Three senior members of the 2009 Arkansas Tech football team will suit up to represent the university one last time Friday night when they participate in the 2010 Valero Cactus Bowl all-star game in Kingsville, Texas.
Quarterback Nick Graziano (top right), wide receiver Frantz Simeon (middle right) and offensive lineman Torrence Wright (bottom right) will all appear on the East team in the annual showcase game for the best football players in NCAA Division II.
Kickoff is set for 6:35 p.m. Friday at Javelina Stadium in Kingsville. Fox College Sports, which is channel 617 on DirecTV, will televise the game. There are also plans to provide a webcast of the game on www.cactusbowl.org.
Cactus Bowl week began on Sunday, when the players went through testing from National Football League scouts. Practice for the game began on Monday. Click here to view daily practice updates courtesy of the Cactus Bowl.
Graziano is one of four Harlon Hill Trophy finalists playing in the game. He finished third in the voting for 2009 NCAA Division II player of the year.
Arkansas Tech’s representatives at the Cactus Bowl account for three of the 20 Daktronics NCAA Division II All-Americans who will dress out on Friday night.
A senior from Moraga, Calif., Graziano completed 333-of-538 passes for 4,313 yards, 38 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions during the 2009 season. He accumulated 4,768 yards of total offense.
Graziano established new Gulf South Conference records for passing yardage in a season and total offense in a season. He broke Arkansas Tech single-season records for pass completions, pass attempts, passing yardage, touchdown passes and total offense.
Simeon is a senior from Belle Glade, Fla. He established new single-season school records with 90 receptions, 1,359 receiving yards and 14 touchdown catches in 2009. Simeon also broke Tech records for receptions in a game (15), receiving yardage in a game (229) and touchdown receptions in a game (4).
Simeon’s 1,359 receiving yards in 2009 are third-most in a season in GSC history, and his 90 receptions are tied for fifth most in a season in GSC history.
Wright is a senior center from Sulphur Springs, Texas. He was offensive line captain for a unit that only allowed 10 quarterback sacks in 580 pass attempts this season. That ranked Arkansas Tech among the top five teams in NCAA Division II for fewest sacks allowed in 2009.
The Wonder Boys were 9-3 overall during the 2009 season. Tech reached the second round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs.
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