College Football: Bear fact: UCA still strong

By Tyler Mayforth

Teams in the Southland Conference exhaled a sigh of relief once Nathan Brown graduated from Central Arkansas.

Brown tormented SLC defenses during his two years at quarterback since the Bears moved up from Division II. The former UCA signal caller passed for 3,206 yards and 31 touchdowns in 2008.

“Losing Nathan was huge for us because we don’t have that security blanket under center,” UCA head coach Clint Conque said during the SLC media days in July. “We knew we had to change things up a bit going into this season and we feel confident that we’ll be able to do that.”

Brown’s graduation left the Bears in a lurch, as they were forced to rely on Robbie Park (a senior) and Nathan Dick (a sophomore transfer from Arkansas).

Conque chose to start Park in 2009 and the senior has done a servicable job for UCA. Park has completed 143 of his 223 attempts for 1,765 yards and 12 touchdowns.

The Bears haven’t been experiencing the same type of success moving the ball through the air as they have in previous years. UCA is averaging 234.6 yards per game in 2009, compared to 282.2 in 2008.

“Our passing game is the same as it has been, but without Nathan, we can’t do the same things we’ve done before,” Conque said. “This year, the offense certainly revolves around the tailback more and they’ve been playing at the level we need them to.”

The Bears have two talented tailbacks bookending their rushing attack. Brent Grimes is UCA’s feature back, while Leonard Ceaser is substituted for a change of pace.

Grimes leads the Bears with 672 yards on 107 carries. He’s a tough runner (has only lost 16 yards) and rumbled in for 12 touchdowns thus far.

Ceaser, on the other hand, has only carried the ball 84 times for 471 yards. While he may not get as many carries as Grimes, he has broken the longer gains (51 yards compared to 42).

“Grimes is going to be one of the toughest running backs we’ll face this season,” Texas State defensive coordinator Fred Bleil said. “They’ll bring in (Ceaser) to catch you napping.”

Not much needs to be said about UCA’s defense. The Bears are always going to be sound and talented when facing an opposing offense.

UCA will use a 4-3, with Larry Hart and Markell Carter on opposite sides. Hart leads the Bears with six sacks, while Carter has tallied 5.5.

When UCA swarms to the ball, the Bears come in packs. UCA has six players with more than 30 total tackles, including five with more than four tackles for a loss.

“You can always expect UCA to knock you around on defense,” Bobcat head coach Brad Wright said. “It’s one of those games where you hope you come out healthy enough for the next week.”

The Bears are solid on special teams with Eddie Carmona leading the way at kicker. Carmona has been named SLC Special Teams Player of the Week three times so far in 2009 and is 11 for 11 on field goal attempts.

Jonathan Beard puts good height on his punts and forced nine opposing drives to start inside the 20-yard line. Beard averages 39.2 yards per punt and boomed a 73 yarder against Southeastern Louisiana.

“Our special teams have done a tremendous job of keeping us in some games when our offense stalled,” Conque said. “They have easily been one of the greatest assets to our team.”