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Jackson State football players will get a slight reprieve in practice time this fall, but that's not necessarily a good thing. Because of the program's low Academic Progress Rate, Jackson State will be restricted to 16 hours of practice a week - four fewer hours than the NCAA normally allows. Fall practice begins at 3 p.m. today, and putting together a plan to work within the 16-hour framework could be an issue for coach Rick Comegy and his staff - especially since the team is installing a new offense.
"We're going to get the best out of those 16 hours. We know what we want to get it in," Comegy said. "We don't like it, but it fits. We can make it fit." Along with practice time, JSU was penalized with a reduction in scholarships. The program was restricted to offering 23.7 scholarships during February's signing class. Football Championship Subdivision teams are allowed to offer 30 scholarships per signing class.
Greg Dillon, show in photo as #1 in GSU game with Oklahoma State in 2009 was denied a sixth year opportunity by NCAA. Dillon played a total of two years in college football career.
Greg Dillon’s college football career is over. The Grambling quarterback’s petition for a sixth year of eligibility has been denied by the NCAA, leaving Grambling without its two-year starting quarterback for the upcoming season. “From where I sit, it’s a big injustice,” Grambling head coach Rod Broadway said on Friday. “But we’ll have to live with it.”
Dillon began his collegiate career as a walk-on for ULM in 2005. He then transferred to Grambling, and won the starting job as a walk-on in 2008. Grambling finished the 2008 season 11-2 and captured a SWAC Championship with Dillon under center, and last season Dillon led the Tigers to a 7-4 record and a win in the Bayou Classic.
Savannah State University quarterback Kurvin Curry was not among the 79 football players who reported to preseason training camp Thursday. Curry, a 6-foot-1, 216-pound sophomore last season, was academically ineligible to participate in spring practices this year and last year. The Hart County High School graduate returned to his home in Hartwell after the spring semester.
"We're looking to move forward with A.J. (DeFilippis) as our quarterback," SSU interim head coach Julius Dixon said Thursday night. "I haven't spoken with Kurvin. I know that I would like for him to come back to school and finish what he started." Last Friday, Dixon said he believed Curry would be academically ineligible to play this season. SSU players were instructed to report from 1-5 p.m. Thursday. Dixon said a couple of players with transportation issues called him and were granted permission to arrive today. The Tigers' first practice is Saturday at 8:45 a.m.
SU Jaguars defensive coordinator, O'Neill Gilbert.
Fresh from a pair of beatings after the first two days of preseason practice, Southern center Ramon Chinyoung spotted his nemesis in the parking lot of the A.W. Mumford Field House late Thursday night. Walking toward the double doors, Chinyoung locked eyes with defensive coordinator O’Neill Gilbert. “Hey, coach O’Neill,” he said, pointing at Gilbert with his helmet. “Nice job today.”
As the Jaguars geared up for meetings and looked ahead toward their third day of football practice — they plan to wear shoulder pads for the first time today — first-year head coach Stump Mitchell made something crystal-clear: During team drills, the offense did not live up to his standards. Gilbert’s defense did. Mitchell offered a tip of the cap. Gilbert’s reaction: pleased, but not satisfied.
“We need to get stronger; we need to get in better shape; and we need to get in the playbooks,” Gilbert said. “We still have a ways to go in terms of learning what we’re looking for in the defense. We haven’t arrived. We just need to keep on, day by day, getting stronger and faster and continuing to learn.”
ALBANY, GA — The A.J. McKenna era is over, so when coach Mike White and the Albany State University football team took the field for their first practice Thursday morning, one of the main things on their mind was the open quarterback spot. It’ll be tough to replace McKenna, who led the SIAC in passing yards per game (184.3) last season, but White said one of the three players vying for the spot — Wayne Campbell, Stanley Jennings and Chris Payne — should fit in nicely.
“They’ll be alright,” White said. “I don’t know if any of them will beat A.J.’s (numbers) — the size, the athlete, the combination A.J. had was really rare — but I think somebody will fill his shoes and definitely take care of the offense.” Campbell returns from last year’s team, Jennings is a transfer from Southwest Mississippi Community College and Payne is a redshirt player who originally signed with ASU in 2006.
And while Thursday was the first time the coaches were able to see them all together in action, White said he already knows they’ll follow plays better than McKenna did. “These are a little more coachable guys,” White said. “A.J. was a pretty intelligent kid, but he was a guy who always wanted to throw the ball deep. He would have a guy wide open in his face and he would try to force it deep. “He had that trouble all season. It was hard to get him to see that.”
NORFOLK, Va. — Florida A&M sophomore quarterback Martin Ukpai isn't going to be surprising anyone this season with his combo-threat abilities. He put that on display in the final game last season when he was pressed into action in place of injured Curtis Pulley. He wowed the Florida Classic crowd and left quite an impression that coaches around the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference couldn't avoid noticing. None of them were ready to call him the second coming of Pulley during the conference's Media Day, but he seemingly has gained their respect.
That much was obvious when coaches talked about what they had to look forward to during the coming season. "We need to be especially cognizant of the fact that this guy is a very good football player," said South Carolina State coach Buddy Pough. "He will only get better. It will be interesting to see how much he improves by the time he gets to us."
RALEIGH, NC -- After losing to Fayetteville State 29-28 in the last minutes of the fourth quarter on Oct. 10 and giving up a chance at the division title, the Shaw football team is looking to make up for the missed opportunity. The team plays its season-opener at home and then goes on the road for five consecutive games. Shaw then comes home for three games before finishing off conference play against St. Augustine's on Nov. 6. Coach Darrell Asberry's team gets another shot at Fayetteville State at home.
The Bears have a veteran offensive line that has back all but three starters from a group that led the CIAA in scoring offense and total offense. But there are questions elsewhere on the team. Shaw hopes to have answers before its opener against Virginia Union on Sept. 4.
When Connell Maynor put away his golf clubs, it meant one thing -- time for football practice. Maynor, who plays to a 2 handicap, will open his first preseason camp as Winston-Salem State's coach -- and his first as a head coach -- at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. "I'm excited about the start of camp," Maynor said. "I want to get out there and see how the guys have been doing in offseason conditioning and while they might not be in full football shape yet, they should be close."
The Rams, coming off a 1-10 finish last fall, have a lot of holes to fill after losing nearly 30 players from last season. Some graduated, but others transferred or didn't have their scholarships renewed. The turnover turns WSSU into an unknown commodity in its return to the CIAA. Maynor was hoping to have veteran Akeem Ward back to lead the defensive line, but Ward, a junior who started the last two seasons, is academically ineligible.
"It's unfortunate, but no one player is bigger than the team," Maynor said. "We have to overcome that loss of Akeem. He would have helped us, but we have to move on."
The Grambling football team reports for fall camp Friday, and on Saturday the Tigers will hold their first training camp practice in preparation for the 2010 season. The team is in a familiar position, but not necessarily a comfortable one. The Tigers have some uncertainty at quarterback but should be strong on defense. It's the same situation the team faced in 2008, when incumbent quarterback Brandon Landers was ruled ineligible just weeks before the start of training camp.
Greg Dillon eventually won the starting job vacated by Landers, and while Dillon and the GSU offense worked out the kinks, the defense paved the way to an 11-2 overall record and a SWAC Championship. Now Dillon's eligibility is up in the air, and Grambling might need to follow the same script if it is going to challenge for a conference title in 2010.
Actress and singer Taraji P. Henson is a descendant of Matthew Alexander Henson, discoverer of the Geographic North Pole. She was born in N.E. Washington, D.C., and earned a B.A. degree from Howard University in Theater Arts. Henson played the role of Queeni in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2009.
Independent motion picture company Gyre Entertainment will begin production of the sports drama, “From the Rough,” starring Academy Award Nominee Taraji P. Henson in New Orleans October 4, 2010.
“From the Rough” is based on the remarkable true story of the first female head coach of an NCAA Division One men’s golf team, Dr. Catana Starks atTennessee State University.Henson plays the fictional character Cassandra Turner who represents Starks in the film. Turner is a female coach at a historically black college/university (HBCU) who faces an uphill battle as she attempts to establish the school?s first men?s golf team.
“The extraordinary film explores one’s ability to transform life’s rough circumstances into distinct advantages,” said Pierre Bagley. “It confronts issues of race, gender, class, and cultural barriers in ways that are provocative, and sometimes hilarious.”
Year 2 of N.C. A&T’s rebuilding campaign is underway.
The Aggies reported to preseason camp on Sunday; the first practice was Tuesday. “My coaching staff is excited about getting out there,’’ said second-year coach Alonzo Lee. “We believe the players have really put in the hard work necessary to be successful, so we are eager to see how that translates to the field.”
Two Aggies – safety Justin Ferrell and cornerback Quay Long (West Charlotte High) – earned first-team All-MEAC preseason honors. The Aggies ranked ninth in the nation in pass defense last season. Ferrell, who led the conference with six interceptions, started the season at cornerback before moving to safety. “Justin makes us a team that can really get after you blitz-wise because he can cover like a corner,’’ said Lee. “It gives us a chance to play a little more man coverage. His presence really makes us a better defense.”
While playing football at Winston-Salem State University, I remember my head football coach Kermit Blount saying “Gentlemen, football is a metaphor for life. But this not pep rally, this is a pep reality." In those team meetings or so-called pep "realities", coach Blount would give us (players) a little dose of reality and a few lessons on life.
I can still hear him in his cool baritone voice like Billy Dee Williams in "Lady Sings the Blues" say: “Gentlemen, you are going to have to learn how to prioritize......and find out what's more important to you: school or girls, football or foolishness, coming to practice or playing video games." "But regardless of what you decide to do, you must prioritize...gentlemen."
Yeah, those team meetings or "pep realities" with coach Blount seemed more like church than a college football meeting. Because he rarely talked about the X's and O's, blocking schemes, or defensive assignments. He focused more on telling players to call their moms, staying out of trouble, and looking out for one another.
Just as quickly as the question was posed for a reaction to Florida A&M being picked to finish second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, linebacker Brandon Hepburn fired off his response. Just the reference of South Carolina State being predicted to win the conference for a third consecutive season was enough to get Hepburn fired up.
"I don't really care what they had to say," Hepburn said Tuesday. "We worked too hard during the summer and me and my brothers are going to the championship. Point blank. Period. That's all I have to say about it." But he went on. "We're not being No. 2 — at all. The MEAC is ours and it's time to reclaim what is ours. If you don't want to be the best, why do we play football?"
FAMU will actually have to play football like it didn't play last year when it finished 8-3 and and finished in second place for the second straight year. The Rattlers finished as predicted last season, but the previous year they beat the odds in coach Joe Taylor's first season at the helm by finishing second instead of seventh as was predicted.
FORT VALLEY, GA — The first day of football practice at Fort Valley State was like most of the ones at nearly every college throughout the land: fairly routine and injury-free. Everybody head coach Donald Pittman expected to be in uniform was there Wednesday for the first day of practice, and the returning Wildcats came back in shape. But Pittman and his staff will have a little less stress as they prepare for the season and the opener Aug. 28 at Miles College.
“I’ll tell you what the most important part of it is,” said Pittman, beginning his second season at FVSU. “The president, Dr. (Larry) Rivers, he gave us an opportunity to come in two days before (camp) started and gave us the chance to register and get cleared and do all of those things.
“We don’t have to worry about that at the end. It’s all cleared now.” Pittman and his predecessors regularly went through August camp with players having to wait on a variety of administrative and financial aid issues to be cleared with players. And often, some of those matters weren’t taken care of before the season started, so a player might miss a game or more.
When he signed with the Jackson State football team in 2006, Antonio Colston had heard the stories about Tigers fans - how some go to games just for the halftime shows. "I knew that a lot of fans come strictly for the band," Colston, a senior offensive lineman from Mobile, said in an interview last week. "I never knew it was so strong until we started losing."
Marked by a season-ending loss to in-state rival Alcorn State and poor attendance figures, last year's 3-8 record came with something else: embarrassment for players. "It really hurt my heart," safety Kerry Hoskins said last week. "We were a better team than that."
Players were not allowed to talk to reporters Wednesday, the first day they reported for fall camp in preparation for the Sept. 4 season opener against Delta State. Ninety players reported to campus, said school spokesman Wesley Peterson. Coach Rick Comegy, who was also not available for interviews, spoke through the spokesman.
As the former coach at Hampton and an ex-assistant at Clemson and a handful of mid-majors, Kevin Nickelberry never has been able to pick and choose his recruits from a selection of top-level prospects. But even for a coach who has spent many of his days in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Patriot League and Northeast Conference, recruiting never was as tough as it was at his last job.
Before he was hired as coach at Howard in May, Nickelberry scoured dusty gyms trying to assemble a scrappy team that could hold its own against the best competition on the continent. Only those dusty gyms - some of which didn't even have doors - were scattered across Libya. "I use the word 'gym' loosely," Nickelberry said. "There's a floor, there's dirt and there's dust all over."
After resigning under pressure at Hampton following the 2008-09 season because he hadn't won enough, Nickelberry landed a job as the coach of the Libyan national team for four months as the country hosted its first FIBA African Championships.
Gary “Big Hands” Johnson, a Chargers Hall of Famer and one of the most dominant defensive tackles in club history, died yesterday, two weeks after suffering a stroke. Johnson, also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame after an outstanding career at Grambling State University, died at LSU Medical Center in Shreveport, La., the city in which he was born. He was 57.
Johnson was the eighth player chosen in the 1975 draft and played for the Chargers from 1975-84 before finishing his career with San Francisco in 1984 and 1985. Johnson was voted an All-Pro in 1980 (when he had 17 1/2 sacks) and 1981 and was named to the Pro Bowl in four straight seasons (1979-82). The Chargers won the AFC West in three of those seasons and made the playoffs in all four.
GREENSBORO, N.C. — He is N.C. A&T’s most decorated returning football player, the kind of guy any coach would eagerly build his defense around. And yet, Justin Ferrell stood on the lush, manicured grass of Aggie Stadium on Tuesday morning and pointed out his own flaws. Drenched in sweat from A&T’s first football practice under the August sun, Ferrell vowed to be better.
“I really looked forward to this practice because my last two years, as a freshman and sophomore, I really didn’t show the passion I should have,” Ferrell said. “I didn’t show the intensity in practice I should have to get better, to take heed to what the coaches are putting forth to make us better in life and on the field.” This from a first-team All-MEAC defensive back. This from a player who volunteered to move from cornerback to safety last season to help his team. This from the guy who led the league with six interceptions last season.
BATON ROUGE, LA - After a 17 year run, a new day is literally dawning on the bluff. New head football coach, Lyvonia "Stump" Mitchell, is set to welcome his first class to campus for fall preparation. The Jags open the 2010 season on Sunday, September 5, 2010 at 12:00pm in the Citrus Bowl versus Delaware State in the MEAC-SWAC Challenge.
Stump Mitchell and staff are set to welcome 90 players to the north Baton Rouge campus. "For us, as coaches, it's the most important time of the year -- other than when you're trying to recruit the players here," Mitchell said. "Spring (practice) was important, too, as far as us getting to know what we had. ... But this is where you really get to practice."
DURHAM, NC -- After a tough start to the 2009 football season, when N.C. Central let several winnable games slip away late, the Eagles hope strength in numbers will make a difference in 2010. NCCU coach Mose Rison welcomed 88 players to the first practice on Monday night at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium as the Eagles tried to beat the heat. Rison said he didn't know what to expect with the weather to open camp after going through an oppressive July.
"It was really nice," Rison said. "We didn't have to worry about the heat. It was a good first practice." The Eagles open the 2010 season, their first in the MEAC at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision level, at home against Johnson C. Smith on Sept 2 at 7 p.m. Rison said there were about 30 players out on the field horsing around and playing catch 45 minutes before practice was scheduled to start.
2009-10: 19-13, 17-1 2009-10 postseason: NIT Coach: Tevester Anderson (114-113 at Jackson State, 217-165 overall)
Jackson State dominated the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 2009-2010 with a 17-1 record. Yet the team failed to show up when it mattered the most, and fell in the first round of the conference tournament. That left the Tigers in the NIT instead of the NCAA Tournament. But all of that work was done mostly without preseason conference player of the year Grant Maxey who played in just two games before suffering a season ending ankle injury. The young team has grown up and should be able to cruise through the SWAC yet again.
Key Losses: G Garrison Johnson
Key Newcomers: Kelsey Howard will probably end up being the star of this recruiting class. The 6-4 guard is a pure scorer and has enough size to attack the basket when he is not knocking down an outside shot. In a conference like the SWAC most pure scorers are strictly shooters, but because of Howard’s size he has the ability to be a multi-dimensional scorer and that will make him a good player sooner or later. Fellow freshman guard Scottie Sterling will not do nearly as much scoring, but he is a solid defender and ball handler. Derrell Taylor, a 6-7, 175 pound forward, needs to bulk up a bit, but he will eventually provide some depth to the frontcourt. Wing Jeniro Bush and 7-2 center Jamarious Sykes sat out last season and will look for minutes this time around.
HUNTSVILLE, AL - Alabama A&M football coach Anthony Jones has had to replace key players before. This season, however, it appears Jones has to replace more than he ever has entering his ninth season with the Bulldogs.
Gone are all-time leading rusher Ulysses Banks, all-time leading receiver Thomas Harris, center Xavier Manuel, a three-year starter and All-Southwestern Athletic Conference performer, defensive end Jeremy Maddox, who finished second behind Robert Mathis in sacks and tackles for loss, and placekicker Jeremy Licea, who finished his career as the school's all-time leading scorer.
That's just a handful of the people Jones and company will have to replace if the Bulldogs are going to win the East Division title and return to the SWAC championship game for the fifth time in his tenure.
Texas Southern University president Dr. John M. Rudley and athletic director Charles McClelland are the key drivers behind the shared new Houston Dynamo Soccer/TSU football stadium. The Tigers total lifetime investment -- $2.5 million. Sweet deal!!
HOUSTON, TX - Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group, co-owners of Major League Soccer Houston Dynamo, told FOX 26 Sports Wednesday the team's new downtown soccer-specific stadium will open in June of 2012. This is the first time Dynamo ownership has been able to nail down when the stadium will officially open.
"We're going to move in by June of 2012," said Leiweke. "So the paperwork is being wrapped up. Every agreement is being signed. We're out (Wednesday night) starting to sell the naming rights. Our bids are in. Our design is done. We hired a construction team. We hired a project manager.
"This is a $110 million dollar project. We've have a cost-certainty on budget. Now we get on with the task of making sure that we protect the best interests of the Dynamo and Texas Southern University."
The project will be financed with an estimated $75 million from Dynamo ownership. The city of Houston and Harris County are providing $10 million each, that will be funded by taxes generated by the stadium complex. The city (Houston) is providing the land which cost around $15 million.
TSU athletic director Charles McClelland said the school has entered the project as a co-tenant and will make a one-time payment of $2.5 million for the full use of the new stadium.
“We’re gonna have our own locker rooms. We’re gonna share the sales for concessions, on ticket sales so it’s gonna be the home of the Texas Southern University Fighting Tigers,” said McClelland.
Other than the Labor Day Classic with SWAC champions Prairie View A&M University Panthers, TSU has been a transient program for over 30 years. The Tigers currently play their home football games at a high school stadium.
The Labor Day Classic is played at the NFL's Houston Texans Reliant Stadium which has a seating capacity of 71,500.
Upon completion of the "unnamed" Dynamo/TSU stadium, the Tigers will become the envy of the Southwestern Athletic Conference as co-tenant of this 22,000 seat state-of-art facility with luxury suites. A rail line will literally run right next to the stadium that will have fan friendly in terms of concessions and restrooms, and parking and access.
The stadium will be located deep within downtown Houston, in the East End on prime real estate as the Dynamo and the TSU Tigers continue their quest to cement their programs in the hearts of Houston sports fans.
There is certainly a brighter day ahead for TSU with Coach Johnnie Cole's timely resurrection of the Tigers football program.
TSU resides in the 10th largest television market in the U.S., and has the 8th largest population. This is a good, fertile market for high school athletes and musicians to fuel the Tigers showcase Ocean of Soul Marching Band and athletic programs. One could accurately say--the sky is the limit on how good the Tigers can become with their new digs.
The legendary Coach Willard Bailey is show in a 2007 photo with Saint Paul's star player Craig Mangrum.
CIAA’s ‘winningest’ football mentor faces health challenges.
Coach Willard Bailey was hired to resurrect the Saint Paul’s College football program. Now, with that mission accomplished, the coach at the top of the CIAA’s all-time win list is taking a break to focus on his own health.
"I promised my family and the Lord that I would be the perfect patient," he told the Free Press, via cell phone, while undergoing tests last Thursday at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
“I have to get straight before I get back and get involved anywhere.”
The 71-year-old Suffolk native did not go into details about his medical condition, but noted “I don’t want anyone to panic - let’s just leave it there.” On Tuesday, he told the Free Press he’s still the head coach and that he expects to return to his active role as coach.
In response to a question, he said he has a contract as head coach fro the upcoming football season. Bailey’s replacement, former defensive coordinator Kevin Grisby, will carry the “interim” tag this season. The Tigers are to begin practice Aug. 4 in preparation for the Aug. 28 season opener at West Virginia Wesleyan.
Grisby, a former Bethune-Cookman standout who had a tryout with the Philadelphia Eagles, has served under Bailey at Saint Paul’s and Virginia Union. “I still consider coach Bailey our coach,” Grisby said at the CIAA Kickoff Luncheon last Thursday at Virginia State. “Whenever something comes up, I’d like to think that he’s only a call away.”
Jackson State football players will get a slight reprieve in practice time this fall, but that's not necessarily a good thing. Because of the program's low Academic Progress Rate, Jackson State will be restricted to 16 hours of practice a week - four fewer hours than the NCAA normally allows. Fall practice begins at 3 p.m. today, and putting together a plan to work within the 16-hour framework could be an issue for coach Rick Comegy and his staff - especially since the team is installing a new offense.
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