Sunday, August 30, 2015

2015 preview: New faces hope to improve Tigers’ offensive line

JACKSON, Mississippi -- “Tender” and “passive” were two adjectives people within the Jackson State program used to describe last season’s offensive line.

The big men up front struggled mightily, and the rest of the offense took a hit because of it. The running game averaged a measly 3.3 yards per carry, and quarterback LaMontiez Ivy was sacked 39 times.

So it’s not hard to figure out why Tigers coach Harold Jackson went out and stocked up on a bunch of linemen during the most recent recruiting cycle.

Some of those new faces were in the mix for playing time during training camp earlier this summer. Those practices served as a preview of what they’ll see on Saturdays this fall in the SWAC.

“They need to adapt to this league,” offensive line coach Steven Aycock said. “This (the SWAC) is the SEC of the HBCU circuit, and that’s the only way that I look at it. Everybody in this conference plays fast football, and they need to adjust to that.”

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