TSU will practice indoors this year

Tennessee State University athletic director Teresa Phillips adds to the Tigers growing list of capital assets for improving the student-athletes quality of life in Division I, Ohio Valley Conference Sports -- a new Indoor Football Practice Facility with field turf. The Tigers home games are played at Nashville's LP Field, home to the NFL's Tennessee Titans and Tennessee State University football.

Tennessee State is ready to break ground for a new indoor football practice facility that Coach Rod Reed hopes will break new ground in recruiting. A groundbreaking ceremony is set to take place later this month for the $3.2 million facility that is to be completed this year, Athletics Director Teresa Phillips said. The date has not yet been set. The building will house an artificial surface practice field, meeting and film rooms, along with coaches offices.

It will be located at the west end of the Gentry Center parking lot and one of the first features Reed points out to prospects. "It's going to be a nice new structure and pleasing to the eye and definitely something you want recruits to see the minute they hit campus,'' Reed said. "Kids don't like practicing in cold or really hot weather. It absolutely is a recruiting tool because I don't know of any other OVC school that has an indoor practice facility." A construction notice-to-proceed was issued April 7 to Lee Adcock Construction Company, contractor for the facility.

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TSU's new offense will stress run before pass

TSU head coach Rod Reed.















Mike Jones etched his name in Tennessee State's record books catching the ball, but he plans to re-energize the Tigers' offense emphasizing the run. Jones, a Division I-AA All-American in 1981 and 1982 who holds many of the school's receiving records, returned to TSU as offensive coordinator when former defensive coordinator Rod Reed replaced James Webster as head coach in December. The Tigers begin spring practice today with a chief objective to improve the offense, which ranked 97th (274.6 yards) in the Football Championship Series and failed to score more than one touchdown in four games.

Jones, who had 200 catches at TSU and 165 in six NFL seasons, said he learned to appreciate a quality running game during his coaching career, which included nine years in NFL Europe, a year at Liberty University, a stop in the XFL and last year in the CFL (Toronto). "Go back over my history in coaching and you'll see I probably ran it more than I threw it,'' Jones said. "I had some coaches with me in NFLEurope who felt the run game was very important and when I played (in the NFL) at Minnesota and New Orleans they ran it quite a bit. I developed an appetite for it as well."

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Quarterback struggles at Tennessee State appeal to signee

Michael German followed new Tennessee State Coach Rod Reed's advice and did his "homework" when it came to studying the Tigers' offense. German, a quarterback at Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach, Fla., saw TSU was unable to find a quarterback who could consistently lead the offense in 2009 and it swayed his decision when it came time to sign. Reed called German (6-2, 210) the "shining star" of his first signing class, which included 20 prospects. German passed for 2,653 yards, 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions as a senior while leading his team to the third round of the Class 5A playoffs.

"The biggest role in my decision was the trouble they had at quarterback,'' German said. "That gives me more opportunity to come in and play as a freshman or as a sophomore." TSU finished eighth in the OVC in total offense (273.4 yards) and last in passing offense (123.6). When asked if he believes German can compete for playing time as a freshman with junior Calvin McNairl and senior Dominic Grooms, Reed said: "That's what we're hoping for."

Tigers Ink 20 Players in Early Hours of Signing Day

The Tennessee State University Tigers have inked twenty football signees in the first hours (as of 12 noon) of National Signing day.Coach Rod Reed’s first recruiting class include eleven defensive players and nine offensive players. Eight players hail from the state of Tennessee, six players from Florida, three players from Georgia, two from Alabama and one player from Delaware.Offensively, TSU signed four linemen, two quarterbacks, two wide receivers and one tight end.

TSU Tigers 2010 Football Signees

Name Pos. Ht. Wt. School
Ayobami Ayoola DB 5-10 170 N. Broward Prep (Fla.)
Stephen Brooks LB 6-0 230 Liberty Tech
Romario Cathey DL 6-3 300 Texas Tech
Chris Deloney WR 6-2 185 Howard
Francis Drummond QB 6-2 215 Red Lion (Del.)
Michael German QB 6-2 210 Blanche Ely (Fla.)
Stephen Godbolt DB 6-0 175 Dixie Co. (Fla.)
Jimmie Kitchen LB 6-2 265 Lithonia (Ga.)
Ishmael Lewis OL 6-2 260 Brentwood Acad.
DeMarco McNeal DB 6-2 180 Banneker (Ga.)
Anthony Morris DL 6-7 275 Cordova
Robert Myers OL 6-6 303 La Vergne
Lawrence Peterson DE 6-2 230 Melrose
Kenneth Pettiford DB 6-3 200 Whites Creek
Wilson Robinson LB 6-4 210 Spain Park (Ala.)
Brandon Rogers OL 6-4 300 Trinity (Fla.)
Wesley Samuels WR 6-4 205 Minor (Ala.)
Je-Marc Sears TE 6-3 235 New Smyrna (Fla.)
Derek Sibley OL 6-6 303 Stone Mountain (Ga.)
Bryce Wilson DB 6-0 190 Canterbury (Fla.)

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Tennessee State Selects New Football Coach

Coach Rod Reed's $160,000 salary is among the highest for FCS coaches in the state. Tennessee Tech Coach Watson Brown's salary for the 2008-09 fiscal year was $149,350, UT Martin Coach Jason Simpson's was $105,000 and Austin Peay Coach Rick Christophel's was $95,917, according to figures released by the Tennessee Board of Regents.

Rod Reed officially named head football coach at Tennessee State ...

Nashville, Tenn. - Tennessee State University president, Dr. Melvin N. Johnson, and athletics director Teresa Phillips, officially named Rod Reed head football coach. The announcement was made during a press conference (12/18) in the lobby of Kean Hall in front of family, friends, faculty, staff, alumni and former players. Reed, who served as associate head football coach in 2009, replaces James Webster who resigned on November 19, 2009. He will be the twenty-first head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers program, dating back to 1912.

Reed, 43, was a four-year letter winner at TSU (1984-88) and helped lead the Tigers to the second round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs in 1986. Reed, who played linebacker, capped off his career as a Sheridan All-American football player his senior season. Rod is the son of the late Robert Reed, who was the first All-American for the TSU legendary football head coach "Big John" Merritt.

This will be Reed's first assignment as head coach in which he brings 17 years of experience in the coaching ranks. In addition to his time at Tennessee State, he has held positions at East Texas Baptist College, Prairie View A&M, Bethune-Cookman University (formerly Bethune-Cookman College) and Seabreeze High School in Daytona Beach, Fla.

As a recruiter, Reed is responsible for bringing several notable players into the TSU program. Reed is noted for recruiting Javarris Williams (2009 seventh round draft pick, Kansas City Chiefs), Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (2008 first round pick, Arizona Cardinals), Shaun Richardson, Lamar Divens (Baltimore Ravens) and Cornelius Lewis.

Rod Reed replaces James Webster as football coach at Tennessee St.

Tennessee State University has named Rod Reed as its new football coach. Reed began as TSU's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2003, and served as top assistant to coach James Webster during the 2009 season. Webster resigned in November. Reed, 43, recruited Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, a first round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2008, to play for the Tigers.

TSU hopes new coach can revive tradition

The hiring of Rod Reed as Tennessee State's football coach Friday is one of several steps the administration hopes to take that will elevate the program to the prominence it once enjoyed. Reed, 43, a former TSU linebacker, has been on the staff since 2003 and served as defensive coordinator and associate head coach the past two seasons. He has been interim head coach since James Webster resigned after five seasons in November. "We've always had an interest in athletics," TSU president Melvin Johnson said. "You can't live on John A. Merritt Boulevard and work on John A. Merritt Boulevard without having an emphasis on athletics. But the hiring of Rod Reed, along with the other commitments we're making, is our attempt to rejuvenate the program."

TSU was a powerhouse under Merritt from 1963-83, but the Tigers haven't won a playoff game since 1986. Reed's salary will be $160,000, the same as Webster's, TSU Athletics Director Teresa Phillips said. He has not signed a contract, but Phillips said he would be given a five-year deal. Reed, who is TSU's all-time leading tackler (1985-1988), and Morehouse Coach Rich Freeman, another former TSU linebacker (1992-1995), were the only candidates who interviewed.

Watch Press Conference: Rod Reed introduced as TSU's head football coach
(Flash - Video)

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