Homecoming 2010: WSSU puts on a grand parade

Winston Salem, N.C. - Musicians, dancers, beauty queens and fire trucks marched, strutted, waved and rolled through downtown yesterday in celebration of Winston-Salem State University’s homecoming.

WSSU’s Red Sea of Sound Marching Band helped kick off the 10 a.m. parade that drew a throng of people along the Fourth Street route.

Bobbietta Adams was there with her daughter Cameron, 4, who was having fun dancing to the music and waving to the band’s members as they marched by. Bobbietta Adams has been a WSSU fan all her life.

» Gallery: 10-23-2010 Homecoming Parade for Winston-Salem State University

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WSSU's Dunston, Jefferson are finalists at QB

With two weeks to go before Winston-Salem State's first game, the quarterback competition is down to two possible starters. Coach Kermit Blount said yesterday that either junior Jarrett Dunston or redshirt freshman Tienne Jefferson will be the starter when the Rams open at N.C. A&T on Sept. 6. "I knew you were going to ask that question," Blount said about the quarterback competition that began with four players vying for the job.

Redshirt sophomore Brian Wynn has been shifted to wide receiver and freshman Branden Williams will likely be redshirted. Whatever Blount and offensive coordinator Nick Calcutta decide, it's expected that Dunston and Jefferson will alternate during games. "I think Nick and I have agreed were going to wait another week to name the starter," Blount said. "We've got some time to figure it out and when we name the starter that guy will get more reps in practice. I feel confident with either one of them because we like some of things Jarrett can do and some of the things Tienne can do."

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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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WSSU signs 4 more to complete recruiting class

For the first time in the past 11 years of recruiting, Coach Kermit Blount of Winston-Salem State did not sign a local player. The Rams completed their class of 14yesterday with the addition of four players. The four signees announced yesterday included two teammates from Georgetown Prep in Washington, D.C. - Edgar Sheppard, a 6-4, 305 offensive lineman, and Jimmy Johnson III, a 6-3, 230-pound tight end.

Johnson, is the son of Jimmy Johnson II, a former NFL player who is the tight-ends coach for the Minnesota Vikings. Also signed was defensive end Akeem Ward, 6-4, 260, from Holly Springs, N.C. and Stephen Young of Woodbridge, Va., a 6-3, 260, defensive end and a state champion in wrestling in the heavyweight division for Gar-Field High School and has a career record of 106-22.

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Rested WSSU Rams ready to move on

Photo: WSSU Head Football Coach Kermit Blount

By John Dell, JOURNAL REPORTER

WSSU, coming off open date, is headed to Bethune-Cookman

There have been times in recent years when a week off has come at the wrong time for Winston-Salem State. But last Saturday’s open date couldn’t have come at a better time, according to Coach Kermit Blount.

“We needed it, that’s for sure,” said Blount, whose Rams were back at practice yesterday in preparation for Saturday’s game at Bethune-Cookman. “It just gave everybody a chance to take a step back because we’ve been going at this pretty hard since August.”

The Rams (3-3) are coming off a 27-23 win over Florida A&M on Oct. 6 in Indianapolis. Blount was pleased with his team’s effort and with getting the victory, but he was a little worried about a hangover effect of such a big win.

“I hope they aren’t still celebrating because it’s time to get back to work,” Blount said before yesterday’s practice. “I think these guys realize that we have more work to do this season, and it starts this week in practice.”

Blount said that the Rams had just two short practices last week, and he gave them the weekend off, something that quarterback Monte Purvis took advantage of.

Purvis, who has been nursing a sore left shoulder, said he mostly watched football and stayed on the couch.

“This break came at a good time for us seniors because it lets us know that we only have five more games left in our careers,” Purvis said. “I think in four of these next five games we lost to them last year, so we want to make up for that.”

Even though Purvis didn’t have very good passing numbers against Florida A&M, his grasp of the offense and confidence level in the second half was evident.

Photo: QB Monte Purvis

The Rams had two key series against the Rattlers in which Purvis used his savvy and his feet to gain valuable yardage. They scored touchdowns on both drives.

Purvis has rushed for 299 yards on 101 carries this season, and while the average is just three yards a carry, his leadership has been invaluable. He didn’t have a turnover in the win over A&M, and in the previous game against Howard, an overtime loss, he passed for a career-best 261 yards.

“I’m real happy for Monte for a lot of reasons,” Blount said. “He’s a local kid, and it’s tough to play in your own backyard and play consistently because he probably knows more people in this town than anybody on our team. Everywhere he goes, he’s the subject of criticism with somebody saying something negative.”

Purvis, a three-year starter, hasn’t backed down from any of this season’s challenges.

“His maturity, that’s been the biggest part,” Blount said. “To see him mature and grow into a leader and do the things I knew he was capable of doing all along is great to see. It’s his last season, and I think he’s having fun. I’ve seen him go from being a quiet guy to being the jokester in the locker room.”

The Rams have been learning a new offense under coordinator Nick Calcutta, and Purvis has picked it up.

“Hopefully, this break doesn’t slow us down (but) just enhanced us a little more,” Blount said. “It gave those guys a chance to rest and hopefully the guys … got that rest they needed.”

Blount said that part of the reason for the Rams’ resurgence in the past two games has been the play of the line.

“It’s been a matter of them continuing to learn this new system,” Blount said. “That system we ran last year and the year before is totally different than what we are doing this year.

“I think the great part of it is I have some real great football coaches on staff, and they have put in the time and energy to get this done and it’s taken the pressure off me.”

WSSU Rams' tailback depth to be tested

Photo: Winston-Salem State's Jed Bines (1) suffered a high-ankle sprain against Morgan State.

By John Dell, Winston Salem Journal

McRae out for season with broken wrist; Bines questionable for Saturday

With the exception of minor bumps and bruises, Winston-Salem State’s football players stayed healthy through their first two games of the season.

That all changed in Saturday’s 19-17 win over Morgan State, and the Rams played the second half without their two top running backs, Brandon McRae and Jed Bines.

McRae, the team’s leading rusher last season with 623 yards, suffered a broken wrist and is out for the rest of the season.

Bines suffered a high-ankle sprain in the first quarter and did not return. He is questionable for Saturday’s game at South Carolina State.

Coach Kermit Blount said that adjusting to the injuries this week will be a primary focus heading into Saturday’s game.

“We’ll know by (today) or Thursday if Jed can get back on the field,” Blount said. Bines missed practice Monday and yesterday and is wearing a protective boot on his left ankle.

Bines said he hasn’t missed a game because of an injury since his senior year at Parkland in 2002, and plans to play Saturday. He did miss all of last season because he was academically ineligible.

“It’s getting better by the day, and I’ve been doing a lot of treatments with our trainer (Darrell Turner),” Bines said of his ankle. “I think the way it stands now is, I’ll try to run on it a little bit on Thursday to see how it responds.”

Blount sounded optimistic that Bines, who needs just 18 yards to reach 3,000 for his career, could return this week.

“It’s going to be hard to keep him out because he’s such a competitor, and I know he wants to play,” Blount said.

With Bines and McRae sharing time, the tailback position was one of the Rams’ strongest assets. That’s no longer the case.

Rod Fluellen, who was a reserve tailback last season but was moved to slotback this season, will likely be the starter on Saturday even if Bines can play.

Fluellen moved to tailback in the second half against Morgan State but had just 10 carries for 20 yards.

Blount said that freshman Nic Copper, one of the Rams’ top signings who was expected to redshirt this season, will travel to Orangeburg on Saturday. Copper, 6-0 and 220 pounds, starred for Clinton High School where he ran for more than 2,000 yards as a junior. Cooper hasn’t played this season but has excelled on the scout team during practice.

“It’s kind of up in the air to see how things play out this week in practice,” Blount said.

Blount said that the rest of his team is healthy.

“This is going to be probably a more physical game than the Morgan State game,” Blount said, “so we’ll need to be a full strength.”

VIDEO:

Freshman Mitchell is center of attention at WSSU after his winning kick

Photo: Matt Mitchell made his first two field-goal attempts of his career.

By John Dell, Winston Salem Journal

Matt Mitchell finds all the attention a little overwhelming.

“I’ve never done a TV interview before,” he said yesterday during Winston-Salem State’s weekly press conference. “I really don’t know what to say.”

Mitchell, a freshman kicker from Belmont, prefers to let his right foot do the talking.

He made the first two field-goal attempts of his college career Saturday as WSSU beat Morgan State 19-17. His second field goal, a 24-yarder with 4/10ths of a second to play, won the game.

“Maybe I’ll get used it,” Mitchell, smiling, said of his sudden popularity.

Coach Kermit Blount of the Rams couldn’t help but poke fun at Mitchell’s first shot at a TV interview.

“You weren’t nervous were you Matt?” Blount said. “Well, get used to it, because you are going to have to do more of these.”

Mitchell has noticed fellow students paying him more attention.

“People I haven’t ever talked to before have come up to me and said ‘nice kick,’” Mitchell said.

From Shawn Thomas to Ashton Oakley to Matt Hind to Chad Oakley, the Rams have had successful kickers in recent seasons. But Chad Oakley graduated in the spring, forcing the Rams to break in a new kicker.

Blount and his staff set their sights on Mitchell, a 6-0, 190-pounder who also played some safety at South Point High School. He came in with WSSU’s latest class of recruits and so far has been the most valuable. As a high-school senior, he made 6 of 8 field-goal attempts, with his longest a 53-yarder.

Mitchell said he had two offers, a half scholarship at Lenior-Rhyne and a full scholarship at WSSU. He decided on WSSU, but not just because of football.

“What made me want to come here was they have an animation program I liked, and I would be the starting kicker,” said Mitchell, who wants to get into cartoon animation after graduation.

Mitchell also kicks off, and he isn’t afraid to throw his body around. Offensive coordinator Nick Calcutta said that Mitchell’s big hit on an unsuspecting Morgan State player during a kickoff is one to remember.

“I saw this guy coming out of the corner of my eye, so I just braced myself and ended up hitting him pretty good, and he flew up in the air,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell didn’t celebrate after the hit. He simply walked back to the sideline.

“He’s just a quiet kid,” Calcutta said. “He loves playing the game and loves being here. He’s a great competitor, but those TV guys have their work cut out for them trying to get him to talk because it’s like pulling teeth with him.”

Calcutta said it’s an asset having a kicker who isn’t high-maintenance. “He’s able to block a lot of distractions out,” Calcutta said.

Mitchell has had to adjust to place-kicking without a tee, as he did in high school, and Blount has been easing ease him into the role. Mitchell didn’t attempt a field goal in WSSU’s first two games but was perfect on his extra-point attempts.

On Saturday, Mitchell’s first field goal was perfect from 38 yards. However, he had an extra-point attempt blocked in the fourth quarter after a missed assignment on the line.

On the winning field goal, holder Justin Sherrod handled a high snap, but got the ball down, and Mitchell made the kick easily.

As for the celebration, Mitchell jumped up twice. That was it.

“I was more nervous on the first kick because it was my first attempt and it was from 38,” Mitchell said.

One of the traditions that the Rams have is selecting one player to give a short speech to the team during pregame preparations. Running back Jed Bines said that Mitchell was selected before the game against Coastal Carolina but didn’t say much.

Now, standing in front of his teammates and getting them fired up should be easier.

“I can’t ever think of anything to say,” Mitchell said.

“I want it to be good, so the guys will be excited.”