Southern's Mitchell sees things differently after 1-3 start

Stump Mitchell, the first-year Southern University coach, has a simple but not-so-subtle message for the fiery Jaguars fans who are more than a little frustrated with the team's 1-3 start to the season. "You know what?" Mitchell asked earlier this week, "they have to realize there's a reason for a new coach coming in."

The school fired longtime coach Pete Richardson after last season, ending the coach's 17-year run with SU that included five Southwestern Athletic Conference championships and five black college national titles.

Sacks not lacking for MVSU

Of all the defensive woes Mississippi Valley State has faced this season, the unit has one positive heading into Saturday night’s game at Southern: sacking quarterbacks.

The Delta Devils lead the Southwestern Athletic Conference in sacks with 12 through four conference games. Overall, Valley ranks second with 13 sacks in all games (five); Texas Southern leads the SWAC with 17 sacks in five games.

Line keys Southern’s best offensive effort

Even in an 18-point loss to Arkansas-Pine Bluff last weekend, Southern’s offense looked at long last like it might be on to something.

The quarterback, Jeremiah McGinty, stood back in the shotgun, stepped up in the pocket, threw well on the run and made quite a few nice plays.

Defensive coordinator Gilbert looks to simplify SU defense

O’Neill Gilbert had a vision.

As he drew up plans for a complex new defense at Southern University, he dreamed of disguised coverages, a dominant line and blitz after blitz after blitz — all of which added up to a unit that struck fear into the rest of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Four games into this season, however, no one seems scared. This was not Gilbert’s vision.

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