MOBILE, ALA. – The Arkansas State football team spent part of its New Year’s Day conducting its first bowl-week practice in Mobile, Ala., hitting the South Alabama practice fields Thursday afternoon in preparation for its Jan. 4 GoDaddy Bowl game against Toledo.
A-State held practice three consecutive days at Centennial Bank Stadium in Jonesboro before using Dec. 31 as a travel day to Mobile. After arriving in the GoDaddy Bowl’s host city yesterday, the Red Wolves attended a Team Welcome Reception at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
“Today was a recovery and regeneration type of day,” said A-State head coach Blake Anderson. “With the way the cycle goes with the break and coming back and the way we hit before we left, this was really about getting their bodies regenerated and we pushed them pretty good. We got them sweating a little bit and then got some mental work in at the end with a light walk-thru. All-in-all, I thought it went well.”
The Red Wolves are making their fourth consecutive appearance in the GoDaddy Bowl and have picked up wins in each of the last two against Kent State and Ball State, respectively. A-State has played in 11 bowl games prior to this season and holds a 4-6-1 record in those contests.
In addition to the GoDaddy Bowl, A-State has also played in the New Orleans Bowl (2005), Pecan Bowl (1970, 1969, 1968), Tangerine Bowl (1954), 1952) and Refrigerator Bowl (1952, 1951).
“Any time you have a winning season and you get to a postseason game that is huge, and for what these guys have been through in terms of transition and then add in the injuries we had, I think this is a huge accomplishment,” said Anderson. “We are not satisfied with how and where we finished, but we are very proud of how the season ended and where we are.”
“There are a lot of distractions in a bowl week, especially in the first couple of days with getting settled. Then you add in the fact it was New Year’s Eve, so what I’ve learned from in the past is that it can be difficult to get guys to focus in on the little details with all the distractions around them. We were able to get in a lot of work before we got here, and we wanted to make sure travel day and the first practice went as well as it possibly could.”
The GoDaddy Bowl festivities continued Friday as the Arkansas State football team participated in the annual Mayor’s Luncheon at the Mobile Convention Center, where those in attendance enjoyed a Red Wolves’ highlight video, live performance by the A-State band and cheerleaders and heard from a number of speakers that included A-State Chancellor Dr. Tim Hudson and former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann.
Arkansas State University alumnus and Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe was also recognized as one of the GoDaddy Bowl’s latest Champion of Life honorees. Born in Amagon, Ark., Governor Beebe earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Arkansas State University in 1968.
Since its inception in 1999, the GoDaddy Bowl (formerly the GMAC Bowl) has given numerous Champion of Life awards. Honorees have achieved great success in their chosen field through dedication and hard work.
Prior to the luncheon, A-State Director of Athletics Terry Mohajir and head coach Blake Anderson participated in a press conference with others involved in the Mayor’s Luncheon, including Theismann, Toledo head coach Matt Campbell, Toledo Athletics Director Mike O’Brien and David Welsh with GoDaddy.
“On behalf of Arkansas State chancellor Dr. (Tim) Hudson, our president Dr. (Chuck) Welch, Governor (Mike Beebe) and Jonesboro Mayor Harold Perrin, who is here today, we are thrilled to be back here in Mobile,” said Mohajir. “This is a very special place to our fans who are making their annual migration down to Mobile.
“I’ve had the great fortune as an administrator, coach and player to participate in several bowls, and I can tell you that this is one of the best run bowls in the nation. GoDaddy Bowl President Jerry Silverstein and the staff do a fantastic job putting this bowl together and the volunteerism in this city is second to none.”
The Arkansas State football team conducted a two-hour practice session Friday afternoon as the squad continues to prepare for the 2015 GoDaddy Bowl set for Sunday, Jan. 4 at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
The Red Wolves worked out in helmets at the practice facility at the University of South Alabama under overcast skies. A-State began the practice with several periods of special teams and then participated in drills before the offense and defense went through team exercises on opposite sides of the field.
“We’ve been hitting since August and we hit a lot before the break and to be honest with as small as our roster is we feel like we have done enough banging on one another already,” A-State head coach Blake Anderson said. “This is more about cardio, conditioning and focus and I like what I saw out there today and I just didn’t feel like we needed a lot of contact.”
The Red Wolves went through a full day of bowl related activities that began in the morning with a trip to the University of South Alabama Women’s and Children’s Hospital followed by a luncheon hosted by Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson. After the luncheon the Red Wolves departed for their last full practice of the week.
“The energy was great today and with all of the stuff going on and after sitting down at a luncheon before coming out, I was really pleased with the effort and credit the seniors for setting the tone early on with that,” Anderson said. “They came out and responded and I was really happy with how they treated it. Even though this isn’t Thursday, we treated it like a normal Thursday practice and I thought it was one of our better Thursday practices of the year.”
The Red Wolves have faced Toledo on two previous occasions but this will be the first since 1992. The Rockets own a 2-0 advantage in all time series, but the Red Wolves have won each of the last two GoDaddy Bowls and are the only team in the history of the bowl to appeared more than two times. The game will also mark the first of three games in three seasons as Arkansas State is set to begin a home-and-home series with the Rockets in 2015 at Toledo.
The Red Wolves will play Mid-American Conference member Toledo in the GoDaddy Bowl, set for an 8 p.m. kickoff on Jan. 4. Bowl tickets can be purchased online at tickets.astate.edu and are only $45 per ticket when purchased through the A-State Ticket Office.
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