Southern tries to regroup from defeat

First-year Southern head football coach Stump Mitchell has covered a wide range of emotions in just two weeks of the Jaguars' season. He experienced the thrill of a come-from-behind win in the season's first week against Delaware State. On Saturday, he got the opposite feeling as his team lost to NCAA Division II member Arkansas-Monticello at home.

"We had a bunch of mental mistakes in that ballgame," Mitchell said Monday. "It cost us. "It was the second week in a row we also had a special teams breakdown. We had a punt returned against us for a touchdown which put the defense in a bad position and we were inefficient in the red zone. We got down there a couple of times and were not able to score. As a result, we ended up losing that ballgame, 31-7."

State Roundup: Ark.-Monticello breezes past Southern

BATON ROUGE — Johnny Polite rushed for two touchdowns and Jywin Ceasar scored on a 94-yard punt return to help Arkansas-Monticello beat Southern University 31-7 on Saturday night. The Boll Weevils (1-1) jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter on Polite's 2-yard rushing score, Ceasar's punt return for a touchdown and a 1-yard touchdown by Nakita Myles.

Scott Buisson led Arkansas-Monticello with 101 yards rushing on 13 carries. He also completed 9 of 15 passes for 164 yards. Polite finished with 37 yards rushing on 11 attempts.

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Southern's Stunning defeat

The Jaguars had minus-22 rushing yards on 24 attempts.

They had the entire fourth quarter to accept what happened Saturday night, when a Division II team called Arkansas-Monticello came into A.W. Mumford Stadium and manhandled the Southern University football team in Stump Mitchell’s home debut. The 31-7 final score was no fluke.

Still, when time ran out, some of the SU players were motionless on the sideline, in a fog, stunned at the outcome. Defensive tackles Casey Narcisse and Jordan Miller sat on the bench, staring directly at the grass in front of them. Later, linebacker Corey Ray shook his head in disbelief. “We didn’t come to play,” Ray said. “We didn’t do what we were coached to do. ... It wasn’t about Xs and Os. We just didn’t give the effort we were supposed to give.”

Ground game freezes

Center Ramon Chinyoung glanced at the game clock during the final seconds of Saturday night’s 31-7 loss to Division II Arkansas-Monticello, visibly disgusted at himself and offensive teammates. That’s because Southern University finished its nonconference game with minus-22 rushing yards, what should be one of the worst efforts in recent memory.

Chinyoung, one of the team captains, could only point the proverbial finger of blame at himself. “I feel like I’m the reason why we lost the game because this is my O-Line,” said Chinyoung, a fifth-year senior. “Because I’m the general.”

Team Effort Leads Boll Weevils Past Southern

The University of Arkansas at Monticello football team responded from its season opening loss with a 31-7 rout of Southern University on Saturday at A.W. Mumford Stadium. The Boll Weevils even their season record at 1-1 with its third victory in as many seasons over an NCAA Division I-Football Championship Subdivision. UAM defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff in each of the past two seasons. The Jaguars also evened their record at 1-1.

UAM had production in all aspects of the game with 371 yards of total offense, only 117 yards of total offense allowed, 149 punt return yards and a blocked punt. In the first half, UAM pitched a shutout, holding a 24-0 advantage going into the locker room.

Southern says it wasn't ready to play in loss to Arkansas-Monticello

Led by senior quarterback Scott Buisson's 274 total-yard performance, Arkansas-Monticello (1-1), a Division II school, routed Southern (1-1) 31-7 at A.W. Mumford Stadium in Stump Mitchell's first game on the bluff as Southern's coach. Southern gained only 117 yards and allowed 371, along with 18 first downs and 149 returns yards. Mitchell and players admitted they weren't quite ready to play against Arkansas-Monticello.

"We've just got to do what we're supposed to do. That's just the bottom line. And that starts with me, " Mitchell said. "I was really pleased with the turnout of the fans -- not pleased with how we played. That's part of the game, though."

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Stunning defeat

SU's Nzekwe answers the call

ORLANDO, Fla. — During a long, hot offseason, first-year Southern coach Stump Mitchell famously said he thought Gary Hollimon might lead the nation in rushing. As it turns out, Mitchell may have picked the wrong guy.

In Mitchell’s wild debut, a walk-on — sophomore running back Sylvester Nzekwe — came off the bench to lead all players with 98 rushing yards and a touchdown in the Jaguars’ 37-27 comeback victory against Delaware State in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge.

It was the first time in his college career Nzekwe played with the offense in a meaningful moment; all last season, the Seattle native played almost entirely on special teams. Sunday, with a national ESPN audience watching, voters selected Nzekwe as the Jagaurs’ team MVP.

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Explosive 4th Quarter gives Southern 37-27 win over Delaware State

Orlando, FL - With a national television audience looking along, Southern University kicked off its regular season Sunday with an explosive fourth quarter win under new coach Stump Mitchell against Delaware State. A fourth quarter rally with back-to-back-to-back touchdowns gave Southern the lead and win. The score of Mitchell's first game was Southern, 37; Delaware State, 27.

The Jaguars faced Delaware State in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando, Fla., that aired on ESPN. Freshman quarterback Dray Joseph picked up his first collegiate touchdown with 8 minutes to play in the game to bring the score to 23 to 27 with Delaware State still leading at that point.









WATCH REPLAY: Southern vs. Delaware State

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SU Jaguars casual as season nears

Here they go. When Monday morning came, full-blown game-week preparations began for the Southern football team, and the players and coaches could almost feel the first kickoff coming. They practically tingled with excitement. Right?

That long-awaited season opener in Orlando, Fla., against Delaware State. That first game under new coach Stump Mitchell. No more two-a-days. No more grunt work. The MEAC/SWAC Challenge is close at hand, and the Jaguars and Hornets play at 11 a.m. Sunday — on ESPN, no less.

Emotions ran high. Right?

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MEAC/SWAC CHALLENGE

Southern vs. Delaware State
WHEN: 11 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 5
WHERE: Citrus Bowl Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
TV: ESPN.
RADIO: KQXL-FM, 106.5. (Baton Rouge)

Southern’s football season will begin Sunday in Orlando, Fla., against Delaware State at Citrus Bowl Stadium — the same place where LSU’s 2009 season ended. When the Jaguars arrive, however, they’ll find the playing conditions to be much, much nicer. LSU’s game, a 19-17 loss against Penn State in the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1, was best remembered for the sloppy, muddy field conditions, caused by heavy rain and freshly planted sod that didn’t have time to take hold.

On Sunday, Southern won’t have to worry about any of that. Thanks to newly installed artificial turf, the Jaguars will play on a clean, even, mud-free surface. During the offseason, the city of Orlando paid to remove natural grass from the stadium and replace it with GameDay Grass 3D, a modern version of plastic grass manufactured by AstroTurf.

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Southern D-line stresses effort

New faces abound in Southern Jaguars secondary

On the football field, Demetric Rogers was accustomed to looking good. A versatile-but-undersized athlete, Rogers played offense and defense at Northeast High School. Then he walked on at Southern University last summer, and the coaching staff issued the 5-foot-10, 190-pound strong safety his gameday uniform. He got No. 45. Forty-five? Isn’t that for fullbacks? Linebackers? Kickers?

“I was upset, all the way to the (first) game,” Rogers said. “After a while, I figured I might as well make the best of this number. The number doesn’t make the person. It’s the other way around. So after that, I got my first start and made some plays, and before long, everybody knew there was a No. 45 out there.”

Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the Southern football team last season, Rogers played strong safety for the first time in his life and slowly worked his way up the depth chart during preseason camp, from fourth-string to second-string.

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Ex-Rams hero Jones now coaching SU linebackers

For seven long seasons, Southern football coach Stump Mitchell ran on the rock-hard turf at Busch Stadium, earning his reputation as a fan favorite in St. Louis. But as former NFL players go, he’s not the most beloved in St. Louis history. In fact, Mitchell’s not even No. 1 on his own coaching staff. That honor belongs to his linebackers coach, Mike Jones.

Yes, that Mike Jones.

If you’ll recall, he’s the guy who made perhaps the most famous tackle in Super Bowl history — wrapping his arms around Kevin Dyson, dropping him 1 yard short of the goal line as time ran out in Super Bowl XXXIV, preserving a 23-16 win for the St. Louis Rams. “He told us about the stop. He said he missed the tackle, but he really made it,” strongside linebacker Gary Chatman said. “He’s a good linebacker coach and a cool, good guy.”



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Pro Football HOF Mel Blount, Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams among Honorees for Annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge Legends Reception

Pro Football Hall of Famer Mel Blount (Southern University) and Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams (Grambling State University) lead a group of six honorees who will be recognized at the MEAC/SWAC Challenge Legends Reception at the Ballroom of the Americas at Disney’s Contemporary Hotel, near Orlando, Fla., on Saturday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m. ET. Also to be saluted as Legends: Author Omar Tyree (Howard University), U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Zeita Merchant (Tougaloo College), Kellogg’s Senior Vice President of Global Nutrition/Corporate Affairs Celeste Clark (Southern University), and former NFL linebacker and seven-time Pro Bowl player Robert Brazile (Jackson State University).

The reception will honor individuals who graduated from a Historically Black College or University. Each honoree will receive an HBCU Trailblazer Award in recognition of the impact made in his or her respective career and community. ESPN sportscaster Jay Harris will co-host the festivities alongside motivational speaker Trey Godfrey.

The Legends Reception will precede the sixth annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney, which will feature a college football matchup between the SWAC’s Southern University and the MEAC’s Delaware State University. The game will kick off Sunday, Sept. 5, at noon at Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando and will be televised nationally on ESPN and ESPN HD, as well as ESPN3.com.

“It’s fitting that the MEAC/SWAC Challenge acknowledges the legacy of those who paved the way for the future leaders who will graduate from historically black colleges and universities,” said Nikki Godfrey, executive director of the MEAC/SWAC Challenge. “We are thrilled to host this ceremony, which will continue to grow and make our event even more special.”

Individual tickets for the game are available through Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or via www.ticketmaster.com. Fans can also purchase travel packages through Anthony Travel’s website or by calling 1-888-632-6951. For more information about the MEAC/SWAC Challenge and for access to its Facebook page, please visit the official website: www.meacswacchallenge.com . Fans can also stay up to date on the event via Twitter: www.twitter.com/MEAC_SWAC .

About the MEAC/SWAC Challenge

Each year, the MEAC/SWAC Challenge is played at a neutral site within the footprint of one of the conferences. The week of the game includes ancillary events, highlighted by an annual high school career panel, the Halftime Battle of the Bands and the Legends Reception. The MEAC leads the series 4-1. Teams for future games are determined on an annual basis.

Southern D-line stresses effort‎

Jordan Miller doesn’t need people to remind him about last year’s Bayou Classic.

For 3 hours and 26 minutes on the ground floor of the Superdome, he lived it. Remember that game? Or, perhaps, trying to forget it? On play after play, archrival Grambling pounded Miller and his fellow defensive linemen, wearing down the Southern Jaguars with a slow, steady, brutal attack.

The final numbers — 308 rushing yards and 37 minutes of ball-control offense for the Tigers in a 31-13 wipeout — were indeed lopsided and convincing. But numbers told only part of the story. At this time last summer, Miller thought he and the Southern defensive line had worked hard enough to win in crunch time. He thought they were prepared for almost anything. They learned, in humiliating fashion, that they were wrong.

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Jaguars not settled on starter at QB

Fall semester is under way at Southern University, and on most nights, the Human Jukebox is hard at work, preparing and refining for the start of football season. It’s less than two weeks away now. As for the team, it doesn’t yet have a starting quarterback. Not officially, anyway.

First-year coach Stump Mitchell hasn’t named his starting No. 1 — but after Saturday’s preseason scrimmage, sophomore Jeremiah McGinty may have re-established himself as the leading candidate.

McGinty sat out the Jaguars’ first scrimmage of the preseason Aug. 14, having been hospitalized...

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Reunion’ games set for Bluff

Sometimes inspiration hits you at the most unexpected time and from unexpected sources.
Ask Greg LaFleur. The Southern athletic director was at a poorly-attended Jaguars basketball game last winter when a fan came up to him with a suggestion to improve basketball attendance. “She comes up to me and she said, ‘Why don’t you invite alumni from area schools to games for a reunion?,’ ” LaFleur recalled.

The idea immediately struck a cord with LaFleur. “We were already inviting high school students (to basketball games), but I had never thought about inviting alumni before,” he said. From that moment, the idea took off with one tweak — “Never mind doing it at basketball games,” LaFleur said. “I decided we were going to do it at football games.”



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SU puts it on the line with sprints

No more mud at the Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium

Premium quality Astroturf is being laid at the stadium. Orlando Venues Executive Director Alan Johnson said the carpet is laid from sideline to sideline, then sewn together by a special machine. "We're excited about this surface," he said. It gives the stadium operators more flexibility to host events like concerts, monster trucks and motorcross.

On Wednesday, the turf was already laid and pallets of sand and tiny rubber bits in large sacks were waiting to be installed. The infill gives the grass a more natural feel. The million dollar installation is expected to be done by the end of August. The first game played will be the MEAC/SWAC Challenge between Southern University and Delaware State, Johnson said.

Slideshow: See: Citrus Bowl's New Astroturf



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Southern irons out wrinkles with first scrimmage of fall

Southern running back Gary Hollimon runs away from defense during scrimmage.

OK, so maybe fall classes haven’t yet begun at Southern University.

But by Saturday morning, the football program had time to do a little bit of simple math. Between Aug. 3 and Saturday morning, the team had practiced 11 times during preseason camp. Each session lasted about 2 1/2 hours. That, in theory, gave the Jaguars some 30 hours to improve by the time Saturday’s first scrimmage of the season got under way. So what else, exactly, did the Southern football team learn about itself by the end of the scrimmage?

Two things, in particular. No. 1: This week, when a few key starters recover from some minor setbacks, the team will probably look a lot better. No. 2: No matter who returns and who doesn’t, the Jaguars have work to do between now and their Sept. 5 season opener in Orlando, Fla., against Delaware State. “This was really the first time it was a game-type atmosphere for them. So it’s good to get the jitters out,” first-year coach Stump Mitchell said. “We do have two more scrimmages, and that’s a good thing that I’m taking.”

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SU puts it on the line with sprints

Southern Jaguars puts it on the line with sprints

Step outside, feel the heat, close your eyes and imagine this:

You are a football player at Southern University. Preseason camp is in full swing. It is 94 degrees with a heat index of 105. The team is 22 periods deep into a 24-period practice — the second of the day — and your body has started to seize and cramp. And then, with the end almost in sight, you hear the most crushing four-word phrase of all: “Everybody on the line!”

Welcome to the latest round of post-practice conditioning. Others call them sprints. Some teams call them “gassers.” Others call them “suicides.” Most players don’t really care what you call them, as long as you call them off. Are we having fun yet?

“It’s rough, man. I’m not going to lie,” senior wideout Curry Allen says. “I mean, we were already practicing in 110-degree weather. We’re in two-a-days, and it’s hot. And every period, the coaches want you to go full-speed. You get a water break here and there, but they want you to go full-speed. And then you’re almost at the end. And then you hear it: ‘On the line!’ ”

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New SU QB McGinty ready for pressure

You want pressure?

The new starting quarterback at Southern University will feel it. First, he’ll fill the role left behind by Bryant Lee, who led the Jaguars’ offense for so long he seemed like a faculty member. As a senior last season, Lee finished as the school’s all-time leading passer. Second, he’ll take control of the new, complex, pro-style offense installed by first-year coach Stump Mitchell — and Mitchell, who said he expects to win right away, won’t give the new guy an easy way out.

So who in the world is prepared to fill this role? Maybe no one. But among the candidates, maybe Jeremiah McGinty comes closest. McGinty has felt pressure. He’s been in a spot like this before. Mitchell has said he believes McGinty will start, but he hasn’t yet made a final decision. “The coaching staff — they’re more chilled about it,” McGinty said. “Whoever’s getting the job done, that’s who’s going to play. It’s a competition, and of course I’m trying to win. I don’t know. We’ll see how it goes, you know?”

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Southern defenders ready to deliver big hits

Over the years, the nickname has changed.

Players used to call them “bone crushers.” Then they were “slobber-knockers.” Nowadays, it’s called a “de-cleater.” That’s the trendy term for a big hit. By any name, Southern linebacker Corey Ray said, the big hit is a surefire sign that preseason camp has shifted into a higher gear. It’s just a shame, Ray said, that de-cleaters have been in short supply so far.

“On defense, that’s what we live for. That’s what we want,” Ray said. “Any situation calls for a de-cleater. You know what I mean?” Most players seem to. The Jaguars have practiced eight times since players reported for camp Aug. 3 — and while SU’s coaching staff often tells players to stay on their feet, that doesn’t always happen. Every so often, during team drills, they sneak in a noteworthy lick.

“For the most part, I’m pleased with how physical we’ve been,” first-year coach Stump Mitchell said. “On both sides of the ball, we will be a more physical football team than what people have seen at Southern over the past few years. I like that. That’s what I want.”

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Southern defense gets lots to digest

When Stump Mitchell came to Southern University and brought in a new group of assistant coaches, linebacker Gary Chatman figured he’d have to make a few adjustments. Then he saw the new playbook. Hello, adjustments.

Before spring practice began, defensive coordinator O’Neill Gilbert introduced his new playbook. Cobbled together from years in Division I college football and the NFL, the playbook is a three-ring binder that is three inches thick and very, very full. It practically made the local yellow pages look like a pocket Bible.

“When I saw it, I was like, ‘Wow,’ ” Chatman said. “In the beginning, I’m not going to lie: It was hard (to digest). It was really hard. If you really study the book and keep listening — yes, it’s a lot of adjusting, a lot of checks and a lot of different rotations with the DBs and linebackers. But if you get in your book and study and commit to the game, it’ll come very easy.”

Southern Football Puts on Full Pads for 2-a-Days



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Southern Jaguars Coach Mitchell Expects 12-0 Season

We’re going to recruit good players, give them all the necessary tools and give our fans a team they can be proud of. We’ll work our guys hard, make ’em play until the whistle blows and see where we stand at the end of the year. We’re going to do everything we can to produce fine young student-athletes and win some games in the process. Blah. Blah. Blah.

Year after year, preseason after preseason, we hear the same football coaches say the same things about their same programs. Most of them, in the interest of protecting their own backsides, back away from any kind of hard and fast prediction, lest they fall short. And then there’s Stump Mitchell.

Time and again this summer, Southern University’s first-year coach has done the exact opposite. He has done it with three words: Twelve and zero. “That’s the goal,” he said. “We want to go 12-0 this year, and we think at the end of the season, we’ll be 12-0.”

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Weather shuffles Southern practice

Out on the practice fields at Southern University, where the football team has spent most of its afternoons for the past week, players are not permitted to place their hands on their hips. Or, for that matter, on top of their heads. As the new coaching staff dutifully (and sometimes loudly) reminds them, those movements convey a message to the opponent. “You keep doing that,” strength and conditioning coach Thomas Hall said, “you’re telling them you’re tired.”

One other thing: Even with above-average temperatures and triple-digit heat indexes, players cannot talk about the weather. Which made Monday afternoon awfully awkward. Coaches and players hit the field just after 3 p.m. Monday, gearing up for what was supposed to be SU’s first practice in full pads this preseason. At the time, the temperature was 96 degrees with a heat index of 109, making it the second-hottest day of preseason camp thus far. Of course, conditions didn’t stay that way for long.

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