Former ASU QB throws well for Vikings

MINNEAPOLIS -- There were questions surrounding former Alabama State quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, the third-year pro who is entering his second season as Minnesota's starter after an erratic debut. He showed fine command of the offense in his three series of the preseason opener against Seattle, completing 8 of 11 passes for 118 yards and a score.

With Adrian Peterson being used only as a decoy, the Vikings called passes on the first 11 plays Jackson was under center. He threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to new fullback Thomas Tapeh and hooked up with new receiver Bernard Berrian twice for 43 yards.

"We feel very comfortable with our running game, but we wanted to get our pass game a fresh start," Jackson said. "I feel good. I feel real comfortable."

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ASU to ask for leniency from NCAA

ASU Hornets interim athletic director Ron Dickerson

Excerpt:

Alabama State University officials will plead for mercy today when they go before the NCAA infractions committee.The eight-person committee will include four attorneys, two law school professors, University of Miami athletic director Paul Dee and Mid-East Athletic Conference commissioner Dennis Thomas. Josephine Potuto, a law professor from the University of Nebraska, will serve as the chairman.

The decision on whether Cole committed major rules violations is important for ASU because the school has $250,000 on the line -- the amount left on Cole's contract when ASU fired him in 2003 for allegedly committing several major violations. If he is cleared of the final three violations against him -- the school accused him of more than 14 violations -- Cole would be due the $250,000.

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Alabama State Hornets' QB battle heats up

Anthony Speight or Reid Herchenbach?

That's the question that will dog the Alabama State head coach Reggie Barlow and offensive coordinator Ben Noonan over the next couple of weeks, as they attempt to name a starting quarterback. And they're already preparing themselves for a tough decision.

"We're going to chart everything," Barlow said. "Everything those two do will be charted, and I'm talking about in both individual and team drills. All of it. When we make a decision, we want to have the stats to support it. We think it's going to be that close."

There seems to be little doubt that Herchenbach and Speight are the top two choices for the position. In just four days of practice this fall, they've separated themselves from second-year QBs Devin Dominquez and Brandon Dowdell.

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ASU's Bosh joins NBA summer league team

Alabama State senior forward Joel Bosh has been named to the Toronto Raptors' summer league team. Bosh, a two-year starter, played an integral role as the Hornets ran away with the SWAC regular season title last season. "This is a well-deserved opportunity for Joel," said Lewis Jackson, ASU's head basketball coach. "He spent a lot of time in the offseason working on ball handling and shooting. And now it's paying off."

Bosh averaged 6.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, while also leading ASU in steals. It was that defensive prowess that Jackson pointed to as one of Bosh's greatest assets. Bosh's older brother Chris is an NBA All-Star with the Raptors and a member of the United States Olympic basketball team that will be competing in Bejing, China, next month.



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Former ASU coach hopes to get NCAA charges dropped

MONTGOMERY, Alabama - Former Alabama State University coach L.C. Cole says he hopes to have alleged NCAA rules violations against him dropped or reduced to minor charges.

"I'm happy that it's coming to an end, but I'm anxious over how it's going to play out," said Cole, who was fired by ASU in 2003 and now coaches in the Canadian Football League.

The Montgomery Advertiser reported Monday that Cole might benefit financially if the charges are reduced to minor status. When fired, Cole had two years left on a contract that paid him about $125,000 annually and stipulated it could be terminated only if he was found to commit major NCAA violations, the newspaper said.

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ASU responds to NCAA allegations: L.C. Cole hopes to clear his name

Photo: Texas Southern University first year head coach Johnnie Cole.

After nearly five years, Alabama State's NCAA rules infraction case is winding down. On Friday, school officials sent in their final response to numerous alleged rules violations -- many of which the school self-reported -- and former head football coach L.C. Cole said his attorney plans to send in his response on Monday to the four charges he's facing.

In addition, there were several indications late in the week that former ASU assistant coach Johnnie Cole, L.C.'s brother, had been cleared of all major violations in the case. Contacted on Friday, Johnnie Cole, now the head coach at Texas Southern University, said the NCAA had told him that he couldn't discuss the situation. Johnnie had been charged with three major violations when he was suspended in 2003 from his job as offensive coordinator.

L.C. Cole, in the meantime, is set to argue his innocence once more.

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ASU sends response to NCAA on alleged rules violations

Alabama State University sent to the NCAA on Friday its response to 668 alleged rules violations, according to a university spokesperson.

Janel Bell-Haynes, the now part-time director of university relations, said the school met the deadline of Friday imposed by the NCAA to submit its response. A request by the Montgomery Advertiser for copies of that response couldn’t be immediately met, Bell said, because it will "take some time to redact students' names and personal info from the document."

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Q&A: ASU football coach Barlow tries to move forward

The last few months have been a bit of a roller coaster ride for Alabama State's Reggie Barlow. Unfortunately, there have been far more deep plunges than nice, slow uphill rides for the Hornets' second-year head coach.

The trip started just after last football season, when he fired a friend -- offensive coordinator Maurice Harris. That was followed by the hiring of current OC Ben Noonan to completely revamp ASU's offense. That was followed by the release of an NCAA notice of infractions that detailed 668 violations committed by the Hornets from 1999 to 2003. Then came the debacle that was Barlow's interview on Paul Finebaum's radio program.

All in all, he would probably just as soon forget the last half-year. But first, he has to talk about it.

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Alabama State Hornets profit with new schedule

The Gulf Coast Classic just got a shot of life. On Tuesday, officials at Alabama State and Southern University signed an agreement guaranteeing the two schools will meet each season in Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium through the year 2011.

The deal gives the game the two things its critics have demanded: A big-time, consistent opponent and a nice payday. Southern boasts one of the largest, most devoted fan bases in the conference and its continued involvement in the game puts an end to ASU's often-criticized practice of rotating opponents each season. In addition, the Gulf Coast Scholar and Sports Foundation, a non-profit organization in Mobile that's serving as host for the game, has promised a $900,000 payout to ASU over the next four years.

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ASU Hornet football players hard at work this summer

The summer days are a little different around the Alabama State football complex of late. There's a little life around the place. Throughout the morning and into the afternoon on most days, dozens of players are on the Hornet Stadium practice field, going through drills and battling the summer heat.

Last year, which was the first time ASU paid for all players to attend summer school, Bruce said around 25 players showed up to workout in the 6 a.m. group. This year, there are routinely more than 40 in that group, and there are two additional groups (at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.).

The Alabama State Hornets will open the Coach Joe Taylor era at Florida A&M University on August 30 at Bragg Memorial Stadium, Tallahassee, FL. This game will be the season opener for both the Hornets and Rattlers.

"Having so many guys on campus during the summer is a huge advantage for us," said ASU head coach Reggie Barlow, who is currently attending the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' training camps. "They are getting together on their own. They're planning workouts and 7-on-7 themselves, and doing everything possible to make the most of the summer." During these summer workouts, the coaches can have no input. They can't even watch.

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Judge halts pay to ASU's Lee for now

Photo: Former ASU President Joe Lee.

A Montgomery County circuit court judge has issued a restraining order, temporarily halting a severance package that Alabama State University trustees awarded former president Joe Lee.

The restraining order follows an injunction that ASU trustees Joe Reed and Thomas Figures filed last week in which they claimed paying Lee nearly $289,000 in a lump-sum payment was illegal because it violated Section 94 of the Alabama Constitution.

In issuing the order, Judge William Shashy offered no decision on the legality of the severance agreement, but did order all parties into mediation within the next seven days. Local attorney Lee Copeland will serve as mediator.

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Bryant High's Patrick earns scholarships to Alabama State

TUSCALOOSA Joe Patrick learned a few things about priorities in his life during his career at Paul W. Bryant High School. Patrick capped his senior season by accepting academic and athletic scholarship offers from Alabama State University in Montgomery.

Patrick, who stands 5-foot-9, finished second in the high jump in the AHSAA meet by clearing a height of 6-6. Patrick ran in the 4x800-meter relay during sectional competition. He said he’d like to be a versatile performer in college.

It feels great just to know I’ve done a lot for myself with the help of my parents, the track team and God,” Patrick said. “It feels great to know I’ve lifted a burden off my parents so they don’t have to pay anything.

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Southern faces Alabama State in SWAC opener

The Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament returns today to Southern’s Lee-Hines Field for the first time since 2003, but the Jaguars are far from the dominant favorite they were with Rickie Weeks tearing up the basepaths.

This one, with a new format concluding with a single, TV-friendly championship game, features teams with plenty to prove.

Photo: SU Jaguars Romey Bracey.

The tournament will be divided into two four-team brackets of double-elimination play. The survivors of those brackets meet at 1 p.m. Sunday for a single, winner-take-all game on ESPNU.

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ASU basketball player dies in pickup game

Grief counselors were at Alabama State University's Joe L. Reed Acadome hours after 19-year-old Deshean Porchea died Wednesday during a pickup basketball game on campus. They will have their work cut out for them.

This is just a heartbreaking loss for us," said ASU head basketball coach Lewis Jackson about the death of Porchea, a player on the team that won the regular season SWAC championship just a month ago. "I don't think we've comprehended it all just yet." Wednesday there were many mourners, but few answers.

Porchea, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound sophomore from Rochester, N.Y., was playing basketball with a large group of students in ASU's Lockhart Gymnasium when he collapsed. He never regained consciousness.

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Jacksonville State-Alabama State football 'Spygate' escalates; sanctions possible

JACKSONVILLE, AL — The Spygate controversy that added spice to the weeks leading to last season's Jacksonville State-Alabama State football opener has turned into possible NCAA sanctions for the Gamecocks.

JSU president Bill Meehan is scheduled to meet with NCAA officials at an undisclosed location next week to discuss the case, which began as a self-reported secondary violation and has escalated, according to a university source who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

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ASU Hornets set to scrimmage today

With the possibility of inclement weather on the way, and with a scrimmage set for this morning at 9 a.m., the Alabama State football team went light Friday afternoon. Instead of their usual full-scale practice, the Hornets went with a brief walk through at Cramton Bowl.

The walk through was in preparation for this morning's scrimmage, which Barlow said would focus primarily on game situations, particularly on the game management by the coaches.

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Alabama State Hornets releases 2008 Football Schedule

*08-30: @Florida A&M
* 09-06: @Bethune-Cookman
* 09-13: Concordia
* 09-20: @UAB
* 09-27: Mississippi Valley St.
* 10-04: OPEN
* 10-11: @Prairie View A&M
* 10-18: @Grambling
* 10-25: Alabama A&M#
* 11-01: @Alcorn St.
* 11-08: Jackson St.
* 11-15: Southern *
* 11-22: OPEN
* 11-26: Tuskegee%
#Birmingham, Magic City Classic
*Mobile, Gulf Coast Classic
%Turkey Day Classic

ALABAMA STATE FOOTBALL: Hornets' offense struggles in scrimmage

Photo: #3, RS Junior QB Alex Engram, 5-10/200, Warren, OH/Western Michigan University.

With just a few minutes remaining in Alabama State's second scrimmage of spring drills, redshirt freshman quarterback Devin Dominguez lofted a perfect pass that fell just over tight end Aaron Wallace's shoulder for a four-yard touchdown.

The play was the perfect representation of the Hornets' scrimmage. It was the only TD of the scrimmage, and it came during red zone drills. It was that kind of up-and-down day for the ASU offense.

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SWAC-leading Prairie View women win again

Photo: Prairie View A&M University head basketball coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke records the Lady Panthers first 20 victory season in history with win over Alabama State University.

Alabama State falls 78-56 at Hicks Building; PV stands at 15-1 in conference

PRAIRIE VIEW — Candice Thomas scored 22 points as Prairie View A&M jumped out to a 12-0 lead and cruised to a 78-56 win over Alabama State at the Hicks Building on Monday evening. Monday's win brought the school its first 20-win season in women's basketball.

Thomas was one of four Prairie View players in double figures as the Lady Panthers improved to 20-8 overall while maintaining their lead in the Southwestern Athletic Conference with a 15-1 record. Gatti Werema scored 19 points for Prairie View, Shavonne Smith had 11 while Chari Smith added 10 for the Lady Panthers.

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Alcorn State douses Hornets' SWAC flame

Photo: Alabama State University head coach Lewis Jackson.

Alabama State has a "blackout" night planned for Monday's game against Southern University. But Saturday's game against Alcorn State was an unannounced flameout night. Against the SWAC's last-place team, the first-place Hornets shot a paltry 11 percent from behind the 3-point line (2-of-17), were out-rebounded 34-27 and were generally out-hustled most of the night. Worst beat first, 73-69.

"They just play hard and tough and they come out here tonight and took it to us," ASU head coach Lewis Jackson said of his team's second home loss of the year. "It was a bad night for us from the free throw line, a bad night from behind the 3-point line and a bad night around the basket. Just overall, we didn't play well and we need to regroup somewhat."

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