Missouri State

Bears Position Preview: Tight Ends and Special Teams

August 17, 2017

Bears Position Preview: Tight Ends
Letterwinners returning/lost: 4/0; Starters returning/lost: 1/0

Three lettermen who combined for six touchdown receptions last season return at the tight end position, led by All-MVFC second-team selection Erik Furmanek, who made all 11 starts at the position for Missouri State in 2016.
Under the direction of assistant coach Justin Kramer, Furmanek hauled in 27 pass receptions -- tops among all MSU tight ends and third overall on the squad -- for 245 yards and four scores to earn MVFC All-Academic Team recognition as well.
Senior Adam St. Peter made one start in 11 appearances last season, collecting four pass receptions for 30 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Sophomore Chandler Collins, a standout long snapper, and junior Scotty Schaffner earned their first letters in 2016, contributing primarily on special teams.
Freshman Armand Baker and junior transfer Jordan Frazier could also push for playing time in their first seasons with the Bears. Baker picked up all-conference honors at three different positions for Liberty (Mo.) North High School last season, while Frazier earned two letters and a pair of Academic All-Big 12 citations at Oklahoma State to begin his college career.

Special Teams

Missouri State's special teams provided plenty of highlights in 2016 for the second consecutive season, including the very first play of the year when Deion Holliman brought the opening kick back for a 91-yard touchdown in the Bears' season-opening win over Southwestern.
Holliman earned MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week and STATS FCS Special Teams Player of the Week honors after his season-opening performance in which he tallied 173 all-purpose yards. The senior picked up his second straight All-MVFC first-team citation after becoming one of only three FCS players to return both a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown during the 2016 season.
In his first season as the Bears' primary place-kicker, Zach Drake finished as the club's top scorer, collecting 50 points behind 29-of-30 extra-point and 7-of-11 field-goal tries; The sophomore ended his rookie season by converting 23 consecutive PATs.
Drake also handled punting duties following an injury to Brendan Withrow in the season's second week, averaging 39.7 yards per boot to rank 54th nationally. He downed 16 punts inside the opponents 20 and logged 10 kicks of 50 yards or more.
Withrow and freshman Levi Shinn could also factor in the mix as the Bears' other two kickers, while Chandler Collins returns as MSU's primary long snapper, and Jared Beshore is expected to hold for the Bears' PAT/field goal unit for the third consecutive year.

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