Sunday, April 5, 2009

Elmore shines in South Carolina State scrimmage

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Lennel Elmore’s smile was too big to be hidden following the South Carolina State football team’s first scrimmage of the spring Saturday morning at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium. Elmore, a former Allendale-Fairfx standout, redshirted last season, seeing the majority of his action on the Bulldogs’ scout team. Saturday morning, Elmore showed how he earned the nickname “Superman” while in Allendale, hauling in three quick hitch passes and turning them into 79 yards of offense and a touchdown.

Coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough Bulldogs are not favored to repeat as MEAC Champions in 2009, based on fan response to a MEAC/SWAC Sports Main Street poll last month. The hardcore football fans believe the FAMU Rattlers will be league champions.

“It feels great,” Elmore said. “They are expecting a lot out of me, and I just feel like I have to step up to their expectations and play to the best of my ability.”

Elmore’s ability was put on display early in the scrimmage when he snagged a pass from quarterback Malcolm Long on the third offensive series, turned up field, juked a defender and headed for what appeared to be a touchdown. Instead, officials ruled that Elmore stepped out of bounds after gaining 53 yards and marked the ball down at the 3-yard line.

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Several FAMU players stand out in spring game

The Green team of mostly starters from last year did what it was expected to do at Bragg Stadium, handily beating the Orange squad with plenty of help from a defensive unit that scored three touchdowns. But on a balmy Saturday afternoon, a handful of Florida A&M players whose Orange squad fell 48-0 performed well enough to cause an argument that they have no intentions of being overlooked. "There are about four or five guys that really showed today that they in some kind of way need to be in that 90," coach Joe Taylor said, referring to the players who will be invited to preseason two-a-days in August.

Taylor was especially impressed with Andre Jacob who led the Orange team with 40 yards rushing on 12 carries. Red-shirt freshman receiver Jeremy Tillman also showed that he could be a candidate to bring depth to the receiving corps. Last season, the Rattlers had the league's leading scoring offense with 55 touchdowns, but just two weeks into spring practice the defense is clearly a step ahead of the unit that amassed 4,299 yards last year. "Overall I was satisfied," Taylor said. "I thought we competed as a team. I was a little concerned that we were a little bit sluggish with our punts and special teams but offensively I thought we competed."




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2009 PHOTO GALLERIES:
FAMU Orange & Green Game
FAN CAM - Green vs. Orange spring game
FAMU football practice

2008--Florida Classic FAMU 58, B-CU 35
FAMU vs. Hampton fan cam
FAMU 45 Hampton 24
ESPN visits FAMU
FAMU 45, N.C. A&T 7
Fan Cam: FAMU vs. N.C. A&T
Coach Steven Jerry
FAMU Homecoming game

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Things looking up for FAMU offense »
Former Seminole Culpepper gets a fresh start at Florida A&M »
FAMU football update: Taylor sees Rattlers making progress »
FAMU splits doubleheader with North Carolina A&T »Some good, some bad at FAMU's scrimmage »

New TSU coach wants to turn up tempo

Style of offense will take full advantage of players' talents

Lots of players are quick to say they prefer fast-break basketball over a half-court attack. Tennessee State's men's team got to experience both styles last season. With Cy Alexander as coach, the Tigers relied on the slower, half-court style. After Alexander was fired Feb. 6 and assistant Mark Pittman took over on an interim basis, the Tigers kicked it into a much higher gear. After the change, a team that started 6-16 went on a tear, winning six of its last eight games.

Not surprisingly, several players said they hoped to stick with the faster pace, and with former Auburn assistant John Cooper taking over, they'll get their wish. "One of the things I noticed is that if you look at this team at the beginning of the year and then toward the end, they averaged almost 10 points more per game,'' the 40-year-old coach said during his first news conference Monday. "I've been able to watch a little bit of videotape and get a general feel for the players in the program and I think there are some that it will certainly help their style if we're able to get out in the open court and execute."

Cooper met the Nashville media for the first time since he was named Alexander's replacement Friday. Pittman was also among those considered for the job.

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JSU football: Jamison can help Glover fit in

Something is missing in the middle of the Jackson State defense. The presence of No. 56 patrolling and barking out orders is gone for the first time in what feels like forever. Marellus Speaks was the unquestioned leader of the entire team and was named SWAC defensive player of the year in 2008. For two years he and Marcus Jamison filled the two middle linebacker positions and were as inseparable as conjoined twins. Now, Jamison stands alone.

"I could just look at Speaks and feel Speaks sometimes," Jamison said. "I could just look at Speaks' eyes and just know it was time to play hard, regardless, to the end."

Jamison is now trying to form that same relationship and bond with will-be senior LeBrandon Glover. The transfer from South Florida has made his mark primarily on special teams during his two-year tenure at JSU. Glover is holding down the starting position this spring - arguably the most important slot on a defense that ranked among the best in the nation last year.

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Southern, Prairie View split doubleheader

The Southern baseball team cooled off all at once Saturday afternoon at Lee-Hines Field. The Jaguars’ bats went silent. Their winning streak ended at nine, and it ended with a thud. They lost 12-1 against Prairie View in the second game of a doubleheader, thanks to a near-perfect performance from Panthers pitcher Mark Almaguer. And yet, none of that qualified as the scariest part the afternoon.

That happened at 1:14 p.m., in the fourth inning of the first game — a 12-5 victory for Southern. At that moment, ace pitcher Jarrett Maloy took a line drive to his right ankle. He collapsed and spent two minutes face-down on the mound, then eventually got up and walked around, testing the ankle. Maloy threw two warm-up pitches, then got back to work. Better yet, he worked himself out of a one-out bases-loaded jam in the fourth. That was his last inning.

GAME ONE BOX SCORE
GAME TWO BOX SCORE

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Saturday, April 4, 2009

Bulldogs Smalls trying to become the man behind ‘The Franchise’

Kenneth Smalls is a realist when it comes to his goals heading into his senior year at South Carolina State University. “If I can get at least five or six carries a game, that would be good,” he said. “They could use me for small yards or something like that.”

This may sound like the former James Island standout has resigned himself to seeing limited action for the Bulldogs. After all, Smalls looks at the depth chart and sees two players - the reigning Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year in William Ford and team touchdown leader Travil Jamison - who accounted for 73.7 percent of S.C. State’s carries and 75.8 percent of the rushing yards.

Yet through six spring practice sessions, Smalls has not looked like a running back content with limited playing time after working his way from the practice squad. Having dropped 12 pounds during the off-season, the 5-8, 233-pounder is determined to put himself in position to be a third option out of the backfield.

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NSU wants a day off; foe wants to cash in

NSU president Dr. Carolyn W. Meyers says DSU offered to pay NSU between $25,000 and $30,000 for changing their schedule.

Delaware State wants a record pay day. Norfolk State just wants a day off. The conference rivals, accustomed to knocking heads on the football field, are beginning early this year, in a tussle over scheduling. The Hornets, hoping to bank $500,000 by playing at Michigan, have asked Norfolk State to move a game at Delaware State from Nov. 14 to Oct. 3. The problem, that's the Spartans' open date. Move the game, and NSU would play 10 straight weeks without a break - after four weeks of preseason camp.

That's unacceptable, said school officials, who went on the public relations offensive by holding a news conference Friday. The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference schedule has been set for more than a year. Delaware State knew that when Michigan called, offering what is believed to be the most lucrative "guarantee" game in MEAC history. "We should not have to be disadvantaged because another university did not respect the conference schedule," NSU president Carolyn W. Meyers said.

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