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PRINCESS ANNE, MD -- Emerson Boozer, who has garnered various honors for his abilities on the gridiron, can now add another accolade to his resume -- College Football Hall of Famer.
The former NFL running back and University of Maryland Eastern Shore graduate will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., the weekend of July 16-17. Boozer will be the third UMES football representative inducted, following legendary coach Vernon "Skip" McCain in 2006 and Roger Brown last year.
"I was at home and my wife was on the computer and she says, 'Come here for a minute and read this,' " Boozer said. "Then I read about being accepted in the College Football Hall of Fame and being enshrined in July. I had to read it a couple of times to make sure that I had read what I had read."
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EMERSON BOOZER, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Halfback (1962-65)
A four-year letterman and storied halfback under legendary coach Vernon "Skip" McCain at Maryland Eastern Shore (formerly Maryland State College), Emerson Boozer ran over opposing defenses to secure a spot in the 2010 College Football Hall of Fame Class.
A two-time First Team All-America by the Pittsburgh Courier, Boozer amassed 2,537 yards and 22 touchdowns during his career. He averaged a remarkable 6.78 yards per carry and was named a Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) All- Conference pick in 1964 and '65. He was also inducted into the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hall of Fame in 1982.
The New York Jets selected Boozer in the sixth round of the draft, and he played with the franchise for 10 seasons. He was named the 1966 Pittsburgh Courier AFL Rookie of the Year and was twice named a Pro Bowl selection. He also helped the Jets defeat the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.
After his time in the pros, Boozer worked with CBS as an NFL analyst. He has been inducted into the State of Georgia and Suffolk Sports halls of fame. Now retired, he lives in Huntington Station, N.Y.
Vancouver, BC (Sports Network) - British Columbia Lions starting quarterback Casey Printers suffered an apparent leg injury in the final minute of the first half of Saturday's 37-18 loss against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Printers was taken down by defensive end Brent Hawkins when he was hurt and limped gingerly off the field. Travis Lulay played under center for the second half. "I could've played but I couldn't risk making it worse. It was a precautionary thing to sit back. It's a long season," Printers said. Prior to suffering the injury, Printers completed 10-of-14 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown.
VANCOUVER — It was a great night for the lions. Stoic and noble, glorious and indomitable – those were the lions on the North Shore mountains. For the Lions down on the field, playing the first outdoor regular-season Canadian Football League game since 1982, B.C.'s football team was far eclipsed by its stadium. The Lions were far eclipsed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders, too, losing 37-18 in a game that dulled the nostalgia of returning to Empire Field for the 2010 season.
The two best lions were those peaks in the Coast Range overlooking English Bay and Burrard Inlet. The only B.C. Lion close to them was Geroy Simon, whose first-half jumpball catch on Casey Printers' 32-yard heave-ho and a garbage-time grab of Travis Lulay's bomb for a 98-yard touchdown gave his team an illusion of competitiveness.
VANCOUVER — The Empire didn't strike back, it struck out. Saskatchewan Roughriders stopped a five-game Lions win' streak against them at Hastings and Cassiar - albeit one that stretched back 28 years - as they crushed B.C. 37-18 before a sold-out crowd of 27,500 at Empire Field Saturday night. The game was the first CFL game played outdoors in Vancouver since the 1982 season at the former site of Empire Stadium, demolished after the Lions moved to BC Place a year later.
And demolished pretty much described the state of the Lions after their first regular-season game at Empire Field, the temporary, $15 million structure that is the team's contingency home while BC Place undergoes renovations for a retractable roof.
The Lions lost starting quarterback Casey Printers late in the second quarter with a strained quad muscle after he was flushed out of the pocket by defensive end Brent Hawkins, who was a monster all evening for the Roughriders. Besides his constant raids into the Lions backfield, Hawkins forced a fumble when he tackled Travis Lulay - Printers' replacement - then picked up the loose ball to score Saskatchewan's fourth touchown on 40-yard fumble return.
Brandon Shell, a great-nephew of NFL and UMES Hall of Famer Art Shell, keeps low profile during recruiting. Brandon is ranked #74 by Rivals.com and is the #4 ranked recruit in South Carolina. He has a 5-star rating by Scout.com., and is already being projected as an NFL 1st round draft pick.
At first, the man whom some would call an NFL icon would sit in his car in the Goose Creek High (Goose Creek, South Carolina) parking lot. Apparently, the last thing Art Shell wanted to look like was a meddler. Yes, his great-nephew Brandon was a budding star at offensive tackle, the same position Art played on his way to a Hall of Fame career. But Art just sat in his car and watched Brandon. And Goose Creek coach Chuck Reedy kept on coaching.
“Not anything other than supportive,” Reedy said of Art’s involvement. “He will be involved in the process, but he’s not gonna tell him where to go.” Gradually, Art Shell has started to take on more of a role in the race between colleges for his great-nephew’s services. Art got out of the car and attended a couple practices, a scrimmage and a game. And, consciously or not, there is an obvious influence on Brandon Shell. Art Shell, who was born in Charleston, S.C., was named to eight Pro Bowls during an illustrious playing career. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
But he may be best known for being the first African-American coach in the NFL modern era (L.A. Raiders, 1990). Today, there are six black head coaches in the NFL, and three of the past four Super Bowls have featured a team with at least one black coach. Since he was fired in 1994, Shell has spent most of his time as an assistant coach or working for the NFL, except a one-year return to coach the Raiders in 2006. He lives in Atlanta.
WARNING: MUSIC is Offensive!!! Please mute sound. Video provided by tramelterry1's, a third party, and is NOT a reflection of Brandon Shell or MEAC/SWAC Sports Main Street.
Now along comes Brandon, who at 6-foot-8 and 280 pounds reminds everyone of his great-uncle. College recruiters see the potential, with more than 30 offers to Shell, who recently whittled his list to South Carolina, Clemson, Alabama and Georgia.
Former Stillman College and current Detroit Lions defensive tackle, Sammie Lee Hill (6'-4", 331 lbs., 5.20/40 yard dash), joins four other Tigers on NFL or CFL rosters.
Somewhere during the process of researching prospective players for selection in the NFL draft, the research has a way of revealing players to whom we gravitate for one reason or another. My research during the prelude to the 2009 NFL draft helped me discover a larger-than-life figure who had NFL-caliber defensive tackle size with enough athleticism to play “shut-down defensive end” for a small college in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The history of the former Stillman Institute is a fascinating read. From a small school steeped in roots with the Presbyterian Church comes a young man who Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham took under his wing to ensure the best possible transition for a homesick Sammie Lee. The information on Sammie Lee Hill from his NFL Combine profile is an intriguing read.
When he arrived at Southern University six months ago, first-year coach Stump Mitchell started to assess and review almost everything within the football program. Eventually, he even inspected the footballs themselves. Mitchell changed those, too.
When the Jaguars report for fall camp Aug. 3, they’ll break in a new set of footballs — the result of a new deal brokered between Mitchell and Wilson Sporting Goods Co., the Chicago-based firm that manufactures game balls for the NFL, not to mention thousands of other high school and college programs.
Mitchell said he made the move with two things in mind — quality and efficiency. “We’ve got to cut expenses around here. Everything is in cost-cutting mode at Southern,” Mitchell said. “So I had an opportunity to let our quarterbacks throw the Wilson. They liked it, and we just made the switch.” In recent years, SU had deals with Nike and Spalding, but the team was only allowed so many footballs per season. “With Wilson, we can get as many balls as we need,” he said. “The opportunity was afforded to me, and it worked out.”
Just a year into its existence, Heritage High School(Palm Bay, Florida) is looking for a new leader for its football program. Mike Davis, who came to coach the Panthers from Bayside High, has taken an assistant coaching job at Clark Atlanta University, Heritage athletic director Greg McGrew said. Heritage has less than a month to find a replacement before football workouts begin. Phone messages left for Davis went unreturned Tuesday night.
"We're looking for a head coach with some experience. If anybody is interested, they should call me," McGrew said. "We want to go ahead and get the process going and see if somebody is interested in the county." McGrew was the athletics director at Bayside and brought Davis with him to begin the Panthers' program. In five years at Bayside, Davis led three teams to winning seasons. His 2006 and 2008 teams became the first in the school's history to make the playoffs.
Heritage went 0-9 in its first season, but the team consisted of only ninth- and 10th graders. In the coming season, the older of those will be 11th-graders, and there will be three classes available for the roster.
An arrest was made in the shooting death of an Alabama A&M football player.
According to the Birmingham News, police arrested and charged Terry Towns with murder and attempted murder. He's accused of shooting Alabama A&M football standout Maurice Thomas and injuring two others. The shooting happened last Friday inside a night club in Bessemer. Police say it started as a fight.
Towns, a 34 year old black male booked on July 3, was being held Friday night on bonds totaling $195,000, according to the Jefferson County (AL) Sheriff's Office. The shootings occurred on July 2, 2010.
Family and friends held a candlelight vigil outside Thomas' visitation Friday night. They leaned on each other for support while remembering the life of Thomas. His cousin said Thomas was more like a brother to her. She remembered when she learned about his death.
The funeral for the 23 year old Thomas will be held at Roosevelt City Church of Christ in Bessemer. Saturday morning.
FAMU officially launched a campaign on July 8, 2010, to raise $750,000 to add artificial turf to Bragg Stadium in time for the Rattlers' first home game Oct. 2. The immediate goal is for 1,454 supporters to donate $516 each. Head football coach Joe Taylor (left) and vice president Carla Willis is leading the fundraising.
After running non-stop through a long list of new constructions or renovations projects that will take place on the campus of Florida A&M, university president James Ammons finally took a breath. Then, he went on with another list that's just as important. The swimming pool, baseball field, tennis courts and Bragg Stadium. All of them need upgrading, and Ammons doesn't want it to be patchwork. The multimillion-dollar Lawson Center, where FAMU's basketball and volleyball teams play is his benchmark.
"All of those facilities need attention," Ammons said during an interview with the Democrat. "As we look at where we're going in athletics, that next mountain to climb is the facility mountain. We've got to bring all of the other facilities up to the Lawson Center." Improving the facilities is a must-do project because they could translate into championships in the long run, Ammons said. "We want to make sure that every program leader has a chance to win," he said.
ESPN Regional Television (ERT) has announced that tickets for the 2010 MEAC/SWAC Challenge football contest between Delaware State University and Southern University (La.) on Sep. 5 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, are now on sale through Ticketmaster and Anthony Travel.
Individual game tickets are $20 (plus tax and fees), and can be ordered by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or logging on to www.ticketmaster.com. Fans can also purchase travel packages through Anthony Travel's web page at www.anthonytravel.com or by calling 1-800-736-6377.
Delaware State University is also working with Anthony Travel on MEAC/SWAC Challenge packages for students, alumni and other Hornet fans. Information on the DSU packages can be obtained by logging onto http://www.desu.edu/meacswac-challenge or www.DSUHornets.com. The DSU travel packages include admission to Disney attractions.
The MEAC/SWAC weekend will include step shows, a career fair, parade and battle of the bands. Delaware State University will also host a tailgate and "fan center" in Orlando.
This will be Delaware State's first appearance in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, which pits a top team from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference against one from the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Southern will be making its second appearance in the challenge. The Jaguars defeated the MEAC's Florida A&M 33-27 in 2007 in Birmingham, Alabama.
Delaware State is 2-0 all-time vs. Southern. The Hornets, led by first-year head coach Bill Collick and All-American John Taylor, defeated the Jaguars 46-8 in 1985 in Baton Rouge, La. The teams met again the following year in Shreveport, La., with the Hornets coming out of top, 21-14.
The 2010 MEAC/SWAC Challenge will air on ESPN/ESPN HD and ESPN3.com. This will mark the first time this event will be televised on ESPN.
For more information about the MEAC/SWAC Challenge and for access to its Facebook page, please visit the official website: www.meacswacchallenge.com. Fans can also stay up to date on the event via Twitter: www.twitter.com/MEAC_SWAC.
Quintarius Hutchison (right) was a starter on Anniston High School Class 4A state-title team from 2008/09.
Former Anniston High basketball standout Quintarius Hutchison didn’t look at all like a man who had any intentions of resting on the laurels of his impressive resume Friday morning. Instead, the 6-foot-5, 190-pounder appeared primed to press on at the signing ceremony held at his alma mater’s media center, where he signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at Alabama A&M University in Huntsville.
Hutchison was named The Star’s Class 4A-6A Calhoun County Player of the Year during his senior season. He averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds in leading the Bulldogs to a 24-10 record and a trip to the state semifinals, just a year after they captured the Class 4A title. A&M began recruiting Hutchison after seeing him play in a Thanksgiving tournament in the Rocket City. The A&M coaches told Hutchison’s coaches they were “really interested” in him.
However, talks between Hutchison and the school fell off for months. He became a first-team all-state selection and was one of only 12 players in the state chosen to play in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic in Pelham. When A&M, which shares a mascot and color scheme with Anniston, came calling again long after the season ended, everything seemed to come together. Hutchison chose A&M over an offer from Faulkner University and interest from Miles, Lane College (Tenn.) and Lawson State Community College.
On its athletic website it reads, "LeMoyne-Owen College ... Undefeated since 1951," along with a picture of the Magicians' 1950 football team. That streak could be in jeopardy. LOC has formed a committee charged with studying the viability of reinstituting a football program that has been absent from the historically black college since 1951.
"What they're doing right now is looking at the feasibility," said Robert Lipscomb, chairman of the school's Board of Trustees. "No decisions have been made. We've got to get some data first. They're still doing their investigation."
The committee chairman and other members have not been announced. William Anderson, the school's athletic director, said LOC president Johnnie B. Watson could have an announcement regarding football in the near future. There are indications the startup costs for football could be in the $2 million to $3 million range. It is believed the team would initially play as a non-scholarship club sport, before eventually growing into a Division 2 scholarship team that would participate in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, of which it already is a member for its other sports.
For all the things that made Southwestern Athletic Conference football fans shake their heads over the years — suspect leadership, lack of direction, noticeable drops in talent — die-hards could always take heart in one thing: On the field, their teams were innovators. You remember the 1980s and early ’90s, don’t you? Long before the explosion of the spread offense and five-receiver sets, SWAC schools put on a pretty good show.
Willie Totten. Fred McNair. Steve McNair. Eric Randall. They all aired it out.
Five years ago, Grambling’s Bruce Eugene threw 50 touchdowns in one season.But take a deeper look at the league today, and you’ll come to a startling conclusion. The trend has reversed. Everything old is new again. In the modern SWAC, championship-caliber teams play old-fashioned football. They establish the run, and they play good defense. This from a league that gave us Sammy White and Harold Carmichael and Jerry Rice? Believe it.
The ninth annual Palmetto Capital City Classic is set for Aug. 28 and it will be Tigers vs Tigers as Benedict hosts Morehouse College from Atlanta. The game will kick off at 4:00 p.m. at Charlie W. Johnson Stadium. For Benedict head coach Stan Conner, the Classic is like a bowl game for his players because of all the festivities leading up to the game.
The game will also give Conner a gauge as to how his team will stack up against a proven opponent. Last year in Atlanta, Morehouse defeated Benedict 34-13. The Tigers would get hot down the stretch and finish with an 8-3 record, thanks in part to stellar play by quarterback Pat Riley. The Maroon Tigers from Atlanta ended the year 7-3. Conner says playing Morehouse to open the season, followed by games against Tuskegee and South Carolina State is like "going from the frying pan into another hot skillet".
Florida A&M University president Dr. James H. Ammons.
If indeed it takes a village to raise a child, then Florida A&M President James Ammons might be on to something to help his athletic program get out of the red. While FAMU has made great strides during the past year to reduce its athletic department's deficit by almost $1 million, Ammons believes that if coaches recruit more local athletes they'd eventually help gate receipts that could put more bodies in the Lawson Center and Bragg Stadium on game days.
"I think there is some merit in looking at local athletes, especially when you have a 10,000-seat facility," Ammons said during a recent interview with the Tallahassee Democrat. "The family, the church, the community — I think everybody would come to watch local athletes play." Meanwhile, FAMU's athletic department continues efforts to cut into a budget deficit that totaled $5.3 million a year ago. Ammons said the gap is now at $4.6 million and the goal is to make the department profitable within the next three to five years.
Johnson C. Smith University has hired four-time Super Bowl champion Donnie Shell to launch a mentoring facility on campus. JCSU's Center for Spiritual Life will facilitate spiritual and religious outreach on campus and the surrounding faith community. Shell's consulting firm will also help the university develop responsibilities for the center's director. School officials will review his findings and implement them in the fall.
“In my conversations with Mr. Shell, I have been impressed with his approach to mentoring young people spiritually,” Johnson C. Smith President Ronald L. Carter said in a statement. “I have asked him to develop a similar mentoring program on campus.”
Shell, a South Carolina State University graduate, won four Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers and retired with 51 interceptions. A five-time Pro Bowl selection, Shell has been nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and was named to the Steelers' all-time team, the College Football Hall of Fame, and the NFL's silver anniversary Super Bowl team. He was director of player development for the Carolina Panthers from 1994-2009, where he mentored players in their education and post-football activities.
Donnie Shell is one of our all time favorite players...this is a funny Roast of Shell.
Three years ago Larry Bastfield couldn’t wait to get away from home for college. Today, the former Towson Catholic standout couldn’t be happier to be back. A second-team Baltimore Sun All-Metro selection in 2008, Bastfield signed with Toledo in the fall of 2007 and completed his sophomore season with the Rockets in the spring. When Toledo coach Gene Cross left the university in March, however, Bastfield decided to head home to Baltimore and finish out his college career at Morgan State.
“It’s for the better,” said Bastfield, who is already taking classes this summer at Morgan. “It really hit me when I came home. I was really ready to come back when I was in Toledo. I was ready for a better situation and ready for the next step.” Bastfield’s college career got off to a rocky start before he had even enrolled at Toledo. Stan Joplin, the longtime Rockets coach who recruited him, was fired after the 2007-08 season. Bastfield stuck with his commitment and played two years for Cross.
Duggar Baucom has crunched the numbers and planned the itineraries. If anyone knows how to stretch a buck on the July recruiting trail, the VMI coach does. He'll drive where he can and fly only if he must, using tickets purchased far in advance to get the lowest fares. If plans fluctuate - if an event is canceled or a player he wants to see is a no-show - he'll think long and hard before paying expensive fees to change his ticket. "You just try to spend wisely," Baucom said.
He has no choice. VMI's basketball recruiting budget for fiscal 2009, the last year figures are available, was $17,954. By comparison, Virginia spent $171,045, Virginia Tech $146,607 and Old Dominion $90,191. By U.Va. standards, that was a frugal year. The Cavaliers spent an average of $228,563 chasing players over a four-year period, including $294,000 in 2006. VMI's four-year average was $28,000, Norfolk State's just $17,122.
The disparity in recruiting budgets is another example of the gap between college basketball's haves and have-nots. Big and small schools don't necessarily target the same players, but in the summer, most everyone turns up at the same events. Even schools like VMI and NSU that recruit mostly regionally must travel far from home to see the guys they're pursuing.
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Saint Augustine’s College men’s basketball coach Lonnie Blow Jr., has accepted an assistant coaching job at Old Dominion University and has left the Falcons’ program after two seasons. Blow, who this season guided the Falcons to its first CIAA conference tournament title since 1997, received an offer this week and decided to join head coach Blaine Taylor’s staff.
Lonnie Blow, Jr., previously coached for 11 seasons at Maury H.S., led Granby H.S. to a state title and served as an assistant coach at Norfolk State and Hampton University. Last season, he led the Saint Augustine's Falcons to a 27-5 record in his second year and was named CIAA Coach of the Year. The Falcons also compiled the highest GPA in the CIAA.
“I can confirm that,” Old Dominion senior associate athletic director Debbie White said in phone interview on Thursday. St. Aug’s athletics director George Williams said he learned earlier in the week that Blow had an offer and tried to make a counter-offer. He said he certainly tried to keep one of the best basketball coaches to lead their NCAA Division II program. “I try to bring the best people in and put the best package together for them,” he said. “But D-I, financially, we can’t handle those guys.”
Dantavious Parker, 5-11/208 quarterback from Columbus High School (Miami, Florida), narrowed his choices to TSU and Florida A&M, Coach Blakeney said.
Rising junior quarterback Dantavious Parker is transferring to Texas Southern University, Troy University head coach Larry Blakeney confirmed Wednesday night. But Blakeney left the door open for Parker, a dynamic threat at quarterback, to return. “He has the opportunity to come back if he gets there and doesn’t like what he sees,” Blakeney said. “I told him that.”
Parker played as a reserve for the past two seasons behind Levi Brown, but broke his right (non-throwing) collarbone in Troy’s first scrimmage this spring on a running play. He was competing with juniors Jamie Hampton and Greg Jenkins and redshirt freshman Corey Robinson for the starting spot, but the injury knocked him out for the spring. Coaches said they have narrowed the race down to two with Hampton and Robinson as the frontrunners.
“I met with him and talked to his mama more than once or twice about this,” Blakeney said. “We talked about his education and what he means to this team as a leader and a player, but he couldn’t get past the chance of wanting to be a starting quarterback. Texas Southern and coach (Johnnie) Cole told him he had a good chance to compete to be a starter. “We couldn’t guarantee him that he had that chance, but I’ll say this. He is a special kid and I hate to lose him.”
For Grambling's ageless Eddie Robinson, Melvin Lee was a constant.
Over nearly five decades, Lee either played for Robinson or coached beside him. Yet he remains a shadowy figure in his old boss' march to a still-standing Division I record of 408 career football victories.
Lee, unassuming and fiercely steadfast as an offensive assistant, was most comfortable outside of the spotlight. But his fingerprints are all over the Robinson era. He was there for more than 300 of the College Hall of Famer's wins, and every league title Robinson ever claimed -- eventually earning such profound respect from Robinson that the two would collaborate on playcalling.
It's fitting, then, that Lee has claimed a spot in the Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame, a collection that already includes a trio of those whom Lee credits with propelling him into a life around football.
"It started at the top, of course," said Lee, who still lives on Martin Luther King Drive in Grambling. Former school president "R.W.E. Jones set the stage and then (longtime sports information director) Collie J. Nicholson gave us so much attention in news print. That helped Coach Robinson focus on being a consistent fundamentalist. They allowed us to learn and progress as the years went by."
The 2010 Legends induction ceremonies will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 17, at the Monroe Civic Center. Admission is $60 per person, and $500 for a table of eight, with all proceeds going to the non-profit Legends group for distribution in support athletics at Grambling. Tickets can be purchased at the Monroe Civic Center box office. Call 329-2837.
Lee attended Clark High in New Orleans, where he said he earned a spot on the All-City district football team, and planned to play football at Dillard -- until a friend convinced him to enroll at Grambling. He tried out for the Tiger football team in 1952, meeting a lasting friend and mentor in Robinson. Undersized at 175, Lee nevertheless played both ways for Grambling -- as center and linebacker. In 1955, Lee would be part of a group that earned the program's first black college national championship.
"To the individuals on the team, we remember it like it was yesterday," Lee said. "We're proud the fact that we didn't allow more than 24 points in any game that year. The offense was based around the tailback; there was never a question about passing. We ran to the right most of the time. We more or less came right at you." In going 10-0, Lee and a group of talents that included future Pro Football Hall of Famer Willie Davis would establish just the second undefeated record in Grambling's history, and still its most recent.
"As we played for that championship, Coach talked about giving your best effort and that, looking back, you would see this as your finest hour," Lee said. "I'm sure most of us look back and realize that was a fantastic time. It can only happen to a few individuals, and not very often."
Two years in the Army followed, and Lee ended up back in New Orleans, where he was offered a job as a cement finisher. Then Robinson called.
Photo by Darryl D. Smith
Returning to the piney hills of Lincoln Parish in 1960 was a dream come true. "We gained so much from our time with Coach," Lee said. "We got a chance to see the country and a portion of the world. It was something that being in a smaller school, you never thought would happen."
Thoughtful and precise, Lee will never be confused with the stair-stepping assistants of today. Rather than looking for the next great job, he was looking for the next great play. "Being in charge wasn't the most important thing to me," Lee said. "Seeing things work well was."
The consummate players' coach, Lee was the first one they turned to when things went awry. That created an almost familial bond. "Coach always took up for his linemen, no matter what happened," said former Grambling quarterback Doug Williams, a fellow 2010 Legends inductee. "Coach Rob would say: 'Hell, Melvin, you've got to stop taking up for them.'" "I've heard that a few times," Lee admits, with a chuckle.
The milestones and memories were many: 17 Southwestern Athletic Conference championships, most for any program. Celebrated trips to Japan, to Hawaii, to Yankee Stadium. The formation of the Bayou Classic game against in-state foe Southern at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.
By the mid-1970s, after fellow Grambling assistant Douglas Porter had launched his own College Hall of Fame head coaching career, offers began arriving for Lee, as well. He stayed. "Back then, we were going everywhere -- Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York -- and I knew I'd have to give that up if I left," he said. "There was always something new and entertaining going on at Grambling."
There would be many more memories, and many, many more milestones: The opening of Robinson Stadium. Advancing past Paul "Bear" Bryant's mythical mark for career victories, then the unfathomable 400-win plateau.
Lee continued, all along, quietly tinkering with Grambling's familiar Wing-T offense, something that endlessly entertained the professorial assistant. Lee somehow found time to return to school, as well, earning a master's degree at nearby Louisiana Tech in 1969.
"We called him 'Silent Lee,'" Davis said. "But he has one of the very best football minds."
At practice, Lee kept a pencil behind one ear, and pieces of paper either in hand or stuffed in his pockets. He was always ready to scribble down what Robinson said, to update their plan. During the game, he'd break down the opponents through a trusty pair of binoculars, looking for the tiniest opening. "It would be impossible to describe how much Melvin Lee meant to me over all these years," Robinson said, late in their career together. "It was his genius that helped make our Wing-T offense so effective for so long."
They walked out of the Superdome, one last time, after the season finale in 1997 -- the legend and the right-hand man. Lee has spent the ensuing years, unsurprisingly, largely unnoticed. Most days, you'll find him working in his yard with wife Pauline. He's also been tending to another relationship that's never wavered, refurbishing a property that was damaged by Hurricane Katrina back in his hometown.
Lee makes only rare public appearances, as when Robinson was honored upon his passing in 2007 with an all-day memorial in Baton Rouge, something typically reserved for heads of state. There, Lee found himself, suddenly, in the middle of this maelstrom of memory. It seemed every Grambling generation wanted to take a photograph on the Louisiana State Capitol's imposing granite steps alongside the former assistant. He carefully moved the conversation, then as now, back to Eddie Robinson -- back to the time they shared together.
The two men remain inseparable, connected in memory as they once were on the field. Lee, ever the loyalist, doesn't mind. "We all looked up to him, and the country would recognize how special he was in later years," Lee said of Robinson. "As individuals, we were really impressed by his leadership. He always inspired you. There was always something that was different and unique and very stimulating."
For the past three years, the North Carolina Central University football program has undergone a transformation, from back-to-back conference champions and NCAA Division II playoff participants to new Division I-FCS members experiencing the harsh realities of a team in transition. Heading into their fourth year as a Division I competitor, the fledgling Eagles, who have endured thousands of miles of travel to road contests against nationally-ranked opposition, are now battle-tested, mature, experienced and ready to soar.
The 2010 edition of the gridiron Eagles welcomes back 61 returning letterwinners, including 17 starters (9 offense, 8 defense), consisting of 10 seniors, six juniors and one sophomore. “It’s going to be different,” NCCU head coach Mose Rison said about the upcoming campaign, his fourth as the program’s head mentor. “We have been a team in transition. We have played a lot of road games, and played with a lot of youth. Now we have seven home games and we are going to have experienced depth.”
NCCU Offense Looking to Regain Scoring Output from 2006 Championship Season
During the first three season of the Division I reclassification process, NCCU averaged 18.3 points per game against Division I opposition, compiling a 7-16 record in those contests. With nine returning starters, Rison sees the potential for the 2010 offensive lineup to return to the form of the 2006 squad that scored at a school record pace of 30.9 points per game under his direction as offensive coordinator.
PRINCESS ANNE, MD -- Emerson Boozer, who has garnered various honors for his abilities on the gridiron, can now add another accolade to his resume -- College Football Hall of Famer.
EMERSON BOOZER, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Halfback (1962-65)
