Ex-TSU star Narcisse works way into CFL Hall of Fame

The origin of Don Narcisse's career is not one of a typical Hall of Famer. Before racking up 919 catches and 12,366 yards in the Canadian Football League, Narcisse's destiny on a football field was relegated to halftime.



"My mom didn't want me to play any sports,," said Narcisse, who grew up in Port Arthur. "She wanted me to be in the marching band. In junior high school I went out and tried out for football, while she thought I was trying out for the band. She was worried about me since I was a small kid and I also had a heart murmur, but it all worked out."

Narcisse, who played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1987 to 1999, will be inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame today. But as the family prepared to leave for this week's events, Dorothy Narcisse, Don's mother, died of complications from congestive heart failure at the age of 73. "My mother was a great person," Narcisse said. "She never met a stranger. She was so proud of her kids. I wouldn't have accomplished any of my goals without her."

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Narcisse ready to enter Canadian Football Hall of Fame

Riders fans cheer Narcisse into CFL Hall of Fame - The Globe and Mail

Former CFL Star Baggs Preparing for NFL

Warren Moon, Doug Flutie and Jeff Garcia dominated the CFL for years before becoming stars in the NFL. Joe Theisman, Raghib “Rocket” Ismail and Mike Sellers used the CFL to mature before having very successful NFL careers. Marv Levy cut his teeth as the head coach in Montreal before taking the Buffalo Bills to four straight Super Bowls.

Cardinals’ linebacker Stevie Baggs hopes to be the next CFL success story as he’ll look to make an impact for Arizona’s pass rush in 2010.

After three straight All-American seasons at Bethune-Cookman, Baggs, nicknamed “Shakespeare” in college, spent time on the practice squad for Detroit and Jacksonville.

Baggs then moved north and was a run-of-the-mill player for four seasons in Winnipeg, Edmonton and Saskatchewan until last season. The Ft. Lauderdale native broke out in 2009, tallying 55 tackles, 11 sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception. Those efforts earned Baggs Defensive Player of the Week honors on three different occasions.



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Saskatchewan Roughriders' training camp: Battle in trenches heated for MEAC stars

Defensive lineman Stevie Baggs (90) and offensive lineman Andrae Townsel have been doing battle at training camp. Baggs and Townsel both played in the MEAC. Baggs, 27, played with the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats and was a three-time all-American. Townsel, 25, played with the Howard University Bison and was an all-MEAC honorable mention in his senior year.

The trenches have already produced some memorable battles during the early days of the Saskatchewan Roughriders' training camp. Some of the more impressive tussles have featured veteran defensive end Stevie Baggs and rookie offensive tackle Andrae Townsel. One can barely step into Mosaic Stadium without hearing that the two have engaged in another epic struggle during one-on-one drills.

"The battles on the field are as intense as they get,'' Townsel said Tuesday after the Riders completed the third day of training camp. "It's almost like game preparations but it's all love. There isn't anything personal. They get it all on film and afterwards we walk to the sideline and tell the guy, 'Good rep, good rep.' ''

From the safety of the sidelines, it doesn't look like a lot of affection is being shown when the offensive and defensive linemen collide in one-on-one drills. It's an intense 20-second battle of wills. "We're just trying to make each other better,'' said Townsel. "He's making me a better offensive tackle and I'm making him a better defensive end.'' Townsel has the size advantage. The native of Detroit is 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds. Baggs, who hails from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is 6-foot-1 and 241 pounds. It's about Townsel's might versus the speed of Baggs. The collisions and skirmishes after the contact are must-see viewing during training camp.

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Mitchell named Southern University football assistant

Southern football coach Pete Richardson has turned to former free safety Jackie Mitchell to be the team’s new defensive backs coach. Mitchell played linebacker for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League but has no full-time coaching experience.

“He should help us out a lot as far as knowing what to expect on defense and also experience-wise,” Richardson said. “He’s been a professional athlete, so he can help us out on the details.”

Mitchell spent seven years in the CFL, making the CFL All-Star team in 2003, and also had stints as a free agent in the NFL, playing for the Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers.

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FAMU's Roosevelt Kiser, Hampton's Princeton Shepherd sign with CFL Roughriders

Photo: FAMU's former WR/KR, Roosevelt Kiser runs for 72 yard TD against Virginia Union in 2004. The Fort Lauderdale, FL native was cut by the NFL Jacksonville Jaguars.

Saskatchewan Roughriders have signed import receivers Roosevelt Kiser, Princeton Shepherd and DaVon Fowlkes to one-year plus an option contracts. Financial details of the signings were not released.

“These three young men will be competing as wide receivers in training camp,” stated Roughriders’ general manager Eric Tillman. “Princeton is a former quarterback, but his height, athletic skill set and understanding of defenses will certainly help him in the attempted transition. DaVon and Roosevelt are both smaller receivers with excellence quickness, and they will also be given strong consideration for our special teams opening. Each can make things happen in the open field, and establishing a quality return game will be one of our highest priorities in training camp.”

Photo: Columbia, S.C. native Princeton Shepard is attempting to make the Roughriders roster as a WR. The former quarterback played at Hampton University during the 2004-2006 seasons with career totals of 43 games, 48 touchdowns and over 5, 494 in total offense.

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This will not be a cakewalk for the former MEAC players making the final roster with the 2007 Grey Cup Champions Roughriders. As import players, they will have to beat out other import players for a roster spot.

Here is how the CFL Import Player rule works...

The roster size for a CFL team is 40 players. 3 of the 40 are Quarterbacks and can be either imports or non-imports no restrictions. Of the remaining 37 players, no more than 18 may be imports. Therefore the maximum amount of imports allowed per team is 21.

View Roster: http://www.saskriders.com/