Three transfers join AAMU Bulldogs

Ex-Mississippi St. star received All-SEC honorable mention

Alabama A&M, in desperate need of a left tackle after preseason All-Southwestern Athletic Conference pick Darius Turner was ruled academically ineligible almost two weeks ago, landed a big one Monday when former Mississippi State standout Michael Brown practiced with the Bulldogs for the first time.

Brown, 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds, graduated with a degree in Business Communications and will work on his master's in Family & Consumer Sciences with a concentration in Human Development/Family Studies at A&M. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

"I talked to a lot of people before I made the decision to come here," said Brown, who picked A&M over Georgia Southern, Grambling and Jacksonville State. "(MSU coach) Coach (Sylvester) Croom and (A&M coach) Coach (Anthony) Jones are close. Coach Jones has a lot of experience, runs a good program and the offense they run is similar to what we ran at Mississippi State.

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AAMU new tight ends aim to catch on

Aside from quarterback Kelcy Luke, Alabama A&M's biggest losses on offense were tight ends three-time All-SWAC selection Charles Moody and John Smith. A&M's new tight ends offer few credentials and no numbers to speak of. Todd Leichtfuss and Jeremy Cunningham have caught one pass between them, but despite their lack of playing time and production, they're confident they can be just as effective.

"I feel that we can handle this," said Leichtfuss, a 6-foot-2, 217-pound junior who will serve as the Bulldogs' long- snapper for the third straight year in addition to his tight end duties. "As long as we do our job and not worry about anybody else, everything will take care of itself."

Cunningham was a little more adamant.

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A&M's Jones sees good, bad

Bulldogs coach wishes team was further ahead

Anthony Jones stood and applauded Alabama A&M's offense early on during Thursday's practice. A few minutes later, Jones voiced his displeasure as the unit failed to execute. He does the same thing when he watches film. One minute, Jones is happy. The next, he's somewhat perplexed.

Such is life for the Bulldogs' head football coach. "We've still got a lot of work to do," Jones said Thursday after his team's first week of practice. "We've got a lot of new faces that we're trying to get ready to play college football for the first time. A lot of them are guys that have been in our program, but they haven't been in the fire yet. We're making progress toward our goal, but it's slower than I would like for it to be."

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AAMU Bulldogs' defensive tackles taking committee approach

But Askew hopes someone steps up to "be the big dog"

Every few plays, Renaldo Askew jogs his 6-foot-2, 266-pound frame off the field to talk with Alabama A&M defensive line coach Ben Blacknall. It's a common theme for Askew and the rest of the defensive tackles. The unit hasn't been dominant since All-Southwestern Athletic Conference tackle Kevin Lockhart finished his career two years ago. Blacknall's job is to make sure progress is being made, and that's why he's in constant contact with his players.

"If we're going to be successful on defense," Blacknall said, "our tackles have to play well." Askew and Whitney Garrett, the lone senior, are the current starters. Frank Kearse and Marcus Powe will also see a lot of playing time. Askew said the group has gotten Blacknall's message. "There's a lot of pressure on us," he said. "Every day. Every practice. Every meeting. We've got to stay together and do what we've got to do."

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Alabama A&M notebook: Bulldogs top running back carted off with bad ankle

Running back Ulysses Banks, who was named to the All-SWAC preseason team, sustained an ankle injury early on in Tuesday's practice and had to be carted off the field. Banks, who rushed for almost 900 yards and nine touchdowns, while hauling in 20 passes for 285 yards and two more scores, was injured during the Oklahoma drills which feature two defensive players against three offensive players.

#17 AAMU Bulldogs RB Ulysses Banks, 5-8/172, sophomore, Birmingham, AL/Parker H.S.

A&M coach Anthony Jones said Banks would be given ample time to recover. "We don't think it's serious, but it's serious enough that we're going to hold him out a couple of days," Jones said. With Banks out, Anthony Green and Ray Hudson will get the bulk of the work at running back.

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A&M unit in good hands

Receiving trio has Bulldogs looking to go to the air

Thomas Harris led the Southwestern Athletic Conference in receiving yards per game last season. Rashad Johnson had only 17 catches, but four of them went for touchdowns, including a 65-yarder, one of the longest in the league. Gerald Stockdale not only caught three touchdown passes, but also threw another one.

Meet Alabama A&M's wide receivers.

Their names aren't of the household variety, but their talent, according to A&M receivers coach Roger Totten, is unlimited. "We feel like we have three of the best receivers in the conference," said Totten, who made a huge impact after coming over from Mississippi Valley State last season. "If we can find two more, we may have the best group in the league."

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A&M's Atkins tries on big shoes

Replacing Kelcy Luke at QB no small challenge

Kevin Atkins has taken over for a quarterback before. Six years ago, Atkins replaced his cousin, T.J. Wilson, who was moved to wide receiver, as the starter at Southern Durham (N.C.) High School. All the 6-foot-1, 219-pounder did was win.

When Atkins left Southern Durham, he had led his team to a 38-3 record and to three consecutive conference championships. He was a three-time all-conference selection and was a 4A All-State pick as well, throwing for more than 2,000 yards as a senior, while rushing for 700 more. "I had a great high school career," Atkins said shortly after arriving at Alabama A&M three years ago. "Hopefully, I can duplicate that here."

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AAMU Hudson has perfect start to preseason

A&M running back nets top score in team's conditioning test

Eric Hudson has a new name. Just call him Mr. Perfect. Hudson, a reserve running back at Alabama A&M, earned a perfect score in the Bulldogs' strength and conditioning test on Thursday. The 6-0, 190-pound redshirt junior finished with a team-high 50 points. He earned 10 points in each of the test's five parts - bench press, vertical jump, sit-ups, dips and running.

"I've taken care of business in the weight room, but I want to get on the field," said Hudson, who is stuck behind All-SWAC selection Ulysses Banks and redshirt sophomore Anthony Green. "That's my goal. I want to get on the field and help this team win some games." Hudson has struggled in his attempt to earn playing time.

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Alabama A&M Bulldogs lose huge blocker

Poor grades cost All-SWAC tackle his senior season

Alabama A&M lineman Darius Turner's college career is over after the left tackle was ruled academically ineligible for the upcoming season. Turner, a 6-foot-5, 293-pound fifth-year senior named to the preseason All-SWAC squad, didn't make the necessary grades in summer school to gain his eligibility.

"He gave me the impression all summer that he was getting it done," A&M coach Anthony Jones said. "He knew the path he had to travel and from all indications he was on the right path. Unfortunately, when the grades came out, I started hearing a different story." Slated to start for the third straight year, Turner was expected to bolster a unit considered one of the strengths on the team.

While the Bulldogs still return All-SWAC center Xavier Manuel and guards Charles Meade and Russell Jackson, the unit will take on a different look with Turner out.

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A&M Jones at ease entering 7th year

A&M coach confident as season nears

BIRMINGHAM - There was a time when Alabama A&M football coach Anthony Jones was a little apprehensive about dealing with the media. He was in a new position. He was in a new city. And he didn't know how the media would treat him. "Dealing with the media is just like any other type of relationship," Jones said. "There has to be a level of trust involved. Over the years, the level of trust has heightened and increased."

As a result, Jones, now entering his seventh season at A&M, has become somewhat of a media darling. "The longer you do something the more comfortable you're going to become," he said. "I didn't want to come out when I first got here and make a bunch of statements because I had a bunch of new players and some new coaches that I had never been in the fire with and we had to grow together.

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AAMU players propose statue for Crews

The late Louis Crews is the all-time winningest football coach at Alabama A&M University. The stadium is named after him and the entrance leading to the luxury boxes is filled with his memorabilia. Now, a group of his former players, spearheaded by former split end Tom Jones and former quarterback Onree Jackson, are trying to raise money to erect a statue and a plaza in his honor outside of the stadium.

"This is our way to honor Coach Crews and his legacy," said Jackson, who played for Crews from 1965-69. "We're talking about a man that was larger than life. We're talking about the man that put Alabama A&M football on the map."

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A&M regaining indoor track teams

Two years after eliminating men's and women's indoor track, Alabama A&M athletics director Betty Austin said the school will bring back the sports. The sports were cut in an attempt to balance the budget, but Austin said a series of meetings with the student-athletes compelled her to put the sports back in place.

"I started a series of conversations with the students in April and asked them what we could do to strengthen their programs, and out of that, the track athletes requested we bring back indoor track," Austin said. "You can't do everything they ask you to do, but I thought the things that they said were legitimate."

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Restoration of AAMU's Elmore Gym set to begin today

Photo: AAMU athletic director Betty Austin.

After delays, A&M facility could now be ready by June.

Alabama A&M's much-anticipated renovation of Elmore Gym is slated to begin today, five months after it was originally scheduled.

School officials had hoped to have the project - which includes installing new chair-back seats in the facility's lower level - completed last December, in time for the Bulldogs' opening of Southwestern Athletic Conference play. But athletics director Betty Austin failed to submit the project for bidding on time.

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The future of Alabama A&M University

Only a strong leader can save the university from itself

Whether you supported Dr. Robert Jennings in his almost two-year tenure at Alabama A&M University or whether you thought he had proved himself unequal to the task of leading the historically black school effectively, the decision by the board of trustees on Monday to fire Jennings must lead to this conclusion: This is a regrettable time for the university.

But we'll go further: A&M's leadership is, in fact, in chaos and there's little hope it can reach a state of equilibrium unless things change dramatically and soon.

Exactly why Jennings was fired remains unclear. Reports of Jennings' alleged questionable payments to staff members haven't been effectively addressed publicly.

The board has continued to meet behind closed doors to discuss his job performance, saying it was dealing with "good name and character" and getting legal advice.

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A&M's Atkins shines in spring game

Alabama A&M football coach Anthony Jones figured his team would have a competitive spring game Thursday night. He was right.

The Bulldogs battled hard on offense and defense in their annual Maroon and White Game at Louis Crews Stadium. The Maroon team, which generally had the first team offense and defense, prevailed 20-3.

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Golden Lions knock out Alabama A&M in SWAC first round

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Familiarity breeds confidence. The Arkansas-Pine Bluff men’s basketball team knows that motto, especially considering that they were going up against an opponent they had defeated twice during the regular season.

With their 72-59 victory over Alabama A&M Thursday afternoon in the first round of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament, the Golden Lions defeated the Bulldogs three times this season.

UAPB (13-17, 8-10 No. 6 SWAC) will take on second-seeded Mississippi Valley State at 2:30 p.m. today in Birmingham, Ala. in the semifinals of the SWAC Tournament.

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AAMU defense takes charge in scrimmage

Unit bounces back from poor showing a week ago

Alabama A&M's offense held the upper hand through the first two weeks of spring practice. Quarterback Kevin Atkins and company torched Brawnski Towns' defense a week ago in the first scrimmage of the spring.

On Sunday afternoon, the Bulldogs' defense bounced back. Free safety Al Donaldson intercepted two of Atkins' passes and end Jeremy Maddox also had an interception as Towns' defense avenged last week's thumping.

"I think we're getting a little better on pass coverage," Towns said after the Bulldogs forced four turnovers in the almost 90-play scrimmage inside Louis Crews Stadium. "We got a little better in terms of turnovers, too. We had some kids really hustling and getting to the football.

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UAPB next up for Alabama A&M 'Dogs

Alabama A&M will have to get revenge against Arkansas-Pine Bluff if it is going to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament.

The Bulldogs, who wrapped up the third seed in next week's tournament at Fair Park Arena in Birmingham, will take on the Golden Lions Thursday at 2:30 p.m. UAPB swept A&M this season, winning 65-59 at Elmore Gym and 70-65 in Pine Bluff.

"We're hoping the third time is the charm for us," A&M coach Vann Pettaway said Saturday night. "I'm hoping my history will remain the same. I don't know of a team that has beaten me three times in the same season."

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Alabama State Hornets should waltz through the SWAC tournament and win the NCAA bid without being tested. The SWAC has been so weak this season, that it makes you question if the Hornets will be competitive in the NCAAs. Anyhow, AAMU is going to be home watching it all on television and grumbling about how the season got away from them. There is always a next year...

Alabama A&M clobbers Grambling, 74-43

A&M's 6-foot-11 center rims out on trey in 74-43 win as 3-point attempt thrills Gladness on Senior Day

Alabama A&M's Mickell Gladness had always fashioned himself as a shooting guard. Unfortunately for his hopes, at 6-foot-11 and 205 pounds, he grew into a center. Saturday night, however, with A&M holding a commanding lead over Grambling State, coach Vann Pettaway moved Gladness to the shooting guard spot with approximately three minutes to go in the game.

Gladness came off of a screen and launched a 3-pointer that rimmed out. Afterwards, he left to a standing ovation as the Bulldogs clobbered the Tigers 74-43 in a Southwestern Athletic Conference game at Elmore Gym.

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Alabama A&M expects stronger defense

Photo: Re'Quincia Mack, SWAC preseason Player of the Year, Junior, 5-8 Centerfielder, Buckhorn H.S., Huntsville, AL. Mack batted last season .361 with 8 homers, 28 RBIs, 48 hits, scored 37 runs and had a .932 fielding percentage.

New coach Brown says team can make tournament

Nedra Brown is hoping to do for Alabama A&M's softball program what she did for the Bulldogs' volleyball team. Brown guided the volleyball program to the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship last October in her first season. She'll try to do the same thing in softball.


Photo: Debra Borcherding, SWAC preseason Pitcher of the Year, Senior, Right Handed Pitcher, Ames H.S., Ames, IA. Borcherding was 8-16 with a 5.41 ERA last season on a bad defensive club.

"We want to be competitive every time we take the field," said Brown, whose team opened the season Saturday dropping a doubleheader at Tennessee State. "If we can do that and improve over the course of the season, we'll have a chance to get into the (SWAC) tournament and hopefully make a run at it."

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AAMU 2008 SCHEDULE
(Date Opponent / Event Location Time / Result

Sat., Feb. 16 at Tennessee State Nashville, Tenn. L, 7-2
at Tennessee State Nashville, Tenn. L, 6-3

Univ. of Memphis Tournament
Fri., Feb. 22 vs. Ark.-Pine Bluff Southaven, Miss. 12:00 pm CT
vs. Evansville Southaven, Miss. 4:30 pm CT
Sat., Feb. 23 at Memphis Southaven, Miss. 2:15 pm CT
vs. Morehead State Southaven, Miss. 4:30 pm CT
Sun., Feb. 24 vs. SE Missouri Southaven, Miss. 10:00 am CT

Tue., Feb. 26 vs. Auburn Huntsville, Ala. 1:00 pm CT
vs. Auburn Huntsville, Ala. 3:00 pm CT
Tue., Mar. 4 at Tenn.-Martin Martin, Tenn. 1:00 pm CT
at Tenn.-Martin Martin, Tenn. 3:00 pm CT

SWAC East-West Roundup
Fri., Mar. 7 vs. Ark.-Pine Bluff * Shreveport, La. 10:00 am CT
vs. Southern * Shreveport, La. 1:00 pm CT
Sat., Mar. 8 vs. Texas Southern * Shreveport, La. 1:00 pm CT
Sun., Mar. 9 vs. Prairie View * Shreveport, La. 10:00 am CT
vs. Grambling * Shreveport, La. 1:00 pm CT

Wed., Mar. 12 vs. Memphis Huntsville, Ala. 2:00 pm CT
vs. Memphis Huntsville, Ala. 4:00 pm CT
Fri., Mar. 21 vs. Alabama State * Huntsville, Ala. 3:00 pm CT
Sat., Mar. 22 vs. Alabama State * Huntsville, Ala. 12:00 pm CT
vs. Alabama State * Huntsville, Ala. 2:00 pm CT
Fri., Mar. 28 at Jackson State * Jackson, Miss. 5:00 pm CT
Sat., Mar. 29 at Jackson State * Jackson, Miss. 12:00 pm CT
at Jackson State * Jackson, Miss. 2:00 pm CT
Mon., Apr. 7 vs. Belmont Huntsville, Ala. 2:00 pm CT
vs. Belmont Huntsville, Ala. 4:00 pm CT
Fri., Apr. 11 vs. Miss. Valley * Huntsville, Ala. 4:00 pm CT
Sat., Apr. 12 vs. Miss. Valley * Huntsville, Ala. 12:00 pm CT
vs. Miss. Valley * Huntsville, Ala. 2:00 pm CT
Fri., Apr. 18 at Alcorn State * Alcorn State, Miss. TBA
Sat., Apr. 19 at Alcorn State * Alcorn State, Miss. TBA
at Alcorn State * Alcorn State, Miss. TBA

SWAC Tournament
Thu., Apr. 24 SWAC Tournament Houston, Tex. All Day
Fri., Apr. 25 SWAC Tournament Houston, Tex. All Day
Sat., Apr. 26 SWAC Tournament Houston, Tex. All Day
Sun., Apr. 27 SWAC Tournament Houston, Tex. All Day