Nashville, TN - The unknown factor is usually prominent in the first game of the season. But that’s not the case for Tennessee State and Southern, which meet tonight in the 13th annual John Merritt Classic at LP Field.
Southern’s second-year Coach Stump Mitchell was a running back in the NFL with the St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals from 1981-89. TSU’s second-year Coach Rod Reed was a linebacker (1985-88), who became the Tigers’ all-time leading tackler (406). That kind of takes the guesswork out of what to expect.
“I don’t think there’s any question about how this game will play out,” Mitchell said. “I’m a running back, and I’m calling the plays. Rod’s a linebacker, and they’re going to try to stop the run. They play good defense, but we have to find ways to run the ball. We didn’t run the ball last year, but we’re going to this year.”
Mitchell said the personnel he inherited at Southern wasn’t suited to run the ball when he left the Washington Redskins as running-backs coach after the 2009 season.
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