Sports
College Football: Record-breaking season for Texas State’s Griggs
Related Photos
Tools
San Marcos — Texas State junior wide receiver Da’Marcus Griggs is always sure to make a phone call the day of a game.
Griggs picks up his cell phone and dials former Texas State All-American wide receiver Cameron Luke’s number. The two talk about the upcoming game, life and everything in between.
As the 2009 season neared an end, the phone calls grew more spirited. Griggs had Luke’s single-season record for receptions in his sights and wanted to let him know.
“I knew he only needed four catches to beat me,” Luke said. “He called me before every game with a little countdown and it’s all in fun. I told him if he broke it that I’d be happy for him.”
Luke didn’t have to wait too long to see Griggs eclipse the mark.
He tied the record with three catches in the first quarter and broke it in the second. Griggs ran a hitch route to the visitor’s sideline and pulled in a 14-yard reception on a third-and-8.
“The record feels pretty good, but it’s all up on our coaching staff to develop us and prepare us for the game on Saturday,” Griggs, who caught two touchdown passes in the 28-20 win, said. “I just try to take what I learned from the week’s practices and carry it over into Saturday.”
Griggs works tirelessly at practice to get better.
He runs teammates who try to cover him ragged and turn defensive backs into pretzels with his routes.
“My biggest strength has to be my route running,” Griggs said. “That, my hands and I have a little bit of quickness, so I try to use those to the best of my ability.”
His hands are like magnets for footballs. Griggs can catch pretty much anything in his vicinity once he gets separation.
“He’s got some big hands,” Luke said. “I think he has the best hands out of any receiver that has played here.”
Griggs quickly ascended to the top of the Bobcats’ depth chart once Luke graduated. The junior wide receiver caught nine passes for 101 yards in 2008 and had a tremendous spring and fall camp.
Texas State used Griggs in 2009 the same way it implemented Luke a year earlier. The Bobcats let Griggs work one-on-one with an opposing defensive back and he’ll usually haul in a big catch.
“There are a lot of sets that we get in that all of the sudden, there’s three guys on one side and Da’Marcus on the other,” Texas State head coach Brad Wright said. “Sometimes that’s the way the read takes you.”
Those reads from Bobcats quarterback Bradley George took Griggs right into the Texas State record book.
- Sports
-
-
High School Basketball: Seeking momentum
With a playoff ticket already secured, the San Marcos High School boys basketball team will go into a different sort of mode with its last two regular-season games.
-
Sub-Varsity Basketball: SMA Middle School girls take 2nd at district
The roster might have been small, but San Marcos Academy’s Middle School girls basketball team had plenty to spare in spirit and effort.
-
Athletes in the Spotlight: Goodnight 7th A wins District championship
-
HS Soccer: SM, Hays face off on the pitch
The San Marcos Rattler varsity soccer team will try to keep its unbeaten mark in district play in tact tonight when the squad hosts intra-county rival Hays for a 7:45 p.m. game at the SMHS soccer field.
-
HS Athletics: Miller named AD at Judson
Mike Miller, who quarterbacked the Southwest Texas Bobcats to the 1981 NCAA Division II national championship, was recently named Director of Athletics at Judson Independent School District.
-
NFL: Memorable season for NFL, but future remains uncertain
A memorable season capped by a super title game with a record TV audience has NFL executives and fans beaming.
-
College Basketball: Bobcat men outrun McNeese
Texas State snaps two-game losing streak with 95-88 win
-
High School Basketball: SMHS girls get win, but no help
Crayton, Miles pace Lady Rattlers to 13-point win
-
High School Basketball: Rattlers capture a playoff berth
San Marcos tops Lehman on the road
-
Set some goals before the season gets going
Tips from the Pro
- More Sports Headlines
-
