, Lord, so much.” Many of my friends and guys before me — some of them maybe even better than me — never had this opportunity. Our God is so good, and he saw fit to allow me to do this, and I am just overwhelmed with joy. I heard someone say that there are 1,800 jobs in the NFL, and I got one of them. In the whole world, I am one of those 1,800.

Men’s basketball makes tourney semifinals

The men’s basketball team advanced to the Gulf South Conference Tournament semifinals for its second time.

The Bisons compiled a 17-12 overall record and a 9-5 mark in the GSC West Division. The team qualified for the GSC Tournament as the third seed from the West and met Valdosta State University in the quarterfinals. Senior guard Reggie Bibb banked a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Bisons a 73-72 victory and a trip to the semis. There the team fell 76-71 to Henderson State University.

Junior forward Matt Hall led the team in scoring and rebounding and earned his second GSC West Division Player of the Year honor. Hall averaged 22 points and 6.6 rebounds per game and connected on a GSC-record 199 free throws.

Coach Jeff Morgan earned his 250th career victory with an 86-74 win over Arkansas Tech University Feb. 15.

Lady Bisons take first trip to tourney

The women’s basketball team earned its first trip to the Gulf South Conference Tournament since joining the conference seven years ago. In his second season as head coach, Tim Kirby led his squad to a 19-10 finish, the most wins since the 1998-99 season.

The Lady Bisons posted an 8-6 record in the GSC West Division, earning the fourth seed. They opened the tournament with an 86-62 blowout of University of West Florida before falling 69-42 to Valdosta State University in the quarterfinals.

As a team, the Lady Bisons broke the school record with 216 three-pointers.

Sophomore Catherine McMenamy earned First Team All-GSC honors, averaging 12.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. McMenamy scored 30 points in the team’s victory over West Florida and earned GSC All-Tournament honors.

Freshman Kelsea Lyda averaged 11.6 points per game and made a team-high 53 three-pointers. Senior Jasmine McClindon scored 9.7 points per game and earned her second-straight Second Team All-GSC honor.

Kern, Kosgei race to All-America honors

Juniors Artur Kern and Julius Kosgei placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Division II Indoor National Track and Field Meet in Boston March 10. Both runners earned All-America honors.

Kern’s time of 14 minutes, 09.89 seconds set a new school record in the event, breaking the old mark of 14:10.76 set by Jacob Rotich in 2004. Last year he placed 10th in 14:49.92.

Kosgei earned his second-straight All-America honor in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:14.19. He placed third last year in 14:13.34.

The nine points earned by the duo were enough for the University to place 16th as a team.

St. Augustine’s College won both the men’s and women’s  divisions.