A&M offense lights up night

Atkins tosses five touchdowns in Maroon victory

Held in check for much of training camp, Alabama A&M's offense finally exploded Saturday night during its third preseason scrimmage.Quarterback Kevin Atkins threw for 316 yards and five touchdowns as the Maroon clobbered the White 58-6 on Fan Day at Louis Crews Stadium. The Maroon team was made up of first- and second-teamers, while the White team consisted of primarily third-teamers.

"We turned it on tonight," said Atkins, who was 12-of-22 with a pair of interceptions. "We've got a lot of big-play ability. I'm feeling a lot more comfortable. Things are starting to slow down for me and I'm getting a complete grasp of the entire offense. "We made a couple of mistakes. I take the blame for both interceptions. I take the blame for both interceptions.

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Junior QB from Hawaii making waves at Mississippi Valley

Willie Totten believes Ryan Burciaga will give Mississippi Valley State an offensive jolt this season. The Delta Devils need all the help they can get after finishing last in the Southwestern Athletic Conference in total offense, seventh in scoring and ninth in passing en route to a 3-8 record in 2007.

The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder from Honolulu, Hawaii, took over as the No. 1 quarterback during spring practice with his improved play and appears to have nailed down the starting nod for Valley's season opener Aug. 30 at home against Texas College. "I told Ryan at the end of spring that it was his job to lose, and by the looks of things so far, he has no plans on giving up the No. 1 spot," said Totten, who is in his seventh season as the MVSU head coach.

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Extreme makeover for Savannah State athletics

The horse is catching up to the cart at Savannah State University. When SSU jumped into NCAA Division I - college athletics' highest level - in 2002, the Tigers lacked an extensive feasibility study, adequate facilities and financial resources. These days, the historically black college is a whirlwind of activity. Progress, something SSU athletes and alumni crave, is evident in renovations to T.A. Wright Stadium (football) and Wilcox-Wiley gymnasium (volleyball). The improvements don't end there.



SSU has created the Tiger Club for boosters, an attempt to secure the necessary funds for scholarships to recruit the best student-athletes possible. SSU also has developed licensing and corporate marketing programs. Even the walls are talking inside Tiger Arena (basketball) thanks to the addition of colorful action photographs featuring biographies of former athletes. The athletics upgrades, part of the vision of school president Earl Yarbrough, vice president for administration Claud Flythe and athletics director Bart Bellairs, are long-awaited steps toward fielding teams that can be competitive in all sports.

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SCSU Bulldog D dominates on 'Meet the Players Day'

SCSU receiver Oliver 'Tre' Young.



















The close to 250 fans who took part in South Carolina State’s “Meet the Players Day” at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Saturday witnessed a scrimmage dominated by the defense.

“I thought defensively, we did better than we did offensively,” S.C. State head football coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough said. “Offensively, I thought today we were very medium. I think it had maybe something to do with the fact that our defense is starting to really kind of keep a grip of us and do some things to kind of shut us down. Whether or not we can attribute all of that to our defense, I don’t know. It might be the fact that offense just didn’t have it today. But, I think it was mostly because our defense played better.”

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JSU Tigers feed off junior Jamison's high energy

Former Alabama A&M quarterback Kelcy Luke can probably still hear the taunts from 2007. Where you at Kelcy? Here I come Kelcy! Where you going Kelcy? Surprise, surprise, Jackson State linebacker Marcus Jamison was the one doing the talking. He's always the one talking. "I like to stay crunk and stay hyped," Jamison said. "Football is not a quiet game. When everybody's involved, it's a whole lot easier. Everybody talking and just in that mode."

Jamison seems to live in that mode. Ask coaches and teammates about the 6-foot-1, 235-pound junior and the adjectives start to fly - intense, a high motor, motivator. If Jamison isn't talking, something's wrong. "That's the guy that gets me," said linebacker Marcellus Speaks, the undisputed leader of the defense. "I kind of get in that mode too."

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Freshmen fare well for SU Jaguars

SU quarterback Bryant Lee, the SWAC’s preseason offensive player of the year.

The ho-hum part of Southern’s substantial scrimmage Saturday morning was the first-stringers did well. The sizzle is in how freshmen Jerry Joseph and LaQuinton Evans keep coming on. Joseph, a running back from Ville Platte High, scored twice, including a 19-yard grab in which he put a hand on the turf to steady himself and then turned on the speed to slash through the defense.

And Evans, a wide receiver from Mansfield High, had three grabs for 75 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown. Together, they scored three of SU’s five touchdowns at A.W. Mumford Stadium. Their performances continued an important preseason camp trend, as SU trotted out a crop of newcomers who have added a depth lacking in recent years and brought in significant talent and drive.

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Southern's first team sets tone early

Southern Jaguars head football coach Pete Richardson

Kendrick Smith set the tone for Southern’s scrimmage Saturday by taking a screen pass to the right, slipping between the blocks nicely set up ahead of him and speeding away for an 80-yard gain. What’s the tone? The first stringers who have grown together over the years and helped SU to a bounce-back 8-3 record a year ago are ahead of the second stringers.

As the Jaguars went more than 120 plays Saturday at A.W. Mumford Stadium, the first teams worked exclusively against their second-team counterparts. The first-team offense, even with center Ramon Chinyoung (groin), fullback Alvin Fosselman (hamstring) and running back Brian Threat (hamstring) out and Smith (hand) limited to two touches, looked smooth working against the second-team defense.

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ASU QB race is still tight

Junior linebacker John Hogan, an all-SWAC player as a freshman, has been kicked off the team

A little over a week ago, Alabama State head coach Reggie Barlow said he wanted to name a starting quarterback at least two weeks before the Hornets' first game at Florida A&M. Saturday was Barlow's self-imposed deadline. He's going to blow it. Following a solid week of practices from both Anthony Speight and Reid Herchenbach, Barlow said the race was still too close to call, and he gave himself a few extra days to come to a decision.

"Hopefully, this week we can get the guy," he said. "What I was really hoping for is for one of those guys to step up and just blow it away, make himself the clear choice. That hasn't happened. They've both played well -- really well. It's been a tight, competitive race." If a little flash is what Barlow was looking for, Herchenbach obliged on Saturday.

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FAMU Rattlers' defense has its way

FAMU's offense hampers battle for starting QB; freshman Derrick Shaw emerges at quarterback

Quarterback Eddie Battles' struggles were glaringly obvious against a defense that was very disruptive. The defensive pressures were enough to overshadow what seemed like a battle brewing for the back-up quarterback role. But while the offense couldn't do much during FAMU's first scrimmage Saturday, coach Joe Taylor said he didn't see much that was unexpected. More than anything else, he was upbeat about the progress he saw on defense.
























"This first scrimmage is mainly to try to find the personnel: who's willing to fly around and who is willing to make some contact," Taylor said, praising the defense that forced turnovers and interceptions.

"That gives you a sigh of relief because you wouldn't want it the other way around. Usually this is what happens. I told them usually this is how it works out." Taylor said changes in personnel and schemes are likely after he reviews each player's performance on film.

Photo Gallery: FAMU Football Scrimmage

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AAMU New tight ends aim to catch on

Aside from quarterback Kelcy Luke, Alabama A&M's biggest losses on offense were tight ends three-time All-SWAC selection Charles Moody and John Smith. A&M's new tight ends offer few credentials and no numbers to speak of. Todd Leichtfuss and Jeremy Cunningham have caught one pass between them, but despite their lack of playing time and production, they're confident they can be just as effective.

I feel that we can handle this," said Leichtfuss, a 6-foot-2, 217-pound junior who will serve as the Bulldogs' long- snapper for the third straight year in addition to his tight end duties. "As long as we do our job and not worry about anybody else, everything will take care of itself." Cunningham was a little more adamant.

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DSU Hall's expertise shapes top-level special teams

DOVER, DE -- Inside the Mishoe Science Building at Delaware State, young men are paying homage to some of history's greatest motivational generals while being led by a corporal. Away from the chatter of campus life, it's a place to soak in a daily education in football. And the youngest member of DSU's coaching staff, special teams coach Derek Hall, is teaching at this oasis of football knowledge.

"We try to do things that are fun and exciting," Hall said. "I take a special approach. It's not just a special teams meeting." Under Hall, one of just two assistant coaches who remain from head coach Al Lavan's first season in 2004, the Hornets special teams unit has become the envy of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

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SU Jaguars set scrimmage today at Mumford

Southern University will hold its first major scrimmage of the preseason at 9 a.m. today in A.W. Mumford Stadium. The Jaguars will go about 120 plays. This time, unlike a week ago when they finished with 40 plays from selected spots on the field, the offense will advance the ball, with downs being kept. The scrimmage will be open to the public.

“We’ll go down the field, and if they don’t make it, we’ll come back. Situational stuff,” Southern coach Pete Richardson said. The scrimmage will be crucial in evaluating players after two full weeks of camp. SU will take off Sunday and then start a school-week practices Monday. Because of NCAA sanctions in the wake of another unsatisfactory Academic Progress Rate showing, SU is limited to 16 hours instead of 20.

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SWAC 7-game league format has pluses, minuses

The Southwestern Athletic Conference will kick off a new and somewhat controversial conference schedule on Aug. 30. The new format calls for seven games to decide the SWAC divisional races instead of nine. The thought process is that fewer conference games opens up dates for schools to schedule a "money game" against a Division I-A opponent, a game that could pay schools upwards of $500,000.

The idea was approved by the council of presidents, SWAC commissioner Duer Sharp said. The format has its pluses and minuses. Teams that are able to land games against better schools get a boost in revenue and a little national exposure for the league. "With us, the first thing you look at is how is this going to affect us from a financial standpoint," Sharp said.

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FAMU QB Lee has big upside

FAMU Coach Joe Taylor quarterbacks are lacking in game experience, but are talented.

There's inexperienced. And then there's inexperienced. Florida A&M's starting quarterback, Eddie Battle, is a redshirt sophomore who saw action in only six games last year. But compared to Tobias Lee, the Rattlers' No.2 quarterback, Battle is a grizzled veteran. Lee is a redshirt freshman from Brundidge, Ala., who has yet to take a snap in a college game. It's not as if he came to FAMU with a lot of experience, either. Lee played quarterback for only one season at Pike County High School.



He was primarily a receiver in high school, and the FAMU staff was considering playing him at tight end until backup quarterback Robert Love left the team. Quarterbacks coach Steven Jerry likes what Lee brings to the field, however. Jerry sees an athletic, 6-foot-4 youngster who throws left-handed and may have the strongest arm on the team. We're working on his presence in the huddle," Jerry said.

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FAMU kickers under microscope

Head coach Joe Taylor was only joking when he suggested to special-teams coach Juan Vasquez that he might have to make arrangements for three kickers to travel with the FAMU football team this season. The race to find a do-all kicker is really that close, though. The contenders are Troy Walker, Trevor Scott and Will Platt. None of them seem to be able to get a leg up on the other since practice began earlier this week.

"Right now we can't make a decision by looking at them," Vasquez said Friday. "To separate them, we actually have to record everything they do on film; watch the hang time on punts. It's the small things that are separating them right now." FAMU has not had such a battle in at least 15 years to find its starting kicker.

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Grambling defense shaping up in camp as offense seeks identity

GRAMBLING — While the Grambling offense continues to be a work in progress, the Grambling defense is shaping into a formidable force. "On defense we're playing really well and getting better, and we're showing some signs," coach Rod Broadway said. Offense is taking a bit longer than we anticipated, but the only solution to that is to just continue to work."

The root of the offense's miscues is the battle to determine a starting quarterback. The defense has no such issues. The Tigers have a strong stable of returnees in both the secondary and on the defensive line, and have talented linebackers to boot. Last season Grambling's ranked third in the SWAC in scoring defense (18 points per game) and second in total defense (305 yards per game).

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SU DBs look to help youngsters

Glenn Bell and Michael Williams have one more year to make an impact on the field at Southern, but their legacy could last longer. The two defensive backs help make the secondary as the most veteran unit on the team. However, there’s an interesting dynamic working within the group. After four seniors and a junior among the top five defensive backs, there is a host of up-and-coming players.

With that in mind, Bell and Williams, both in their fifth years with the program, have been providing the kind of leadership that can have an impact on the growth of that group. “After my starters, it is a lot of young guys,” first-year defensive backs coach Jackie Mitchell said. “There are guys who have been around, but not actually in the fire. With that, it’s been great with Glenn Bell and Mike Williams stepping up, being leaders, having them out here early, going over the checks, going over the calls.

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TSU tries to plug hole at cornerback

Tigers foursome works to replace NFL draft pick

Cornerbacks are supposed to apply pressure on receivers, but at Tennessee State, it's the cornerbacks who are under heavy pressure.The players vying for the starting cornerback assignments face extra scrutiny because the position was a glaring strength of the defense during the four years Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was on the roster.

The consensus All-American is no longer around. He was taken in the first round of the NFL draft by the Arizona Cardinals, leaving several players with the challenge of carrying on TSU's tradition for strong cornerback play. "It's a little bit different back there now,'' defensive backs coach John Parker said. "It's hard to replace Dominique because he's such a great athlete. But we've got good people athleticism-wise. We've got some young ones and we're doing the best we can to get them ready to go."

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SCSU Bulldogs hold 'lively' practice

Sophomore quarterback Malcolm Long

South Carolina State worked out in full pads Thursday morning during an approximate two-hour drill which emphasized team-style execution and fundamentals, according to head coach Buddy Pough. The Bulldogs also completed their installations during the session, which Pough called lively.

“We had great weather again,” Pough said “and this led to a lot of enthusiasm. The players were very lively and appear to be excited about the upcoming season. “We have mostly identified those players that will make up our depth chart in just about every area with the exception of special teams where we still have some development to do, but we expect that area to be set in a week or so.”

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Alabama State switches to spread offense

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Alabama State won't be able to Peck away at opposing defenses this season. The Hornets have relied heavily on tailback Jay Peck the past two years, but now have made the switch to a more pass-oriented spread offense. Just having a good running game isn't enough for coach Reggie Barlow any more.

"Last year we finished pretty high in total offense but when you look at it we rushed the ball better than everybody else," Barlow, a former NFL receiver, said. "Our passing game was really bad. With this system we'll throw the ball around more. Passing-wise, we should be up in the top-tier. That hopefully will open up running lanes.

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