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2019 SUN BELT PLAYER OF THE YEAR (COACHES): Omar Bayless, Arkansas State (RSr., WR, Laurel, Miss.),...Bayless leads the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision in receiving yards (1,473) and ranks second in receiving yards per game (122.8) and receiving touchdowns (16), tied for 12th in receptions per game (7.0) and tied for 15th in total touchdowns (16). His numbers this season have already broken school and conference single-season records for receiving yards and touchdowns and his receiving yards per game average is on track to set school and conference records as well. The Biletnikoff Award semifinalist has posted six 100-yard performances in his final season with the Red Wolves. - Sun Belt Football

(DS#33 WR) rSr/2020

WR Omar Bayless, Arkansas State
News Source: Sun Belt Football
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11/23/19 - Kirk Merritt, Sr/2020, Arkansas State, 6-0, 208 (DS#62 WR) + More +

Layne Hatcher threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns, Kirk Merritt returned a kickoff 94 yards for a score and Arkansas State used a big defensive stand to hold off Georgia Southern 38-33 on Saturday. Trailing 38-33 with 1:29 left after a missed Arkansas State field goal, the Eagles drove to the Red Wolves' 34, but were stopped on downs. Hatcher threw TD passes of 32 and 63 yards to Jonathan Adams Jr. in consecutive drives in the first quarter. Tukua Ahoia's fumble recovery set up Hatcher's 32-yard TD pass to Omar Bayless on the next possession.

Later in the second quarter after Merritt's kickoff return, Hatcher hit Merritt on a 27-yard TD pass for a 35-19 halftime lead for the Red Wolves (7-4, 5-2 Sun Belt). Hatcher completed 19 of 24 passes. Adams had seven catches for 158 yards and Bayless, the conference's leading receiver, had seven grabs for 113 yards. Shai Werts threw three touchdown passes for the Eagles (6-5, 4-3) and rushed for 158 yards on 18 carries, including a 10-yard scoring run. He was 14 of 24 for 175 yards passing and was also sacked for a safety. - Arkansas State/AP College Football

(DS#62 WR) Sr/2020

WR Kirk Merritt, Arkansas State
News Source: Arkansas State/AP College Football
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11/16/19 - Kirk Merritt, Sr/2020, Arkansas State, 6-0, 208 (DS#62 WR) + More +

Layne Hatcher connected with Kirk Merritt for a 21-yard, go-ahead touchdown with 32 seconds left and Arkansas State beat Coastal Carolina 28-27 on Saturday despite turning it over five times. Arkansas State led 21-13 at the end of the third quarter, but Coastal Carolina had consecutive touchdown drives to get within 27-21 with 2:31 left. The Red Wolves answered with an 11-play, 76-yard drive to take the lead.

Coastal Carolina took over with three timeouts and ran it on first down for nine yards, followed by two incompletions. With 18 seconds left, the Chanticleers were stopped short on another run and Arkansas State ran out the clock. Hatcher was 24 of 35 for 305 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Merritt had 70 yards receiving with two scores, and Omar Bayless added 102 yards and a TD for Arkansas State (6-4, 4-2 Sun Belt). The Red Wolves also lost three fumbles. Coastal Carolina (4-6, 1-5) turned it over three times. Fred Payton and Bryce Carpenter each threw an interception. CJ Marable rushed for 142 yards and a touchdown. - Arkansas State/AP College Football

(DS#62 WR) Sr/2020

WR Kirk Merritt, Arkansas State
News Source: Arkansas State/AP College Football
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11/16/19 - James Blackman, rSr/2023, Arkansas State, 6-5, 189 (DS#36 QB) + More +

James Blackman threw three touchdown passes and Khalan Laborn had two TD runs as Florida State defeated FCS Alabama State 49-12 on Saturday. The Seminoles (6-5) are bowl-eligible under interim head coach Odell Haggins for the second time in three years. Haggins is 4-0 as an interim coach, first filling in at the end of the 2017 season after Jimbo Fisher left for Texas A&M and now after the dismissal of Willie Taggart on Nov. 3.

Blackman tossed a 69-yard touchdown pass to Tamorrion Terry and a 39-yard touchdown pass to Tre'Shaun Harrison as the Seminoles racked up 550 yards on offense. Laborn had had 12 carries for 55 yards, filling in for injured tailback Cam Akers (hand). Hamsah Nasirildeen also had an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown. KHA'Darris Davis threw for 262 yards, including a 34-yard TD pass to Jahod Booker for the Hornets (5-5). - AP College Football

(DS#36 QB) rSr/2023

QB James Blackman, Arkansas State
News Source: AP College Football
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11/09/19 - James Blackman, rSr/2023, Arkansas State, 6-5, 189 (DS#36 QB) + More +

D.J. Matthews caught a short pass, faked out three defenders on his way to the sideline and then dove for the end zone, taking off from the 6-yard line before clipping the pylon to give Florida State the go-ahead score. "It kind of reminded me of high school, doing the long jump," Matthews said after helping the Seminoles beat Boston College 38-31 on Saturday in their first game since coach Willie Taggart was fired. "I just wanted it. I want to score for my team," Matthews said. "I want to make plays for my team, so we can just be better." Matthews turned a short slant pattern into a 60-yard touchdown to break a fourth-quarter tie, and Jordan Travis followed with a 66-yard run for what turned out to be the winning score for Florida State (5-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference).

James Blackman threw for 346 yards and two TDs, hitting Tamorrion Terry seven times for 156 yards and one score. Six days after firing Taggart, Florida State moved to the verge of a bowl berth and preserved two-time interim coach Odell Haggins' perfect record. "Guys came out and played for Coach Odell. They love him," Matthews said. "When things happened last Sunday, that's what he did -- he brought us together." Florida State fell behind 14-3 in the first half before scoring 21 straight points, only to watch BC (5-5, 3-4) tie it 24-all in the final minutes on Dennis Grosel's half-yard roll-out and dive for the end zone. The Seminoles took over at their own 41 with 2:27 left, lost a yard and then Blackman found Matthews across the middle, about 5 yards away. - Florida State/AP College Football

(DS#36 QB) rSr/2023

QB James Blackman, Arkansas State
News Source: Florida State/AP College Football
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11/04/19 - Darreon Jackson, rSr/2020, Arkansas State, 5-11, 205 (DS#25 FS) + More +

NOV 4 SUN BELT DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Darreon Jackson, Arkansas State (Senior, Defensive Back, Derby, Kan.),...Arkansas State senior defensive back, Darreon Jackson, recorded a career-high 17 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, to help lead Arkansas State to a 48-41 road victory over ULM. The Derby, Kan., native put up the third most tackles in a game this season by a Sun Belt Conference player, while they were also the most by an A-State player since linebacker Nathan Herrold had 17 against South Alabama in 2012. He topped his previous career high of 15 tackles set just two games ago against Louisiana and now has 40 total stops over his last three outings. He posted his sixth career game with double-figure tackles. - Sun Belt Football

(DS#25 FS) rSr/2020

FS Darreon Jackson, Arkansas State
News Source: Sun Belt Football
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11/02/19 - Marcel Murray, rSr/2024, Arkansas State, 5-10, 206 (DS#999 RB) + More +

Marcel Murray ran for 175 yard and three scores as Arkansas State scored twice in the fourth quarter to hold off Louisiana-Monroe 48-41 on Saturday. Layne Hatcher threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns and the Red Wolves scored 28 points in the second quarter to take a 31-28 lead into the break. Hatcher hit Kirk Merrit on a 23-yard scoring strike for a 31-21 lead with 1:27 left in the second quarter. The Warhawks responded when Caleb Evans scampered in from the 16 with :03 left in the first half. Blake Grupe booted a 31-yard field goal to give the Red Wolves a 34-28 advantage before Evans scored from the 23 to tie it at 34-34 with 4:20 left in the third. Murray ran it in from the 6 and Jamal Jones followed with an 8-yard TD rush to go ahead 48-34 with 7:26 left in the game. Omar Bayless grabbed one of Hatcher's TD tosses, giving him 13 for the season, a new Sun Belt Conference record. He finished with six catches for 98 yards. Murray had 131 yards and two TDs in the first half for the Red Wolves (3-5, 3-2). ULM (3-5, 2-2) dropped its second straight game. - Arkansas State/AP College Football

(DS#999 RB) rSr/2024

RB Marcel Murray, Arkansas State
News Source: Arkansas State/AP College Football
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10/27/19 - Marcel Murray, rSr/2024, Arkansas State, 5-10, 206 (DS#999 RB) + More +

Marcel Murray ran 22 times for 114 yards and two touchdowns to help Arkansas State beat Texas State 38-14 on Saturday night. Omar Bayless had seven catches for 77 yards and two TDs for the Red Wolves (4-4, 2-2 Sun Belt Conference), who outscored the Bobcats 21-0 in the second half. Murray ran for both of his touchdowns in the third quarter, scoring from 13 and 16 yards. Layne Hatcher's 2-yard TD pass to Bayless capped the scoring with 9:48 left in the game. Hatcher was 18 of 28 for 158 yards and two touchdowns. Jamal Jones ran 13 times for 63 yards and a score. Arkansas State led 17-0 after Jones scored from 7 yards in the second quarter. Texas State (2-5, 1-2) scored a pair of touchdowns before the end of the half to cut the deficit to 17-14. Tyler Vitt completed 15 of 27 passes for 146 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions for the Bobcats. - Arkansas State/AP College Football

(DS#999 RB) rSr/2024

RB Marcel Murray, Arkansas State
News Source: Arkansas State/AP College Football
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10/15/19 - Omar Bayless, rSr/2020, Arkansas State, 6-1, 212 (DS#33 WR) + More +

Bayless is averaging 140.5 yards per game and his 10 touchdowns - one more than his total through three seasons - is tied with Oklahoma's CeeDee Lamb for first. Antonio Gandy-Golden of Liberty is second, at 121.3 yards per game, and is followed by Wake Forest's Sage Surratt (118.5) and Oregon State's Isaiah Hodgins (118.2). - AP College Football

(DS#33 WR) rSr/2020

WR Omar Bayless, Arkansas State
News Source: AP College Football
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10/07/19 - Cody Grace, rSr/2020, Arkansas State, 6-2, 228 (DS#14 P) + More +

OCT 7/WEEK 6 SUN BELT SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Cody Grace, Arkansas State (Sr., P, Perth, Western Australia),...Arkansas State senior punter Cody Grace pinned Georgia State inside its won 20-yard line four times on five punts, while also recoding three punts of at least 50 yards and averaging 49.0 yards per attempt. Grace had two punts travel 59 yards, just three shy of his career long, and had another cover 53 yards. His four punts inside the 20-yard line were only one shy of his career high. - Sun Belt Football

(DS#14 P) rSr/2020

P Cody Grace, Arkansas State
News Source: Sun Belt Football
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10/07/19 - Omar Bayless, rSr/2020, Arkansas State, 6-1, 212 (DS#33 WR) + More +

Arkansas State's Omar Bayless is first in receiving, averaging 141 yards. He already has set a career high with 44 receptions in six games, and he's caught a nation-high 10 TD passes. - AP College Football

(DS#33 WR) rSr/2020

WR Omar Bayless, Arkansas State
News Source: AP College Football
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09/30/19 - Omar Bayless, rSr/2020, Arkansas State, 6-1, 212 (DS#33 WR) + More +

SEPT 30/WEEK 5 SUN BELT OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Omar Bayless, Arkansas State (RSr., WR, Laurel, Miss.),...Redshirt senior wide receiver Omar Bayless became the fourth player in Arkansas State history to record over 200 receiving yards in a game by posting 10 receptions for a career-high 213 yards and a touchdown during the Red Wolves' 50-43 road victory over Troy. He finished with the third most receiving yards in school history and the seventh most in the nation this season, while also tying the fifth-most ever by a Sun Belt Conference player.

A-State's first offensive player of the game saw Bayless come up with a 92-yard touchdown catch, which was the second longest reception in school history, third longest in the nation this season and tied the fourth longest ever by a Sun Belt player. His 10 receptions tied his career high, and he is now ranked ninth in the nation in receptions with 7.2 per game. Bayless came up with his seventh touchdown of the season, giving him 16 for his career to tie the most in school history. He posted over 100 receiving yards for the fourth time in five games this year and leads the nation with 137.8 yards per game. - Sun Belt Football

(DS#33 WR) rSr/2020

WR Omar Bayless, Arkansas State
News Source: Sun Belt Football
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09/30/19 - Cody Grace, rSr/2020, Arkansas State, 6-2, 228 (DS#14 P) + More +

SEPT 30/WEEK 5 SUN BELT SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Cody Grace, Arkansas State (Sr., P, Perth, Western Australia),...Senior punter Cody Grace not only averaged 49.4 yards per punt with three of his five attempts pinning Troy inside its own 20-yard line, he completed a 15-yard pass to junior receiver Brandon Bowling in the third quarter to convert a momentum-changing fake punt in Arkansas State's 50-43 road victory over Troy. Following a Troy field goal that gave the Trojans their first lead of the game at 34-31, the Red Wolves ensuing drive stalled at their own 44-yard line before Grace extended the drive on a key fourth-down play.

The Red Wolves found the end zone just two plays later with 7:50 remaining in the third quarter, reclaiming a lead it would not relinquish for the remainder of the outing. Grace punted five times with a long of 58 yards, and his 49.4 average per attempt nearly matched his career high of 50.0 recorded just the week prior. The Perth, Western Australia, native has now recorded at multiple punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line in 22 of 29 career games. - Sun Belt Football

(DS#14 P) rSr/2020

P Cody Grace, Arkansas State
News Source: Sun Belt Football
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09/29/19 - Omar Bayless, rSr/2020, Arkansas State, 6-1, 212 (DS#33 WR) + More +

Alabama-transfer Layne Hatcher passed for 440 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions in his debut as a starter and Arkansas State held off Troy 50-43 in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams on Saturday night. Hatcher's pass was intercepted by Carlton Martial, setting the Trojans up with a chance to tie or go ahead with just less than three minutes to go. Kaleb Barker led Troy to the Arkansas State 8, but on fourth and 4, an offensive player was injured with the clock still running, causing the last nine seconds of the game to be lost to an automatic 10-second runoff.

Omar Bayless had 10 catches for 213 yards and a score for the Red Wolves (3-2). Jonathan Adams Jr. added 105 yards receiving with a TD and Kirk Merritt had 104 yards receiving and two TDs. Barker finished 34 of 57 for 367 yards, four touchdowns and one interception for the Trojans (2-2). Hatcher, a redshirt freshman, replaced Logan Bonner who suffered a season-ending thumb injury. Bonner had surgery on his right hand Wednesday. He led the Sun Belt Conference with 1,052 yards passing in four games and had 10 touchdowns and one interception. Hatcher is the career leader in yards passing and touchdowns passes in Arkansas high school football and transferred from Alabama to Arkansas State after the conclusion of spring practice with the Crimson Tide. - Arkansas State/AP College Football

(DS#33 WR) rSr/2020

WR Omar Bayless, Arkansas State
News Source: Arkansas State/AP College Football
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08/25/19 - James Blackman, rSr/2023, Arkansas State, 6-5, 189 (DS#36 QB) + More +

James Blackman was the front-runner all along and now the quarterback has won Florida State's starting job. Coach Willie Taggart made the announcement on Sunday night in a statement posted on the school's website. Blackman beat out Wisconsin graduate transfer Alex Hornibrook and Louisville transfer Jordan Travis. The redshirt sophomore will start for the Seminoles when they open the season against Boise State on Saturday in Jacksonville. It's not clear if Hornibrook or Travis will be FSU's backup. Taggart's next opportunity to meet with the media is on Monday.

Blackman has started 13 games, including 12 as a true freshman in 2017. He has thrown for 2,740 yards, 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions at FSU. In his only 2018 start, Blackman threw for 421 yards, four touchdowns and an interception in a road loss to NC State. Blackman became the immediate odds-on favorite this winter when Taggart dismissed Deondre Francois, who started 11 games last fall. - AP College Football

(DS#36 QB) rSr/2023

QB James Blackman, Arkansas State
News Source: AP College Football
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