Bobcats to play Rutgers in season opener, Four players elected as team captains

Bobcat Athletics

Staff Special | August 30, 2018

Sophomore Willie Jones III  will open the 2018 season as the starting quarterback for the Bobcats when the team travels to New Jersey and takes on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday, Sept. 1. 

Jones,  from Silsbee, will make his first start after playing in 10 games in 2017 as a backup.  He completed 18 of 37 passes for 281 yards and rushed for 43 yards in 2017. His best game came at Louisiana when Jones completed 12 of 18 passes for 197 yards and rushed for 58 yards on 14 carries against the Ragin' Cajuns. He also ran for 57 yards on five carries at Wyoming and had a season-long 34-yard run against the Cowboys. 

The game against Rutgers University is a first for the Bobcats, and the third time they have played a team from the Big Ten Conference. The Bobcats played at Minnesota in 2002 and at Illinois in 2014. A win would give the Bobcats their third straight victory in season-opening games and sixth victory in season-openers since joining the NCAA Division I FBS ranks.

Head coach Everett Withers also announced last week that junior linebacker Bryan London II, junior offensive lineman Aaron Brewer, senior wide receiver Tyler Watts and senior defensive back A.J. Krawczyk have been elected team captains for the 2018 season. 

This marks the second straight season that London, from Converse, has been elected a team captain. He led the Bobcats in tackles during each of the last two years with 91 total tackles in 2017 and 141 total tackles in 2016. He ranked third nationally in total tackles and solo stops with 83 as redshirt freshman. London enters the 2018 season having made 24 consecutive starts for the Bobcats.

Brewer has been Texas State's top offensive lineman each of the last two seasons. He is a preseason All-Sun Belt Conference Second-Team selection for the 2018 season after he was named an All-Sun Belt Second-Team selection by Phil Steel Publications in 2017. He and the offensive line helped the Bobcats improve their rushing attack by 53.8 yards per game over the previous year's average. Brewer, who calls Dallas home, also tallied 54 knockdowns while starting 11 games as a true freshman in 2016.  

Watts, a four-sport letter winner at Brenham High School, enters this fall as Texas State's top returning receiver after catching 40 passes for 332 yards and two touchdowns in 2017. A former walk-on player who earned a scholarship in 2016, Watts also had a 76-yard touchdown run in 2017. He also led the Bobcats with 43 catches for 364 yards and one TD in 2016. Watts, who earned his bachelor's degree in management in December, is a graduate student.    

Krawczyk, a 2016 walk-on player, started in all 12 games as a safety in 2017. He  logged 74 tackles to rank third among team leaders and 25th in the Sun Belt Conference during his first season as a defensive player. A graduate of Kingwood High School, Krawczyk led the Bobcats with 39 yards in fumble returns after recovering a fumble at Wyoming. Krawczyk also tied for the team lead and ranked eighth among Sun Belt leaders with two forced fumbles last season.