Livingstone College: Mount Holly's Farrar no stranger to being a pioneer

MOUNT HOLLY, N.C. – Breaking barriers is nothing new for John Farrar, even as little had ever been made of Farrar’s pioneer status until Saturday night’s fourth annual Mount Holly Sports Hall of Fame banquet at that city’s citizens center.

Farrar was among the first African-American players to play for Mount Holly High in the 1960s. He later became the city’s first NFL player, though many in his own city new nothing of his accomplishment.

Finally, on Saturday, Farrar became the first African-American member of the four-year-old Hall of Fame, much to the delight of Farrar, his friends, fans and family members who attended the ceremony.

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FAMU's Vann Cut by 49ers, May Catch On with Titans

After having trouble holding on to punts, former Florida A&M Rattler LeRoy Vann found himself without a job this week. Vann, who had signed with the San Francisco 49ers for training camp, was supposed to be on special teams, returning punts and kick-offs. However, because he seemed to have trouble handling punts and kick-offs in practice, he was cut, according to league sources.

All may not be lost for the former Rattler cornerback who signed into the NFL as an undrafted free agent. Vann's agent Karim Lawrence said that the Tennessee Titans have expressed an interest in Vann. Lawrence said that he called the Titans Monday and had held three conversations with the team. "The Titans are definitely an option, something we are looking at," Lawrence said. "There's definitely some interest there."

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Former Alcornite and Titans' QB McNair pays visit to UTM

MARTIN, TN - The University of Tennessee-Martin football team has almost finished its first week of practice, and the Skyhawks already got their first big surprise of the season Wednesday. Former Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Steve McNair showed up at practice and gave the team a pep talk before they hit the field.

"It is the work you put in now that determines if you are ready to make that final play in the fourth quarter when it counts," the former NFL co-MVP told the team. McNair was in town visiting his two nephews: Jason and Julius McNair, who are both freshmen for the Skyhawks' football team this year.

UTM head coach Jason Simpson said having McNair, who finished third in the voting for the Heisman Trophy in 1994 despite only playing at the I-AA level at Alcorn State, was good for his team early in fall camp.

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Ex-WSSU lineman Hayes finds time to give back

William Hayes is in the very early stages of what he hopes will be a successful NFL career but he is also finding time to focus on helping others.

Hayes, a former star at High Point Andrews and Winston-Salem State, was a fourth-round pick by the Tennessee Titans in April's NFL Draft. He will speak in Jamestown next week, talking about his life on and off the football field in a speech titled "Making the Right Choices."

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WSSU's William Hayes selected 4th Rd., #103 by Tennessee Titans

Photo: Tennessee Titans draftee William Hayes, DE, 4th Round, #103 of the NFL 2008 Draft.

Tennessee traded away its fifth-rounder to move up and draft defensive end William Hayes at the start of the fourth.

PRESS CONFERENCE AT BAPTIST SPORTS PARK
FOLLOWING THE SELECTIONS OF CRAIG STEVENS AND WILLIAM HAYES

Titans Coach Jeff Fisher....

And then what we did was trade this year’s five to Washington to move up from 124 up to 103 and that got us in position to have an opportunity to draft William [Hayes]. We had William in, looked at William. The entire scouting staff looked at William over the last couple of days and the coaches and there is a lot of interest out there despite the early reports of what you may have read and so on and so forth. He was a very fast rising prospect. We feel like William can come in and help us immediately at the end position. Despite the fact that he came from a smaller school, he has some skills that are rare -- his hand use, his explosion, his quickness, his effort, his change of direction. We feel like William can help us right off the bat and the end position.

The kid had a great workout. He worked out with Wake Forest over there and [Jeremy] Thompson went just before him. He weighed 270 pounds and ran a 4.61 40. He had a good workout and he has natural skills. I don’t care what level he played on. He stands out as far as his hand skills and the things he does, leverage.

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Alcorn's Steve McNair left lasting impression

Where do I start in talking about former Alcorn State quarterback Steve McNair, who announced his retirement from the Baltimore Ravens last week? The many last-second wins at Henderson Stadium and then Jack Spinks Stadium where a concert-like crowd was treated to another rock-star type performance?

Steve McNair NFL Retirement Speech


The guy who went from saying maybe four sentences a game following a game his freshman year to a go who talked with ease with the country smile when he was a senior? The guy who played through so much pain and through so many injuries that bandage companies probably lost revenue after he left town?

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