JSU football: Jamison can help Glover fit in

Something is missing in the middle of the Jackson State defense. The presence of No. 56 patrolling and barking out orders is gone for the first time in what feels like forever. Marellus Speaks was the unquestioned leader of the entire team and was named SWAC defensive player of the year in 2008. For two years he and Marcus Jamison filled the two middle linebacker positions and were as inseparable as conjoined twins. Now, Jamison stands alone.

"I could just look at Speaks and feel Speaks sometimes," Jamison said. "I could just look at Speaks' eyes and just know it was time to play hard, regardless, to the end."

Jamison is now trying to form that same relationship and bond with will-be senior LeBrandon Glover. The transfer from South Florida has made his mark primarily on special teams during his two-year tenure at JSU. Glover is holding down the starting position this spring - arguably the most important slot on a defense that ranked among the best in the nation last year.

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Southern, Prairie View split doubleheader

The Southern baseball team cooled off all at once Saturday afternoon at Lee-Hines Field. The Jaguars’ bats went silent. Their winning streak ended at nine, and it ended with a thud. They lost 12-1 against Prairie View in the second game of a doubleheader, thanks to a near-perfect performance from Panthers pitcher Mark Almaguer. And yet, none of that qualified as the scariest part the afternoon.

That happened at 1:14 p.m., in the fourth inning of the first game — a 12-5 victory for Southern. At that moment, ace pitcher Jarrett Maloy took a line drive to his right ankle. He collapsed and spent two minutes face-down on the mound, then eventually got up and walked around, testing the ankle. Maloy threw two warm-up pitches, then got back to work. Better yet, he worked himself out of a one-out bases-loaded jam in the fourth. That was his last inning.

GAME ONE BOX SCORE
GAME TWO BOX SCORE

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Bulldogs Smalls trying to become the man behind ‘The Franchise’

Kenneth Smalls is a realist when it comes to his goals heading into his senior year at South Carolina State University. “If I can get at least five or six carries a game, that would be good,” he said. “They could use me for small yards or something like that.”

This may sound like the former James Island standout has resigned himself to seeing limited action for the Bulldogs. After all, Smalls looks at the depth chart and sees two players - the reigning Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year in William Ford and team touchdown leader Travil Jamison - who accounted for 73.7 percent of S.C. State’s carries and 75.8 percent of the rushing yards.

Yet through six spring practice sessions, Smalls has not looked like a running back content with limited playing time after working his way from the practice squad. Having dropped 12 pounds during the off-season, the 5-8, 233-pounder is determined to put himself in position to be a third option out of the backfield.

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NSU wants a day off; foe wants to cash in

NSU president Dr. Carolyn W. Meyers says DSU offered to pay NSU between $25,000 and $30,000 for changing their schedule.

Delaware State wants a record pay day. Norfolk State just wants a day off. The conference rivals, accustomed to knocking heads on the football field, are beginning early this year, in a tussle over scheduling. The Hornets, hoping to bank $500,000 by playing at Michigan, have asked Norfolk State to move a game at Delaware State from Nov. 14 to Oct. 3. The problem, that's the Spartans' open date. Move the game, and NSU would play 10 straight weeks without a break - after four weeks of preseason camp.

That's unacceptable, said school officials, who went on the public relations offensive by holding a news conference Friday. The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference schedule has been set for more than a year. Delaware State knew that when Michigan called, offering what is believed to be the most lucrative "guarantee" game in MEAC history. "We should not have to be disadvantaged because another university did not respect the conference schedule," NSU president Carolyn W. Meyers said.

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WSSU's Ketchum tinkers with defense

Defense was a strength for Winston-Salem State last season, and it should be even stronger next season. To get it there, however, coordinator Mike Ketchum has become a mad scientist and is experimenting during spring practice. One experiment involves correcting a flaw with his base defense against opponents that use tight ends. The Rams' base last year was a 3-3, but Ketchum has converted it to a 3-4.

Juan Corders, a talented 6-2, 250-pound senior, is a linebacker by definition but also quick enough to cover tight ends. He has been shifted around in the new alignment. "We're experimenting to try and become a little stronger against tight-end sets," Ketchum said. "It gives you a little better look with Juan on the tight end, and it gives you a bigger body. And if they spread it, we'll jump back into the 3-3 some." The tight end who hurt the Rams most last season might have been Octavius Darby of S.C. State. He had three catches for 108 yards in a 43-17 win. On one of those catches, a 79-yard touchdown play, he was unguarded and untouched.

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Morgan State's missing the point with Bozeman

Morgan State president Earl S. Richardson got creative three years ago when he hired banished coach Todd Bozeman to resurrect a destitute basketball program. Now he needs to get creative again to save his basketball program. Despite attempts to get an extension, Bozeman has completed the three years on his contract and is free to leave. That Morgan -- and Richardson -- have put themselves in this position seems unthinkable. The school had one winning season (15-14, at that) in 26 years before Bozeman arrived.

Another historic first for the MEAC -- Coach Todd Bozeman, 2009 Hugh Durham Award as the outstanding mid-major coach in the country. It's a sad state of affairs that Morgan State does not have Bozeman under contract.

The Bears have won back-to-back MEAC regular season championships the last two years, and this season went to their first-ever NCAA Division I tournament. The NCAA bid has earned Bozeman the Hugh Durham Award as the outstanding mid-major coach in the country, announced today. Morgan doesn't appear to appreciate what that means, or the attention that brought. They are quibbling over an extension that has taken far too long to resolve. Bozeman won't speak to negotiations, preferring to take the high road. But sources indicate the sticking point is more about benefits than salary.

His salary is sub-par, even by MEAC standards, however. His original contract called for $135,000 in annual salary, with a bonus of $25,000 for making the NCAA tournament. It is believed that he received a $10,000 raise last season after winning 22 games. That would put this year's earnings at $170,000.

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Six takes over HU women's program

Former Hampton High girls basketball coach David Six was named the interim women's basketball coach at Hampton University late Tuesday in a quick move by athletic director Lonza Hardy. Six will replace four-year coach Walter Mebane, whose contract expired Tuesday and was not renewed. "I'm very excited," said Six, who coached 14 years at Hampton High before resigning in May 2008 to become HU's Director of Intramurals for the 2008-09 school year. "It's a tremendous opportunity for me. I'm very appreciative for the administration at Hampton University to think that I can come in and do a good job."

Six won two Group AAA state titles (2001, 2007) and compiled a 331-93 mark in his time at Hampton High. Six also coached Gloucester's boys basketball team from 1995-97 and went 24-39. Six officially was named the interim coach for the upcoming season, but Hardy is looking beyond. "Our thought process was that this would evolve into a permanent position," Hardy said late Tuesday. "We wanted to get him started and have him get our program back on track. We have every intention of making it a full-time position after the upcoming season.

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