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Senior leadership of QB Malcolm Long and a huge offensive line should make this a memorable game for SCSU.
ATLANTA - It's been just under 20 years since The Citadel upset the University of South Carolina in Columbia.
Lost in the excitement of Appalachian State's shocking win over Michigan in 2007 were victories by Northern Iowa over Iowa State, North Dakota State over both Central Michigan and Minnesota, Nicholls State over Rice, Southern Illinois over Northern Illinois and New Hampshire over Marshall.
A year later, New Hampshire did it again with a win over Army. And last year, Colonial Athletic Association teams Richmond, William and Mary and eventual Football Championship Subdivision national champion Villanova accomplished similar feats against Duke, Virginia and Temple, respectively.
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Toe meets leather this Saturday at one o'clock in Boddy Dodd Stadium as the 2010 edition of the Yellow Jackets defend their ACC title in Paul Johnson's third campaign as head coach at Tech. The Jackets play host to the South Carolina State Bulldogs, a team coming off their own conference championship and an impressive 10-2 season that ended with an FCS playoff loss at Appalachian State.
This will be the first time Tech has ever played an historically black college or university, either home or away, and while an FCS team, South Carolina State features several key players with significant ability & experience. Although the Bulldogs lose fourteen starters off last year's squad, they return an all-conference quarterback and their entire offensive line along with four quality linebackers, one an All-American. A closer look at South Carolina State:
Offense: Coach Buddy Pough runs a spread offense similar to what Urban Meyer runs at Florida. Pough's key offensive weapon is quarterback Malcolm Long, the 2009 MEAC offensive player of the year and a 2010 Payton Award (best FCS player) watch list member. A hulking QB at 6'3" and 260 pounds, Long stylistically will remind Jacket fans of a young Daunte Culpepper with his size and ability to both run when necessary and throw the ball accurately. Long's first choice will be to throw, mind you, but he can run the ball effectively when called upon.
What looked like a full-speed effort toward holding the Legacy Bowl has apparently slowed down for now.
On Monday, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Commissioner Dennis Thomas said the conference's executive council is still involved in the vetting process on the viability of the joint venture with the Southwestern Athletic Conference. It now appears a final vote on whether to participate in the ESPN-sponsored postseason football game will not take place in the fall as Thomas previously indicated, but instead will be pushed to as late as March 2011.
The news comes six days after a teleconference with council members and a week after Thomas sent a response letter to ....
South Carolina State coach Buddy Pough and his football team have been in this situation before, looked upon as lambs about to be led in for slaughter. The Bulldogs, however, do not look the part. Georgia Tech’s season-opening opponent may be a Football Championship Series program, but the Bulldogs have a chip on their collective shoulders. Those are big, veteran shoulders.
Senior quarterback Malcolm Long is 6 feet 1 and weighs 262 pounds. His offensive line goes 310, 330, 280, 290 and 310. Just as importantly, that line includes two fifth-year seniors, a senior and two fourth-year juniors. The Bulldogs have won 19 straight conference games and back-to-back titles in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, were named black college champions last season and again rest atop that poll. They have big plans for Saturday in Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Most college coaches would consider this a rebuilding year. South Carolina State starts this season minus its all-time leading rusher and four other star players who have moved on to professional football. But head coach Buddy Pough isn't most coaches, and South Carolina State isn't most college football programs.
While there are still plenty of questions left to be answered by the two-time defending Mid-Eastern American Conference champions, Pough thinks like this might be the most talented bunch he's had since returning to his alma mater eight years ago.
Gone from last year's 10-2 team is running back Will Ford, who finished his career as the leading rusher at S.C. State and in the MEAC.
South Carolina State football coach Buddy Pough might have to get in touch with former Los Angeles Lakers coach Pat Riley. In 1989, Riley had the term "three-peat" trademarked and as a result gets a percentage of the royalties from any merchandise sold with the slogan on it. The Bulldogs, who notched their second straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football title last season, can nab their own version of the "three-peat" this fall.
"Hey, I might have to have a conversation with Coach Riley," Pough chuckled. "But we're getting way ahead of ourselves. It's not going to be easy getting back to the mountaintop for the third straight time."
SCSU quarterback Malcoln Long (#7) is the key to the Bulldogs offensive success.
Orangeburg -- South Carolina State began the day with a morning scrimmage and followed that with the annual Meet the Players Day and Fan Fest.
The priority for Bulldogs head coach Buddy Pough and his staff in the approximately 80-snap scrimmage was how much his team had improved from the Aug. 14 scrimmage, but the highlight for the players, perhaps, was receiving their 2009 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and Sheridan Broadcasting Network championship rings.
Pough said that he and his staff were looking for a more productive performance from his team, however, he noted the anticipation of meeting the fans and receiving the rings may have been somewhat of a distraction for the Bulldogs.
Despite significant losses, Buddy Pough’s program poised to continue its ascension in the FCS.
Despite heavy graduation losses, the South Carolina State football team has set its sights high again. The Bulldogs are focused on winning their third consecutive MEAC championship and earning their third FCS playoff berth in a row. This time, however, S.C. State will not be satisfied with merely making the playoffs.
“We want to win that third MEAC championship, but that’s not the real goal,” senior quarterback Malcolm Long said. “We want to win a national championship. That’s what we preach to each other every day.” Winning a postseason game or two would be the next step for a program that has raised expectations under coach Buddy Pough.
ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- South Carolina State, following its first day away from the gridiron Sunday, resumed preseason workouts Monday with a morning and evening practice. In the 8:30 a.m. drill in full pads, the Bulldogs devoted much of the session to reviewing and correcting mistakes made in Saturday’s scrimmage. The evening session was a light one in shorts and helmets only.
”It was back to work for us today,” said Bulldog head coach Buddy Pough following Monday’s morning drill. “We worked much of the period trying to correct mistakes made in the scrimmage on Saturday. We are pass the installation stage and are attempting to develop...
The mere mention of "two-a-days" draws one thing to mind for South Carolina State linebacker David Erby. "Work, more work, more work," he said. "Everybody out here's legs are tired, but everybody's fighting through it to get the extra work." Back in head coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough's playing days as a Bulldog, "two-a-day" practices were a staple of preseason camp. A physical morning practice was followed in the afternoon by an equally grueling regimen and this usually took place on consecutive days.
Now, NCAA restrictions and a change of philosophy on Pough's part has seen a diminished number of "two-a-days" in the preseason. Tuesday was the first of only four such practices on alternating days scheduled by S.C. State with the morning session in full pads followed in the early evening by a lighter workout in just shells and shorts.
"We don't try to become so overbearing in our ‘two-a-day' routine, that it just becomes a total grind for our players," Pough said. "We want to try to get as much work as we can get. We need to get some work in. But at the same time, we've got to be conscious of the fact that it's really hot and we've got to understand that we've got to be able to save our legs to a certain degree so that we can continue to go at it at a fairly decent pace." PHOTO GALLERY: Trench warfare
NORFOLK, VA – Two-time defending champion South Carolina State has been picked to win the 2010 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title by a poll of league coaches and sports Information directors, the league announced Friday at its annual press luncheon at the downtown Marriott. SC State head football coach emeritus Willie Jeffries served as Em Cee for the event.
Friday's predictions marked the fourth consecutive time Coach Buddy Pough's team has been picked to win the coveted crown which the Bulldogs have captured each of the last two seasons. The only season SC State did not live up to its previous preseason billing was the 2008 campaign when Pough's team finished second.
S.C. State Coach Oliver "Buddy Pough Bulldogs are once again the MEAC favorite to three-peat as conference champions.
Pough, who has to find replacements for 10 starters -- including All-America running back Will Ford, who ended his career as the all-time leading rusher in SC State and MEAC history – said the selection of his team as this year's preseason favorite, demonstrates the respect the conference has for the Bulldog program.
"It's a tremendous tribute to our program to be selected to win our league again," Pough said. "It shows the respect the coaches and SIDs around the league has for our program, our players, and our staff and also for what we have managed to do the last two years.
Orangeburg, SC -- A 13-year-old girl gave her life savings to South Carolina State University in hopes that more students could receive an education.
From many angles, Katarina Judge is like any other kid enjoying summer break. She swims, plays tennis, and helps to look after her younger brother and sister.
"I am still a 13-year-old; I still do 13-year-old things. I like Justin Bieber a lot," she said. She is also making moves to help others. She donated $585, her entire life savings, to South Carolina State University for scholarships.
"If you don't have an education, you can't get a job, and if you can't get a job, you're not going to be successful," she said.
Her father, Hardeep Judge, is the tennis coach at the school.
"It didn't surprise me, because Katarina has always done stuff like that, even when she was a small child. If she got too many Christmas presents, she would give some away," he said.
The bad news for South Carolina State fans broke Wednesday evening when Bulldogs backup quarterback Derrick Wiley showed up at the player's only practice with a cast on his leg.
Turns out Wiley, the MVP of last season's season-opening win over Grambling, broke a bone in his foot earlier in the summer and just recently underwent surgery to correct the problem. The injury puts Wiley's early season availability in doubt, and for that matter, should his recovery take longer than expected there is a chance that Wiley could miss the entire season.
It's not that Wiley, a player that S.C. State head coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough has compared to former Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards several times over, had big-time stats a season ago. In fact, after the Grambling game, Wiley didn't do much, finishing with 224 rushing yards and just 101 passing yards on 11 of 20 passing with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
Catching up with South Carolina State kicker Blake Erickson is not hard.
Just try Oliver C. Dawson Stadium on Sunday afternoons, around 1 p.m., and Erickson will likely be there aiming at the uprights. "I'm there anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half," Erickson said. "Just trying to get better."
An improving Erickson isn't good news for the MEAC because last season, he was as good as they come in the conference. Erickson, a junior this season, led the MEAC in scoring (87 points), field goals (12 of 14), field-goal percentage (82.4) and point after attempt percentage (97.8). He also led the conference in points scored per game (7.2).
"I thought I did pretty well," Erickson said Monday. "But, I want to keep getting better. Every year I want to keep getting better. I try to set my goal every year to ... I don't want to miss at all. I don't want to miss any field goals or extra points, and punting wise, I want to help the team and keep getting better at that." They key to getting better, according to Erickson, is those Sunday after noon sessions as well as the work with new S.C. State strength and conditioning coach Torre Becton.
Coach Jeffries reflects on his journey through college football history before Hall of Fame induction.
Willie Jeffries, his wife, Mary, and two of his children have a road trip on tap this week to South Bend, Indiana. It’s not a pilgrimage to Notre Dame. No, Jeffries is going to take his appointed place in the College Football Hall of Fame. The 2010 Enshrinement Festival runs Saturday and Sunday.
“It is quite an honor for me,” said Jeffries, whose 29-year college coaching career netted a 179-132-6 record, including a 128-77-4 mark in 19 seasons during twostints at South Carolina State, his alma mater.
“Being inducted into the college football hall of fame is the apex of my profession. In all my years of coaching, I never thought about any halls of fame, especially this one. There is no greater honor for a coach.”
Jeffries is a beloved South Carolinian — a man whose influence reaches beyond the field. In addition to being a member of several athletic halls of fame (South Carolina State, South Carolina, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Wichita, Kansas, to name a few), he is the recipient of two of the highest civilian honors in the state — the Order of the Silver Crescent for outstanding community service, and the Order of the Palmetto, the state’s highest civilian award.
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2010 COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME ENSHRINEE BIO
WILLIE JEFFRIES - Howard University, Wichita State University, South Carolina State University Head Coach Emeritus - 179-132-6.
The first African-American to be hired as a head coach at a Division-I school (Wichita State), Willie Jeffries finished his career as the winningest coach in South Carolina State and MEAC history.
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 both the MEAC Hall of Fame and SCSU Athletic Hall of Fame, Jeffries was awarded the Order of the Silver Crescent in 2001, South Carolina's highest honor for Outstanding Community Service.
Jeffries was recently named head coach emeritus at South Carolina State and will serve as a liaison between the university, its alumni and other constituents. He currently resides in Elloree, S.C.
BELLE GLADE, FL - Muck City doesn't sound like a welcoming place. No, pass a sign that says "Welcome to Muck City," and you start looking for an exit pronto. Also, known as Belle Glade, Florida, Muck City's signs read "Her Soil is her Fortune." That's where the name comes from, the rich "muck" or soil that the city lies on which is known for producing sugarcane. In fact, most of the elders in the town of 17,000 make their money off what grows from that muck, working in the local sugar mill.
Aside from the sugarcane, "Muck City" is also known for its powerhouse prep football team, Glades Central, and the number of football players that have made it out of town - former Eagles safety Andre Waters, star tailback Fred Taylor, former Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes and former S.C. State offensive tackle and current Tampa Bay Buccaneer James Lee .
24 year old former South Carolina State University's Offensive Tackle James Lee, 6'4"/305; 3 years NFL experience with Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Yes, "Muck City" can also live up to the negative connotation that the name can give off. Lee, the 2007 MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Year, knows that well. "(Growing up) it was a rough neighborhood," Lee said Monday. "Football basically ... it was every young kids' dream to get out of there and play football." Lee did that much, escaping to Orangeburg where he prospered under Buddy Pough. But, just because he got out didn't mean he was ready to forget where he came from. Instead, Lee, who has spent the summer touring Florida speaking to children about the importance of education, has embraced "Muck City," starting his very own "Muck City Fest."
Two weeks after a divided board voted 7-4 not to renew his position as president, Dr. George Cooper is back as head of South Carolina State University. The board met Thursday morning with new members Robert Waldrep Jr. and Patricia Lott replacing Lumus Byrd and Earl Bridges. Both Byrd and Bridges had voted against rehiring Cooper as president on June 14. Their terms expired July 1. The board voted 8-5 to rescind and expunge from the minutes the non-renewal of Cooper's position as president of the university. A few minutes later, trustees again voted 8-5 to rehire Cooper, whose position ended on June 30.
Voting to rehire Cooper were John Corbitt, Linda Edwards-Duncan, Patricia Lott, Robert Nance, Jonathan Pinson, Matthew Richardson, Robert Waldrep Jr. and Lancelot Wright. Voting not to rehire were Reggie Gallant, Karl Green, Martha Smith, Walt Tobin and Maurice Washington. A standing-room-only group of faculty members, staff and alumni greeted the vote with a standing ovation, cheers and applause.
Cooper responded that he did "not take this vote lightly as we reaffirm our mission as a land-grant university and meet our highest goal - the education needs of our students." Cooper says he can and will work with the entire board to follow through on what is best for the university. "I want you to know that I will work with the board to stay focused on priorities and open lines of communication that will improve our work as a board and administration," he said. The polarized board voted 8-5 on all issues except the election of Robert Nance as secretary of the board. The five trustees who voted to elect Judge Merl Code as interim president Monday at the board retreat opposed all motions at the meeting on Thursday. They were not present but voted via teleconference.
Athletic director Charlene Johnson is now working under a one-year contract and has been totally silent on the ESPN proposed Legacy Bowl with the Bulldogs supporters and fans.
Fans and boosters of South Carolina State athletics spoke loudly with their financial support of the "Lift-A-Bulldog" program. If only the administration and school leaders were not the total opposite in addressing issues with the athletics department. Since School President George Cooper was told in March to make a decision in regards to athletics director Charlene Johnson's future after June 30, both he and the Board of Trustees went silent on the matter. No word publicly was given as to whether Cooper quietly allowed Johnson's contract to roll over for another year, as is his right according to school by-laws, or if he would request a multi-year deal to the board.
On Wednesday, Board chairman Jonathan Pinson indicated the former had apparently taken place with a one-year contract extension for Johnson. According to Pinson, it was handled as an "internal personnel matter" where Cooper did not have to inform the board of his decision. The secretive manner in which this was handled was disappointing to board member Maurice Washington. What had him especially miffed was the news about a second major issue regarding S.C. State athletics.
As reported by College Sporting News, a tentative agreement...
President George E. Cooper, top S.C. State Bulldogs supporter.
The S.C. State University board of trustees voted Tuesday afternoon not to renew the contract of President George Cooper, according to a university spokeswoman. Cooper, whose contract ends June 30, became S.C. State’s 10th president after he was voted unanimously into the presidency in 2008. He has served in the role slightly less than two years. Cooper replaced Andrew Hugine, who was fired in December 2007 by the board before his contract ended. Hugine filed a lawsuit over his firing and eventually settled out of court.
The last five presidents at South Carolina State University have been fired or asked to resign. The average tenure of a university president is eight-and-a-half years, nearly double that of recent leaders at South Carolina State University. University spokeswoman Erica Taylor confirmed that the board decided not to renew Cooper’s contract, but she referred all other questions to the school’s board of trustees. Several messages were left with board members, who could not be reached this morning. During his time, Cooper faced a slate of problems, including declining state funds and stalled construction of the James E. Clyburn University Transportation Center.
Note:Dr. Cooper earned his Ph. D. in Animal Nutrition from the University of Illinois, Urbana; a master’s degree in Animal Science from Tuskegee University; and a bachelor’s degree in Animal Husbandry from Florida A&M University. Dr. Cooper is uncle to C. Houston Sr. (Videographer, Editor, Graphics) who has shared his video of football, family and fun in Orangeburg, S.C. with the Shaw Family. The Rattlers' sophomore Derrick Shaw (#14) was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 41st round of the MLB draft on June 9, 2010. Unknown at the time, this would be the last 'FAMU vs. SCSU' game in their present roles, as Rattler football player and SCSU president. Dr. Cooper is a native of Tallahassee, Florida.
C. Houston Sr.--Thank you for showing the world what FAMU vs. SCSU football, family and fun is all about! We are all connected...
San Francisco 49ers rookie cornerback Phillip Adams' four-year deal is worth $1.84 million and includes a $57,900 signing bonus, according to a league source. The seventh-round draft pick received minimum base salaries of $320,000, $405,000, $490,000 and $575,000. The 5-foot-11, 192-pounder was a first-team All Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference selection at South Carolina State, leading the team as a senior with three interceptions. He returned two for touchdowns and tied for first in the conference with 11 pass deflections. As a junior, he tied for first in the conference with five interceptions and returned 11 punts for two touchdowns.
Adams Doing It All Now: Pratice, Study, eye on Mom...
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - There are the long, sweltering days sprinting and conditioning in the sunny yet cool Northern California climate. Just as much study time is spent behind closed doors studying a playbook as thick and in-depth as a dictionary. Through it all, time is always made to keep in touch with his mother back in the Palmetto State still recuperating from injuries suffered in an October car accident.
This is the daily grind post-South Carolina State football for San Francisco 49er rookie defensive back Phillip Adams. Since getting selected in the seventh round, the Rock Hill native has found himself balancing the NFL business with adjusting to the differences in time zone, location and personal responsibilities. "I'm just working hard, just trying to stay on top of my game and learn everything that I can learn," Adams said.
Senior leadership of QB Malcolm Long and a huge offensive line should make this a memorable game for SCSU.
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