Alabama State University 2011 Football Schedule Announced

The Alabama State University Athletic Department has announced the 2011 football schedule for the reigning Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Eastern Division Champions.

The Hornets will play five home games this season in Montgomery's Cramton Bowl. In addition to the traditional matchups, highlighted by the Magic City Classic in Birmingham and the Turkey Day Classic on Thanksgiving Day, the Hornets will travel to face Eastern Michigan of the Mid-American Conference.

“This game will accomplish several things for the program and the University,” Athletic Director Stacy Danley said. “It provides exposure and visibility for Alabama State in a unique geographical area that contains a high concentration of ASU alumni. It additionally gives us the opportunity to recruit a broader range of students and student athletes. As we continue to take ASU Athletics to new heights, it's not only important for us to play up but to win up. This contest also provides us with the opportunity to generate revenue.”

Former Hornet receiver Reggie Barlow begins his fifth season as head coach at his alma mater, leading his team into another tough nine-game conference slate of games as Alabama State comes off a SWAC Championship game appearance for the first time since winning the title in 2004.

“I think it's a good schedule,” Barlow said. “As a whole, it gives us exactly what we need when we go out and recruit players of what they will get an opportunity to go out and experience here. You get to play in front of large crowds like we do in the Magic City Classic and Turkey Day Classic, as well as the chance to play a Division I opponent in Eastern Michigan. The SWAC schedule is very competitive as it always is. We're excited about it.”

Alabama State will begin the season with back-to-back road games and three of its first four contests away from home in September. The Hornets will begin the season at SWAC foe Mississippi Valley State on Sept. 3 before venturing to Michigan to face the Eagles one week later in the first-ever meeting between the schools.

The Hornets will play their home opener Sept. 17 when Grambling State and new head coach Doug Williams come to the Cramton Bowl. ASU will end the season's opening month at Jackson State on Sept. 24.

Alabama State will face former offensive coordinator and new Alcorn State head coach Melvin Spears on Oct. 1 as the Braves come to Montgomery. The Hornets will then travel to Houston for a SWAC Championship Game rematch with defending champion Texas Southern, before coming home to host Prairie View on Oct. 15.

Following an open week, the Hornets will face Alabama A&M University in the 70th Magic City Classic, held at legendary Legion Field in Birmingham on Oct. 29.

ASU will play its final road game in 2011 on Nov. 5, when they travel to face the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

The Hornets will play their final SWAC game of the season at home against Southern in Cramton Bowl on Nov. 12. Following an open date, ASU will conclude the regular season with the 88th Turkey Day Classic against Tuskegee University on Nov. 26th.



2011 ALABAMA STATE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME
Sept. 3 at Mississippi Valley St.* Itta Bena, Miss. 5 p.m.
Sept. 10 at Eastern Michigan Ypsilanti, Mich. TBD
Sept. 17 GRAMBLING ST.* Montgomery, Ala. 7 p.m.
Sept. 24 at Jackson St.* Jackson, Miss. 4 p.m.
Oct. 1 ALCORN ST.* Montgomery, Ala. 7 p.m.
Oct. 8 at Texas Southern* Houston, Texas TBD
Oct. 15 PRAIRIE VIEW A&M* Montgomery, Ala. 1 p.m. (Hornet Connection Day)
Oct. 22 open date
Oct. 29 ALABAMA A&M* Birmingham, Ala. TBD (70th Magic City Classic)
Nov. 5 at Arkansas-Pine Bluff* Pine Bluff, Ark. 2:30 p.m.
Nov. 12 SOUTHERN* Montgomery, Ala. 1 p.m.
Nov. 19 open date
Nov. 24 TUSKEGEE Montgomery, Ala. 1 p.m.(88th Turkey Day Classic)
Dec. 10 SWAC Championship Birmingham, Ala. TBD
Home games in CAPS; * denotes SWAC games; dates and times subject to change

By ASU Sports Information
VISIT: BAMASTATESPORTS

Alabama State football: Deal for Barlow is near

The winter recruiting period can be the most challenging time for a head football coach, especially for one working without a contract.

"That's how you lose them," Alabama State coach Reggie Barlow said. "I've been asked about that in almost every home visit I've been on. I'm thinking, I know you 18-year-olds aren't reading the newspaper, who's been telling you this?"

Both sides have completed their negotiations to extend Barlow's tenure as the Hornets' head coach, a move which would end any advantage opposing coaches might have in the recruiting field and turn it into an advantage for the Hornets. The paperwork currently is in the hands of Alabama State's attorneys, who are finalizing details on a new contract for the Montgomery native.

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Videographer: UrbanSportsITG

SWAC Championship: Title game is rematch for Alabama State University and Texas Southern

Television: 1 PM CT, ESPN Classic

Internet: ESPN3.com

Much has changed since an early October meeting between Al­abama State and Texas Southern. The quarterback situations are more stable. The coaches are bet­ter settled. The one constant: Texas South­ern's fierce defensive line contin­ues to terrorize.

"Their D-line is tops in our con­ference, and shucks, I'd put them up there with anybody else in any other conference," Alabama State coach Reggie Barlow said this week. "They get to the quarterback and they get a lot of sacks."

For Alabama State to win its first Southwestern Athletic Conference title since 2004 when the two teams meet today at 1 at Legion Field, its offensive line must con­tain Texas Southern, the nation's leader in sacks and tackles for loss per game.

TSU: QB Arvell Nelson Will Not Be Allowed to Play in SWAC Title Game

Birmingham, Ala. - FOX 26 Sports has learned the Texas Southern Tigers will play Alabama State in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game Saturday without starting quarterback Arvell Nelson. TSU athletics officials have chosen not to allow Nelson to play.

In a statement from the school's athletics department, released to FOX 26 Sports, TSU explained its position, but did not go into detail.

"Texas Southern University has discovered issues regarding TSU quarterback Arvell Nelson and his ability to participate in the SWAC Championship game. Because of concerns, the university has decided not to allow Nelson to play in the game. "This will be the only comment released by Texas Southern and its representatives on this issue at this time.



Cole eager to turn the page, hopes to lead Tigers to SWAC title

BIRMINGHAM, Al. - Texas Southern coach Johnnie Cole closed the chapter between him and Alabama State back in October when the Tigers downed the Hornets in Montgomery. Cole and his brother, L.C., had been fired by ASU officials following the 2002 season and he had never gotten over it.

After TSU downed ASU 21-7 back on Oct. 2, Cole said he no longer had an ax to grind. That was the before the Tigers and Hornets won their respective divisions in the Southwestern Athletic Conference and qualified for today's championship game at Legion Field. Kickoff is 1:05 and the game will be carried live on ESPN Classic.



TSU's shot at SWAC title a long time coming

Championship would be first in SWAC since 1968

At one point during Tuesday's send-off for Texas Southern, the seniors were allowed to address the energetic crowd of fans assembled at Durley Field on the TSU campus. When linebacker Dejuan Fulghum's turn came, he spoke for an entire class of seniors that previously could only dream of competing for a Southwestern Athletic Conference championship.

"We've come a very long way," said Fulghum, this year's SWAC Defensive Player of the Year. "I've been here since the bad days, the 0-11 days. "There isn't any more of that at TSU."

The Tigers (8-3) ensured their former losing ways were a thing of the past by winning their final seven regular-season games to earn the program's first SWAC Western Division title and the right to challenge Alabama State (7-4) for the league championship today at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. One of those final seven wins was a 21-7 decision over Alabama State on Oct. 2.

TSU's Fulghum receives SWAC's top defensive honor



Cole named coach of the year

Texas Southern’s Dejuan Fulghum and Johnnie Cole hauled in two of the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s biggest honors when they were named Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively, on Friday.

Fulghum, a senior linebacker, led the SWAC in sacks (nine) and was third in tackles (91) and tied with three others for sixth in tackles for loss (15). He also recorded an interception and two forced fumbles while helping TSU finish the regular season with the Football Championship Subdivision’s No. 2 defense.

“It’s a tremendous honor,” Fulghum said. “It was one of my individual goals as a player coming into this year, but I also have to attribute this award to our team’s success.”

With look of a champ, TSU vies for SWAC crown today

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Tyler native Willie Hopkins came to Texas Southern University in 1953 to get an education, to play football and baseball - student athletes had to play two sports in those days to earn a scholarship — and to be part of a budding but already strong winning tradition.

Killeen-born Dejuan Fulghum came to TSU in 2007 to get an education, to play football — he didn't have any other college scholarship offers — and to be part of a program in which winning was an unfamiliar concept.

Hopkins joined a team that was the defending Negro national college champion. Fulghum, who was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year on Friday, started every game as a freshman on a team that played 11 games and lost 11 games.

Johnnie Cole Named Coach of the Year



BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Texas Southern coach Johnnie Cole was named the SWAC Football Coach of the Year as announced by the league office on Friday.

Cole has led his alma mater to its first-ever SWAC Championship Game berth and the first 8-win season at Texas Southern since 2000. The Tigers can tie the school record with a 9th win Saturday. Cole is finishing his 3rd season at TSU with a record of 18-16 with the Tigers. He is 33-32 in his 6th season as head coach for his career.

Solomon: TSU QB takes wrong turn, then finds his way

Arvell Nelson knows trouble when he sees it. He could look at an older brother, now in prison, or his best childhood friend, now on the same Ohio cell block as his brother, and see where street life would inevitably take you. No one thought Nelson would go that route.

But for some reason, after he had realized one of his dreams — becoming a scholarship athlete at a Big Ten school — Nelson started slipping.

The Cleveland native posed in silly but infamous photos posted on Facebook of teammates and him holding up cash and bottles of liquor. A few months later, in the spring of 2008, the then-19-year-old redshirt freshman was arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession and dismissed from the University of Iowa, where he would have contended for the starting job at quarterback that next season.

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Alabama State University to Build New Football Stadium

The Hornets new on campus stadium will boast 30,000 premium seats, corporate skyboxes and a $50 million price tag.

Alabama State University will begin constructing its new stadium in about six weeks.

ASU President William Harris announced during a Tuesday business and community breakfast held at the Montgomery Renaissance Hotel and Spa at the Convention Center that a bond issue to finance the project had recently been approved.

"We should have shovels in the ground in the next six weeks," he told an audience of enthusiastic ASU supporters who gathered at the breakfast as part of ASU's homecoming festivities this week.  The proposed ASU stadium project is a 30,000-seat, mixed use stadium ...

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Alabama State holds first practice session

ASU Coach Reggie Barlow had 93 players report for first day of football practice.

MONTGOMERY, AL - Calling it an acclimation practice was exactly what the Alabama State University football team experienced on their first day of practice in boiling temperatures. The session was originally scheduled for 3 p.m. but was pushed back to 7:30 p.m. due to the extreme heat conditions.

"We have five days in jersey's and shorts so we can use these days to get the players acclimated to the hot weather," head coach Reggie Barlow said. "We want to be smart with the guys and give them the ability to compete when they are not so drained because of the hot weather."

A total of 93 players were on the field for the first day of practice with 45 of those being returnees. Needless to say, there were several new faces around the team as practice began and there will be a lot of evaluation to go along with the first few days without the pads.

"I am thrilled about the team we have this year," Barlow said. "We have a good mixture of young guys and a lot of older guys. We want to see what the players that were here in the spring retained from spring practice, but we also have to see how some of the new guys will be able to help us."

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ASU announces 2010 football schedule‎

MONTGOMERY, AL – Six home games and nine Southwestern Athletic Conference games highlight the 2010 edition of the Alabama State University football schedule. The Hornets open the season on Sept. 4 against SWAC rival Mississippi Valley State at Cramton Bowl. ASU continues its season-opening home stand Sept. 11 versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff before closing the month with a pair of road contests at Prairie View A&M (Sept. 18) and Alcorn State (Sept. 25).

The month of October brings Bama State home to start with an Oct. 2 tilt against Texas Southern. ASU visits Grambling State on Oct. 9 before earning the first of its two bye weeks of the season. Following the open date, Alabama State hosts Savannah State on Oct. 23, for the first of just two non-conference games on the schedule. ASU concludes the month Oct. 30 versus rival Alabama A&M in the 69th annual Magic City Classic at Legion Field in Birmingham. The SWAC Football Championship game is slated for Dec. 11 at Legion Field.

Alabama State University Hornets 2010 Football Schedule

DATE OPPONENT LOCATON TIME

9/11/10 Mississippi Valley State, Cramton Bowl, 7 pm

9/12/10 Arkansas, Pine Bluff, Cramton Bowl, 7 pm

9/18/10 Prairie View A&M, Prairie View, TX, 12 pm

9/25/10 Alcorn State, Lorman, MS, 2 pm

10/2/10 Texas Southern, Cramton Bowl, 7 pm

10/9/10 Grambling State, Grambling, LA, 4 pm

10/23/10 Savannah State, Cramton Bowl, 1 pm

10/30/10 Alabama A&M, Birmingham, AL, 2:30 pm

11/6/10 Jackson State, Cramton Bowl, 7 pm

11/13/10 Southern, Baton Rouge, LA, 5:30 pm

11/25/10 Tuskegee, Cramton Bowl, 1 pm

Russell Athletics HBCU Senior Bowl Today

Taylor brings credibility to Senior Bowl

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Joe Taylor didn't give an immediate "yes" to Darryl Moore's invitation to coach the East team in today's Russell Athletics HBCU Senior Bowl. Taylor, who had just gotten through coaching FAMU to its second consecutive winning season, had reservations. Moore, a passionate advocate of HBCU football, persisted. Taylor, known for being organized and a stickler for details, went hunting for the facts about Moore's Synergy Sports and Associates company.

He found out that the fledgling promoter had already gotten the backing of Montgomery city government and a multi-year sponsorship from Russell Athletics for the inaugural event. Moore didn't just have the final piece to make the game go when Taylor committed, but the game instantly gained credibility. "He is a guy who has put a stamp on HBCU football," Moore said. "It's unbelievable to have a guy like that in your corner." Taylor's participation adds a recognizable name to the event, which is being considered in some quarters as a replacement for the Blue-Gray Classic.

CLICK HERE FOR GAME WEBCAST LIVE AT 3 PM ET OR VIDEO ON DEMAND: http://www.wsfa.com/Global/category.asp?C=1191&nav=menu33_4

Young drawing scouts eyes at HBCU Bowl

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Tre’ Young knows the opportunity afforded him this week at the HBCU Senior Bowl. Last year, at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium, NFL scouts showed up for Pro Day to find a large group of aspiring college players from all over South Carolina ready to show what they could do. They all were allowed to run the 40-yard dash. Three of them were allowed to move on with the rest of the day’s activities. The rest of the players found themselves locked out, literally, from the rest of the workout.

Several were former teammates of Young, so the long-striding S.C. State wide receiver has embraced the opportunity to have more time to impress the scouts heading into today’s contest, an All-Star game featuring the top HBCU players in the country, scheduled to kickoff at 2 p.m. "It’s a blessing,” Young said. “It’s a blessing to be given the opportunity to play in a game of this type of magnitude. I’m getting a chance to come out and showcase my talent against some of the best players in HBCU football and that is real exciting.”

2009 RUSSELL ATHLETIC HBCU BOWL

EAST ROSTER
1 QB Curtis Pulley FAMU 6-4 200 Hopkinsville, KY

2 DB Antwan Cox Bethune-Cookman 6-1 180 Miami, FL

3 DB Phillip Adams SC State 6-1 180 Rock Hill, SC

4 DB Jody Ellis Morgan State 6-0 180 Evansboro, IL

5 DB Quintez Smith Shaw 6-1 187 Dublin, GA

6 DB Terrell Whitehead Norfolk 6-2 200 VA Beach,VA

7 DB Leroy Vann FAMU 5-9 185 Tampa, FL

8 WR DeAndre Okonji Shaw 6-2 198 Upland, CA

10 QB Dennis Brown Norfolk 6-3 202 Miami, FL

12 QB Carlton Fears NC A&T 6-1 190 St. Mountain, GA

21 DB Jeff Gowdy Fayetteville St 5-11 185 Jacksonville, NC

22 RB Will Ford SC State 5-11 200 Travelors Rest, SC

23 RB Lamarcus Coker Hampton 5-10 195 Nashville, TN

32 LB Marcus Esquivel Fayetteville State 6-1 228 Kearny, AZ

33 DB Justin Hamilton Elizabeth City 5-10 170 Washington, DC

34 RB Devan James Morgan State 5-10 200 Pompano Beach, FL

37 K Justin Castellat Norfolk 6-1 170 VA Beach, VA

40 LB Hurley Hemphill VA Union 6-2 240 Kannapolis, NC

47 LB Kalvin Baker Tennessee State 6-1 260 Columbus, GA

48 LB Brandon Roundtree Hampton 6-2 220 Compton, CA

49 LB Bryan Parker FAMU 6-3 230 Randlestown, MD

55 LB George Howard Morgan State 6-1 230 Chesapeake, VA

56 OL Robert Norris Morgan State 6-4 300 Cheltenham, MD

58 OL Ryan Griffin Bethune-Cookman 6-3 280 Miami, FL

65 OL Anthony Collins FAMU 6-3 355 Miami, FL

68 OL Mike Maloney Delaware State 6-6 290 Chicago, IL

71 OL Steve Brazzle FAMU 6-4 325 Coatesville, PA

74 OL Dylan Stivers Elizabeth City 6-6 305 Guerneville, CA

75 OL Gabriel Manns NC Central 6-6 305 Winston Salem, NC

76 OL Nicolas Royal Hampton 6-4 323 Keeling, VA

77 OL Ryan Cave Hampton 6-4 360 Beaufort, SC

79 OL Robert Okeafor FAMU 6-4 320 Jacksonville, FL

81 K Daniel Mendez Elizabeth City 5-11 190 Riverside, CA

83 DL Yuself Dorman-EL Bowie 6-5 240 Baltimore, MD

84 DL Dewayne Moss Shaw 6-4 275 Petersburg, VA

85 WR Oliver Young SC State 6-0 200 Charleston, SC

87 WR Damon McDaniel Hampton 6-0 185 VA Beach, VA

88 WR Reggie Smith Elizabeth City 5-11 195 Ft. Wayne, IN

89 WR Phillip Kirkland Bethune-Cookman 5-10 195 Quincy, FL

90 DL Marcus Crump St. Augustine 6-6 240 Pittsboro, NC

91 DL Tyree Glasper NC A&T 6-3 274 Detroit, MI

92 DL Justin Lawrence Morgan State 6-1 275 Cheltenham, MD

95 DL Dexter Jackson Bethune-Cookman 6-2 280 Jacksonville, Fl

98 DL James Carter Howard 6-2 265 Tifton, GA

99 DL Cameron Houston FAMU 6-0 285 Rockledge, FL

WEST ROSTER

1 DB Rod Williams Alcorn 5-11 180 Monroe, LA

2 DB Anthony Beck Prairie View 6-1 205 Houston, TX

3 WR Antonio Dejarnett Alcorn 6-1 182 Elridge, AL

4 DB Justin Hannah Tuskegee 5-10 185 Birmingham, AL

5 DB Jason Bruce Alabama State 6-1 195 Montgomery, AL

6 RB Rahmond Traylor Alabama State 5-11 205 Memphis, TN

7 QB Tim Buckley Alcorn 6-1 185 Madison, MS

8 DB Nigel Copeland Grambling 6-0 190 Birmingham, AL

10 QB AJ McKenna Albany State 6-5 220 Albany, GA

12 QB Bryant Lee Southern 6-3 205 Boutte, LA

21 RB Ulysses Banks Alabama A&M 5-11 200 Birmingham, AL

22 DB Rechard Johnson Alabama State 6-0 190 Montgomery, AL

23 DB Derrick Shelton Lane 5-10 170 Missouri City, TX

32 DB Kevin Thornton Arkansas Pine Bluff 6-1 200 Little Rock, AR

33 RB Demetrice Johnson Albany State 5-11 210 Albany, GA

34 RB Quinn Porter Stillman 6-1 200 Los Angelos, CA

37 LB Michael Thompson Benedict 6-0 220 Springfield, OH

40 DB Jeremy Obie Tuskegee 5-11 184 High Point, NC

47 LB Marcus Jamison Jackson State 6-1 235 Brooksville, MS

48 LB Brandon Anderson Tuskegee 6-3 220 Toxey, AL

49 LB Zimier McCloud Clark-Atlanta 5-11 236 Philadelphia, PA

55 LB Adrian Hardy Alabama State 6-2 197 Selma, AL

56 LB Allan Baugh Southern 6-0 235 Houston, TX

58 DL Jeremy Maddox Alabama A&M 6-0 263 Grand Bay, AL

65 OL Robert Ogletree Mississippi Valley 6-2 290 Birmingham, AL

68 OL Xavier Manuel Alabama A&M 6-1 325 Vinegar Bend, AL

71 OL Revay Smith Grambling 6-1 330 Port Allen, LA

74 OL Adrian Banks Southern 6-1 295 Houston, TX

75 OL Chris Hymel Stillman 6-3 300 Birmingham, AL

76 OL Mikeal Harshaw Jackson State 6-4 310 Memphis, TN

77 OL Ramone Harewood Morehouse 6-8 310 St Michael, Barbados

79 OL Collin Cordell Ft Valley 6-5 345 Douglasville, GA

81 TE Remo Gay Arkansas Pine Bluff 6-2 230 Bartlett, TN

83 TE Jonathan Hannah Texas Southern 6-4 260 Bethesda, MD

84 DL Robert Jackson Ft Valley 6-4 300 Jonesboro, GA

85 WR Thomas Harris Alabama A&M 6-0 174 Alexander City, AL

87 WR Archille Henje Morehouse 6-2 190 Silver Springs, MD

88 WR Jumorris Stewart Southern 6-3 205 Baton Rouge, LA

89 K Christopher Khan Tuskegee 6-0 190 Tuskegee, AL

90 DL Tyrell Henderson Kentucky State 6-7 255 Columbus, OH

91 DL Daryl Corley Miles 6-4 313 Birmingham, AL

92 DL Jared Dorn Arkansa Pine Bluff 6-2 250 Pine Bluff, AR

95 DL Terrence Banks Jackson State 6-2 290 Newark, NJ

98 DL Noel Alphonso Alabama State 6-5 270 Tallahassee, FL

99 DL Junior Galette Stillman 6-2 255 Spring,Valley, NY