Coach Willie Jeffries Scheduled for Nov. 6 On-Campus Salute at South Carolina State

DALLAS, Texas – South Carolina State and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today that they will jointly honor Coach Willie Jeffries with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute Nov. 6 as the Bulldogs host Howard University in Orangeburg. Kickoff is 1:30 p.m.

“Coach Jeffries is truly admired by so many,” said South Carolina State director of athletics Charlene Johnson, “Not just for his achievements as head football coach at S.C. State but also for his humanitarian contributions to this community, this state and society. He has mentored many young men and used football and his great personal skills to bring about better community relations in Orangeburg, the Palmetto State and beyond. We are proud of the latest honor bestowed upon him.”

On July 17, the NFF inducted Coach Jeffries into the College Football Hall of Fame as a member of the 2010 divisional enshrinement class in South Bend, Ind. The first African-American to be hired as a head coach at a Division-I school (Wichita State), Willie Jeffries also coached at South Carolina State and Howard. He finished his career as the winningest coach in South Carolina State and MEAC history. He compiled an overall 179-132-6 record during his career, which started in 1973 and ended 2001.

"This is an honor for me, my former players, South Carolina State and all the schools I've coached." Jeffries told The State newspaper at the time of the announcement of his induction. "This is about the top one a coach can receive.”

Throughout the season, each College Football Hall of Fame inductee returns to his school for the special on-field event, where a commemorative plaque is presented to the university for permanent display. Beginning with the NFF’s inaugural Hall of Fame class in 1951, the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute has served as the first of numerous highlights in the hall of fame experience, giving each inductee one more chance to take the field.

“Coach Jeffries is a pioneer in every sense of the word. He opened doors for future generations, and he mentored countless young players who have gone on to be great leaders later in life,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “It is fitting that his contributions are forever preserved in the College Football Hall of Fame, and we look forward to celebrating with the Bulldog faithful in Orangeburg on Nov. 6.”

A three-time Black National Championship winner, Jeffries is credited with inventing the “Freeze Option” offense and is the only person in history to coach against College Football Hall of Famers Paul “Bear” Bryant and Eddie Robinson. Jeffries won the MEAC conference title seven times, six with SCSU and one with Howard. He has also coached College Football Hall of Famers Harry Carson and Donnie Shell.

Named coach of the year on eight different occasions, he was given the lifetime achievement award by the Black Coaches Association in 2002. An inductee of the MEAC Hall of Fame, SCSU Athletic Hall of Fame and the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame, Jeffries was awarded the Order of the Palmetto in 1998, South Carolina’s top civilian honor, and received the Order of the Silver Crescent in 2001, the state’s highest accolade for outstanding community service. Jeffries, earlier this year, was named head coach emeritus at South Carolina State and serves as a liaison between the university, its alumni and other constituents. He currently resides in Elloree, S.C.

Jeffries becomes the third individual inducted into the Hall of Fame from South Carolina State, along with his players Carson who was inducted in 2002 and Shell, a 1998 inductee. He joins Coach Doug Porter (2008) as the only inductees from Howard, and Coach Marcelino Huerta (2002) and Jim Bausch (1954) as the only inductees from Wichita State. For a complete list of players and coaches in the hall, please visit www.collegefootball.org/

Courtesy of The National Football Foundation

South Carolina State 34, Grambling State 31

Coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough had South Carolina State Bulldogs in mid-season form against a great Grambling State Tigers program.

Bulldogs take measure of Grambling, 34-31, in MEAC/SWAC Challenge

There was already some sense of foreboding going through South Carolina State head football coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough entering Sunday’s MEAC/SWAC Challenge against Grambling. “I got scared when I got out of my car in Orlando on Friday afternoon when we got here because it was smoking,” he said. “It had been cool at home the last week, so we really hadn’t had any real hot weather for a while. So I knew that we might be in a little bit of trouble with the elements and when we came over here today, it was really hot when we walked on the field.”

Pough’s concerns became more legitimate as Bulldog players like quarterback Malcolm Long missed most of the second half due to heat cramps. On the same day he surpassed DeShawn Baker for second place on the school’s career rushing list, Walter Payton Award finalist William Ford saw limited action after injuring his left shoulder on the first play of the second half. Despite those adversities, the 16th-ranked Bulldogs still managed to hold off 25th-ranked Grambling 34-31 in a matchup of the top two teams in black college football. Backup redshirt freshman quarterback Derrick Wiley accounted for 118 total yards and one touchdown, all in the second half in relief of Long, to earn ESPN and “Challenge” Player of the Game honors.

Semaj Moody nabs win for SC State at MEAC/SWAC Challenge

Two weeks ago, catching passes was Semaj Moody's job on the football field. "Why'd Semaj move to DB?" South Carolina State Coach Buddy Pough asked, chuckling. "Because he couldn't catch."
Turns out he could, and when it most counted, too. Moody, who said he played cornerback for the first time in his collegiate career on Sunday, made a game-winning interception with fewer than 90 seconds remaining in the MEAC/SWAC challenge. He picked off Grambling State quarterback Greg Dillon at South Carolina State's 10-yard line, allowing the Bulldogs to run out the clock and keep a three-point lead. "That was Coach, good call," Moody said after the game. "All defensive line, DBs, everybody was just where they were supposed to be. I ran at the QB. ... It was a play that needed to be made and I made it."The interception ended the Tigers' comeback bid. The Bulldogs won the opener 34-31 before 21,367 at the Citrus Bowl.

SC State prevails in Black College showdown

South Carolina State used a national stage to show that it is one of the best teams in Black College football - if not the best. The Bulldogs continued the MEAC’s dominance in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge Sunday by holding off Grambling State 34-31 in a nationally-televised game from the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. Malcolm Long passed for two touchdowns and Travil Jamison rushed for two more to lead South Carolina State (1-0) to the MEAC’s fourth win in the five-year history of the Challenge.

Legendary Coach Willie Jeffries, S.C. State University Bulldogs

Sunday Conversation with Willie Jeffries

When Willie Jeffries watches the MEAC/SWAC Challenge between South Carolina State and Grambling, he’ll have a rooting interest for both programs. Much like the late Eddie Robinson is synonymous with Grambling, Jeffries is seen as the face of the Bulldogs eight years after his retirement. He also served eight months in 2005 as the Tigers’ athletic director.

These days, Jeffries remains a man on the go from speaking engagements, to contributing to charitable causes. In an interview with T&D Senior Sports Writer Thomas Grant Jr., Jeffries talks about his post-retirement, S.C. State football and Coach Rob:

Q. In the eight years since coaching your last game at South Carolina State, you’ve been one of the hardest-working men in retirement. What is a typical day like for you?

Path to sports glory isn't always on the field

After a solid run playing linebacker at Duke University, where he lettered in his final season, Robert Vowels anticipated joining the helmeted warriors who knocked heads for big bucks on Sundays. Being cut by a pro-football team took the starch out that plan. Nevertheless, he got up, dusted himself off and made the transition from star player to studious pupil. He earned his law degree and, over time, parlayed his education into a series of upwardly mobile executive positions within college sports.

As he told the 350 or so juniors and seniors who attended the ESPN 101 Career Panel this week, reality may have cut short his on-field dreams, but having a Plan B kept him in the game. "Once you get punched in the face the first time, you have to make some choices," said Vowels, vice president for educational affairs for the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

It was a pin-drop moment in a session replete with such moments at the Walt Disney World branch of Boys & Girls Club in Pine Hills. When Vowels spoke, the crowd — consisting largely of hoopsters, footballers, and Stuart Scott wannabes from Evans, Jones, and Oak Ridge high schools in Orlando — listened intently. The session, among the activities orbiting the Disney-sponsored MEAC/SWAC Challenge football game, which pits two historically black colleges, was meant to familiarize sports-minded students with other pursuits.

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SCSU players say happy early birthday to Willie Jeffries this weekend

SANTEE - By sheer coincidence, Willie Jeffries shares the same January 6 birthdate with another coaching legend, Lou Holtz. Over the next two days, however, the South Carolina State coaching great will celebrate his “birthday” six months in advance. Along with former players, close friends and his wife, Mary, Jeffries will be feted as part of a birthday party weekend taking place at Santee Resort.

Following brunch and a round of golf Saturday morning, the celebration kicks off at 3 p.m. where Jeffries will get roasted by his former players, including Greg Holden and team captains from the two periods he coached at SCSU (1973-78; 1989-2001), and receive special recognition. For event co-organizer John Alford, who played on the 1976 Bulldog team which won the Black College National Championship, Jeffries remains more than just a head coach.

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