Murray State University Athletics
Senior Baxter moves to tight end
8/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
As a true freshman in 2002, fullback Bo Baxter got to experience first-hand what it took to win an Ohio Valley Conference championship. Now, as a senior and team leader, Baxter is looking to lead the Racers towards another OVC title this season, but this time as a tight end, a new position Baxter has learned this spring.
"When Bo first came to Murray State, he was probably around 210-215 pounds, and we played him at fullback," Racer head coach Joe Pannunzio said. "Now, he's a solid 250 pounds. We wanted him to play tight end, and he went along with the move. We also feature him at wing back because he has nice, soft hands."
Baxter's soft hands and effective blocking techniques will help him out at the tight end position, where a space was needed to be filled due to the graduation of last year's starter, Jimmy St. Louis. Baxter actually has one receiving touchdown in his career, coming on Sept. 25 of last year against Tennessee Tech. With 28 key lettermen lost from last season, Baxter, from Tupelo, Miss., is one of 14 seniors who will be relied on to guide the Racers towards another OVC championship this season.
"Bo is a great kid, a good leader and a good student," Pannunzio said. "He is everything you want a kid to be. His goal as a kid was to play for Mississippi State, and now he will get a chance to go back to his home state and play on their field (on the season-opener on Sept. 3)."
CAMP NOTES: Today was the last day for two-a-day practices. Today in the morning session, equipment manager Butch Dowty helped set up a game situation where the Racers are down by two points with less than 10 seconds left to play with no timeouts left. The field goal unit would rush out on the field and try to get set up to kick a field goal for the win before time ran out on the clock.
In the afternoon session, the Racers worked on trick plays, including the Dick Stout halfback pass. If Racer fans can recall, this play was used on the last game of the 2000 season against Tennessee State on the first play from scrimmage. Murray State went on to win 62-40 in that game and set a school record with 800 total yards in that game. Stout was a former Racer football player who played in the 1950s. Also, at the end of practice, the Racers ran 10 straight plays to "get used to being out on the field for an extended period of time," Pannunzio said.
INJURY REPORT: Matt Garrett (ankle), Vincent Coley (hand) and Ben Rush (ankle) all sat out practice today with day-to-day injuries.
In pool volleyball action this morning between practices, the coaches defeated the players two games to none.
