The Bears football program has filled out its roster with 23 new members and Coach Clint Conque said he is glad to have them on board to add depth and some experience to his team.
The 23 recruits breakdown into 18 coming from high school and five transferring from a two-year college. Of the mid-year additions, Conque said getting kicker Kevin Buford was pivotal for his team going into the 2011 season.
“He has played at a high level his first two years at Northwest Community College, he was an All-Region selection and he led the Mississippi junior colleges in punting,” he said. “The thing about Kevin is that he is a very hard worker and I think he is just going to get better and better with more experience.”
Kevin was the only kicker that the Bears recruited for the 2011 class.
The return of Bears kicker Eddie Carmona is still questionable, Conque said. Carmona and the coaching staff are pleading a case to the NCAA to allow Carmona to play another year, but the appeal has been extended.
“It has extended almost into the spring,” Conque said. “We thought that it would be over by the first of the year so there are no guarantees. Kevin and Eddie together would give us a great advantage and really strengthen our kicking game if they were both on the field together split into duties.”
Another recruit Conque is bringing into his team is Trey Taylor, a quarterback from Memphis, Tenn. Conque said he and the coaching staff noticed Taylor early on last year and have been interested in him ever since.
“We identified Trey along with an in-state player and we offered both of them pretty early on in the process,” he said. “We were only going to take one of them and we got Trey. The other young man is going to Memphis.”
Conque said Taylor is an athletic young quarterback who has great potential and a hard working attitude.
“He can make all the throws, he has a quick release, he is not a true dual-threat player but he is athletic enough that he can extend a play and escape,” he said. “He is very smart and he wants to be good. I think his best football is in front of him. Certainly, he has to get bigger and stronger and he has to learn our system, but I think he has a lot of potential and potentially a bright future here.”
Conque said the 2011 class as a whole filled in some immediate concerns with depth in some positions, but also helped round out the Bears and gives the team more options to work with. He said the Bears returning a lot of starters also helps with bringing in new players and even though there are plenty of returning players, it does not mean the freshmen will not be given their opportunity to participate and help the team.
Conque said there are still a few recruits who have not signed yet because they are looking at other potential schools. Conque said he is still hoping they will sign with UCA but that has yet to be determined.
