SWAC coaches offer SU’s Mitchell encouragement
Three games. One thrilling win. Two ugly losses. The Stump Mitchell era has barely begun at Southern University, and already, the first-year coach must try to assure fans that his program isn’t doomed to fail. "I still love this football team,” Mitchell said Monday. “We just have to be consistent in doing the things that we want to get done.”
But of all the people to offer a ray of light, perhaps the least likely — Alabama A&M coach Anthony Jones, who handed the Jaguars a 34-14 defeat on Saturday — was the one who gave some interesting, encouraging advice.
Jaguars nursing injuries to key defensive leaders
A 34-14 defeat at the hands of Alabama A&M wasn’t the only thing Southern University lost Saturday night in Normal, Ala. The Jaguars also took a blow to their defense when two key starters were injured.
Middle linebacker Corey Ray, who suffered a shoulder injury in the first half of Saturday’s game, is “day-to-day,” Southern coach Stump Mitchell said. The status of free safety Jason House is a little less clear.
Rough sailing could be ahead for Southern
At about 9 p.m. Saturday, after they shook hands with an Alabama A&M team that handed them a second ugly loss in as many games, members of the Southern football team removed their helmets and took a knee on the soft, wet grass at Louis Crews Stadium.
The rain kept falling, and somehow, that figured. The Jaguars were soundly beaten on the line of scrimmage and, after a first-play touchdown, seemed overmatched in a 34-14 loss. It had been, without any doubt, a night to forget.
SU preaches effort
As far as he knew, first-year coach Stump Mitchell said the charter bus Southern’s football team used this weekend was not equipped with a panic button. Even if it were, he said, the Jaguars did not intend to use it as they rode home from Normal, Ala., after a 34-14 loss Saturday night against Alabama A&M in their Southwestern Athletic Conference opener.
SU (1-2, 0-1 SWAC) faces Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-2, 0-1) at 6 p.m. Saturday in A.W. Mumford Stadium, the second of eight games in eight consecutive weeks.
Struggling defense loses leaders
NORMAL, Ala. — Southern’s defense struggled for the second consecutive game Saturday in a 34-14 loss to Alabama A&M at Louis Crews Stadium. It didn’t help that this time, the Jaguars lost two of their leaders to injury.
Middle linebacker Corey Ray suffered an injury to his right shoulder with 3:11 remaining in the first quarter, watching the second half in a T-shirt and a sling. Ray’s injury was noteworthy for two reasons: He has dislocated the shoulder before, and he is largely responsible for calling plays and checks for the SU defense.
Hollimon finally gets chance at quarterback for Southern
This is for all those afternoons when Gary Hollimon iced down his shoulder, having finished another practice with pride and purpose, even though he knew he’d never play on Saturday.
This is for all those times when coaches praised Hollimon’s work ethic and easygoing attitude, then told him to stay on the bench. This is for the time Gary Hollimon nearly got cut from the team he now leads.
Mitchell taking the heat
Stump Mitchell spent nine years as an NFL running back. He knows how to take a beating. Mitchell has lived in Georgia, Arizona, Texas and, since January, when he accepted the job as Southern’s football coach, Louisiana as well. He knows how to deal with heat. These days, he’s getting enough of both.
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Stump Mitchell, the first-year Southern University coach, has a simple but not-so-subtle message for the fiery Jaguars fans who are more than a little frustrated with the team's 1-3 start to the season. "You know what?" Mitchell asked earlier this week, "they have to realize there's a reason for a new coach coming in."
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