Repped and prepped

JONESBORO -- When parts of northeast Arkansas were covered in sheets of ice and snow last winter, Arkansas State offensive coordinator Walt Bell managed to find a way to Centennial Bank Stadium.

As Bell looked out the back windows of the building that houses ASU's coaches offices and down onto the turf, he noticed footprints in the snow and a throwing net.

It was a sure sign that quarterback James Tabary had been there.

Bell told that story earlier this week while explaining what has impressed him and Coach Blake Anderson the most about Tabary since he signed on with ASU in February 2014.

That same trait earned Tabary the backup quarterback job last month, and tonight he will make his first start against Missouri State (1-1).

"Here's the one thing I do know about James," Bell said. "When James had no chance of playing, he was the hardest-working kid that I've ever been around. It will be very interesting to see how he prepares when he knows that he's the starter."

Bell and Anderson have had all week to watch the redshirt freshman from New Orleans handle the days leading up to tonight's game. He will become the first quarterback other than Fredi Knighten to start at the position since the current crop of coaches were hired in December 2013.

Tabary is getting his chance because of an injury to Knighten, who pulled his groin in the third quarter of last week's loss to Missouri. Knighten is expected to return for next week's game at Toledo, but tonight belongs to Tabary.

"I'm excited. I'm confident," Tabary said. "I've been playing football since I was 4, so I take it as I just do my job."

Tonight might not be the beginning of a new era at ASU, but it will provide a glimpse into its future.

Knighten's eligibility is exhausted at the end of this season, so Tabary will likely lead a crop of four remaining quarterbacks into the spring. Tabary's snaps could give him an edge in that competition. Coaches say Tabary has the strongest arm on the team, and they can't stop talking about his work ethic.

Bell said Monday that Tabary was at his office at 5:15 that morning looking for game plans or any sort of scouting information. Tabary said it's a method he's used to gain an edge ever since he was young.

"Train and train and train," Tabary said. "Prepare my mind for the worst and the same with my body. Put myself in a bad position all the time. Training for everything and preparing for everything."

He hopes the payoff comes tonight against the Bears, an FCS team led by Coach Dave Steckel, who spent the past 14 seasons as a Missouri assistant and will likely employ similar principles to what ASU saw in the second half of last week's 27-20 loss to the Tigers.

ASU's offense won't attack it exactly the same way tonight. Tabary isn't as fleet of foot as Knighten, so there won't be as many designed runs tonight. But that doesn't' mean coaches don't have confidence in Tabary.

"He's got every skill needed to help us win football games," Anderson said. "The thing you can't predict is how he's going to process out there in the heat of the battle."

Results have been mixed in Tabary's first two opportunities. He's completed 10 of 18 passes for 122 yards and 2 interceptions, both of the interceptions coming against Missouri.

Anderson said he hopes his offense looks better against an opponent from a lower division. Southern Cal and Missouri are ranked among The Associated Press Top 25, which makes ASU one of only two teams in FBS to play two ranked teams to open the season. Virginia is the other.

ASU's 26 points and 309.0 total yards per game rank last among Sun Belt teams and are tied for 118th nationally. That is quite a contrast from a year ago when the Red Wolves offense ranked among the top 20 nationally in both categories.

"The matchups are going to be more in our favor from now until the end of the season," Anderson said. "We have some self-inflicted problems that we're working on getting fixed, but we're not in panic mode either."

Sports on 09/19/2015