| Matt Tharp |
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Panther Point: Will become a full-time starter this fall at free safety.
2005: Saw action in all 15 games despite playing with a broken bone in his hand at the end of the season ... earned six starting nods at free safety ... forced a fumble in the Panthers' 24-21 win at No. 1-ranked New Hampshire (12/3) in the NCAA I-AA quarterfinals ... recorded a season-high nine tackles (coaches' film) at No. 4-ranked Texas State ... but his biggest play of the season came at the conclusion of overtime against Texas State ... he intercepted a Barrick Nealy pass to end the game and give the Panthers a 40-37 overtime victory, which advanced the program to its first-ever appearance in the NCAA I-AA national championship game ... credited with a fumble recovery in the national title game against Appalachian State (12/16) ... ranked No. 11 on the team in total tackles (31).
2004: Saw action in the first nine games, starting against Western Kentucky ... compiled for nine solos and six assisted tackles (coaches' film), along with one fumble recovery ... season-best four tackles vs. Iowa State and Minnesota State ... also returned one kick for six yards.
2003: Moved from wide receiver to free safety ... played in all 13 games behind Justin Sandy, tallied 11 tackles, including five unassisted ... season-high three tackles against Northern Michigan ... credited with one fumble recovery ... also returned one kickoff for eight yards.
2002: Redshirted.
High School: Earned three letters each in track and football and two each in baseball and basketball ... first-team all-state pick by the Des Moines Register ... three-time all-district selection in football ... two-time all-conference performer in baseball ... all-district and honorable mention Iowa Newspaper Association in baseball ... all-state in track, placing second in the 100m, second in the 200m and fourth in the 400m as a junior ... he placed second in the 100m, second in the 200m and first in the 4x100 as a senior.
Personal: Born Nov. 11, 1983 ... son of Brad and Julie Tharp ... majoring in education.
Tharp's Career Defensive Stats
Year G-GS Solo Ast TT TFL Sacks Int-Yds FF FR PBU
2003 13-0 5 6 11 0.0 0.0 0-0 0 0 0
2004 9-1 9 3 12 1.0 0.0 0-0 0 0 0
2005 15-6 20 11 31 0.0 0.0 1-0 1 1 1
Totals 37-7 34 20 54 1.0 0.0 1-0 1 1 1
Tharp's Game-by-Game Stats (Solo-Ast)
2003
@Iowa State 1-1
Northern Michigan 1-2
@Stephen F. Austin 2-0
Northwestern State 0-1
@Illinois State 1-0
Indiana State 0-0
@Missouri State 0-0
@Western Illinois 0-0
Youngstown State 0-2
@Western Kentucky 0-0
Southern Illinois 0-0
Montana State 0-0
@Delaware 0-0
2004
@Iowa State 2-2
Minnesota State 3-1
Stephen F. Austin 1-0
@Southern Illinois 0-0
Western Kentucky 1-3
@Youngstown State 0-0
Western Illinois 0-0
Missouri State 0-0
@Indiana State 2-0
Illinois State DNP
@Northern Arizona DNP
2005
Drake 0-1
Minnesota-Duluth 1-1
@Iowa 0-0
@Western Illinois 0-0
@Missouri State 0-0
Indiana State 0-0
@Illinois State 3-1
Youngstown State 3-1
@Western Kentucky 2-0
Southern Illinois 2-0
Northern Arizona 2-2
Eastern Washington 2-3
@New Hampshire 1-1
@Texas State 6-3
Appalachian State 2-0
