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Showing posts with label Coach Johnnie Cole. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coach Johnnie Cole. Show all posts
Cole said his brother Johnnie would serve as Jeff Davis’s offensive coordinator.
Montgomery, AL - L.C. Cole, the former Alabama State head football coach, said Wednesday he has accepted an offer to become the head football coach at Jeff Davis High School. However, Montgomery Public Schools senior communication officer Tom Salter said in an email that Cole is not an employee of the Montgomery Board of Education pending board approval.
Salter said in an email in order for a person to be hired the superintendent must to make a recommendation to the board of education during a board meeting. The majority of the board must vote on a personnel report to affirm the superintendent’s recommendation.
When asked what the next step would be, Salter said Thursday that the next board meeting is scheduled for June 28. “However, it is possible that there could be a called meeting earlier than that date,” Salter said, “not specifically for this hire, but for a number of personnel items.”
Texas Southern University hired Johnnie Cole as its football coach because it wanted to win games. It hired Charles McClelland to be its athletic director for the same reason.
TSU also hired McClelland because it wanted to do things the right way. It fired Cole for the same reason. A college football program should be able to do both: win and do things the right way. Even TSU.
"The university's commitment to compliance is undaunted," McClelland said in a Friday statementthat announced the school has parted ways with Cole because of major rules violations that, according to an athletic department official, will be revealed when a report from an NCAA investigation is released.
Texas Southern interim football coach Kevin Ramsey said Saturday that associate head coach/quarterbacks coach Daryl Williams has been relieved of his duties.
Ramsey, the defensive coordinator who was named interim coach Friday after former coach Johnnie Cole was dismissed, informed Williams of the move shortly after being promoted by athletic director Charles McClelland.
Williams was hired by Cole in 2008 after serving as Alabama State’s director of football operations from 2005-07.
The Texas Southern Tigers took their first step in preparation for the 2011 SWAC Championship Title. The defending champions started spring practice on Wednesday. About 70 players hit the field for conditioning and to run through drills. 2010 SWAC Coach of the Year, Johnnie Cole and his staff know it’s going to be a hard fought season to repeat as champions, but they believe the Tigers are up for the challenge.
“We know the target is on our backs,” Cole said. “So we must work harder and smarter than everyone else. Champions are built in the off season and it starts now.”
Over the next four weeks, the Tigers will practice three days and scrimmage once at TSU’s Durley Stadium. The Maroon and Gray game is schedule for Saturday, April 16th at Durley Stadium.
Practice starts at 4:00pm. There will be a Coaches Clinic on April 9th and the Johnnie Cole Golf Tournament on April 14th. The Football Championship Ring Banquet is on April 17th.
Texas Southern University President Dr. John M. Rudley
“One of our major initiatives was to bring a state-of-the-art stadium to Texas Southern University athletics. This new stadium has helped us reach that goal. It also gives us one of the best facilities in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. It’s a huge boost to the overall athletic program.”
Videographer: Khou.com
The Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer broke ground on February 5, 2011 on their $95 million dollar, 22,000-seat soccer stadium in downtown Houston's East End. Dignitaries such as AEG President and CEO Tim Leiweke, Dynamo equity partner Oscar de la Hoya, MLS President Mark Abbott, Houston Mayor Annise Parker, and Harris County Judge Ed Emmett participated in the groundbreaking festivities, while Dynamo all-time leading scorer Brian Ching kicked a ceremonial first goal on the stadium site.
Excavation of the site and construction of the stadium is expected to begin shortly, and the Dynamo hope to play their first game in the new stadium by mid-2012. The stadium is located in downtown Houston, within walking distance of Minute Maid Park, the George R. Brown Convention Center, and the Toyota Center. In addition to soccer games, the new stadium will host Texas Southern University football, concerts, boxing matches, and more.
The stadium will be operated by the Dynamo and leased from the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority. It is located closer to downtown than any other American stadium built for soccer and will be easily accessible to fans from the entire Houston area.
AEG Facilities, the world's largest venue manager, will manage the stadium on behalf of the Dynamo. The stadium will be included in AEG Facilities' worldwide network of more than 100 elite venues across five continents.
Renowned architectural firm Populous designed the stadium, which will be constructed by Houston-based Manhattan Construction and overseen by the ICON Venue Group. Additional companies working on the site are landscape architect Clark Condon, structural engineer Walter P. Moore, and civil engineer WGA, all companies based in Houston.
After Texas Southern secured the school's first outright SWAC title Saturday afternoon, coach Johnnie Cole didn't need to institute a 24-hour rule. Twenty years will be ample time to let an 11-6 victory against Alabama State sink in.
"I told the guys, 'You won't understand what you've done until you're my age, 20 years from now,' " Cole said. " 'You're the best team in Texas Southern history. You've taken the SWAC championship.' "
Playing at Legion Field, before a crowd of 22,350 fans, Texas Southern (9-3) turned to something old - Division I-AA's second-ranked defense - and something new - backup quarterback Riko Smalls -- to take home the trophy.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Johnnie Cole wanted to be under this hot light, in this spotlight, for a long time. He used to sit in his dorm room at Texas Southern in the early 1980s, when he was a quarterback on teams that never once posted a winning record, thinking he could one day coach the Tigers to a Southwestern Athletic Conference championship.
Several times the school told Cole he could not do that and instead hired men who would fail to do what Cole was certain he could. It was painful for him to watch from afar, as he trekked around the college coaching landscape for more than 20 years, all the while dreaming of one day becoming a championship coach for the Maroon and Gray. Saturday was that day.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Prairie View A&M did it last year. This season, it was Texas Southern’s turn to rise from longtime cellar dweller to Southwestern Athletic Conference champion. The Tigers earned their first SWAC title since 1968 on Saturday behind coach Johnnie Cole’s swarming defense and backup quarterback Riko Smalls, holding off Alabama State 11-6 at Legion Field.
"I’ve been waiting on this job for over 20 years," said Cole, who played quarterback at Texas Southern in the mid-1980s. "I’ve been in the business for 24 (years) and I always wanted to come back to Texas Southern and get us to this championship."
Birmingham, Ala. - Texas Southern did Saturday what it has done all year. The Tigers rode on the strength of their defense and wound up with a SWAC championship to show for it. TSU defeated Alabama State 11-6 at Legion Field in the 2010 Farmers Insurance SWAC Football Championship Game.
The toughest defense in the SWAC, and #2 ranked in the nation, and led by SWAC Defensive Player of the Year and SWAC Championship Game Defensive MVP, Dejuan Fulghum, the Tigers held the Hornets to 72 total yards and an average of just 1.7 yards per play. The "212" defense, named for the boiling point when water turns to steam, even scored two points of its own.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
HOUSTON - Texas Southern University has made history. The football team won the Western Division title for the first time ever, but this run is not over. The Tigers will meet Alabama State battling for the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship. TSU President Dr. John Rudley calls it a renaissance.
"We haven't had this kind of excitement for 42 years, since 1968. That's what it means to this school. All these years without having a sense of pride in your campus, always being put in a negative light. It's about time for Texas Southern to get in a positive light."
That sentiment is echoed by virtually everyone on campus, including head football coach and alumni Johnnie Cole. Cole tried to get the coaching job twice before. When he was hired last year, he made changes from the ground up.
Joseph Warren remembers receiving recruitment letters from Texas Southern during his days as a standout running back at Madison. He also remembers the trash cans those letters ended up in. "Back in the day, nobody wanted to come to TSU, even me," Warren said. "When I was in high school, I would get a letter from TSU and throw it away. I wasn't even trying to hear (about) TSU."
Given the atmosphere surrounding the TSU program at the time, Warren's indifference was understandable. When Warren graduated from Madison in 2005, TSU had just come off a disastrous 0-11 finish. Warren took three years off from football after leaving Madison, working a number of jobs to help support his mother. When the 5-10, 175-pounder returned to football in the spring of 2009, he found a home as a walk-on at TSU.
The Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship Game is set for Saturday at Birmingham's Legion Field, but Texas Southern coach Johnnie Cole has already seen enough from the competition to anoint his team as the best HBCU team in college football.
"I think we're the best black college football team in the country," Cole said. "We've rolled off seven straight wins, we've dominated our conference. When you look at conference stats, we dominate on offense and defense. The only thing (that's less than dominant) is the passing. We play football the old way here, run and tackle on defense and on offense run the football."
FACTS & STATS: Event: SWAC Championship. Annual: 12th. Site: Legion Field (72,000) -- Birmingham, Alabama. Surface: Artificial Turf. Television: ESPN Classic. Announcers: Anish Shroff, Jay Walker, Charlie Neal. Home Record: Alabama State 4-2; Texas Southern 4-0. Away Record: Alabama State 2-2; Texas Southern 3-1. Neutral Record: Alabama State 1-0; Texas Southern 1-2. Current Win/Loss Streak: Alabama State 1L; Texas Southern 7W. Series Record: Tied, 11-11-2. Last Meeting: October 2, 2010 (Texas Southern, 21-7 at Alabama State). Series Streak: Alabama State has won six of the last eight meetings. Nicknames: Alabama State Hornets; Texas Southern Tigers. Sheridan Broadcasting Network Poll Rankings: Alabama State (10); Texas Southern (5). Heritage Sports Radio Network Poll Rankings: Alabama State (7); Texas Southern (3). Sports Network/Fathead.com Rankings: Alabama State (51); Texas Southern (31). All- Time Records: Alabama State (438-418-41); Texas Southern (242-308-15). Coaches: Alabama State - Reggie Barlow (19-25 at Alabama State and Overall); Texas Southern - Johnnie Cole (18-16 at Texas Southern, 33-32 Overall). SWAC Championship Record: Alabama State (1-2); Texas Southern (0-0).
Nearly a decade ago, Johnnie Cole helped his older brother, L.C., resurrect the Alabama State football program. The younger Cole served as the team's offensive coordinator, and his High Octane, Big Offense (HOBO) immediately turned things around.
The Hornets claimed back-to-back SWAC Eastern Division championships in 2000 and 2001, but the school was charged with 668 NCAA rules violations, which led to the firing of the Cole brothers.
Now the head coach at Texas Southern (8-3), Johnnie Cole will face his old team when the Tigers take on Alabama State (7-4) in the SWAC championship game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Birmingham's Legion Field. The game will be televised live on ESPNU.
SWAC Championship, Dec. 11-Texas Southern vs. Ala. State
Texas Southern men's basketball coach Tony Harvey was understandably fatigued when he and the team returned to Houston on Saturday. The Tigers had completed a six-game road trip to open the season, ending it with Friday's 84-60 loss at No. 4 Kansas State. They made stops in four states. And they did so with three key players out.
Senior forward Travele Jones and senior guards Harrison Smith and Justin Ray are ineligible because of compliance issues. The loss of Jones, the preseason Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year, is especially painful, as he was the team's leading returning scorer (13.7 points per game).
After leading TSU to an 8-3 regular-season record and its first berth in the SWAC championship game, football coach Johnnie Cole stands to receive a raise and an extension of the four-year contract he signed after being hired in December 2007.
Athletic director Charles McClelland said Friday that the two sides would sit down after the Dec. 11 SWAC championship game to discuss the situation.
The TSU Football team makes the college football world take notice after its impressive performance against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
HOUSTON — It was an emotional night for Texas Southern University head football coach Johnnie Cole and his players following their 20-13 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday, Nov. 20 at Delmar Stadium. TSU clinched the program's first Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Western Division title and now advances to the SWAC championship game in Birmingham, Ala., on Dec. 11.
The Texas Southern Tigers, who recorded their seventh straight victory, will now compete for their first SWAC title in over 40 years.
In what will go down as one of the most memorable football games in black college history, TSU wrote a new chapter in those books following its huge win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. When Arkansas-Pine Bluff's quarterback... Wright Carries TSU To West Division Title
Texas Southern running back Marcus Wright probably wasn’t surprised at the defense Arkansas-Pine Bluff threw at him in Saturday’s regular-season finale.
The Golden Lions routinely stacked eight or nine defenders in the box, knowing full well that TSU would primarily run the ball. It was a somewhat risky move, but Arkansas-Pine Bluff was left with few options to keep Wright and his backfield mates from running wild at Delmar Stadium. It didn’t work.
Wright weaved masterfully through the Golden Lions’ defense, rushing for a game-high 134 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries...
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ATTENDANCE: 11,285
Videographer: djburntsu (TSU Tigers vs. UAPB Golden Lions 11/20/2010
Texas Southern defensive coordinator Kevin Ramsey has a résumé that surpasses his Southwestern Athletic Conference counterparts.
Ramsey collected college coaching stints at Tennessee, Georgia, West Virginia, Northwestern, Kansas State and Arizona State. He had a stop in the NFL as the Arizona Cardinals’ secondary coach from 2001-03. He helped coach West Virginia to a Big East championship in 1993 and helped Tennessee win Southeastern Conference titles in 1997 and 1998 and a national championship after the 1998 season.
But Ramsey said he has always admired SWAC and envisioned himself coaching in it someday. He got his opportunity when TSU...
Videographer: Bookman (Texas Southern vs. Southern 2010)
Texas Southern University running back Marcus Wright (Dunbar) is one win from playing for the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship. It’s quite a bounce-back story considering Wright appeared in just four games last season as a sophomore mainly due to a suspension for violating a team rule. “It taught me a lot about responsibility,” Wright said by phone this week from the campus in Houston. “You’ve just got to handle your business.”
Arguably only one other SWAC running back has handled his business better this season. Having worked his way from the bottom of the depth chart after being reinstated this summer, Wright ranks second in the conference with 955 rushing yards. He is the reigning SWAC offensive player of ...
HOUSTON, TX — The Grambling Tigers lost a 17-point fourth-quarter lead and their eight-game win streak deep in the heart of Texas on Thursday night. Texas Southern staged a furious fourth-quarter rally and defeated Grambling 41-34 in overtime to grab a stranglehold in the SWAC West Division.
Grambling (8-2, 7-1 SWAC) dropped its first conference game while Texas Southern improved to 7-3 (7-1). The Tigers can still claim the division title if they defeat Southern University in their regular-season finale and Texas Southern loses to Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Thursday, Texas Southern outgained Grambling 542-219. The Tigers were aided by a 95-yard kickoff return from Edward Patterson and a 39-yard interception return from Derrick Wilhite in the first half.
Texas Southern is the new frontrunner in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division.
TSU rallied from a 17-point, fourth-quarter deficit with 24 unanswered points, including the tie-breaking touchdown in overtime, en route to snagging a thrilling 41-34 victory before a crowd of 10,023 Thursday night at Delmar Stadium.
TSU (7-3, 7-1 SWAC) won its sixth consecutive game to knock Grambling (8-2, 7-1) off its perch and can win its first Western Division title and a berth in the Dec. 11 SWAC championship game with a win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in their Nov. 20 regular-season finale. Another win would push TSU one step closer to competing for its first SWAC title since 1968. TSU Defeats Grambling State 41-34 (OT)
HOUSTON, TX - Texas Southern University defeated Grambling State University 41-34 (OT) at Delmar Stadium in northwest Houston. With this latest victory, TSU is now two wins away from their first outright SWAC Chamionship in the 54-year history of the football program.
The TSU Tigers were coming from 17 down in the fourth quarter to beat Grambling 41-34 in overtime. With seven minutes left, Richard Samuel scored a 23-yard touchdown pass from Arvell Nelson to bring the point gap within three. Robert Hersch kicked a 20-yard field goal, tying the game with 15 seconds left on the clock.
Texas Southern football coach Johnnie Cole has the year 1968 stamped in his memory.
It's a reminder of the prize that has eluded his program for more than four decades. For Cole, it has been far too long since TSU won its last Southwestern Athletic Conference championship.
The 1968 Tigers, who split the title with Alcorn State and Grambling State, were of an era when TSU was a perennial contender in the SWAC. The accomplishments of those teams from 1950s and '60s have been overshadowed by the disparaging label placed on the program in recent years.
When Southern’s football team came out the locker room after halftime Saturday night at A.W. Mumford Stadium, the goal was to close a 13-point gap against a brutally physical Texas Southern football team. The Jaguars believed they could do it. They had faith.
“The coaches told us to keep fighting. We weren’t out of the ballgame,” safety Anthony Wells said. “They told us to keep mistakes to a minimum and play hard.”
Southern needed a spark, a turnover, a big special-teams play. Something. Anything. Nothing good happened. By the end of the third quarter of a thoroughly convincing 54-7 blowout, the pep in Jaguars’ step was long gone and so were most of the 8,329 fans who bothered to show up.
Call it intuition, call it foreboding. Whatever it was, the smallest crowd of the season was on hand to watch the most lopsided home loss for Southern University in recent seasons, a 54-7 defeat at the hands of Texas Southern.
Texas Southern brought in the second-ranked defense in the Football Championship Subdivision, and the Tigers acquitted themselves nicely. Southern’s offensive statistics all came in below the meager averages already allowed by Texas Southern.
This was not the way Southern intended to make history. In dominating the Jaguars 54-7 on Saturday night in A.W. Mumford Stadium, Texas Southern earned its most lopsided win in the history of the TSU-SU football series, which dates to 1946. Before Saturday, the Tigers’ largest margin of victory was 37 points, achieved in a 37-0 win in 1972.
Think Southern’s 54-7 loss to Texas Southern on Saturday night was bad? Linebacker Shomari Clemons said it should have been worse. “We could have held them to zero points, we could have held them to a goose egg,” said Clemons, the LSU transfer who scored the first of Texas Southern’s two defensive touchdowns — outscoring Southern’s offense. His defensive teammates agreed.
First quarter TEXAS SOUTHERN: Shomari Clemons 3 fumble return (Robert Hersh kick) at 14:08. KEY PLAYS: On Southern’s third play from scrimmage, defensive lineman Jonathan Hollins, a Redemptorist graduate, sacks quarterback Dray Joseph, forcing a fumble in the process. Clemons, a former LSU player, scoops up the fumble and walks into the end zone. Texas Southern 7, Southern 0.
Texas Southern has spent much of this season fighting to earn respect. Southern, a once-proud program, is doing all it can to keep the respect it has left. Thus, it will be an unusual matchup when the two Southwestern Athletic Conference programs meet today in Baton Rouge, La. TSU (5-3, 5-1 SWAC) has won four consecutive games and remains on track to challenge Grambling State for the SWAC Western Division crown. The Tigers have the SWAC’s No. 1 and the Football Championship Subdivision No. 2 defense (223.6 yards per game) to go with a power rushing attack (232.8-yard average the past five games) that continues to stymie defensive coordinators.
The Southern Jaguars have lost three consecutive games and sunk into last place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference's Western Division. That's the bad news for the Jaguars. The good news? Well, there's not much good news — at least not this week. Texas Southern (5-3, 5-1 SWAC) brings a four-game winning streak into Mumford Stadium in Baton Rouge to face Southern (2-6, 1-5). "They are one of the best defenses in the SWAC and in the country when you talk about statistics," Southern coach Stump Mitchell said. Worth repeating: Johnnie Cole In a teleconference earlier this week, Texas Southern coach Johnnie Cole discussed Saturday's game against Southern, the rise of his football program and an upcoming showdown against Grambling, likely for control of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division: The Wright change
Marcus Wright employs a simple yet effective rushing style, a method which has transformed Texas Southern’s offense. “I’d rather hit them before they hit me,” said Wright, who is listed at 5 feet-10, 210 pounds. Strong words for a running back, but his coach, Johnnie Cole, said he can shoulder the load. So much so that Cole, whose offenses are known for their passing, opted for the change in philosophy midway through the season.
You first meet Roddrell Stewart — a massive fifth-year senior guard, a mainstay of the Southern University football program, a jolly young man with a neatly trimmed beard, an ever-present grin and no visible neck — and you see any number of things.
You see a natural-born character. He is a 6-foot-3, 315-pounder whose size is only outmatched by his personality. Think of a cross between Keenen Ivory Wayans and George Foreman, and you’re in the ballpark.
Texas Southern has a message for the rest of the Southwestern Athletic Conference: We’re here to stay. Mississippi Valley State got that message loud and clear Saturday.
The Tigers ran circles around the winless Delta Devils before a homecoming crowd of 7,016 at Delmar Stadium, rolling to a dominant 38-7 victory that keeps them squarely in the thick of the race for the SWAC Western Division title.
TSU (5-3, 5-1) won its fourth straight game with strong contributions on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Arvell Nelson threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and running back Marcus Wright rushed for 131 yards and ...
HOUSTON—Texas Southern held Mississippi Valley State to 109 yards of total offense Saturday en route to a 38-7 victory. Arvell Nelson threw two touchdowns and ran for another for the Tigers (5-3, 5-1 Southwestern Athletic), who have won four straight.
MVSU (0-8, 0-7) came up with an interception on Texas Southern’s opening possession, then scored on its first play from scrimmage when Oliver Hughes hit Paul Cox for a 37-yard touchdown pass. But that was it for the Delta Devils, who had only 38 yards rushing in the game. Hughes completed 6 of 22 passes for 71 yards and was sacked four times.
HOUSTON, TX - Air what? For the first time this season, Jackson State's Air Raid offense met its match. And then some.
Hounded, hassled and harassed, quarterback Casey Therriault and his prolific passing attack stood no chance as Texas Southern beat Jackson State 21-18 on Saturday, grounding the Air Raid with a swarming secondary and a pass-rushing defensive front.
The Football Championship Subdivision's leaders through the air, Therriault and JSU's new pass-happy offense walked out of Houston's Butler Stadium with a black eye of a day that included one offensive touchdown.
HOUSTON, TX - Jackson State fans let the boos reign during the final 2 minutes of the Tigers' 21-18 loss to Texas Southern on Saturday. The reason for it stemmed from some questionable game management that may have cost JSU a chance to get a final possession with the team down by three points. Here's a retake of the events:
How about this for a tale of two halves in Jackson State's 21-18 loss to Texas Southern on Saturday? JSU's defense allowed 97 yards and 0 points in the first half. And in the second? 260 yards and 21 points.
The Tigers allowed a total of 295 yards rushing, most of those coming in the final two quarters and many of them coming on long third-down scampers from TSU QB Arvell Nelson.
Marcus Wright ran for 139 yards and a touchdown and Arvell Nelson added 115 rushing yards and two scores as Texas Southern held off Jackson State 21-18 Saturday. Wright rushed 26 times while Nelson scored on a 12-yard run and a 1-yarder and passed for 62 yards.
Texas Southern (4-3, 4-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference) finished with 295 yards on the ground while holding Jackson State (5-2, 3-2) to minus-6.
LORMAN, MS — Alcorn State quarterback Brandon Bridge has shown such great promise since becoming the starter three games ago that the ASU sports information department is trying to think of nicknames for him. But he is still a true freshman. And against Texas Southern’s relentless pressure, you could tell.
The Tigers’ pressure flustered Bridge all game long, forcing him to throw two interceptions, cough up a fumble and take a crucial sack in the final minute of the Braves’ 30-20 loss. Alcorn coach Earnest Collins knew his team was going up against the best defense in the SWAC, and knew they would bring the pressure against Bridge.
LORMAN, Miss. — Marquis Jackson had his second sack of the game, forcing a fumble to prevent a potential game-winning touchdown late in Texas Southern's 30-20 win over Alcorn State on Saturday. The Tigers (3-3, 3-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference) led 23-20 when the Braves (3-2, 2-1) were driving in Texas Southern territory.
Alabama State's game Saturday against Texas Southern looked a lot like August practices at Hornet Stadium. Three quarterbacks shuffled duties. No one appeared to want the job. When the musical chairs ended, it was Texas Southern who left Cramton Bowl singing, claiming a 21-7 victory over the Hornets.
Devin Dominguez, Demetric Price and Rashard Burkette took snaps for the Hornets and each struggled to find any rhythm in an offense that generated just 149 total yards.
MONTGOMERY, AL — Curtis Thomas’ 59 yard interception return for a score put the final touches on a Texas Southern 21-7 win over Alabama State University in a Southwestern Athletic Conference game.
For the second game in a row, the Hornets’ offense struggled with five turnovers and continually had bad field position.
TSU’s defense was stellar the whole game and after forcing ASU to punt on their first possession, William Osbourne returned the punt 39 yards to set up TSU’s first offensive possession from the ASU 19 yard line. From there it only took two plays for Martin Gilbert to cover the 19 yards, with the scoring run coming from 12 yards out as TSU took a 7-0 lead a little over two minutes into the game.
Johnnie Cole wants to beat Alabama State today. That much, the Texas Southern head coach doesn't hide. Calling it a game of "personal" importance in several interviews, Cole has made no secret of the fact that today's meeting between his Tigers and ASU carries more than just SWAC ramifications for him.
How personal, and how important the game is though, is something Cole's trying to keep to himself. And he's used all the right words, saying he'd be happy with a 3-0 win and reminding everyone of the great friends he still has in Montgomery.
A week after being manhandled at home by Albany State, Tuskegee got back on track, outlasting FCS foe Texas Southern 21-14 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama Saturday.
Although Martin Gilbert rushed for 121 yards on 19 carries for TSU (1-3) against the 25th-ranked Golden Tigers (3-1), it was Nykeem Barton outdueling Arvell Nelson that was the heart of the game.
Barton smashed through the goal-line stands of TSU for all three Tuskegee touchdowns that combined for just four total yards. The third score, in the fourth quarter, proved to be the game-winner.
HUNTSVILLE, Al. - Alabama A&M conducted an internal investigation late last week on the eligibility of wide receiver Demetrius Thomas, The Times has learned.
Thomas, a transfer from Marshall, apparently spent four or five days at Texas Southern, sources said, before coming to A&M last month. A&M coach Anthony Jones said he couldn't comment on the matter Sunday and Monday. Sources say Thomas is the reason Jones and Texas Southern coach Johnnie Cole got in a heated exchange after the Tigers whipped the Bulldogs 32-9 on Saturday. Sources also say Jones and Cole reached a mutual agreement that Thomas, a 6-0, 170-pound redshirt sophomore from Mobile, wouldn't play Saturday. Thomas didn't make the trip with the team and wasn't made available to the media on Monday during Jones' weekly press conference. He also didn't practice Tuesday.
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Alabama A&M University Bulldogs Fight Song
STAND UP AND CHEER
CHEER LOUD AND LONG FOR DEAR OLD NORMAL
FOR TODAY WE RAISE
THE MAROON ABOVE ALL OTHERS
OUR NOBLE TEAM IS NOW FIGHTING
IS FIGHTING TO HARD TO WIN THE FRAY
WE'VE GOT TO WIN! WE'RE SURE TO WIN!
FOR THIS IS DEAR OLD NORMAL'S DAY
East Hartford, CT — UConn did exactly what you would expect it to do against an inferior opponent. The Huskies never gave Texas Southern a chance to breathe, scoring on their first five possessions, converting a pair of first-half turnovers into touchdowns and allowing the Tigers no room to roam on offense.
The result: After building a 45-0 halftime lead, UConn's reserves got the bulk of the work in the second half of a 62-3 victory over Texas Southern before 37,359 in the home opener at Rentschler Field.
In the first half, Jordan Todman rushed for 151 yards and three touchdowns, Zach Frazer threw a pair of touchdown passes and the UConn defense, which couldn't get off the field on third down a week earlier at Michigan, allowed only one first down. That's all you really need to take from this game, although you must applaud the Huskies for coming out prepared, not taking the Tigers lightly, and dominating from the start.
