Saturday, April 25, 2009

Howard's Cooper like every other player: just waiting

After what he calls an "interesting" football career at Howard University, Endor Cooper is like every other college player, anxiously waiting for the results of the 2009 NFL Draft this weekend. He's not sure when or if he'll be selected during the seven-round event, but today and Sunday will determine his future in football. "I'm like the rest of the players," Cooper said, " everybody's wait-ing to see what happens."

Even if he's not picked this weekend, Cooper could be a non-drafted free agent pick up for a team. He said his agent, Greg Hale, told him a week ago that as many as nine teams expressed interest in the 2004 Hylton grad.

Cooper, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound linebacker, could be a quality addition to an NFL club after putting together an impressive senior season with the Bison. He was the lone bright spot on the Howard (1-10) defense, recording more than twice as many solo tackles than any other player on the team with 71. His 98 total stops were nearly as many as any two Bison combined. He was named to the All-Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference first team defense.

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Friday, April 24, 2009

Bozeman signs five-year deal with Morgan State

Todd Bozeman now has the MEAC's second-highest annual salary.

Todd Bozeman, who delivered Morgan State's first NCAA Division I basketball tournament berth this season, met a Thursday deadline by signing a five-year contract to remain as Bears coach. Attorneys for both sides negotiated most of the day into the early evening before Bozeman, 45, signed a deal that gives him the second-highest annual salary in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. His base salary is $182,000, ranking behind only Delaware State's Greg Jackson at $225,000 in the MEAC.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity to be a college basketball coach," Bozeman said. "I welcome the opportunity to continue to coach my guys." Dr. Earl S. Richardson, Morgan's president, issued a statement to The Baltimore Sun, saying: "We're pleased. We think we have a contract that works for the university and for Coach Bozeman."

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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Morgan State gives Coach Bozeman an ultimatum

Coach Bozeman results speak well about his value to Morgan State and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Bozeman is the 2009 Hugh Durham Mid-Major Coach of Year; produced consecutive postseason berths for a program that had one winning season in the 26 years before he got there; won the last two regular-season MEAC titles, and gone to the NIT and the NCAA.

At the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament in mid-March, commissioner Dennis Thomas went out of his way to tell the media they needed to give Todd Bozeman and Morgan State more credit for the school's remarkable turnaround in basketball. Better he should have addressed Morgan's president, Dr. Earl Richardson, who seems to conveniently have forgotten March Madness almost as soon as it ended for the Bears. Almost five weeks after Morgan made its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division I tournament, Bozeman still doesn't have a new contract. His original three-year deal, at a university-friendly salary of $135,000 per year, has expired.

Negotiations that started before the season have gone nowhere. Last week they reached a nadir, when the school gave Bozeman an ultimatum: officials told the coach to take their offer or they would pull it off the table. This for the coach who produced consecutive postseason berths for a program that had one winning season in the 26 years before he got here. Bozeman's Bears have won the last two regular-season MEAC titles, and gone to the NIT and the NCAA.

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Sunday, April 19, 2009

Quarterback Calvin McNairl stands out at TSU scrimmage

Photo Gallery: TSU's Blue and White scrimmage

Calvin McNairl finished the 2007 season as Tennessee State’s starting quarterback. On Saturday he took a step toward being the starter when the 2009 season kicks off. “The most exciting thing today was that Calvin did a great job directing the team up and down the field,’’ TSU Coach James Webster said after McNairl outshined the other quarterbacks in the annual Blue and White game at Hale Stadium. “He was a threat throwing the football and he was a threat running the football.”

McNairl led the white to a 6-3 victory by engineering the only touchdown scoring drive. He accounted for 64 of the 70 yards (36 passing, 28 rushing) on the drive.
Terrence Wright capped the drive with a 2-yard run into the end zone. While about 1,000 fans watched the white take on the blue Webster and his offensive staff paid more attention to how well McNairl and the other quarterbacks performed. They’re locked in a battle to replace Antonio Heffner.

McNairl spent last season redshirted. The former Henry County star had stepped in as a freshman in 2007 for Heffner, who was injured in the final four games. While McNairl sat the year out the Tigers inherited a pair of transfer QBs – Dominique Grooms from Missouri and Jeremy Perry from Middle Tennessee State - who moved ahead of him on the depth chart.

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‘Ugly’ but ‘decent’ too: Pough cautiously optimistic after SCSU Garnet and Blue game

Oliver “Buddy” Pough took an openminded approach toward Saturday’s annual Garnet and Blue game at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium. With several new faces looking to make a strong impression before 3,177 fans at the culminating scrimmage of the spring practice, Pough truly did not know what to expect. The best-case scenario was to have both sides of the football make big plays and display stretches of consistency. What started out as potentially a convincing win by the Blue team (defense) saw it edge out the Garnet (offense) 17-16.

“It was a spring game,” Pough said. “You see some ugly stuff. You see some pretty decent stuff. It looked like we’re still defensively a little bit ahead and that’s always a good thing because if you can stop people you’ve got a chance to win. So I think that was the case today.” Down 11-0 in the first half, the Garnet rallied to tie the game at 16-16 with 1:24 remaining following a 40-yard field goal in the fourth quarter by Blake Erickson. The Pensacola, Fla., native was a perfect 3-3 in the scrimmage, adding attempts from 20 and 25 yards and an extra point.

VIDEO- 2009 SPRING GAME HIGHLIGHTS: http://thetandd.com/vgallery/#vmix_media_id=3822868

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Delaware State Holds Annual Red/White Spring Game

DOVER, DE - Quarterback Anthony Glaud threw for one touchdown and ran for another to help lead the Red Team to a 27-0 win over the White Team during Delaware State's annual Red/White Spring Game on Saturday, April 18 at Alumni Stadium. The Red Team out-gained the White 279-94 in total yards, accumulating 215 yard through the air on 17-of-25 passing and two touchdowns. Glaud led all passers with 120 yards on 8-of-11 passing, including a 25-yard touchdown pass to Erick Jones. Jones led all Red receivers with four catches for 84 yards and a touchdown. Halfback Jason Randall registered 34 yards on eight carries, including a nine-yard touchdown run to give the Red Team an early 7-0 advantage.

DSU Alumni Stadium

Boston College transfer Chris Johnson completed 5-fo-16 passing for the White Team for 52 yards. Johnson shared snaps with Nick Elko, who threw for 29 yards on 3-of-8 passing for the White Team. Cincinnati transfer Tahree McQueen led the White Team with yards rushing on the ground on five carries. Wideouts Travis Tarpley (35 yards) and Justin Brewton (28 yards) led the White Team with two catches each.

All three quarterback took snaps as part of the Red Team as Elko and Johnson started the contest playing for the White Team. On the day, Johnson completed 9-of-20 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. The Paterson, N.J., native was a perfect 4-of-4 for 58 yards and one touchdown (an 11-yard completion to Donnell Dixon) as a member of the Red Team. Elko threw for 66 yards on 8-of-18 passing on the day.

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Jaguars defense steals the show during SU game

Final score: defense 38, offense 14.

A.W. Mumford Stadium started to empty out. Most players, splattered with water and mud, retreated to a set of shower heads. A few others lingered on the field. Southern University’s spring football finale had wrapped up Saturday, and the Jaguars defense had scored a convincing TKO of the offense. Still, the trash-talking continued. Defensive coordinator Terrence Graves shuffled to a spot near midfield, where he sized up wideout Juamorris Stewart — the only receiver who, against a revamped secondary, did pretty much whatever he wanted.

Graves offered up a shove. It was payback. The way he saw it, officials hadn’t flagged Stewart for pass interference all afternoon. “No one called a push-off,” Stewart admitted, flashing a grin. “Those were some nice refs out there today.” At any rate, on a gray, drizzly Saturday afternoon at SU, spring practice officially reached the finish line. From any angle, Graves’ unit got the best of the Jaguars offense.

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