ASU plays guessing game with Rattlers

Game week brought change to Alabama State's football practice on Monday, as the Hornets began focusing specifically on their first opponent, Florida A&M. Work for the third- and fourth-string players was cut drastically. The ASU offense and defense began using only the plays and formations the coaches feel will be most effective against FAMU. And the intensity turned up a notch.

Hornets wide receiver Cedric Harris (#82) 6-1/195 Junior, Hillsboro, AL beats Linebacker Adrian Hardy (#53) 6-2/202 Sophomore, Selma, AL during Hornets Spring game.

"We're ready to go," senior cornerback Brandon Averett said. "We've had a good camp and we're just ready to go play for real and see how we stack up." This will be the first big test for Averett and his defensive teammates. One of the knocks on the spread offense, which the Hornets began using in the spring, is that it has a softening effect on a team's defense. The theory is that because the defense is going against a finesse-style offense every day in practice, the defensive players become less physical and have problems stopping power teams.

FAMU is a power team.

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Senior Blanks has been anchor of WSSU's offensive line, making 31 consecutive starts

During yesterday's Meet the Rams Day at Bowman Gray Stadium, fans got to admire the new field house and the new large scoreboard. Just how much Winston-Salem State uses that scoreboard will likely come down to how well the offensive line performs this season.

Leading that unit will be senior Joe Blanks, who has made 31 straight starts and hasn't missed a game at right tackle since he left high school. It's rare for a lineman not to be moved around during his career, and it's even rarer when a lineman starts his first season out of high school.

Blanks, who was recruited by several Division I programs coming out of high school in Erie, Pa., signed with WSSU and has been everything that Coach Kermit Blount had hoped for. Blount likes to redshirt freshmen when they arrive, but Blanks was too good for that. "He's a right tackle and that's his position and he's anchored it the last four years," Blount said. "We are happy to have him right there."

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Ray Ray McElrathbey Begins a New Chapter at HU

There is a 13-year-old running around in Cook Hall, hanging out with the football players and playing video games. Fahmarr McElrathbey seems like a typical kid but he's far from that. He followed his brother Ramon "Ray Ray" McElrathbey to Howard University from Clemson University where his brother is an alum and also played football.

While most students have classes, extracurricular activities and maybe a job to juggle, McElrathbey who is a graduate student studying Mass Communications, has more responsibilities than the average college student. In 2006, he adopted Fahmarr from his mother who is a recovering drug addict. And wherever big brother goes, little brother isn't too far behind. Finding a place to live and searching for the perfect school for Fahmarr are some of the decisions the 21-year-old has to make.

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SSU strives for first winning season since 1998

Savannah State is at least nine months away from joining an athletic conference. The football program will complete its three-year NCAA probation in May, 2009. It is perhaps longer away from beating a Football Championship Subdivision opponent. Since joining the FCS in 2002, SSU has beaten only two FCS teams: Morris Brown in 2002 and Norfolk State in 2004. Morris Brown eliminated athletics in 2003.

SSU is 6-58 in that span, including two winless seasons (0-12 in 2003 and 0-11 in 2005). The Tigers haven't finished .500 or better since 1998, when they went 7-4 in Division II. With an aggressive new coach and an easier 12-game schedule featuring six non-FCS opponents, this might be the year SSU takes the next step toward progress and finishes .500 or better. "From a fan standpoint, I guess that's probably the goal," SSU coach Robby Wells said. "But from any coach who is competitive like me, I want to win every game."

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SSU 2008 SCHEDULE

Aug. 30 JACKSONVILLE 7 p.m. Memorial Stadium
Sept. 6 *LIVINGSTONE TBA TBA
Sept. 13 Winston-Salem St. 6 p.m. Winston-Salem, N.C.
Sept. 20 Bethune-Cookman 4 p.m. Daytona Beach, Fla.
Sept. 27 %Howard 6 p.m. Miami
Oct. 4 Clark Atlanta 1:30 p.m. Atlanta
Oct. 11 ^Ch. SOUTHERN 2 p.m. Memorial Stadium
Oct. 18 Mississippi Valley St. 1 p.m. Itta Bena, Miss.
Nov. 1 #CONCORDIA 2 p.m. T.A. Wright Stadium
Nov. 8 Edward Waters 5 p.m. Kingsland
Nov. 15 Webber International 1 p.m. Babson Park, Fla.
Nov. 22 North Carolina Central 1 p.m. Durham, N.C.

HOME GAMES ALL CAPS
*Joe Turner Classic
%Miami Classic
^Military Appreciation Day
#Homecoming

Taylor upbeat after FAMU scrimmage

Coach Joe Taylor didn't see too many things that he didn't like during FAMU's final football scrimmage Monday afternoon. The defense dominated again, this time making five interceptions and taking one back for a touchdown. But in spite of that, the offense showed improvements from a week ago. "I saw some good things," Taylor said, following the scrimmage that was postponed three days by Tropical Strom Fay. "We scored (and) had some good hits on defense. We definitely needed this."

The Rattlers hadn't practice since Friday because of poor weather conditions caused by the storm. The inactivity was obvious in the first series of play with quarterback Eddie Battle running the offense, as was the case for back-up Curtis Pulley. But both of them settled down and managed to each throw a touchdown. After they got going, Taylor was able to get a better look at the offense against a simulation of the defense that they would see against Alabama State in Saturday's opener.

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AAMU hoping the acclaim will come

Thomas Harris took it all in stride. His teammates didn't. Despite leading the Southwestern Athletic Conference in receiving yards per game last season - and finishing fifth in receptions and eighth in all-purpose yards - Harris was left off the all-conference team.

Grambling's Clyde Edwards and Alcorn State's Nate Hughes were named to the first team, while Southern's Gerard Landry and Grambling's Reginald Jackson were second-teamers. Meanwhile, Harris caught 51 passes for 936 yards and seven touchdowns and led the Bulldogs within a game of their third straight Eastern Division title.

"It didn't really bother me," said Harris, who was named to the All-SWAC first-team preseason squad last month at the league's annual media day. "My teammates kept telling me I needed to be in there. I know I probably should have been in there ... at least second team.

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Grambling QB race 'wide open'

The Grambling State Tigers open their season Saturday at Football Bowl Subdivision Nevada, but the name of their starting quarterback hasn't been determined. Tigers coach Rod Broadway said in the Southwestern Athletic Conference weekly teleconference Monday the position is down to sophomores Greg Dillon (6-foot, 200 pounds) and J.P. Tillman (6-foot-3, 238 pounds) and freshman Brendan Crawford (6-foot-5, 205 pounds). He said a decision on his quarterback could be made as early as after Monday night's practice or this morning.

"It's wide open right now," Broadway said. "It's a toss up at this point. If we liked someone then we probably would have named the starter now. We're still in the process of going over some tapes and going over preseason tapes in trying to determine who will be our starter." Broadway said not having a starting quarterback named is adding to his nerves.

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JSU's Comegy torn between Mosley, Rutland at QB

The East and West representatives in the 2007 Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game find themselves in a similar position, once again. Both Jackson State and Grambling State are looking to replace starting quarterbacks who played enormous roles in last year's title chase. And both JSU coach Rick Comegy and GSU coach Rick Broadway said their quarterbacks would have one last chance to sell themselves at practice Monday afternoon.

However, the two coaches went different directions when talking about their quarterback race on the SWAC teleconference Monday - with Comegy making a shocking statement that may have spoiled a planned announcement today.

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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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Youngsters star at SU camp

For a Southern team that has such a strong core of veterans, the overriding theme of Camp Richardson XVI was, nonetheless, on how all the new guys did. Unlike in leaner past years, there were plenty of newcomers, from freshmen to former nonqualifiers. And while the veterans were such a known commodity, the youngsters showed they weren’t just camp bodies, that they can make an impact this season and in seasons to come.

From the first day of camp, the infusion of numbers and size transformed an offensive line that was a thin, patchwork unit a year ago. Then, the running backs emerged to turn what was a pre-camp concern into what could be the best stable of backs in the 16-season Pete Richardson era — even with minor injuries to the two most veteran rushers.

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Sessoms' legacy clear at DSU

Recently resigned president pushed for bold changes in athletic department

DOVER, DE -- In his first months as president at Delaware State University, Allen L. Sessoms challenged the state's other major college to a regular-season football game, professed his desire to change his athletic department to Division I-A and envisioned new on-campus sports buildings.

Sessoms, who resigned earlier this month to take the same job at University of District of Columbia, made an early name by urging for grandiose changes in athletics. While his tenure will end Aug. 31 without having accomplished those missions, Sessoms' five years was a time of dynamic change in athletics.

DSU 2007 MEAC Football Champions visits with Delaware Governor, Ruth Ann Minner at Legislative Hall in late March 2008. (Seated (L-R): DSU Dir. of Athletics Rick Costello, Governor Ruth Ann Minner and DSU head coach Al Lavan surrounded by Hornets football team during visit to Governor's office).

"From the first day, he said to me, 'This is what we're going to do,' " said football coach Al Lavan, who was Sessoms' first major athletic hire in 2004. "That's his legacy." When Sessoms arrived at DSU from Queens College, he had no experience in athletics. He wasted little time, setting an agenda to build a first-class athletics program.

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Pough, SCSU Bulldogs readying for Central Florida

The Bulldogs have a Ford, but will Will (Ford) be enough for Pough and the Bulldogs to score on the UCF Knights?

It was not an actual game Saturday at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium, but South Carolina State did its best to create a close simulation. The 2-1/2 hour practice session had the feel of an important dress rehearsal prior to opening night. In the Bulldogs’ case, the big show is the 2008 football season, which opens in a week at the University of Central Florida.

Like a director going over every finite detail in his script, S.C. State head football coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough had the team go through every possible offensive and defensive scenario it could potentially face against the Knights. From making sure the right personnel is inserted into a game on a fake punt to executing the plays as scripted on the game plan, the coaching staff left no stone unturned.

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Bison Football Expectations Sky High

The Bison football team is ready to exceed their high standards

A new turf, new players and a new attitude are expected to propel the Bison to new heights this season. The Howard Bison football team held its annual media day on Saturday in Greene Stadium. The players and coaches both have lofty expectations for their upcoming season. "I expect us to win the MEAC and to go to the playoffs," said junior defensive lineman James Robinson. The team's high goals are a result of new players, spring training and summer workout sessions.

"This is the first full summer we've had with our strength and conditioning coach," said junior offensive lineman Sean Woolforld. "This year a lot of the guys stayed at Howard to workout during the summer." On the offensive side the Bison want to run the ball effectively to utilize the plethora of running backs that they have. Also effective running will open up the passing game for quarterback Floyd Haigler.

According to offensive coordinator Alvin Harper there are five running backs that can be inserted to the game at any time without a drop off in talent and ability. Harper also said that the offense has about seven players that are a threat to score every time they touch they ball, but the success of the offense ultimately depends on the offensive line.

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Staying home, UAPB Moore now a starter

PINE BLUFF, AR — A lot of teenage boys can’t wait to get away from home after graduating from high school. All it took for Arkansas-Pine Bluff quarterback Jonathan Moore to stay was a chance to play football. Moore, who prepped at nearby Dollarway High School, didn’t move far to land at UAPB. Of course, he didn’t have much of a choice. For Moore, it was pretty much UAPB or bust when it came to football.

Moore spent his junior year of high school splitting time with an underclassman while quarterbacking a Wishbone offense. While his strong arm netted the usual letters of interest from SEC schools, when it came time for scholarship offers, it came down to UAPB, Alcorn State and little else. “I got a couple letters from LSU, but no offers,” Moore said. “That’s pretty much it.” Moore’s time at UAPB has mirrored his time at Dollarway: Even when he’s been at his best, there’s always been someone either just above him or right behind him.

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Alcorn Braves pointing up

Excerpts:

Ernest Jones has no problem speaking his mind. Remember, this is the first-year coach who proclaims Alcorn State will compete for a Southwestern Athletic Conference championship this season, despite astonishing odds against it. Jones has tried to combat the losing mentality with high energy and expectations. But he looked at the seat to his right when asked what was most important for on-field success at the SWAC Media Day in Birmingham. Sitting there was senior linebacker Lee Robinson.

"Defense is the strength of our football team," Jones said. "We'll go as far Lee Robinson will carry us, as he'll lead us. The defense is going to have to carry us until the offense catches up." Jones wants to exploit the entire field by playing quicker and getting the ball snapped within seven seconds of it being set in play. He plans to have a 50-50 run-pass ratio and wants to give the defense something to think about with a variety of formations.

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AAMU Jones has winning recipe

Coach builds A&M into one of nation's elite

Before Anthony Jones was named Alabama A&M's head football coach six years ago, Bulldog fans had gone through a number of coaches. Ron Cooper served for four seasons, leading A&M into the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The Bulldogs reached the SWAC championship game in 2000. Prior to that, Ken Pettiford led A&M to three straight winning seasons before being fired. Reggie Oliver, Ray Bonner, George Pugh, Ray Greene, Ed Wyche and others had also held the title. Greene had the job on two separate occasions.

"I've worked with a bunch of them," said A&M defensive coordinator Brawnski Towns, who has been an assistant since 1984 under Wyche. "Unfortunately, none of them have been able to stay around here too long." Except Jones. A former tight end on the Washington Redskins' 1987 Super Bowl team, Jones has not only built A&M's program into one of the best in the SWAC, but one of the best in black college football.

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Grambling Tigers unsettled under center

GSU Running Back Frank Warren will take the pressure off the GSU offense.

Grambling State was picked this offseason to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s Western Division for the eighth time since 2000. That was before it lost a fifth-year senior quarterback to ineligibility. Brandon Landers, a former News-Star prep offensive player of the year, fell a credit short and did not report. He started in 2004, ’06 and then last season as Grambling won seven straight games on the way to a runner-up finish in the SWAC.

Gone, too, are top graduated receivers Reginald Jackson and Clyde Edwards, slot starter Tim Abney, center Tavarus Cockrell and right tackle Randall Bennett. Weakside linebacker John Carter, left tackle Everett Edwards and backup quarterback Larry Kerlegan were also lost to ineligibility.

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HU: The 'general' direction

Pirates coach Jerry Holmes says the team is paper thin at the QB position behind Bynes with freshman Darius Jackson, redshirt freshman Devon Jarrett and freshman Blake Tillis.

Herbert Bynes (6-4/236) threw 15 passes last season, but says he's prepared to lead the Pirates.

HAMPTON, VA - He threw touchdown passes, then chucked screens at his receiver's shoetops. He picked up blitzes, but was only saved from a sack in the end zone by his red no-contact jersey. Herbert Bynes' debut as Hampton University's starting quarterback in the Pirates' annual Blue-White scrimmage on Saturday had its ups and downs, but overall, the early returns were good.

"He's a general," said senior wide receiver Kevin Teel, who hauled in a 15-yard bullet from Bynes in the end zone on the quarterback's fifth offensive series. "(It's) definitely his team now. His reign." It's a position Bynes, a redshirt sophomore who threw for 114 yards in three games last season as T.J. Mitchell's understudy, wasn't expecting to fill. But when Mitchell, who threw for 2,309 yards and 17 TDs last year, was ruled academically ineligible this season, Bynes suddenly became the only QB option with HU experience.

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I won't feel sorry for the Pirates for one moment... They are loaded with size, talent and speed on both sides of the football and the Pirates will continue to run Joe Taylor's offense and defenses, successfully. How many of you can name the back up quarterbacks to Steve McNair or Doug Williams? Bynes will burn every defense he faces in 2008, and Hampton will have a very solid year with Holmes working in Joe's shadow...

(beepbeep)

SSU to stay Division I; eyes conference

Excerpt:

According to Claud Flythe, SSU vice president for administration...

Flythe, before speaking briefly at the scholarship extravaganza - but not about SSU's Division I status - told the Savannah Morning News that SSU will remain in Division I. He also said the Tigers intend to join the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, and hinted that membership could come as early as December.

"We have had no discussions about going back to Division II," Flythe said of SSU, which left the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and joined Division I in 2002 without conference affiliation. "Savannah State's mission, its goal, its objective right now, is to stay in Division I and to become a full-fledged member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference."

SSU's football program will complete a three-year NCAA probation on May 18, 2009. In 2005, SSU paid the MEAC a $10,000 non-refundable application fee. In 2006, the MEAC put SSU's application on hold until it completes its NCAA probation in 2009. "We are full speed ahead," Flythe said. "We're working very closely with the MEAC's board of directors, and the (MEAC) commissioner, and the NCAA."

Click here to view photos from the SSU scholaship extravaganza.

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ASU Hornets beat the rain to conduct short scrimmage

Alabama State head coach Reggie Barlow said he didn't want much out of the Hornets' third and final scrimmage, just 30 to 35 plays or so. He got far less than that, and happily took it. ASU managed to beat the rain Saturday morning, getting in about an hour of work before bad weather put a halt to things.

"We were just happy to get it in," Barlow said. "The defense ran this one. They were a little more ready to play. We came out on offense and had a good first drive. Moved right down and scored. Then, we didn't do much offensively the rest of the way."

Sophomore quarterback Anthony Speight led the Hornets on the first scoring drive, and Barlow praised Speight's play. "It was a good day for him, particularly early," he said. "He made some nice throws and had good control of the offense, it looked like." Speight is locked in a battle with junior Reid Herchenbach for the starting spot. Barlow said last week that ASU will alternate QBs during the season opener at Florida A&M on Saturday to give each player a final shot to win the position.

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Son of FSU star trying to make own name at FAMU

Kenneth DeWayne Lanier politely tells anyone who asks: "Please call me DeWayne." This is but one way the Florida A&M redshirt sophomore is attempting to avoid the massive shadow cast by his father, former Florida State star and 14-year NFL veteran Ken Lanier. It doesn't help that Lanier plays the same position — offensive tackle — as his famous father.

(Orange Jersey)- #76 Kenneth DeWayne Lanier, RS Sophomore, Pharmacy major, 6'-7"/309 Offensive Tackle, Aurora, Colo - Grandview HS.

But if anyone is putting pressure on the pharmacy student to duplicate his father's career — Ken Lanier started in 46 straight games at FSU and went on to play in three Super Bowls — it is the 21-year-old Lanier. He insists his father has placed no such expectations on his son. Nor have the FAMU coaches.

"It's kind of ironic. I think I put the most pressure on myself," he said. "My dad's always encouraged me to be my own man. "Some people think I'm a junior, but I'm not and that's probably the reason. He wants me to be my own man."

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Taylor determined to restore FAMU tradition

Excerpt:

Taylor has sent dozens of players over the years to professional football careers, but he also takes pride in telling of successes such as former Hampton tight end Tim Benson. But none is as famous as Marcus Dixon. Everybody basically is good people and want to do what's right," Taylor said. "They just don't know how to do it. They are looking for leadership and somebody who cares. Every time you save a life, that's what this is all about."

Benson didn't have a high-profile career like Dixon's, but he credits Taylor for keeping him on the path to reach his goal. He's now a medical doctor on the faculty at Harvard University. Benson was part of a losing program before Taylor came along. "It was a world of difference," he said of Taylor's presence. "We thought we knew what discipline was. He brought in a structure. He was about going about business."

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SU's Richardson gets family along with DE Williams

When Southern University coach Pete Richardson signed Delwin Williams, he signed the whole family. That’s just the way it is down Bayou Lafourche. Mom. Grandma, with her own strong Southern heritage. Dad, even if he played a little football at Nicholls State back in the 1980s. Tiny little brother, who has already put on a helmet to watch practice from the sideline earlier in preseason camp. Everybody was there to see Delwin in his navy blue Southern game jersey and all his new teammates Saturday at A.W. Mumford Stadium.

All of this love was set in motion at a Fan Day years ago, back when SU went across the Mississippi River to Plaquemine and the Jaguars were amid a dominant run through the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Back then, Williams was just a little guy, smiling and taking a picture with Richardson. That little boy has grown into 6-foot-3and 250 pounds of freshman defensive end.

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Pulley now tests FAMU's Battle

Eddie Battle, named FAMU's starting quarterback during the spring, isn't panicking. He's just getting better. His teammates are seeing it as do the coaching staff — especially since Curtis Pulley's emergence as a Rattler. Given the background of the former University of Kentucky player, he could force a battle for the starting job or at least make the quarterback situation more interesting for coach Joe Taylor.

Pulley has been in camp just three days now, but already Taylor said he's seen an improvement in Battle's performance. Battle said it's just his competitive nature. "I know nothing is guaranteed," he said Friday. "It's kind of keeping me on my toes. It's not that coach (Taylor) didn't have faith in me. I know the guys behind me are pretty young. It would have been a kind of challenge if I were to go down. He wants to prepare for anything."

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Former UK QB Pulley debuts at FAMU practice

Curtis Pulley wants to make a transformation in his personal and football lives. FAMU football coach Joe Taylor is giving him a chance to at least try. Pulley was expected to be a contender for the starting quarterback position at the University of Kentucky, but he was dismissed from the team on Aug. 5 for run-ins with the law. He began his career as a Rattler on Wednesday and took his first snaps Thursday afternoon.

"This is a big second chance for me," Pulley said after alternating snaps with starter Eddie Battle. "It's a fresh start." Pulley didn't practice in pads and will not do so until early next week. FAMU opens the season on Aug. 30 against Alabama State. The wheels to bring Pulley to FAMU started spinning about two weeks ago, Taylor said. Pulley's uncle, Lonnie Pulley, already has a connection to FAMU through athletic director Bill Hayes, who coached Lonnie Pulley at Winston-Salem State.

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