Kentucky State University head coach Wayne Dickens returns two 1,000 yard rushers in the backfield (senior Anthony Boykins and junior Shannon Frieson)and a 1,600 passer in junior quarterback Jerrell Noland.It was only four weeks from kickoff, but 2009 looked to be a lost season for the Kentucky State football team. After losing their head coach a month before the first game and being picked to finish last in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), KSU’s motto could have easily been, “no expectations.” But after finishing with a 6-5 record, including four conference wins, a more appropriate motto would’ve been, “turning heads.”
This season, under coach Wayne Dickens, KSU has come up with their own motto as they look to build on last season’s success: embracing excellence. “To be excellent isn’t just a sometime thing,” Dickens said. “You can’t just do it at practice today. You need to do it everyday.” Part of that excellence involved implementing a new weight lifting program in the offseason that should improve the team’s strength and conditioning. Dickens said there were times last season when his team was physically overmatched, including a 45-0 loss to conference rival Albany State.
“We believe we need to be stronger in our physical core to have the stamina to play later in games,” Dickens said. Late–game performance proved to be a major issue for KSU last season, as four of their five losses came with the team in contention late in the fourth quarter. “We found a way to not quite get over the hump,” Dickens said. “We lacked some poise last year and made some critical mistakes that cost you football games.”
Dickens hopes to find that offensive poise this season in his duo of star running backs. Both senior Anthony Boykins and junior Shannon Frieson rushed for over 1,000 yards last season, and return this year to anchor an offense that’s had plenty of success on the ground.
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