The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE NCAA football season officially kicked off this weekend with a trio of Bahamian student athletes in action during opening day wins for their respective universities.

Alex Cooper of the Houston Cougars, Mavin Saunders of the Florida State Seminoles and Chris Ferguson of the Cincinnati Bearcats notched week one wins thus far, while Demitri Knowles will be in action tonight against the top ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.

The high expectations for Cooper, the senior offensive lineman, and his running mates were evident in the Cougars’ 52-24 win Saturday night at TDECU Stadium.

The front-five led the Cougars to 627 yards of total offence, including 355 through the air and 272 on the ground. It was the most yards by a Houston team in a season opener since the Cougars posted 627 yards in a 62-13 win against Southern in 2013.

“I think (we have) a well-balanced offence. In the past, we’ve been known for slamming around and being a real air attack. I think this year we are going to be able to be comfortable in any setting. If we need to throw it, we will throw it. If we can run in it, we will run it all day,” Cooper said prior to Saturday’s contest.

“Our coach even made up these certificates and gave it to us and presented it to us with the completion of the hardest camp in America, so we have something to show for that. As a team, we are definitely closer. We’ve overcome so much adversity. So this season should be a breeze. He said there is no perfect game. Camp had a lot of obstacles we had to get through, so we feel great about that.”

Cooper, the 6’4” 305-pound senior, has already completed his undergraduate degree headed into the season and was named to the 2015 Athlon Sports Preseason AAC Third Team.

Houston was picked to finish second in the west division of The American Athletic Conference in a poll of the league’s media.

It was his second consecutive season named as a starter at right tackle for the season opener.

It was the programme’s first win under new head coach Tom Herman, who spoke on the progression of the offensive line.

“We have five offensive lineman that I feel good about, not great, but where we came from in the first practice of the spring until now is absolute light years ahead of where we were,” Herman said.

“We turned a very below average offensive line into one that is performing at an average to above average level right now and if we can sustain that, if we can continue to get better as the season progresses, we will have the opportunity to win some games.”

Next week, the Cougars are scheduled to face the Louisville Cardinals (September 12) on the road at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium in Louisville.

Saunders notched a career milestone in the No.10 ranked Florida State Seminoles’ 56-19 win over Texas State.

Saunders, the redshirt sophomore tight end, caught the first pass of his collegiate career, for five yards.

The 6’6”, 258-pound Bimini native is listed as second on the depth chart at tight end behind Ryan Izzo, who finished with two catches for 21 yards.

The win extended FSU’s home win streak to 15 games and gave them a 53-16 record all-time in season openers, including 6-0 mark under head coach Jimbo Fisher.

Saunders was pegged as one of the leading candidates to become a major contributor at tight end with the departure of senior standout Nick O’Leary.

The 6’6”, 258-pound Bimini native was a standout this spring as the Seminoles wrapped up spring practice with the 2015 Garnet and Gold Game. He finished with six receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown.

Saunders appeared in just one game last season, an October contest against Wake Forest, before he earned a medical redshirt. He is one of three tight ends on the roster along with fellow redshirt sophomore Izzo and junior Jeremy Kerr.

Saunders was slowed by an injured hamstring throughout training camp in 2014, but was named to the scout team early in the year and spent much of his time on the field working with the second team offence.

The Seminoles will look to go 2-0 next Saturday, September 12 when they face the University of South Florida.

Ferguson, a redshirt freshman lineman with Cincinnati, is still awaiting his debut as the Bearcats opened with a 52-10 win over Alabama A&M.

The Bearcats begin American Athletic Conference play next weekend as they welcome Temple on Saturday, September 12.

Ferguson was initially recruited as a defensive lineman. He came to the Bearcats as a three-star recruit, according to ESPN.com, and has a pair of stars from 247sports.com and Scout.com.

As a defensive lineman in his senior season at Lake Nona High School in Orlando, Florida, he recorded 17 total tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery after just two years of playing organised football.