Cuero's Arndt in Texas State QB Mix
July 22, 2010
SAN ANTONIO -- Tyler Arndt is playing 7-on-7 this summer just like he has the last few summers. But Arndt’s teammates aren’t from Cuero and the opposing players aren’t from Yoakum, Edna or Gonzales. Arndt is throwing passes to his future teammates at Texas State and against defenders from Texas Lutheran and Incarnate Word.
Arndt hopes the trips he’s making to San Marcos on Mondays and Tuesdays will pay off when he begins his first season at Texas State next month.
“I’m going to be a lot more comfortable come fall already getting to know the guys this summer,” Arndt said after playing quarterback for the South in a 36-23 win in the Texas High School Coaches Association’s All-Star Football Game on Tuesday night at the Alamodome. “I’ll be a lot more familiar with things.” Arndt has been preparing for the transition from high school to college by doing his best to become familiar with the Texas State offense.
“The biggest thing is knowing the playbook,” Arndt said. “That’s what’s going to determine how camp goes. Physically I’ve worked out all year, lifted weights, ran. I think I’ll be all right there, but the playbook is going to be the biggest transition for me.”
Arndt elected to sign with Texas State after going through a long recruiting process and making the decision to pursue football instead of baseball.
“It’s going to be a transition going from a small town to a bigger city and high school to college is going to be a big difference,” Arndt said. “But it’s a new thing in life and everybody goes through it. It’s going to be different at first but I think I’ll get used to it.”
Texas State head coach Brad Wright admits Arndt’s decision to attend Texas State gave the program an unexpected boost. Wright knows it will take some time for Arndt to get acclimated to the offense and his surroundings.
“With freshman coming in there’s always the getting away from mom and the girlfriend and the town and that’s a jolt,” Wright said. “Then you all of a sudden throw school at them. The football part is usually the easiest except for maybe the quarterback position because they have to know the most. It’s a lot more complicated at the quarterback position than it is at most high schools.
“If he can adjust socially and academically, the football part, we’ll see how long it takes,” Wright added. “Obviously he’s very talented physically.”
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Arndt showed he has the tools to succeed during his three years as a starter at Cuero. He led the Gobblers to three consecutive Class 3A semifinal appearances while completing over 63 percent of his passes for 7,088 yards and 75 touchdowns and only 12 interceptions.
Texas State’s offense is similar to what Arndt ran at Cuero, but there are differences.
“Going from terminology to a number system is a big movement,” Arndt said. “That’s where studying comes in there. It’s going to come to me once camp comes and I’m actually doing it and not just seeing it on film and talking about it.”
Arndt got a head start on fall workouts by playing in Tuesday’s night’s all-star game. He completed 7 of 11 passes for 89 yards and had two passes dropped.
“I just want to use it as a confidence booster going into fall practices,” Arndt said. “Also getting to play high school ball for the last time was pretty special.”
Arndt will be one of three quarterbacks participating in fall drills and will have a chance to compete for the starting job.
“It’s pretty much an open competition to be determined come camp,” Arndt said. “How much I know of the playbook that’s the biggest thing. It’s helping me out going up there and getting familiar with things.” Wright won’t have any reservations about starting Arndt if he gives the Bobcats the best chance to be successful.
“If he’s the best quarterback, we’re going to play him,” Wright said. “No hesitation at all. We’ve got to play the best guys. People don’t care about a guy’s experience they care about winning. The guy who gives us the best chance of winning, that’s who we’ll play.”
ALL-STAR NOTES: Edna’s Kam Jones intercepted a pass for the South late in the first half and returned it 55 yards….Lake Travis’ Andy Erickson returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown and a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, caught a 19-yard touchdown pass and returned an interception 28 yards for the South. Erickson was the unanimous offensive MVP and will attend Rice. Frisco Liberty’s Jake Weddell was the defensive MVP. COACHING SCHOOL NOTES: Fox Sports Southwest has teamed up with Right Guard and Walmart to present The Right Guard Total Defense 5 Texas High Football Defensive Players of the Week Award. The weekly award will go to the top defensive player in each classification. Winners will be based on a combination of online voting by coaches and fans and input from input from a panel of high school media and FOX Sports Southwest analysts…The North won the all-star basketball game 113-95 at St. Mary’s University on Monday night…13,327 coaches registered for this year’s coaching school…The 2011 coaching school will be held in Fort Worth.
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