Former Cy Falls standout eager to face UH next week
Texas State University junior wide receiver Darius Bolden has caught 21 passes for 278 yards and a touchdown in two seasons with the Bobcats, who visit the University of Houston on Sept. 4 (Photo Courtesy of Texas State University)
BY JOSH BROWN
Updated: 08.26.10
Texas State junior wide receiver Darius Bolden can’t wait to begin the 2010 football season.
The Bobcats’ kickoff means a Houston Homecoming for the 2008 Cy Falls High graduate; Texas State will face the University of Houston on Sept. 4 at Robertson Stadium.
“I have a lot of family coming to this game,” Bolden said.
Bolden, 20, caught 63 passes for 1,206 yards and 20 touchdowns from quarterback Kolby Gray (now a redshirt freshman safety the University of Pittsburgh); that kind of season caught the attention of several college football programs.
“I tell you what, if I was back in high school right now, I’d be a whole lot better now,” Bolden said. “I’ve learned so much going here.”
Bolden has improved steadily with Texas State.
“He has relaxed some, and he catches the ball better than when he was a freshman,” Texas State football coach Brad Wright said. “But now he knows the playbook and he has loosened up and he has become a better player because of it.”
As a true freshman, he caught six passes for 74 yards as the Bobcats finished 85, losing at perennial power Montana, 31-13, in the first round of the Football Championship Series (formerly Division I-AA) in 2008.
Last season, Bolden started all 11 games for Texas State (7-4), catching 15 passes for 204 yards.
He picked a great time to come up with his first (and to date, only) collegiate touchdown; On Nov. 7, Bolden caught a 24-yard touchdown pass with 27 seconds remaining to give the Bobcats a 27-24 victory at Central Arkansas.
Some of his strengths don’t show up in the box score, but Bolden always puts the team first.
“He is probably one of our best blockers out there,” Wright said. “ He runs great routes, he is a very disciplined young man.”
Bolden also plays special teams for Texas State; he forced a fumble and registered six tackles last fall.
“I’m looking forward to (playing on special teams),” said Bolden. “We have to push hard to make sure we do special teams correctly. It can make or break games.”
One of Bolden’s Bobcat teammates is former Cy-Fair High tight end Colby Goodwin, who transferred to San Marcos from the University of Utah.
The UH game isn’t the only time that Bolden will be playing close to home; the Bobcats conclude the regular season on Nov. 20 against Sam Houston State in Huntsville.
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