ALABAMA STATE 38, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 31: Rickerson revs up Hornets for key win

Alabama State was slowly wearing down and the Hornets were in need of a big play. And early in the second half Jacques Rickerson delivered. The Hornets' defensive back had asked for the assignment of covering Arkansas-Pine Bluff receiver Raymond Webber and when quarterback Josh Boudreaux threw his first pass of the second half toward Webber, Rickerson was waiting.

"They started running crossing routes against the zone, so we came out in the second half and decided to 'man' up," Rickerson said. "I told Coach I wanted 86 (Webber) and he put me on him the rest of the game."

Rickerson's 17-yard interception return on the second play of the third quarter set up the Hornets' go-ahead touchdown and Alabama State went on to win 38-31 before 14,199 fans at Cramton Bowl on Saturday night.

Photo Gallery: ASU battles Arkansas Pine Bluff

ALABAMA STATE 34, MVSU 6: QB Dominguez, ASU's offense shine

Alabama State put its confidence in Devin Dominguez by naming the junior as the starting quarterback earlier this week. Dominguez validated that decision Saturday night, passing for 261 yards and three touchdowns to lead ASU to a 34-6 win over Mississippi Valley State.

"I'm not going to lie, I felt a little jittery when I was thinking about it before the game," Dominguez said. "But once you get on the field, it's football. The game takes over and you just have fun."

ASU coach Reggie Barlow gave his new quarterback high marks on his first start. As with any first start, there is room for improvement, but the Hornets liked what they saw. "Devin has a lot of talent," Barlow said. "He's calm and he made some good decisions and some good throws. He's got a couple of things to clear up with tempo and the clock, but all in all, he did well."

PHOTO GALLERIES ASU plays Miss Valley

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ASU Defense Dominates Early; Offense Scores Late in Scrimmage

MONTGOMERY, AL —Alabama State University held its final scrimmage of the preseason, and like last week, the defense dominated early with the offense scoring late. During the 65-play scrimmage, the defense only allowed 282 total yards with 153 of those yards coming on the final four possessions of the scrimmage.

There were 13 drives in all, and the defense forced six three downs-and-out possessions, while also turning the ball over on downs and stopping one early drive with an interception. Three of the drives were stopped with minus yardage in the drive.

The offense finally put together a seven-play 59 yard drive on the fifth possession...

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ASU sanction-free and hoping for improvement

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Alabama State coach Reggie Barlow doesn't have to manufacture ways to motivate his players this season. The Hornets are eligible to compete for a Southwestern Athletic Conference championship after a one-year NCAA postseason ban for violations under a previous regime. Now, they at least have a chance to get in the SWAC mix.

"As a head coach, I had to try and motivate these guys that, 'Regardless of if we can't go to the SWAC championship, we can crown ourselves. Let's just win the games,'" Barlow said. "But in the back of their heads, I imagine it was, 'We can't win it.' "That will change the motivation for our guys." But will it change the results?

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ASU Hornets find positives from first scrimmage

Alabama State coach Reggie Barlow stood near midfield, challenging his players to keep up their intensity in sprints as the Hornets' first scrimmage drew to a close.

There were positives he saw in the offense's performance, hard licks passed by the defense and surprisingly few errors on Saturday morning at Hornet Stadium. But as he urged his players on, the one negative that stayed at the forefront of his mind was his players' conditioning. To win the game, he told them, they had to win the fourth quarter. To win the fourth quarter, he added, they had to be in shape.

"We need to get in shape," Barlow said. "The offensive line was a bit lethargic. They have the talent but they're not in very good shape. They're going to have to do some extra running."

Overall, though, he had to be pleased with the effort. The offense wasn't as explosive as he had hoped, but it was productive. And that was without star receiver Nick Andrews, who made an exciting 35-yard catch and run on the scrimmage's first play, then sat out most of the remaining 60 plays.



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Alabama State offense finally shows consistency

ASU junior Devin Dominquez is in a quarterback battle among true freshman Demetric Price and redshirt freshman Rashard Burkette.

Alabama State University's offense has looked good at times this fall, but has not shown enough consistency. In Wednesday's practice sessions, the offense showed the consistency it had lacked in earlier practices. The offense did not turn the ball over during the full 11-on-11 session and scored on each possession. Quarterbacks Devin Dominguez, Rashard Burkette and Demetric Price all threw touchdown passes.

"Part of being the head coach is saying, 'Hey, the offense looked good today,'" head coach Reggie Barlow said. "But then you have to turn around and say the defense really did not do well during the scrimmage. "It was good to see the offense score down inside the red zone on those five consecutive possessions. It is something we have worked on. I was also disappointed the defense was unable to make the right corrections and stop the offense."

The defense may have had a bad practice, but overall Barlow has been pleased with what he has seen along the defensive front.

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ASU's offense finds big plays in Black and Gold Game

ASU Hornets quarterback Anthoy Spleite (5th year senior) had a fumble in the red zone and interception for touchdown in the Black and Gold game. The Hornets 2010 season opener is on Sept. 4 against Mississippi Valley State at the Cramton Bowl.

Alabama State didn't show a lot of offensive firepower last season, forcing Hornet coach Reggie Barlow to bring in Melvin Spears to run the offense this season. The Hornets, determined to stretch the field with its passing attack, used big plays on Saturday in its annual Black and Gold Game at Hornet Stadium in a spring game pitting the offense against the defense.

The format meant there was no official score kept, but the offense scored on six of its 13 possessions, including a pair of Andrew Lyons' field goals and four touchdown receptions, three by Nick Andrews and another by Kyrea Rozier. The defense stopped two possessions after three plays and five more with turnovers, using interceptions by Kejuan Riley, Jacques Rickerson and Donovan Masline and fumble recoveries by Masline and Corey Schofield. Barlow split the offense's work between two quarterbacks, with redshirt freshman Rashard Burkette directing six possessions and fifth-year senior Anthony Speight at the helm of seven possesions.

Photo Gallery: ASU A-Day game

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ASU Black & Gold game set for Saturday‎

QB Devin Dominguez

The Alabama State University football team will hold its Black & Gold game at 3 p.m. Saturday at Hornet Stadium. The annual game, which concludes the spring practice session for the ASU football program, caps off a full slate of activities at Alabama State. The day begins with ASU's 16th annual President's Golf Classic, a fundraising event that tees off at 8 a.m. on the Senator Course of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Prattville. HornetFest, which includes free food and a variety of family activities, will be held from noon to 2 p.m. at Hornet Stadium, to be followed by an ASU Alumni flag football game. In addition, the ASU baseball team hosts Savannah State at 1 p.m. at Paterson Field. We are thrilled to be a part of such an exciting weekend at Alabama State," ASU head football coach Reggie Barlow said. "Hornet fans will have a lot of events to enjoy... . It looks like it will be a fun-filled Saturday for all ASU supporters."

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Alabama State: The revolving door

Barlow has ushered assistants in and out of program at alarming rate

In the days immediately following Alabama State football coach football Reggie Barlow’s selection as interim head coach, two coaches – Darryl Williams and George Copeland – left for other jobs. Since the interim label was removed from his title in May 2007, 16 other coaches have come in and then followed them out the door. Barlow’s fired 10 of them. On the field, the Hornets’ play has reflected the inner turmoil.

ASU hasn’t recorded a winning season since Barlow took over – going 5-6, 3-8 and 4-7 the last three seasons. In the SWAC, where the Hornets were consistent contenders for the first half of the decade, they’ve gone just 7-16. Fans have started to notice.

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Alabama State Signs a Solid 25 for Depth, Size and Speed

MONTGOMERY, AL. – The Alabama State University football program signed 25 players Wednesday to national letters-of-intent to play for the Hornets this fall. "This is always an exciting time of year," said ASU head coach Reggie Barlow. "We feel like we've signed a very solid class of players that will not only provide us depth but also produce some impact performers for our program. With this class, we were focused on adding some depth on both the offensive and defensive lines and we feel like we accomplished that goal. We also were looking to bring in some size at wide receiver and we did that too. Overall, I feel like the staff did a great job of finding players to fit our schemes and our needs."

The incoming 2010 class features 14 players on the offense and nine defensive players. In addition, all but one of the players in this year's class comes from the high school ranks. James McIver joins the Hornets after playing at the College of the Sequoias. ASU signed five wide receivers including a pair of players listed at 6-3 or taller. With the loss of three starting offensive linemen from the 2009 roster, the Hornets were also able to reload along the frontline signing five prospects in this class including four players listed at 300 pounds or more.

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ASU Hornets 2010 National Signing Day Class

1. Derrick Billups DT 6-2 310 Carrollton, Ala.
2. Jaron Bush DL 6-1 300 Mobile, Ala.
3. Andrew Dougherty WR 6-1 185 Blue Springs, Mo.
4. Cornelius Fenderson WR 6-3 175 Prattville, Ala.
5. Charston Gandy RB 6-2 195 Bay Minette, Ala.
6. Chris Gilzeane LB 6-0 230 Stone Mountain, Ga.
7. Chad Griffin TE 6-2 250 New Orleans, La.
8. Carlton Jones DE 6-3 230 Shreveport, La.
9. Julius Jones WR 6-4 190 Athens, Ala.
10. Charlie Long DE 6-0 230 Millbrook, Ala.
11. Jordan McFadden WR/PR 5-8 160 Gainesville, Fla.
12. James McIver OL 6-5 320 Atlanta, Ga.
13. Quendarius McKibbons RB 5-10 195 Jackson, Ga.
14. Trei Mitchell OL 6-3 300 Baton Rouge, La.
15. London Pitts IV CB 5-9 165 Montgomery, Ala.
16. Kenneth Preston OL 6-4 300 Villa Rica, Ga.
17. Demetric Price QB 6-3 195 Birmingham, Ala.
18. Jamarius Ragland LB 5-10 210 Englewood, Tenn.
19.Dominique Roberts WR 6-1 200 Ormond Beach, Fla.
20. Khalid Smith DB 6-0 185 Jacksonville, Fla.
21. Terrence Swift OL 6-5 315 Birmingham, Ala.
22. Kyle Tippins RB 6-1 200 Conyers, Ga.
23. Marcel Walden OL 6-3 290 Alcoa, Tenn.
24. Doral Willis DT 6-0 295 Pahokee, Fla.
25. Deion Woods QB 6-0 215 Memphis, Tenn.

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Alabama State Hornet's Barlow shakes up staff

Alabama State football coach Reggie Barlow has again made significant changes to his coaching staff, including replacing both coordinators. Former Grambling State head coach Melvin Spears has been hired as the Hornets' new offensive coordinator. Cedric Thornton, who served as ASU's linebackers coach last season, has been promoted to defensive coordinator. Barlow confirmed the hiring of Spears, who will be ASU's fourth offensive coordinator during Barlow's three-year tenure, but said he wasn't prepared to discuss other staff changes.



















ASU Hornets head football coach Reggie Barlow.

Jo Nixon, who told the Montgomery Advertiser that he recently resigned as ASU's defensive coordinator to become the defensive ends coach and special teams coordinator at Texas Southern, said Thornton had been promoted to coordinator before his departure. Thornton becomes ASU's third defensive coordinator under Barlow. Nixon also confirmed that offensive line coach Kenneth Ray has been terminated. "I am very excited to have Melvin Spears joining our coaching staff," Barlow said in a statement released by ASU's sports information department. "He is an outstanding coach and will be a big asset to our program."

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ASU Hornets hit the jackpot

Alabama State head coach Reggie Barlow figured some­thing must be wrong with George Washington Carver High School running back An­drew Pitts. In his prep career, Pitts had more than 2,600 yards and 36 touchdowns. He looked good on film. His grades were in order.But Pitts was getting very little interest from Division I colleges. So, Barlow put in a call to an old NFL buddy who was coach­ing at the University of Miami and asked what he thought of Pitts.

"The guy said, 'If we didn't have our backs already, we'd of­fer him,' " Barlow said. "That's exactly the way we felt. I'll tell you this -- I think he's going to make a lot of people regret not offering him. We're absolutely ecstatic to have him." Pitts was one of the stand­outs in a 27-player class signed by ASU on Wednesday. The group included 11 in-state players, seven tri-county standouts and four Carver stars. Joining Pitts from a Wolverines squad that finished a game short of the Class 5A finals are Terre­nce Walters, Edmond Davis and Therell Tyus.

"It means a lot to go over there with a group of guys who I've played with since we were little kids," Pitts said following a signing ceremony at Carver. "We're all very excited about going to ASU. We know about their crowd support here in the city. My mom and dad can come and see me play every game. That means a lot. It's a good fit for me." The ASU staff believes the rest of this year's class will fit nicely into the holes left by 23 seniors. The Hornets addressed immediate needs at linebacker and wide receiver and added several sought-after players.

ASU SIGNEES

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Alabma State University Stingettes

ASU 2009 Football Class

LB Demarques Taylor, 5-11, 220, Jack­sonville, Fla., Andrew Jackson HS ILB Joshua Abbott, 5-10, 220, Tifton, Ga., Tift County HS
MLB Avery Smith, 6-0, 215, Troup, Ga., Troup County HS
SS Marcus Solomon, 5-11, 193, Valdos­ta, Ga., Lowndes County HS
DE Lawrence Henderson, 6-5, 225, Jacksonville, Fla., Raines HS
LB Justin Marable, 5-10, 220, Lithonia, Ga., Lithonia Springs HS
DT Robert Harvey, 6-0, 280, Miami, American HS
OT Adam Calhoun, 6-8, 330, Newman, Ga., Newnan HS
FS Michael Green, 6-1, 185, Camden, Ga., Camden County HS
OT Jermaine Ridgeway, 6-5, 275, Adamsville, Minor HS
TE Najee Leftwich, 6-2, 220, Griffin, Ga., Spalding HS
DE Le'Andre Crawford, 6-3, 220, Troup, Ga., Troup HS
C Jaquan Bentley, 6-2, 285, Pahokee, Fla., Pahokee HS
OT Terren Jones, 6-7, 320, Fort Walton Beach, Fla., Choctaw HS
OL Terrence Walters, 6-3, 270, Mont­gomery, Carver HS
C Edmond Davis, 6-1, 270, Montgom­ery, Carver HS
WR Therell Tyus, 5-9, 170, Montgom­ery, Carver HS
WR Landon Jones, 6-3, 180, Wetump­ka, Wetumpka HS
WR Raphael Poellenitz, 6-0, 177, Mur­phy, Murphy HS
RB Andrew Pitts, 5-10, 205, Montgom­ery, Carver HS
LB Leland Baker, 6-0, 200, Birming­ham, E.B. Erwin HS
ILB Maurice Tate, 6-1, 225, Linden, Linden HS
WR Demorius Beasley, 6-0, 175, Deca­tur, Decatur HS
DB Carlos Seawright, 5-11, 175, Bir­mingham, Huffman HS
Kejuan Riley,, 6-2, 185, Wetumpka, Wetumpka HS
WR Charles Payne, 5-11, 181, Mont­gomery, Sidney Lanier HS
DE Gary London Jr., 6-5, 260, Baton Rouge, La., Southern Lab HS

Alabama State University Stingettes






















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Alabama State Hornets cater to new football philosophy

Somewhere near the end of the 2008 season, Alabama State head coach Reggie Barlow came to a decision. Win or lose, Bar­low decided he was going to run the ASU program the way he felt was best. He had a specific offensive system he liked, and he was will­ing to fire his second coordina­tor in two seasons in order to find a guy who shared his be­liefs. He also had a specific de­fensive plan he felt would work best, and he was willing to fire a popular and successful defen­sive coordinator in order to run it.

Last Wednesday, Barlow and his staff signed a class that re­flected those new philosophies. And in terms of filling needs, it was a successful signing day. ASU welcomed in 28 players, almost all of which addressed a hole created by a graduating senior or a change in philoso­phy. Offensively, for example, Barlow's game plan is to create a hybrid-style offense that uses el­ements of the spread offense's short passes and the pro forma­tion's power rushing attack.

As the Hornets learned last season, when they employed the spread, quick, agile receivers are a must. Without them, the short passes in the spread are just short passes. In one game, ASU completed 23 pass attempts for only 136 yards. To address that issue, the Hornets signed six receivers in this year's class. All of them have good speed and four of the six were signed specifically be­cause of their ability to run after the catch.

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FOOTBALL RECRUITING: ASU attempts to put minds at ease about probation

Few people know more about NCAA rules than Alabama State head coach Reggie Barlow. And, oh, how he wishes he knew much less. During his two years as Hornets head coach, Barlow has picked up a career's worth of compliance and enforcement knowledge, as he's guided the football program through the longest NCAA investigation in history. While neither he nor any of his coaches or players were di­rectly involved in any rules vio­lations, Barlow was still forced to get neck deep in the process in order to quell any costly miscon­ceptions that could damage the program.

Last spring, when the NCAA issued a notice of infractions that accused the school of hun­dreds of violations, Barlow acti­vely sought out media inter­views in an attempt to explain the violations had occurred un­der a previous staff and more thanfour years earlier. Since December, when the NCAA issued its final ruling that left the program on five years probation and facing a postseason ban, Barlow has been back on a mini-lecture tour. This time though, he's doing most of his explaining in the living rooms of coveted re­cruits.

"We've been forced to put out a bunch of fires," Barlow said. "You would like to think that other (coaching staffs) wouldn't use bad information, but it's ob­viously happening. We've got a lot of questions from kids and their parents. That's perfectly fine, we expected that. But some of the questions, you know someone has been filling their heads with (bad information)."

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Alabama State penalized for NCAA violations

The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions has penalized Alabama State University for major and secondary violations in its athletics programs, primarily in football.

The case involves a lack of institutional control and a failure to monitor by the former head coach. The violations included academic fraud (considered by the committee to be among the most serious violations of NCAA rules), recruiting violations, extra benefits, and ineligible participation and financial aid.

“A revolving door of administrators at the institution, including within the department of athletics, was a prime factor in the institution’s inability to establish a viable compliance program, which ultimately resulted in the institution’s failure to exercise institutional control,” the committee stated in its report.

Penalties for the violations, including those self-imposed by the university, include five years of probation; a ban on postseason football in 2009; a reduction in recruiting activities; athletics scholarship reductions; vacation of records; a compliance program review; and a two-year show-cause order for the former head coach.

This show-cause penalty is specifically intended to increase monitoring of the former head coach and enhance his rules education.

During the 1999-00 to 2004-05 academic years, university staff members arranged for fraudulent academic credits for eight football student-athletes when their original letter grades were changed without approval from the appropriate university administrators. Six of these student-athletes avoided ineligibility status due to the grade changes.

During the 1999-00 to 2002-03 academic years, numerous football, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball student-athletes were allowed to practice, compete and receive athletics scholarships while ineligible. The committee found the university failed to employ an adequate and consistent procedure for certifying and monitoring the eligibility of student-athletes, which resulted in the violations.

Additionally, seven football student-athletes and six prospective football student-athletes received impermissible inducements and extra benefits in the form of lodging, utilities or meals at no cost from the summer of 2000 to the end of the 2001-02 academic year.

As early as 1998, the committee has warned repeatedly of the elevated risk of violations when prospective student-athletes are on campus before their first full-time enrollment. The committee has stated that institutions have an increased responsibility to be vigilant in tracking these prospective student-athletes to assure compliance with NCAA rules.

During the 1999-00 to 2001-02 academic years, though, two prospective football student-athletes and several ineligible football student-athletes participated in impermissible out-of-season workouts conducted by the former strength and conditioning coach. The former strength coach, along with the football coaching staff, also conducted winter conditioning activities.

Based on the violations in this case, the committee found the university exhibited a lack of institutional control over its football program. The committee noted a general lack of compliance education and monitoring institution-wide.

In particular, the committee stated that the university created an environment that facilitated violations of NCAA rules across several university departments and offices, including housing and residential life, financial aid and as athletics. The committee found that the former head coach failed to monitor his and his staff’s activities for NCAA rules compliance and failed to maintain an atmosphere of compliance among his staff and within the football program. The committee noted that a head coach has “an affirmative obligation to create an environment of compliance where coaches understand their obligation to avoid rules violations and to timely report any violations that occur.”

The penalties, some of which were self-imposed by the institution and adopted by the committee, are as follows:

• Public reprimand and censure.

• Five years of probation (December 10, 2008, to December 9, 2013).

• Two-year show-cause order for the former head coach (December 10, 2008, to December 9, 2010).

• No postseason competition for the 2009 football season.

• Reduction of official paid visits in football during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 academic years from 56 to 46. (Self-imposed by the institution.)

• Withheld all football coaches from engaging in recruiting activities for two weeks in December during December 1-14, 2003. (Self-imposed by the institution.)

• Reduction in football scholarships to 58.74 during the 2004-05 academic year and 54.11 during the 2005-06 academic year from the limit of 63. (Self-imposed by the institution.)

• Limit the total number of student-athletes who can receive partial scholarships, known as “counters,” in the football program during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 academic years. The number was reduced to 80 from the limit of 85. (Self-imposed by the institution.)

• Limit the total number of football student-athletes receiving partial scholarships in the football program for the first time, known as “initial counters,” during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 academic years. This number was reduced to no more than 20 from the limit of 30. (Self-imposed by the institution.)

• Due to competition by ineligible student-athletes, the university forfeited all regular-season football contests in the 2000 and 2001 seasons. The university also forfeited the 2001 Southwestern Athletic Conference championship. (Self-imposed by the institution and adopted as a vacation by the committee.)

• The university shall vacate all football contests won by the university in 2000 and 2001, including the conference championship. The individual records of the ineligible student-athletes should be vacated as well. Further, the record of the former head coach will be reconfigured to reflect the vacated wins and recorded in all publications in which football records for the affected seasons are reported, including media guides, recruiting material, electronic media and institutional and NCAA archives. Any public reference to these vacated contests should be removed from the athletics department stationary, banners displayed in public areas and any other forum in which they may appear.

• The university must initiate a review of its athletics compliance program by a competent, external agency as soon as one can be scheduled.

The members of the Committee on Infractions who reviewed this case are Josephine (Jo) R. Potuto, the Richard H. Larson Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Nebraska College of Law and chair of the committee at the time the Alabama State case was heard; Eileen Jennings, general counsel at Central Michigan University; Alfred Lechner Jr., attorney; Dennis Thomas, the commissioner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and formerly director of athletics at Hampton University; Jack Friedenthal, professor at George Washington University National Law Center; Bonnie Slatton, professor of physical education and sport science, University of Iowa; and Thomas Yeager, commissioner of the Colonial Athletic Association.

ASU's Barlow fires defensive coordinator

Alabama State's Coach Reggie Barlow appears to be clueless in Montgomery! What's next--fire the waterboy?




Alabama State head coach Reggie Barlow is now looking for two coordinators. Sunday morning, Barlow notified defensive coordinator Tony Pierce that his year-to-year contract at the school wouldn't be renewed. Barlow also fired linebackers coach and assistant head coach Brian Williams.

"There is no tension or bad feelings -- this is just the business side of this," said Pierce, who has served as ASU's defensive coordinator since 2003. "He called me in and told me he wanted to go in a different direction. I said, 'God bless you and good luck.' I appreciate everything ASU has done for me and my family. And I appreciate Reggie for allowing me to hang around another two years after he was hired. He wants to go in a different direction now and that's his right as a head coach."

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ASU freshman moves to corner

When redshirt freshman John Andrews first stepped foot on the Alabama State campus, he was ready to flourish as a quarterback. However, certain limitations kept him from staying as a Hornet signal-caller, and now one year later, he is on his third position -- cornerback. Head coach Reggie Barlow made the decision earlier this week to move Andrews.

"John is blessed with athletic ability," said Barlow. "Maybe we can get something out of him at another position. He just wasn't ready to contribute as a receiver." The presence of Keon Humphries and Robert Childers helped contribute to the decision. However, Andrews could be called upon on offense in a pinch this week as neither Humphries or Childers could be ready for action.

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ASU Hornets beat the rain to conduct short scrimmage

Alabama State head coach Reggie Barlow said he didn't want much out of the Hornets' third and final scrimmage, just 30 to 35 plays or so. He got far less than that, and happily took it. ASU managed to beat the rain Saturday morning, getting in about an hour of work before bad weather put a halt to things.

"We were just happy to get it in," Barlow said. "The defense ran this one. They were a little more ready to play. We came out on offense and had a good first drive. Moved right down and scored. Then, we didn't do much offensively the rest of the way."

Sophomore quarterback Anthony Speight led the Hornets on the first scoring drive, and Barlow praised Speight's play. "It was a good day for him, particularly early," he said. "He made some nice throws and had good control of the offense, it looked like." Speight is locked in a battle with junior Reid Herchenbach for the starting spot. Barlow said last week that ASU will alternate QBs during the season opener at Florida A&M on Saturday to give each player a final shot to win the position.

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Barlow to employ ASU QB platoon for starters

A couple of weeks ago, Alabama State head coach Reggie Barlow made it perfectly clear he wanted one starting quarterback running his offense. Thursday, he made it perfectly clear that he can't decide between the top two candidates for that position. So, he's going to do what he promised he wouldn't do. ASU will use the quarterback platoon when it opens the 2008 season at Florida A&M next Saturday.

Junior Reid Herchenbach will start the game and play the first and third quarters. Sophomore Anthony Speight will take over in the second and fourth quarters. "It's not ideal and it's not what I want," Barlow said. "But I think it's the only fair things for these two guys (Herchenbach and Speight). We told them both when they came here that they would each have an equal shot at winning the job, and to this point, neither one has outplayed the other."

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ASU QB race is still tight

Junior linebacker John Hogan, an all-SWAC player as a freshman, has been kicked off the team

A little over a week ago, Alabama State head coach Reggie Barlow said he wanted to name a starting quarterback at least two weeks before the Hornets' first game at Florida A&M. Saturday was Barlow's self-imposed deadline. He's going to blow it. Following a solid week of practices from both Anthony Speight and Reid Herchenbach, Barlow said the race was still too close to call, and he gave himself a few extra days to come to a decision.

"Hopefully, this week we can get the guy," he said. "What I was really hoping for is for one of those guys to step up and just blow it away, make himself the clear choice. That hasn't happened. They've both played well -- really well. It's been a tight, competitive race." If a little flash is what Barlow was looking for, Herchenbach obliged on Saturday.

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