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Showing posts with label Alabama A and M University Bulldogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alabama A and M University Bulldogs. Show all posts
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - When Alabama A&M opens the season Saturday against Hampton in the Chicago Classic, redshirt freshman Montarius Smith will return punts and kickoffs.
Smith will be the Bulldogs' primary punt returner and he will be joined by freshman Reshaad DeJarnett on kickoff returns. Former Sparkman High standout Terrance Pride could also return kickoffs.
"None of them have played, but we believe they'll be OK," said defensive coordinator Brawnski Towns, who works with kick returners. "Hopefully, the lights won't be too bright for them and they'll step up."
The Bulldogs struggled returning kickoffs and punts last season. A&M was seventh in the Southwestern Athletic Conference in punt returns last season, averaging 7.7 yards, and was ninth in kickoff returns, averaging 15.1 yards per return.
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - The number of hours he spends in his office are too many to count, but it is inside those four walls at the George H. Hobson Field House where Alabama A&M football coach Anthony Jones finds solace.
It has been well documented that Jones doesn't get out as much as he should to sell his program and he needs to hire an offensive coordinator, but his formula has worked well the last nine years. During that span, he has fashioned a 64-41 record, won a Southwestern Athletic Conference championship and played for the title on three other occasions, most recently in 2009.
He has averaged more than seven wins per year, more than any coach in school history, including Louis Crews, A&M's all-time winningest coach. He has a pair of nine-win seasons to his credit, something nobody else has done at A&M, and he has three eight-win seasons. That had only been done seven times before Jones arrived.
2010 record: 3-8 overall, 2-7 SWAC
Number of starters returning: 14 (6 on offense, 5 on defense, 3 specialists)
Top returning players: QB Deaunte Mason, RB Kaderius Lacey, WR G'Alonzo Milton, OL Jamaal Johnson-Webb, ILB Willie Fuller, WLB Vernon Marshall, FS Rico Porch, P/K Chance Wilson.
Team will be a contender if the offensive line protects Mason and the defensive line is relentless in getting after the quarterback.
Team will struggle if Mason doesn't play well and the defense is forced to play a lot of snaps.
Head coach's Hot Seat meter reading
Anthony Jones, (6) ... Despite leading A&M to the 2009 SWAC championship game, the Bulldogs have posted two losing seasons in the last three years. Jones, entering his 10th season with the Bulldogs, is in the final year of his contract.
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Alabama A&M's secondary was filled with wily veterans last season and as a result the Bulldogs finished in the top half of the Southwestern Athletic Conference in pass defense.
With redshirt seniors Korey Morrison and Chris Faush at the corners and junior Rico Porch at free safety, A&M allowed just more than 190 yards through the air, which was fourth-best in the SWAC. Despite losing Morrison and Faush, Porch believed the Bulldogs would be good again this season with senior Clarence Morris and sophomore Derrick Harris, who came down the stretch last season, moving into the starting lineup.
That was before Morris pulled a hamstring early on in training camp and has been limited ever since. With Morris out, redshirt freshman A.J. Clark, a converted quarerback, has come along nicely as well as redshirt freshman Nicolas Shoaf and true freshman Luther Snipe and because of that, Porch believes his unit won't miss a beat.
Alabama A&M University 2011 Black Cheer National Champions
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - They all look the part. Unfortunately, none of them have played it very well.
That assessment came from Alabama A&M tight ends coach Michael Brown. And, Brown should know. He played with Charles Moody on the Bulldogs' 2006 Southwestern Athletic Conference championship team. Moody was a three-time All-SWAC selection, earning first-team honors in 2007.
"He could catch and he could block," Brown said of Moody. "He was a playmaker in the passing game and the running game. Right now, we've got one guy that will block and one guy that will catch. We don't have that one guy that can do it all."
Junior Kenneth Harris comes the closest. Unfortunately, he has been sidelined with a ...
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Alabama A&M men's basketball coach Willie Hayes, who has been on the job for more than two months, is getting closer to signing a contract, school officials said earlier this week.
Hayes replaced long-time coach Vann Pettaway, who resigned after 25 years on the job. He has been working in good faith since being hired on May 26 and remains confident a deal will be struck soon.
"I think we're going to get it done," Hayes said. "The university is going through a lot of stuff financially and dealing with SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools). After they get done with that, I think we'll sit down and get this done."
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Former Alabama A&M offensive tackle Anquez Jackson signed a free agent contract with the Tennessee Titans on Tuesday.
Jackson, a three-year starter and a two-time All-Southwestern Athletic Conference performer for the Bulldogs, started every game during his career for A&M coach Anthony Jones. He helped the Bulldogs reach the 2009 SWAC championship game.
During his Pro Day on March 9, Jackson checked in at 6-foot-3-3/4 and weighed 332 pounds. He ran the 40-yard dash in 5.3 second and 5.38 seconds, the short shuttle in 5.29 seconds and the three-cone drill in 8.16 seconds. He had a 26-inch vertical jump, an 8-foot-6 broad jump and completed 22 repetitions on the 225-pound bench press.
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Just before preseason basketball practice started in 2004, then-Alabama A&M men's basketball coach Vann Pettaway called his staff together - Willie Hayes and Sammy Jackson - and told them they were going to have to run the show.
Pettaway had been disagnosed with cancer and was about to undergo the biggest fight of his life. Hayes, the associate head coach at the time, and Jackson, who recently was named the head coach at Fort Valley State, was asked to keep the program headed in the right direction.
"Coach Pettaway let us know what he was going through and he was going to put the program in our hands and he needed us to run things until he could get back into the swing of things," Hayes said.
Not only did Hayes and Jackson runs things, they ran them so well that A&M went on to win not only the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular season championship, but the tournament title as well. As a result, the Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time as a Division I program where they lost to Oakland (Mich.).
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Alabama A&M football fans will have to pay a few more dollars to watch the Bulldogs play this season. Athletics officials, charged with raising $700,000, increased prices to rent the 22 skyboxes inside Louis Crews Stadium and ticket prices also went up, according to sales manager Tourischeva Stubbs.
Skyboxes range from $10,250 to $12,700, while season tickets have increased $25 and single-game tickets have increased anywhere from $5 to $7. "The skyboxes sold quickly," athletics director Betty Austin said. "There is a great demand for skyboxes. We hope season tickets will sell just as fast or faster." Selling season/reserved tickets was difficult last season, Stubbs said. Only 361 reserved seats were sold in 2010. There are more than 2,000 available.
"We have to change the culture of our fans," Stubbs said. "We need to get people to really see the value of our product and we need to value our product and one way to do that is with the price. Eventually, with time, our fans will see the value and they'll pay for it."
HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University football team’s 2011 season opener against Alabama A&M will be played in Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinos on Saturday, Sept. 3 in the Chicago Football Classic.
Kick-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. EST/4 p.m. CST. Ticket information for the contest is pending.
For more information on Hampton University football, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at hamptonpirates.com.
For more information on Alabama A&M University football, please call the Tickets/Marketing Sales Office at (256) 372-4059 or visit the official Bulldogs website at aamusports.com
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Fred Carodine was one of the finest multi-sport stars at Huntsville's Lee High School in the late 1960s, playing in the heyday of the Generals' football history, then went on to become an outstanding football player at Alabama A&M University in the early 1970s.
After excelling in football, basketball and baseball at Davis Hills Middle School, he played offensive end and defensive back at Lee from 1968-70 for coach Keith Wilson and was considered by some scouts as "the best end in the state" in both 1969 and 1970.
Carodine was an early starter at free safety as a freshman for coach Louis Crews' A&M Bulldogs and played on teams that included future NFL players John Stallworth and Ronnie Coleman.
Coach Vann Pettaway ends AAMU
era with a 453-279 record
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Vann Pettaway is expected to resign early next week, ending his 25-year tenure as Alabama A&M's men's basketball coach, The Times has learned.
Attempts to confirm Pettaway's resignation with A&M president Dr. Andrew Hugine, athletics director Betty Austin and Pettaway were unsuccessful by The Times.
Sources say Pettaway asked school officials to allow him to talk to his team before an official announcement is released. That meeting is expected to take place Monday night. An official announcement is expected to be made Monday or Tuesday.
When the final horn sounded and the Southern women’s basketball team walked off the floor with its 12th consecutive victory Monday night, players smiled, high-fived each other and hugged a few die-hard fans.
Their sense of joy was noticeable. But it was matched by a sense of relief. “This one got to me,” said coach Sandy Pugh, who watched her team hold off Alabama A&M for a 65-57 win. “I’m happy with the win, but not happy with our defensive performance in the second half.”
Yet again, in a desperate attempt to keep up with an opponent, the Southern men’s basketball team tried almost everything Monday night against Alabama A&M.
The Jaguars took timeouts. They substituted liberally. They changed defensive schemes and tried an array of offensive sets. In the end, it was the same song, eighth verse.
The visiting Bulldogs spent the entire second half building on their lead, and pulling away for an easy 64-45 victory in the F.G. Clark Activity Center.
HOUSTON, Texas - Texas Southern hit four free throws down the stretch Saturday afternoon and went on to hold off Alabama A&M 65-61 in an important Southwestern Athletic Conference game.
The Bulldogs trailed 34-30 at intermission, but tied it a couple of times in the second half, the last time at 54 apiece on a 3-pointer by Desmond Jackson with 4:01 remaining. The Tigers scored seven unanswered points to go up 61-54, but A&M battled back and pulled within 61-59 on a layup by DeMarquelle Tabb with 46 seconds left, but couldn't get any closer.
Tonight’s victory was not the most attractive but it was a win nonetheless. Texas Southern beat Alabama A&M 65-61 in a very close match-up with lots of turnovers and missed free-throws by the Tigers.
“It was an ugly game for us tonight. I don’t mean to sound down but a victory is a victory I guess,” said head coach Tony Harvey.
This game was played close for the entire 40 minutes. The Tiger’s biggest lead in the first half was 19-14 at the 10:19 mark. TSU finished the period up 34-30.
Whiquitta Tobar's jumper with no time left lifted the Bulldogs to a thrilling win over the Tigers. A&M, which snapped a two-game losing streak, improved to 10-8 overall and 6-2 in league play with the victory. TSU fell to 3-16 and 1-7.
Tobar, who was 7-of-22 from the field, scored A&M's last six points, including the game-winning basket, to help the Bulldogs beat the Tigers. She finished with a game-high 17 points, including 13 in the second half.
Texas Southern held victory in its grip. But a last-second shot allowed Alabama A&M to sneak out of H&PE Arena with a win. TSU women's basketball team fell, 52-50, in a game that came down to the final second.
Texas Southern senior forward Gabrielle Rosiji sank a free throw with 1:14 left to tie the game at 50-50. After Alabama A&M (10-8, 6-2 Southwestern Athletic Conference) missed two scoring opportunities, TSU (3-16, 1-7) had a chance to take the lead. But the Tigers couldn't convert on the offensive end, and the Bulldogs had one last crack at it.
HUNTSVILLE, Al. - Alabama A&M beat Tuskegee 73-70 Saturday night at Elmore Gym, but the Bulldogs paid a heavy price for the victory. Starting point guard Jabari Deshields, backup point guard Jeremy Crutcher, backup power forward Jonathan Inman and reserve forward/center Chris Burks were ejected with 3.9 seconds left. All four players must sit out Saturday's game at Alabama.
HUNTSVILLE, Al. - Anthony Jones was almost in tears late Saturday afternoon. Nobody would have blamed Alabama A&M's head coach if he had broke down and cried after the kind of the year the Bulldogs had. A&M finished its worst season in Jones' nine years with a 35-14 loss to Prairie View before an announced crowd of 3,967 at Louis Crews Stadium.
"It's been a long, rough year," said Jones' whose team finished 3-8 and lost six of its last seven games after starting 2-2. "It's over and we've got to start all over. I'm going to take a look at a lot of things because I don't like this feeling and I don't want to repeat it."
While his career didn't end like he wanted it to, Alabama A&M inside linebacker Afu Okosun was still proud. The Bulldogs' 35-14 loss to Prairie View was the final game for the 13 seniors, who began their careers with Southwestern Athletic Conference championships rings, but it ended it with the worst record since 1992. "It was one of those years," Okosun said. "When it rains it pours and it definitely poured this year. We kept fighting and trying to make the best of it and I'm proud of that."
OFFENSE: F. The Bulldogs managed just 271 total yards and committed four turnovers [- three interceptions and a fumble. Quarterback Justin Jones threw two interceptions in the end zone and also fumbled at the Prairie View 1 when the Bulldogs had a chance to tie the game midway through the second quarter.
GREENVILLE, Miss. - Alabama A&M won't finish last in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Eastern Division. The Bulldogs can thank Tony Green and Kaderius Lacey for that. The Bulldogs' talented tailback tandem combined for 234 yards rushing and scored a touchdown apiece as A&M beat Mississippi Valley State 21-7 Saturday afternoon at Greenville-Weston High School to snap its five-game losing and avoid finishing in the Eastern Division cellar.
"It was an ugly game, but we came out with the win and that was our goal," said Green, who finished with 118 yards on 22 carries. "You can't be too picky, especially with the way our season is going."
HUNTSVILLE, Al. - Before the season began, Alabama A&M backup quarterback Justin Jones figured he'd be lucky to play in a mop-up role.
Deaunte Mason, who started the final five games last season and led the Bulldogs to the Southwestern Athletic Conference East Division title and to the league championship game, was back and seemed poised to have a breakout year as a sophomore. Jones was content with learning the system. He missed last season after failing to qualify academically after signing with the Bulldogs following a terrific senior year at West Morgan High School in Trinity.
NORMAL, Ala. -- Brandon Bridge passed for four touchdowns and ran for another as Alcorn State scored 28 first-half points and defeated Alabama A&M 42-24 on Saturday. Three of Bridge's touchdown passes came in the first half, when the Braves (5-4, 4-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference) built a 28-10 lead. He also scored on a 15-yard run in the second quarter.
HUNTSVILLE, Al. - Alabama A&M's defense, which has struggled over the last month or so, did so again Saturday against Alcorn State. The Braves, who entered the game averaging 30.5 points and almost 370 yards per game, scored on their first three possessions and four of their first five and compiled 302 yards in total offense in a 41-24 victory.
"We didn't execute on defense," defensive tackle Frank Kearse said. "We didn't come ready to play." Alcorn State quarterback Brandon Bridge, the leading candidate for Southwestern Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year honors, was 9-of-14 for 175 yards and four touchdowns and also rushed for 50 yards on 10 carries, including a 15-yard touchdown jaunt.
HUNTSVILLE, Al. - Alabama A&M, enduring its worst season in almost two decades, had seemingly come to life. The Bulldogs, who trailed Alcorn State by as many as 21 points at one time, had pulled to within 34-17 late in the third quarter and was driving toward yet another touchdown that could have made it a 10-point game. Unfortunately, like it has so many times this season, A&M self-destructed.
OFFENSE: C: Alabama A&M running back Tony Green had a career-day with 156 yards and a couple of touchdowns, but the Bulldogs committed three turnovers, including two interceptions by quarterback Justin Jones, one of which was returned 65 yards for a touchdown that gave Alcorn State a commanding 41-17 lead late in the third quarter. READ MORE, CLICK EACH TITLE.
The lights went out on Alabama State Tuesday, in the middle of a nighttime practice. Just a few days later, the lights went on for talented, but fumble-prone running back Andrew Pitts.
The combination led to an easy 31-10 Magic City Classic victory against rival Alabama A&M Saturday afternoon at Legion Field before a reported crowd of 61,879 fans.
First the blackout: The campus-wide power outage hit in the midst of Tuesday drills, the most physical, routinely, of a game week. "Guys were out there in pitch dark and they still kept running drills," Alabama State coach Reggie Barlow said. "That's when I knew the game was won."
BIRMINGHAM, AL - Korey Morrison walked off the field wondering what had happened. So did Frank Kearse. In fact, a number of Alabama A&M's seniors, who had never lost to Alabama State in the Magic City Classic, did the same thing.
The Bulldogs, who had beaten the Hornets five straight times, saw their winning streak come to an end Saturday in the 69th edition of the largest black college football classic at Legion Field.
BIRMINGHAM, AL -- And once again they came by the thousands, for the football and the food, the music and the socializing, blessed by gorgeous weather and fueled by million-watt energy.
The Magic City Classic isn't a football game. It's an event. Sixty-nine editions of it now, between a pair of universities with so much in common -- and so much common disdain.
BIRMINGHAM, AL -- Somebody turned out the lights on Alabama State Tuesday night. The Hornets responded with their best performance of the season on Saturday afternoon, bashing Alabama A&M 31-10 in front of 61,879 fans at Legion Field in the 69th Magic City Classic.
The Hornet defense forced four turnovers, and the offense rolled up a season-high 212 yards on the ground as Alabama State dominated the Bulldogs in surprisingly easy fashion to snap a five-game losing streak in the series.
Offense: F - The Bulldogs turned the ball over four times [- one fumble and three interceptions [- and managed only 210 yards in total offense.
Defense: F - Alabama A&M tackle Frank Kearse and company, which had allowed just 95 yards rushing per game, gave up 212 against an Alabama State team that averaged just 88 yards on the ground coming into the game.
It was the "band"-standing, not the grandstanding that drew the crowds to the Magic City Classic parade in downtown Birmingham this morning.
With elections just three days away, the parade had its share of candidates running for local and statewide offices. There were even elected officials not currently running that will likely be looking for votes in the future.
Birmingham, Ala. - The Southwestern Athletic Conference will carry live the 69th Magic City Classic from Legion Field on SWAC TV. The free telecast will begin Saturday at 2:00 p.m. (CT) with the kickoff between Alabama A&M and Alabama State set for 2:30.
The game will not be broadcast on television, so fans that are unable to make it to the stadium, can catch all the action on their computer at www.swac.org/allaccess.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Southwestern Athletic Conference kicks off the 2010 Fall Championships schedule on Sunday, October 31 with the Men's and Women's Cross Country Championship held at the Choctaw Running Trails in Clinton, Miss.
The women's 5K race will start at 9:00 a.m., followed by men's 8K competition at 10:15 am. A year ago, the Arkansas-Pine Bluff men and women won team titles at the conference's championship meet in Baton Rouge, La.
Posed a question about his final hurrah of an extraordinary afternoon Saturday, Anthony Mayes had to pause and think. What? You expect the Jackson State receiver to remember all three of his touchdowns? "Hmmm," Mayes said, scratching his face in thought. "Let me see ... the last one ..." Yep, it was just that kind of day for Mayes - and the rest of JSU's Air Raid offense, too.
Mayes hauled in three scoring passes and quarterback Casey Therriault again sliced easily through an opponent's secondary as Jackson State beat Alabama A&M 30-14, picking up a victory that might just send the Tigers back to Birmingham. For the last four seasons, the winner of the A&M-JSU game has won the Southwestern Athletic Conference Eastern Division and advanced to Birmingham for the league title game. "It's super big," coach Rick Comegy said afterward. Said Mayes: "We're riding high."
Call it smart. Call it clever. Call it deceitful or unfair. The bottom line is that Alabama A&M played without its starting quarterback Saturday and not many knew it until the backup strolled onto the field for the first play of Jackson State's 30-14 victory at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium..
"It was a well-kept secret," JSU coach Rick Comegy said. A&M coach Anthony Jones kept quarterback Deaunte Mason's injury - a groin pull - out of the media all week. In turn, JSU spent time in practice on defending the triple option, something Mason does well. A&M ran the option twice Saturday.
Kicker Jabril Smith, a Callaway High grad, will miss the rest of the season with a broken ankle, Jackson State coach Rick Comegy confirmed following the Tigers' 30-14 win over Alabama A&M on Saturday.
Smith suffered what was thought to be a mild injury in the win over Mississippi Valley State two weeks ago. Midway through this week, Comegy said he expected him back in two weeks. Smith had surgery on the ankle Oct. 1, and Comegy was made aware later this week that he would not be returning this year. That leaves punter Reed Gallagher...
It's just past lunch time Thursday. John Doyle is sitting in his bustling classroom at Wyoming Park High in Michigan with the phone pressed to his ear, listening intently. He's being read Casey Therriault's statistics through four games as Jackson State's quarterback: 360 yards a game, 28 completions per game, 12 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
"It doesn't surprise me one bit," Doyle said chuckling a bit. "You should see his stats from high school." To Doyle, Therriault's high school coach, the numbers the QB is posting, while head-shakingly good, are the norm.
A Michigan boy more used to snow flurries than sunburns, Casey Therriault had a lot to learn when he arrived in the Deep South just a few months ago. So, cut the Jackson State quarterback some slack if he didn't know the magnitude of the Alabama A&M-Jackson State game until a few days ago.
The important thing? He knows now. "Whoever wins goes to the SWAC championship," Therriault said Tuesday while walking off the practice field.
Anthony Jones won't act like it's not an issue. It is. "When you get a chance to rest and get an extra week to prepare, it's an advantage," the Alabama A&M coach said.
The Bulldogs (2-3, 1-2 SWAC) travel to Jackson this weekend for a 4 p.m. meeting Saturday with Jackson State (3-1, 1-1). And they do so with - to use a cliche - the deck stacked against them.
In the nutty, keep-you-on-your-toes Southwestern Athletic Conference, where this week’s contender is next week’s also-ran, no one yet knows how the Eastern Division race will play out.
Alabama State had the early lead, then dropped two straight games.
Jackson State’s hopes of reaching the SWAC championship game are on the line this weekend. The Tigers (3-1, 1-1) host Alabama A&M on Saturday in what’s considered an elimination game. The winner remains on pace with Alcorn State to win the East Division title and the loser faces an uphill climb.
Jackson State, coming off an open date, unexpectedly has one of Division I-AA’s top quarterbacks in Casey Therriault. The junior college transfer has produced three 300-yard passing games this season.
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - When Alabama A&M opens the season Saturday against Hampton in the Chicago Classic, redshirt freshman Montarius Smith will return punts and kickoffs.
