UAPB ready to put its newly added facilities to use

Expect to see some positively bug-eyed college football players when the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions report for their first official practice this morning at Golden Lion Stadium.

Many of them will be getting their first look at UAPB's new 27,000-square foot field house, one that features ample locker room space for home and visiting teams, a war room for the coaching staff, a new weight facility, offices for each coach and a training room complete with a hydrotherapy pool.

The team will spend the first two weeks practicing inside Golden Lion Stadium to let the grass take hold on a new practice field located behind the visitors stands. "I think some of the guys may cry, "first-year Golden Lions Coach Monte Coleman said.

J. Thomas May Field House with Golden Lion Stadium in the background. - Home of the UAPB Golden Lions Football Team.

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UAPB Golden Lions 2008 Football Schedule

Date Opponent Location Time/Result
8/30/2008 UA-Monticello Pine Bluff 6:00 pm
9/6/2008 Henderson State Arkadelphia, AR 6:00 pm
9/13/2008 Central Arkansas Little Rock, AR 6:00 pm
9/18/2008 Alcorn State Lorman, MS 6:30 pm
9/27/2008 Alabama A&M Pine Bluff 6:00 pm
10/11/2008 Jackson State Pine Bluff 4:00 pm
10/18/2008 Prairie View A&M Pine Bluff 4:00 pm
10/25/2008 Lincoln (HC) Pine Bluff 2:30 pm
11/1/2008 Southern Baton Rouge, LA 6:00 pm
11/8/2008 Grambling State Little Rock, AR 4:00 pm
11/15/2008 Mississippi Valley State Pine Bluff 2:30 pm
11/29/2008 Texas Southern Dallas, TX 2:30 pm

Monte Coleman Head Football Coach / Defensive Coordinator
Jonathan Cannon Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line
Phillip Cole Tight Ends/Special Teams
Alonzo Hampton Defensive Backs (Corner)
Gary Harper Defensive Line
Henry Miller Defensive Backs (Safety)
Craig Raye Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator
Keith Saine Running Backs
Winston Delane Quarterbacks Coach

S.C. State: It is time for an S.O.S.

S.O.S.? That’s State of State, and before the South Carolina State Bulldogs take the field for the 2008 season, a year in which they will face Central Florida and Clemson, as the favorites for the MEAC title what better time to look at the school’s athletic programs as a whole?

You should have been there last year. If you were a South Carolina State fan, you really should have been there. Cleve McCoy was slickly dressed, Marshall McFadden couldn’t stop smiling and the two players stood next to proud former Bulldogs head coach Willie Jeffries and current SCSU head man Oliver “Buddy” Pough in the stands at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium (see photo below).

Outside the stadium, across the road, a bus sat with its engine warming. For the first time in 100 years of football, the South Carolina State football team was going to play a College Bowl Subdivision team – Air Force. It was a highlight. The South Carolina game was a highlight to...

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SSU's Kilcrease leads QB competition

Locals DeFilippis, Wilson and Taylor in the mix

Savannah State first-year football coach Robby Wells has named JaCorey Kilcrease the Tigers' starting quarterback going into fall practice, which begins at 3:30 p.m. today. Kilcrease, a 6-foot, 170-pound junior, was SSU's starting quarterback last season. His playing time was shortened after he suffered a separated left (non-throwing) shoulder in the third game against Bethune-Cookman.

Kilcrease started five of the seven games in which he played. He was 62-for-126 passing for 490 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions. His backup, freshman Greg McCrary, was 38-for-95 passing for 412 yards, three touchdowns and 13 interceptions. McCrary quit the team after last season.


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SU offensive line enjoying more depth

At one point last season, Southern University was down to six offensive linemen. So the joy of not being able to spot massive second-year offensive line coach Damon Nivens amidst a sea of 15 linemen, with another on the sideline awaiting medical clearance, was noticeable.

“Those guys from last year are like, ‘Coach, there is a God, because we’ve got depth now,’” Nivens, a former black college All-American tackle at SU, said.

Jaguars offensive line coach Damon Nivens has three offensive lines to work with this season.

Because of attrition that was heavy on academic losses, a year ago at camp, SU had to switch senior tight end Trent Thomas to left tackle. Though not built for the role and with no experience, Thomas was a second-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference pick and SU went 8-3. Said coach Pete Richardson, “We were real lucky last year, thanks to those individuals.”

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NCCU football set for preseason

Eagles report today, practice Tuesday

N.C. Central's football players will report today to begin preparation for the Eagles' second year of competing in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA). The Eagles will check in at 1 p.m., followed by a meeting with new athletic director Ingrid Wicker-McCree, dinner, physicals and a team meeting.

The team's first open practice will be Tuesday at 4 p.m. NCCU returns 44 lettermen (24 on offense, 20 on defense) from a team that went 6-4 in 2007. Second-year NCCU head coach Mose Rison has nine returning starters, and all but two are on the offensive side of the ball. Senior quarterback Stadford Brown, fifth on the Eagles' career passing yards list with 4,288 in just two seasons, leads the offense. Brown threw for 1,711 yards and 14 touchdowns a year ago.

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2008 NCCU FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Date Opponent / Event Location Time / Result

08/31/08 vs. Fayetteville State Durham, NC 4:00 p.m. ET
09/06/08 at James Madison Harrisonburg, VA 6:00 p.m. ET
09/13/08 at Morgan State Baltimore, MD 4:00 p.m. ET
09/20/08 at Central Connecticut State New Britain, CT 1:00 p.m. ET
10/04/08 vs. North Carolina A&T Charlotte, NC (Memorial Stadium) 5:00 p.m. ET
10/11/08 at Presbyterian Clinton, SC 1:30 p.m. ET
10/18/08 at Coastal Carolina Conway, SC 7:00 p.m. ET
11/01/08 vs. Edward Waters (HC) Durham, NC 1:30 p.m. ET
11/08/08 at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, CA 4:00 p.m. PT
11/15/08 vs. Winston-Salem State Durham, NC 1:30 p.m. ET
11/22/08 vs. Savannah State Durham, NC 1:00 p.m. ET

Grambling 2008 Season Begins Now

GRAMBLING, LA – The first practice of the 2008 campaign is in the books as the Grambling State Tigers opened year two of the Rod Broadway era on Friday morning at the Robinson Stadium Support Facility Practice Field.

“Practice went well and I’ve got an early gauge of what areas we’ll need to work on right away,” said Tiger head coach Rod Broadway. “There also was an obvious difference in the conditioning level of the guys who stayed here in the summer opposed to the ones who remained at home. However, we’ll round them into shape by the first game.”

Click here to play video

Broadway and staff spent most of the practice with his 90-man squad to get used to the various drills they’ll run throughout the majority of their practices. Once the two-hour practice came to an end, the team assembled on the sidelines and wrapped practice up with several sideline-to-sideline conditioning sprints.

The Tigers return to the gridiron tomorrow morning for a single 8 a.m. workout.

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Liberia turns to B-CU coach

DAYTONA BEACH -- The position is not a prestigious one, nor does it occupy a rung on the way up the track and field coaching ladder. Garfield Ellenwood did not accept the job as head coach of the Liberian national track team to better his career. Indeed, all you need to know about the scope of this post is that Ellenwood was hired by a man whose full-time occupation is a pharmaceutical sales rep in Indianapolis.

The Liberian track team has 14 members, said Ellenwood, whose full-time job is head track coach at Bethune-Cookman University. Only three have qualified for the Beijing Olympics. They will be the only three Liberian athletes marching in Friday's opening ceremonies.

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DSU Hornets look for repeat title

DOVER -- The Delaware State University football team has shown steady improvement in each of coach Al Lavan's four seasons. And that is all Lavan asks of the Hornets. Coming off a year in which DSU won its first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football title since 1991 and earned its first bid to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, Lavan is not expecting anything less as his team prepares for the 2008 season.

Delaware State University has a two-head football monster in defensive coordinator Ray Petty (former head coach at Howard University) and head coach Al Lavan. Coach Lavan has a 29-16 record in four years of resurrection of the DSU Hornets.

Delaware State's players will arrive on campus for preseason practice on Friday morning. Their MEAC title defense begins when the Hornets face Florida A&M at Alumni Stadium on Sept. 4 at 7:30 p.m. Lavan knows it is in the heat of preseason camp that the foundation will be laid for his team's ultimate level of success. "Each year that we have been here, we've been able to improve our talent," Lavan said. "I think the players that are in our program have taken a step forward each year."

Improved depth helps SU in heat

Better depth trumped broiling heat during Southern’s first football practice of the season.Unlike last season, when offseason attrition sapped the offensive and defensive lines, those units worked with substantially more linemen than last season.

And though the tag team of heat and humidity was merciless, the infusion of new players, with several freshmen along with non-qualifiers from last season, catching SU coach Pete Richardson’s eye even on the first day, made a big difference.

“Numbers are keeping them fresh a little longer. But we still have a ways to go,” Richardson said. “In Louisiana, humidity is a little different animal. I don’t care how much preparation you went through. If you get another 15 pounds on you, it takes its toll.”

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McFadden breezes through SCSU's beginning sessions

Marshall McFadden breezed through his early-morning gassers as South Carolina State opened its football camp Saturday. The redshirt junior’s relative ease in completing the physical test was a result of the work he put in in the S.C. State weight room over the summer. The guys who were not at SCSU for the summer didn’t find the 7 a.m., pre-first practice tests as easy.

SCSU's Marshall McFadden

“I was here during the whole summer,” McFadden said. “I was training the whole time I was here. We had a week off, and before we left we had a test where we had to run six 300-yard gassers in a certain time period. If we passed that test when we got back (Saturday), we had an easier test for gassers.

“I knocked it out without a problem...but the guys who couldn’t make it (during the summer) had a little harder test. It was tough for some of those guys, but the main thing was we got it over and done with.”

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SWAC coaches passed over by I-A schools

JSU head football coach Rick Comegy

Coaches at HBCUs have trouble attracting attention to their skills

In the hunt for qualified black coaches at the NCAA Division I-A level, a seemingly logical place to begin looking would be the Southwestern Athletic Conference, a Division I-AA league that is home to 10 historically black universities. But Floyd Keith, the president of the Black Coaches and Administrators, said that hasn't been the case.

"I don't think the guys in the SWAC or any other historically black conferences get a fair look," Keith said. "A lot of it is a lack of awareness. People who hire simply aren't paying attention to HBCUs. They battle that stigma that there's not good coaching at those schools."

Jackson State coach Rick Comegy needed just two years to turn the Tigers around from a doormat to champions. He was also a big winner for years at Tuskegee before coming to Jackson, but the 54-year-old has gone largely ignored by Division I-A schools.

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Very timely and partially true article. The issue here is how you measure success in the eyes of mainstream America. Until the SWAC participates in the NCAA FCS playoffs, beating up on other SWAC teams will never be a total gauge for measuring coaching success.

Last season, James Green, former head basketball coach at Mississippi Valley State University left the Delta Devils to become the head coach at Jacksonville State University Gamecocks of the Ohio Valley Conference. This move was made after a sub-par overall season record of 17-16, but MVSU won the SWAC tournament and got stomped by UCLA 70-29 at the big dance. Green's potential for success at Jacksonville State is equal to what he had at Division I Mississippi Valley State.

Can Green and Comegy coach? Obviously they can--but why do we need PWCU administrators to validate this fact by hiring away our best and brightest from HBCU institutions. The solution here is developing a realistic 10-15 year plan to migrate the strongest SWAC and MEAC schools to the NCAA Division I Football level.

From my view point, the SWAC and MEAC institutions are nearly equal to lower mid-majors and others like the MAC in football. With strong planning and fundraising, there are no reasons that the SWAC cannot be a 1-A or Football Bowl Championship Conference. Eddie Robinson never made excuses about the lack of--so why should SWAC coaches today, complain. The glass is not half empty--it's half full and opportunity is there for the taking with our OWN programs.

I would like to see our coaches focus on building butt kicking programs at HBCUs that win consistently in the NCAA playoffs and that can win a national championship like University of Maryland - Eastern Shore did this past season in bowling. No one gave the Hawks a chance, but an unknown black female coach, Sharon Brummell, believed that it could be done and built the top competitive bowling program in the MEAC and NCAA Division I, in spite of "lack of." No one now questions the capability of MEAC Bowling programs and the only validation needed is the 2008 National Championship trophy held by UMES.

I see the greater opportunity for black coaches advancement at HBCUs, not at directional state PWCUs with no winning history or traditions. If you open your eyes, you will see a migration of some black assistant coaches leaving the Division I ranks of PWCU to take top positions at HBCUs to gain head coaching career experience. The doors are not completely open at the NCAA Division I level for black coaches.

This is a good thing for us as some of our potentially future best coaches are now at: Alcorn State--Earnest Jones, head football coach, Larry Smith, men basketball and Tonya Edwards, head women basketball coach; Mississippi Valley State, Sean Woods, head men basketball coach; Rod Broadway, head football coach, Donnita Drain, women basketball coach and Rick Duckett, men basketball coach, Grambling State University; Henry Frazier III, head football coach and Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, head women basketball coach, Prairie View A&M University; and Monte Coleman, head football coach, University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, just to name a few of the new rising stars of SWAC major sports teams.

However, the road is a two-way street with an HBCU like Savannah State University hiring a somewhat poorly-qualified head football coach in Robert "Robby" Wells, who happened to be white. The question run both ways--Are HBCUs prepared to lose critical sports leadership positions in the SWAC, MEAC and HBCU Independents, to perceived lesser qualified candidates of the white race?

Perception appears to be the greatest obstacle facing the SWAC and HBCU sports, not the talent level of our coaches seeking Division I positions at PWCU. I think Floyd Keith misses the point-- I-A are not seeking black coaching talent no more that HBCUs are seeking white coaching talent.

I just wonder if Mississippi Valley State University would have hired Coach James Green, coming from a Jacksonville State of the Ohio Valley Conference, with the same record and credentials he had at MVSU?

I am sure this article could have been written regarding any mid-major, 1-AA, Division II or Division III conference coaching plight in moving up to glorified 1-A programs. The SWAC and MEAC does not have exclusivity with this problem.

-beepbeep

Florida A&M Rattlers Lend a Hand

FAMU, church helps kids with school supplies

Excerpt:

FAMU strength and conditioning coach Antonio Wallace, who initiated the players' involvement, said he could relate to Maxwell's need. "I grew up in a poor area in Mississippi myself, but there was always somebody there helping along the way," he said. "I just wanted to support these kids by encouraging them and giving them some hope. It's awesome when it comes full circle. I just can't put it into words."

The opportunity to get involved in community service is just another phase of new head coach Joe Taylor's blueprint for building character, Taylor said. "This is more about trying to create the well-rounded man, to get involved with community service," he said. "We always say that the good Lord didn't put you here just to be a uniform rat.

A group of young kids that just received their free backpacks pose with several members of the Florida A & M University Football Team at the “Wham! Bam! School Jam!” on Saturday, August 2nd, 2008, from 10:00 a.m.- 12:00 noon, at Clifford Brown Memorial Park in Monticello, FL.

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VIEW SLIDE SHOW GALLERY: http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=CD&Date=20080802&Category=FAMU&ArtNo=808020806&Ref=PH&Params=Itemnr=1

Longtime Hoya Niki Reid Geckeler Named Head Coach at Howard University

Washington, D.C. - The Georgetown University women's basketball coaching staff will look a little bit different in 2008-09. Former Hoya standout athlete and 10-year assistant coach Niki Reid Geckeler has recently been named the head coach at Howard University.

Reid Geckeler spent a total of 10 years on the Blue and Gray sidelines, the last four under Terri Williams-Flournoy, after spending the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons as an associate head coach at Fordham.

"Niki has been an important part of the Georgetown family for a long time and she will be missed," said Coach Williams-Flournoy. "With that said, she has worked hard and certainly deserves her first head coaching opportunity. Howard is getting a great coach."

Reid Geckeler served seven seasons with the Hoyas as an assistant coach under Pat Knapp, as the team's recruiting coordinator and academic advisor. During her first go-round at Georgetown Reid Geckeler focused on the team's defensive play and guard coach, helping the Hoyas to three WNIT appearances, while having four guards earn postseason honors in the BIG EAST. She also had eight players earn All-BIG EAST All-Academic accolades.

As a player, Reid Geckeler was tri-captain of Georgetown's 1992-93 team that advanced to the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Tournament and finished the season with a 23-7 record and a Top-25 ranking. The Hoyas were 15-3 in the BIG EAST to win the regular-season conference championship. Reid Geckeler was a four-year starter at point guard and upon graduating in 1993 with a degree in psychology, she left Georgetown as the school's leader in assists and three-point field goal percentage.

During her four seasons as a student-athlete, Reid Geckeler was honored with the Coaches' Award as the team's Most Valuable Player in the 1991-92 season, was the recipient of the team's Best Defensive Player award for the 1990-91 campaign and was the winner of the Hustle Award in both 1989-90 and 1990-91.

TSU has lots of options at quarterback

Senior quarterback Antonio Heffner is ready to return to the starter role after ending last season wih a broken leg.

James Webster is scrambling for answers after watching his quarterbacks get clobbered every year he's been the coach at Tennessee State. In each of his three seasons with the Tigers, Webster's starting quarterbacks have been put out for the season because of injury.

That's why this year he's entering the season extra prepared, stockpiling six quarterbacks, including three — senior Antonio Heffner, sophomore Calvin McNairl and Missouri transfer Dominic Grooms — who he believes are all capable of being starters.

"My backup quarterbacks have started more games than my starting quarterbacks,'' Webster said. "And we're talking about the most important position on the field."

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SU set to hit practice fields

Southern University will start Camp Richardson XVI this afternoon. Ready? “Pete’s going to be ready,” junior quarterback Bryant Lee said of Southern’s football coach, Pete Richardson, now entering his 16th season with the Jaguars. And what about the players?

“We’ve been working hard in the offseason for this day,” said Lee, the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s preseason offensive player of the year. “So we’re ready.” “We’ve been working hard in the offseason for this day,” said Lee, the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s preseason offensive player of the year. “So we’re ready.”

SU went 8-3 last season and is picked to finish second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s Western Division. That’s where the Jaguars finished last season. SU last won the SWAC in 2003 and last won the Western Division in ’04.

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Six questions SCSU football must answer in 2008

Call it the post-Centennial season for the South Carolina State football team.

Last year was a season-long celebration for the Bulldogs as they commemorated a 100-years of football. The only thing missing was a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship - a goal which has eluded the Bulldogs the past two seasons. As S.C. State embarks on the start of fall practice today, it is once again a preseason favorite looking to live up to lofty expectations. Despite returning 44 letter winners and the conference’s top offensive player in running back William Ford, the Bulldogs also find themselves looking to answer several questions entering the Aug. 30 season-opener at Central Florida:

IS THE “LONG” WAIT OVER?

From the moment quarterback Malcolm Long stepped on the S.C. State campus, high expectations have encircled him. His performance in spot duty against Howard when he threw two touchdowns and was 5-for-8 passing for 172 yards only increased the anticipation for the day when he would take the reins from quarterback Cleveland McCoy.

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Alabama State Hornets begin fall practice

With all of their paperwork in order and their belongings in dorm rooms, the Alabama State football players got down to real business Friday.

After a brief walk-thru session in the morning, the Hornets went through their first real practice later that day. "It was your typical first day," ASU head coach Reggie Barlow said. "We were basically just looking to see who was in shape and watching some of the freshmen and junior college guys to see how they look. I was happy, overall."

Of course, critiquing is a bit tough for the coaches at this stage, with the players going through drills in only helmets and shorts. NCAA rules limit the amount of contact allowed and prevent teams from practicing in full pads until the fifth practice day. Until then, the Hornets, like all college teams, will work on conditioning and fundamental drills.

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AAMU Hudson has perfect start to preseason

A&M running back nets top score in team's conditioning test

Eric Hudson has a new name. Just call him Mr. Perfect. Hudson, a reserve running back at Alabama A&M, earned a perfect score in the Bulldogs' strength and conditioning test on Thursday. The 6-0, 190-pound redshirt junior finished with a team-high 50 points. He earned 10 points in each of the test's five parts - bench press, vertical jump, sit-ups, dips and running.

"I've taken care of business in the weight room, but I want to get on the field," said Hudson, who is stuck behind All-SWAC selection Ulysses Banks and redshirt sophomore Anthony Green. "That's my goal. I want to get on the field and help this team win some games." Hudson has struggled in his attempt to earn playing time.

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2008-09 NSU schedule kicks off with Bahamas trip

Michael Deloach, 6-0/175 guard, senior, Rocky Mount, N.C., Bonner Academy (Mark's Digital Photography).

Norfolk State's men's basketball team has lined up a 2008-09 schedule that includes its typical long December road trip to help fill the athletic department's coffers with guarantee money. But fans willing to do a little traveling can catch the Spartans in-state to begin the season. NSU kicks off the slate with games at Longwood (Nov. 16) and William and Mary (Nov. 19).

The Spartans are also going to take advantage of the NCAA's allotment of an overseas trip once every four years and will travel to the Bahamas in a few weeks for a two-game set against club teams in the Nassau area. NCAA rules allow for 10 days of practice before such trips.

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2008-2009 Men's Basketball Schedule

Date Opponent Location Time/Result Details
11/16/2008 Longwood Farmville, Va. 7 p.m. Details
11/19/2008 William & Mary Williamsburg, Va. 7 p.m. Details
11/25/2008 Michigan Ann Arbor, Mich. 8 p.m. Details
11/30/2008 Air Force Colorado Springs, Colo. 4 p.m. Details
12/2/2008 Jacksonville State Norfolk, Va. 7 p.m. Details
12/6/2008 * North Carolina A&T Greensboro, N.C. TBA Details
12/17/2008 Wright State Cleveland, Ohio TBA Details

Basketball Travelers Tip-Off Tournament
12/20/2008 TBA Springfield, Mo. TBA Details
12/21/2008 TBA Springfield, Mo. TBA Details

Montana State Classic
12/28/2008 Texas-Pan American Bozeman, Mont. TBA Details
12/29/2008 Consolation/Championship Bozeman, Mont. TBA Details

1/10/2009 * Coppin State Baltimore, Md. TBA Details
1/12/2009 * Morgan State Baltimore, Md. 7:30 p.m. Details
1/17/2009 * Delaware State Norfolk, Va. 6 p.m. Details
1/19/2009 * Maryland Eastern Shore Norfolk, Va. 8 p.m. Details
1/24/2009 * South Carolina State Orangeburg, S.C. 4 p.m. Details
1/26/2009 Winston-Salem State Winston-Salem, N.C. 7:30 p.m. Details
1/31/2009 * Hampton Hampton, Va. 6 p.m. Details
2/2/2009 * Howard Washington, D.C. 8 p.m. Details
2/7/2009 * Bethune-Cookman Norfolk, Va. 6 p.m. Details
2/9/2009 * Florida A&M Norfolk, Va. 8 p.m. Details
2/14/2009 * Delaware State Dover, Del. 4 p.m. Details
2/16/2009 * Maryland Eastern Shore Princess Anne, Md. 7:30 p.m. Details
2/21/2009 * South Carolina State Norfolk, Va. 6 p.m. Details
2/23/2009 Winston-Salem State Norfolk, Va. 8 p.m. Details
2/28/2009 * Hampton Norfolk, Va. 6 p.m. Details
3/2/2009 * Howard Norfolk, Va. 8 p.m. Details
3/5/2009 * North Carolina A&T Norfolk, Va. 8 p.m. Details

2009 MEAC Basketball Tournament
3/10/2009 TBA Winston-Salem, N.C. TBA Details
3/11/2009 TBA Winston-Salem, N.C. TBA Details
3/12/2009 TBA Winston-Salem, N.C. TBA Details
3/13/2009 TBA Winston-Salem, N.C. TBA Details
3/13/2009 TBA Winston-Salem, N.C. TBA Details
3/14/2009 TBA Winston-Salem, N.C. TBA Details

Where does Marcus Smith fit in for Jackson State Tigers?

Marcus Smith, Senior 6-1/200 DB Miami, FL , American Senior H.S.(courtesy JSU Athletics)

Marcus Smith could just about taste that sweet flavor called success. The Jackson State outside linebacker/safety put on a show in 2006 with 50 tackles (fourth on the team) and a 55-yard interception return for a touchdown against Grambling. He was penciled in as a starter on a 2007 defense that became one of the best in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, on a team that went 8-4 and won the school's first SWAC championship since 1996.

Everything looked good until one snap during the 2007 spring workouts - the snap of Smith's ankle. Good-bye season."You think you're going to be the man, then you get hurt," Smith said. "This year I'm keeping myself pretty calm. This year I'm really pretty humble. "I don't want to take anything for granted because I did last year."

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Final narrative for Grambling’s Landers hasn’t been written

Brandon Landers’ time at Grambling, as impressive as it is statistically, will always be one of lost promise. But his narrative is far from finished.

Landers initially signed as a prep quarterback with Doug Williams, only to see his would-be mentor leave for an NFL job. Then he was pushed too early, and with too little instruction, into the starting position as a true freshman in 2004 when Bruce Eugene went down. Then pushed back into a redshirt, and largely ignored, a season later when Eugene returned. Then pushed around as a redshirt sophomore in 2006, having belatedly retaken the starting position without ever having been properly prepared for it.

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NSU Tickets Available for Kentucky, William & Mary Road Football Games

Norfolk State University head football Coach Pete Adrian (Mark's Digital Photography)

By Matt Michalec, SID

NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State University Department of Athletics has received a limited number of tickets to sell for the Spartans’ road football games at Kentucky (Sept. 6) and William & Mary (Sept. 20).

Kentucky Ticket Information
• Tickets are $35 each. A $3 processing fee will apply to all mail orders.
• The designated NSU sections are 113, 114, 115 and/or 116. If handicap seating is needed, please notify the NSU Ticket Center Representative when placing your order.
• Orders will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Therefore, tickets will be sold until the allotment has been depleted. Full payment must be remitted when the order is placed.
• Sales will begin immediately. The last day to purchase tickets will be Friday, Aug. 22.
• Tickets can be mailed or picked up at the NSU Ticket Office.
• Begin Mail Date: Monday, Aug. 4.
• Will Call Deadline: Monday, Sept. 1.

William & Mary Ticket Information
• The tickets are $25 for sideline seats and $19 for end zone seats. A $3 processing fee will apply to all mail orders.
• If handicap seating is needed, please notify the NSU Ticket Center Representative when placing your order.
• Orders will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Therefore, tickets will be sold until the allotment has been depleted. Full payment must be remitted when the order is placed.
• Sales will begin immediately. The last day to purchase tickets will be Friday, Sept. 5.
• Tickets can be mailed or picked up at the NSU Ticket Office.
• Begin Mail Date: Friday, Aug.8.
• Will Call Deadline: Wednesday, Sept. 17.

The NSU Ticket Office is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For more information, call (757) 823-9009.

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ASU's Barlow welcomes the largest Hornets' squad in four years

ASU Coach Reggie Barlow incoming class has 30 freshmen, transfers and walk-ons signed in.

As university workers methodically marked the practice field and got the necessary equipment in place, a steady stream of players marched in and out of the Alabama State football offices Thursday. The players, some of them accompanied by their parents or other family members, filed in one by one, filled out the required paperwork, gathered their boxes of supplies and set off to find their assigned dorm rooms.

It was reporting day for the Hornets. Head coach Reggie Barlow welcomed in 89 players -- the largest number in at least four years at ASU -- and, to his delight, had no surprise no-shows. "It's in the air," said junior wide receiver Ronald Davis. "As more guys come in and we all start getting ready, the excitement just sort of builds. You can feel it around here right now. Everybody knows it's about time to go."

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"More than ever": Pough excited as SCSU reports, prepares for practice

Oliver “Buddy” Pough won’t be having a fun-filled Friday. Instead, Pough will spend the day checking 85 to 90 South Carolina State football players in, running through a little orientation and then comes the paperwork. “It’s a necessary evil,” Pough said Thursday evening. “Our compliance people have to get them to sign all types of paperwork. Our equipment people have to do all types of stuff. There is plenty to do. We have a full day ahead of us.”

The bright side? Get Friday’s paperwork and Saturday’s early-morning physical tests out the way, and around 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon the Bulldogs can hit the field for their first fall practice of the 2008 season. Excited?

SCSU Bulldogs vs. Norfolk State University Spartans in 2007 (Mark's Digital Photography)

“More than ever,” Pough said without pause. “This is a new team, new kinds of faces. We have people moving around different places ... experiments to see how they will work. Marshall (McFadden) is moving up, Terrence (Smith) is moving over (from wide receiver to defensive back), and our quarterbacks ... I want to see how they are going to react to being the guys.

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A&M's class hurt by 10 ineligibles

At least 10 of Alabama A&M's incoming freshmen have been ruled academically ineligible and three more are still awaiting word from the NCAA Clearinghouse concerning their status. A&M coach Anthony Jones said he knew there would be some academic casualties, but the numbers surprised him.

"We signed some kids that we knew would be on the borderline, but there were some others that we felt would make it but didn't," he said. "Hopefully, we can get them all here, get them acclimated to college and help them become successful student-athletes."

Those who failed to get eligible include running backs Trent Johnson and Kaderius Lacey, defensive linemen Regis Laister, Parker Marino and Tim Tillman, offensive linemen Clarence Lovell, Mike Patridge and Roberto Gonzales, wide receiver Rashad Daniels and fullback Devron Owensby. Jones wasn't sure how many would enroll at A&M this semester.

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