Sept. 10, 2005

SAN MARCOS - Off the field, Texas State senior defensive lineman Travis Upshaw's demeanor is quiet and reserved. But with 50 additional pounds of weight coupled with the same foot speed from a year ago, Upshaw's senior debut was comparable to the 8:04 freight train which rolled behind Bobcat Stadium last Saturday night.

Upshaw twice sacked Delta State starting quarterback Scott Eyster for a total loss of 12 yards and finished with three tackles for losses among the four stops he was in on. Upshaw's efforts were a part of a defense which sacked Eyster four total times and held the Statesmen to -18 net rushing yards.

"Every snap Travis was in there giving a phenomenal effort," said Texas State coach David Bailiff. "You could tell he was driven with a passion. He played just as hard his last snap as he did his first and was able to give us tremendous effort in the game. Beyond the sacks and tackles for losses, you look at the film and on passes, there he was down field running to make sure there was no break."

"With this being my senior year, I just want to play every play like it was my last," Upshaw said. "I just want to go all out every play and leave it all on the field."

Upshaw put on significant weight between his junior season and the start of preseason camp but never lost the foot speed important to being a dominating lineman.

"His initial get-off - his 0-to-60 speed is great - so he is hitting top speed with 350 pounds behind him," said defensive line coach Kyle Tietz. "There are not too many offensive linemen that can get body position to stop that kind of charge. He plays with such intensity every play anyway, that if somebody gets in front of him, he is active with his hands and doing something to knock them off."

Because of where he plays in the Bobcats' defense, a lot of times it's not just one but two linemen Upshaw is having to square up against from his nose guard position. The double-teams mean that only one lineman is going up against Texas State Preseason All-America lineman Fred Evans at the tackle position.

"As a general rule, Travis receives more double teams just from the structure in what we do," Bailiff said. "But he is willing to take on all those double-teams knowing he is not going to get all the accolades."

Still, what he did against the Statesmen was an impressive start.

"He gets a lot of double teams, but against Delta State he still found a way to get two sacks and three tackles for lost yards," Evans said. "He finds ways to make big plays."

Together, Evans and Upshaw form the first line of defense for a Bobcat team which heads into tonight's game against Southern Utah ranked second nationally against the run.

"Having both Fred and Travis helps things throughout the entire scheme," Tietz said. "Now you can line up and play base. You know they are going to be eating up blockers and making plays and your linebackers are running free because there isn't anyone able to block up to that second level."

So tonight, be prepared for the 8:04 to sound it's horn no matter if it arrives early, late or on time. But no matter what the time, rest assured Upshaw will be playing with the type of passion that will help keep the Bobcats on track and on time all season.