SSU's Bostick to back up DeFilippis at QB

SSU Tigers starting quarterback A.J. DeFilippis

Antonio Bostick has secured Savannah State University's No. 2 quarterback job behind starter A.J. DeFilippis, interim head coach Julius Dixon said Wednesday after the Tigers' first practice in full pads. "Right now it's A.J. and then Antonio Bostick," said Dixon, who added that freshmen Anthony Prophet, Avery Cheeks and Jake Durham are competing for the third-string job.

DeFilippis, a 6-foot-3, 191-pound junior from Pooler, Georgia was the only quarterback academically eligible to participate in spring practices. Kurvin Curry, a sophomore who split time with DeFilippis last season, is academically ineligible this season.

Bostick, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound redshirt freshman from Greensboro, Fla., spent last season on the sideline signaling in plays to the quarterbacks. "Redshirting helped me a lot," Bostick said. "To see two experienced guys (DeFilippis and Curry) play the game of college football was a blessing for me. I didn't have a problem signaling plays in from the sideline. I feel very comfortable. Last year, it was a learning curve situation for me."

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Tuskegee Golden Tigers' game vs. Texas Southern moved to Mobile

Tuskegee University Goldern Tigers coach Willie Slater.

TUSKEGEE, AL -- The game between Tuskegee University of the SIAC and Texas Southern of the SWAC, originally scheduled for the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in California, will be played in Mobile, Alabama.

The City of Mobile and Tuskegee University recently reached an agreement for the two schools to meet on Sept. 25 at 1 p.m. at 40,000-seat Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The game will mark the third appearance for Tuskegee playing in the City of Mobile. The Golden Tigers defeated Alabama A&M University 19-6 in 1995 and lost to Shaw University 30-28 in Pioneer Bowl VII in 2004.

In the only other meeting between Tuskegee and Texas Southern, TSU edged the Golden Tigers 10-7 in 1994 at Abbott Stadium in Tuskegee. The game will serve as a home game for the Golden Tigers, giving Tuskegee six home dates. The Tuskegee University Marching Crimson Pipers and the Texas Southern University Ocean of Soul marching bands will perform at halftime.

Tuskegee students attending the game will be admitted with current TU identification cards. There is a $15 ticket charge for Texas Southern students with ID card. General admission is $20.

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Video: Hampton University preps for 2010 season

A&M still favored after losing offensive stars‎

Alabama A&M coach Anthony Jones is flattered that his team is considered the front-runner in the Southwestern Athletic Conference East Division. It's a pretty nice sign of respect since the Bulldogs must replace players like tailback Ulysses Banks, wide receiver Thomas Harris and defensive end Jeremy Maddox. "We lost a lot of weapons from last year, a lot of weapons," Jones said. "For people to think we'll be back in the hunt, that's pretty amazing.

You lose the No. 1 running back in school history, the No. 1 receiver in school history, the No. 1 placekicker (Jeremy Licea) in school history — all those weapons are gone. That's most of our points and yards gone. "People still think we have a chance. That's pretty special."

Of course, there are plenty of experienced players returning, including 14 starters. The Bulldogs won the East in 2009 but the season ended with a 30-24 loss to Prairie View A&M in the SWAC championship game. The same two teams were picked to win their divisions again. Alabama A&M has quarterback Deaunte Mason back with some seasoning, but the defense has the most experience and leadership coming back. That group is led by preseason All-SWAC picks linebacker Afu Okosun (79 tackles) and defensive lineman Frank Kearse (12 tackles for loss). Cornerback Korey Morrison returns after intercepting five passes. The Bulldogs do lose Maddox, who had 12 sacks.

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Delaware State Hornets vs. Hampton Pirates kickoff changed for ESPNU

DOVER, DE -- The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) has announced that the 2010 Delaware State University vs. Hampton University football contest has been moved to Thursday, September 30 at 7:30 p.m. at DSU's Alumni Stadium. The contest, originally scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 2, will be televised live on ESPNU as part of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference television agreement with ESPN.

This will mark the second national television appearance for the Hornets during the 2010 season. Delaware State will kick off the upcoming season against Southern University in the Sixth Annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge on Sunday, Sep. 5 at Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando. The MEAC/SWAC Challenge will be televised live on ESPN, ESPN HD and ESPN3.com at 12:00 p.m.

This year's DSU/Hampton contest will also mark the second Thursday night game at Alumni Stadium. The Hornets defeated Florida A&M 35-28 in overtime in the first Thursday night Alumni Stadium contest in 2008.

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Taylor sees quality from FAMU at football practice

University of Florida transfer wide receiver T.J. Lawrence reported to the Rattlers football camp Thursday, and was introduced to the team by Coach Joe Taylor. The redshirt sophomore Lawrence is expected to play both WR and centerfielder on the Rattlers baseball team.

Dropped balls and other mistakes were so few by the first and second offensive units that Florida A&M coach Joe Taylor seemed almost amazed by what he saw on a muggy, soggy Thursday afternoon.

"This is just quality work," Taylor said, following the Rattlers' second day of workout. "People get a chance to just learn. Even on the sidelines, we tell them these are mental reps (and) if you're not in, you still look at the play (and) look at your position; look at what's going on so when you get there you know."

Backup quarterbacks Eddie Battle and Austin Trainor took all of the snaps during the walkthrough drills, while starter Martin Ukpai was given the first week of practice off to recover from a medical condition. He's been attending team meetings and will return to practice Monday when the Rattlers suit up in pads.

At the pace that the offense ran through plays without many flaws, next Saturday's first scrimmage could be a better gauge. Taylor said he was especially impressed Thursday with the interaction between players on the offensive line to make sure that plays were executed.

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Grambling's Christian Anthony hospitalized after apparent heart attack

Grambling defender Christian Anthony, the Southwestern Athletic Conference's preseason defensive player of the year, was hospitalized after suffering an apparent heart attack Thursday afternoon. He is listed in stable condition at Northern Louisiana Medical Center, university officals said.

Anthony suffered chest pains around 4:30 p.m. after practicing with the team from 8:30-11 a.m. GSU Director of Public Relations Vanessa Littleton said there was no indication that the incident was heat-related, and that Anthony showed no signs of distress when the team went to a meeting room to cool down and hydrate around 11:30 a.m.

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Elizabeth City State Vikings' Manley back for final season

ECSU Manley,#5 averages an insane 23.9 yards per catch over his career.

NFL scouts are already familiar with Elizabeth City State wide receiver Dexter Manley. In fact, most thought he was a senior and would be coming out for 2010 draft, but it turned out Manley had one more year of college eligibility left. Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association foes wish he had left. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Manley, now really a senior, leads an explosive Vikings offense that averaged 32.5 points per game in 2009.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to coach guys that were athletic and I’ve been fortunate enough to coach guys that were smart football players. He is the rare combination of both,” ECSU offensive coordinator Alvin Parker said. “He knows what’s going on totally with our scheme and he’s athletic enough to make any play out there on the field.”

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New UNCW coach humbled to be joining basketball hall of fame

On Friday, former Prairie View A&M University coach and alumna Cynthia Cooper-Dyke will become the first former WNBA player to be inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

"I don't think it has completely sunk in yet. I still think I'm wavering on the edge and I don't really feel like a hall of famer, but I think when I get to Springfield (Mass.) and I start to do the different events I will start to feel like an inductee of the class of 2010," the first-year UNC-Wilmington women's basketball coach said earlier this week.

"It's an amazing feeling to know that you are being honored and rewarded for all of the sacrifices that you have made throughout the years."

Cooper-Dyke grew up as one of eight children being raised by a single mother. It's here where Cooper learned her best trait, hard work. "My mom was just a special woman," Cooper-Dyke said. "She raised eight kids by herself in the (Los Angeles) inner city of Watts. She worked her way from welfare to having a job and taking care of the eight kids by herself and she did a terrific job."

With that life, basketball wasn't something Cooper-Dyke grew up with. She didn't start playing competitively until she was a teenager, yet led her Locke High School team to its first state title as a senior. That was Cooper-Dyke's first taste of a championship, but it certainly wouldn't be her last.



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FCS Season Preview: SWAC

Birmingham, AL - Quinton Spears could serve as the poster child for Prairie View A&M football. The redshirt senior has gone from being a walk-on at wide receiver in 2006 to an All-Southwestern Athletic Conference first-team selection at defensive end in 2009. "It's really like the Prairie View story," Spears says. "You know, we started out at the bottom, and then we started gradually rising and rising."

Prairie View was at the bottom of the entire FCS when it lost an almost unfathomable 80 straight games from 1989-98. The Panthers have risen under seventh-year head coach Henry Frazier III and are coming off their second straight 9-1 season and their first SWAC championship since 1964. With the return of a veteran team, they are a clear favorite to repeat as conference champions.

"We talked about that as a team, we talked about how this is new territory for all of us," senior quarterback K.J. Black said. "There's not a lot of people on the team that (previously) have been champions.

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Wanted: South Carolina State runners

All-MEAC senior quarterback Malcolm Long returns seeking a third conference championship with a new stable of running backs.

ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- For South Carolina State to win its third straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title the Bulldogs' untested running backs are going to have to perform. Gone are Will Ford, the Bulldogs all-time leading rusher, and his backfield mate, Travil Jamison, who accounted for 21 touchdowns the past two seasons. The pair took nearly two-thirds of the carries last year, leaving few opportunities for the Bulldogs other runners.

Left tackle Johnny Culbreath remembers how much fun it was block for Ford the past three years. All he had to do was get in his stance, fire out and, more times than not, Ford was already past the line and headed for a big gain. "All you got to do is put your hands on your guy and in about two seconds, Will's going to come blowing by," Culbreath said. "That's all you've got to know about him."

Culbreath and the rest of the Bulldogs know they must adjust this season since Ford's successful run ended last fall as the MEAC's all-time leading career rusher with 4,660 yards. How quickly South Carolina State's backups fill Ford's shoes could determine if the Bulldogs have what it takes for a third straight conference title.

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Southern defenders ready to deliver big hits

Over the years, the nickname has changed.

Players used to call them “bone crushers.” Then they were “slobber-knockers.” Nowadays, it’s called a “de-cleater.” That’s the trendy term for a big hit. By any name, Southern linebacker Corey Ray said, the big hit is a surefire sign that preseason camp has shifted into a higher gear. It’s just a shame, Ray said, that de-cleaters have been in short supply so far.

“On defense, that’s what we live for. That’s what we want,” Ray said. “Any situation calls for a de-cleater. You know what I mean?” Most players seem to. The Jaguars have practiced eight times since players reported for camp Aug. 3 — and while SU’s coaching staff often tells players to stay on their feet, that doesn’t always happen. Every so often, during team drills, they sneak in a noteworthy lick.

“For the most part, I’m pleased with how physical we’ve been,” first-year coach Stump Mitchell said. “On both sides of the ball, we will be a more physical football team than what people have seen at Southern over the past few years. I like that. That’s what I want.”

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AAMU's Mason looks sharp in scrimmage

HUNTSVILLE, AL - Alabama A&M quarterback Deaunte Mason would love to have running back Ulysses Banks and wide receiver Thomas Harris back, but he says the Bulldogs' offense will be just fine this season. It sure looked that way early on during Wednesday's 80-plus play scrimmage as Mason led the first offense to a pair of touchdowns against the first defense.

After the early success with Mason, the Bulldogs' defense settled down and didn't allow any points over the last nine possessions. "It was a good day, but we've still got room to improve," said Mason, one of the big reasons A&M was picked to defend its Southwestern Athletic Conference Eastern Division title. "I think we showed at times we can still have a good offense this season."

Mason engineered a 12-play, 70-yard drive and capped it with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Quintin Carlock, who beat All-SWAC preseason cornerback Korey Morrison on the play. Mason was 5-of-6 on the drive for 35 yards and also had a nine-yard run for a first down on a third-and-4 play.

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SIAC signs five-year contract with Crons

The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) has signed a five-year agreement with The Crons Brand™, making it the official uniform and apparel provider for the conference and its member schools.

Crons will be the exclusive provider of SIAC Championship apparel and gear for all student-athletes and conference championships. The company will outfit teams in conference-sponsored sports with game uniforms, practice and workout gear, and travel apparel.

The SIAC becomes the first NCAA Division II conference to join The Crons Brand™, one of the fastest growing team sports apparel brands in the country. Crons, which created its name as an acronym from the phrase “Come ready or never start,” is based in Pittsburgh and describes what it sells as “motivational apparel.” Crons’s founder and owner is Pat Cavanaugh, 42, who played in the NCAA basketball tournament three times as a walk-on starter at Pittsburgh in the late 1980s.

“When I began the search for a new apparel partner, I wanted a company that understood the rich ethos of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities in general and the SIAC in particular. As a relatively new brand, Crons “Come Ready Or Never Start” approach not only mirrors the commitment and work ethic of our student-athletes, but Crons is also well positioned to tap into the enormous brand building, taste making, and trendsetting prowess of our nearly 35,000 SIAC students and SIAC 400,000 alumni,” stated SIAC Commissioner Greg Moore.

The Crons Brand is also the official apparel and uniform provider for the Big South Conference, Robert Morris University, University of Texas-Pan America, and others. “It’s kind of the haves and have-nots these days, and Crons is taking advantage of that, making quality apparel that’s affordable” for our fans and sports teams.

Come ready or never start!

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FAMU's Vann Cut by 49ers, May Catch On with Titans

After having trouble holding on to punts, former Florida A&M Rattler LeRoy Vann found himself without a job this week. Vann, who had signed with the San Francisco 49ers for training camp, was supposed to be on special teams, returning punts and kick-offs. However, because he seemed to have trouble handling punts and kick-offs in practice, he was cut, according to league sources.

All may not be lost for the former Rattler cornerback who signed into the NFL as an undrafted free agent. Vann's agent Karim Lawrence said that the Tennessee Titans have expressed an interest in Vann. Lawrence said that he called the Titans Monday and had held three conversations with the team. "The Titans are definitely an option, something we are looking at," Lawrence said. "There's definitely some interest there."

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A&M to drop men's soccer program‎

HUNTSVILLE, AL - The men's soccer program at Alabama A&M will be cut after this season, The Times has learned. Sources says budget cuts have forced athletic officials to drop the program, which is an NCAA Division I independent and not sponsored by the Southwestern Athletic Conference, which A&M is a member.

Neither athletics director Betty Austin nor coach Salah Yousif could be reached for comment, but an official announcement is expected to be made today.

The Bulldogs had one of the most feared programs in the country in the late 1970s and early 1980s, winning national championships in 1977 and 1979 and were runnersup in 1978 and 1981, but haven't been nearly as relevant the last two decades. A&M is the only school in the SWAC that has men's soccer, but the league doesn't sponsor it as a championship sport.

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Former UF Receiver T.J. Lawrence Heading to Florida A&M

It didn't take long for T.J. Lawrence to make a decision on where he'd be going next after getting his release from University of Florida last week. Lawrence, a former Kathleen High School star receiver, made a surprising announcement Wednesday that he will be suiting up for Florida A&M's football team this season while also getting his baseball career started back up with the Rattlers.

“It's a big shocker because a lot of people wouldn't expect Florida A&M University, but I'm going there to be a two-sport athlete,” Lawrence told The Ledger in a phone interview. The redshirt sophomore said FAMU “kind of popped up” on his radar a couple of days after he got his release from UF, and he's looking forward to competing for a starting spot on the football field right away at the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) level. He'll also be looked at in the return game as well.

“I think that excites me more than anything the fact that I'm going to play this year because I've been waiting like forever,” he said. “That's the biggest excitement, the fact that I get to play with players I played with in high school and players I played against in high school.” Lawrence will be reunited with former Kathleen teammate Adrian Smith, who is also a receiver at FAMU. “I'm actually moving in with him,” said Lawrence, who will be in Tallahassee on Friday.

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The T.J. Lawrence Story:

• First-Team All-State Honors senior season at Kathleen H.S., Lakeland, Florida
• Caught 70 passes and scored 12 touchdowns as senior
• Rated Four-star prospect coming out of high school
• Under Armour All-American senior season
• Chose the FAMU Rattlers over South Florida, Eastern Kentucky, South Alabama, Washington State and Pearl River Community College
• Requested release from Florida football scholarship due to lack of playing time.
• 6-2/190 WR; 4.55 in 40 yard dash - Will play both football and baseball at FAMU

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Norfolk State Spartans Football 2010 preview

NORFOLK, VA - Norfolk State ended last season on a high note. They finished 3rd in the MEAC, and hope to do even better this season.

Burton-to-Wilder highlights JSU Tigers' first open practice

Within moments of the ball leaving Te'Shon Burton's hand, all 6 feet 3 inches and 195 pounds of Marcellos Wilder soared high above Jackson State's scorching practice field. A moment later, the junior receiver came tumbling down - the ball securely in hand.

The Burton-to-Wilder connection provided the highlight Monday during Jackson State's fourth fall practice, the first session open to the media. The Tuscaloosa native leaped over a defensive back during one-on-one drills and snatched a 40-yard pass from Burton. It was one of those YouTube grabs that had players cracking up for minutes, Wilder talking smack to defenders and Burton high-fiving teammates.

Players were not allowed to speak with the media following practice and won't be until Thursday, but their new faces - like Burton's - dotted Martin L. Epps Field during JSU's 2 1/2-hour morning workout. True freshman running back Tommy Gooden got a surprisingly high number of reps. B.J. Lee, the former Ridgeland running back who transferred to JSU this year from SMU, rotated with veteran Jewrad Smith at the position.

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Southern defense gets lots to digest

When Stump Mitchell came to Southern University and brought in a new group of assistant coaches, linebacker Gary Chatman figured he’d have to make a few adjustments. Then he saw the new playbook. Hello, adjustments.

Before spring practice began, defensive coordinator O’Neill Gilbert introduced his new playbook. Cobbled together from years in Division I college football and the NFL, the playbook is a three-ring binder that is three inches thick and very, very full. It practically made the local yellow pages look like a pocket Bible.

“When I saw it, I was like, ‘Wow,’ ” Chatman said. “In the beginning, I’m not going to lie: It was hard (to digest). It was really hard. If you really study the book and keep listening — yes, it’s a lot of adjusting, a lot of checks and a lot of different rotations with the DBs and linebackers. But if you get in your book and study and commit to the game, it’ll come very easy.”

Southern Football Puts on Full Pads for 2-a-Days



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Former Morgan State track star named Fulbright Scholar

Former Morgan State University track star Dakari Taylor-Watson was recently named a Fulbright scholar and will be heading to Terengganu, Malaysia, for 10 months next January to teach English to secondary school students.

Taylor-Watson, who earned a degree in biology from MSU in 2009, was chosen by the international educational exchange program. The program is sponsored by the State Department based on academic merit and leadership potential to study and teach abroad.

Former Bear Dakari Taylor-Watson will travel to Malaysia for 10 months to teach English to secondary scholars as a Fulbright Scholar. (Courtesy Photo/MSU Sports Information).

The 23-year-old told the AFRO that he will also volunteer in a hospital or clinic while in Malaysia, and has plans of applying to medical school when he returns to the United States. As for spending nearly a year away in a foreign country, it’s not something Watson hasn’t experienced before. He moved to Paris for three weeks as an exchange student when he was 10, not long after his mother, Aisya Taylor-Watson, died of cancer. Taylor-Watson believes his mother’s spirit travels with him everywhere he goes.

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Savannah State faces two lawsuits with race at center

Dr. Earl G. Yarbrough Sr., President, Savannah State University

SAVANNAH, GA — Earl G. Yarbrough Sr., the president of Savannah State University, would prefer to be trumpeting the school's marine biology class work with its boundless laboratory a few miles away in the Atlantic Ocean. He talked excitedly about the school's Homeland Security curriculum, unique in Georgia, and beamed when the conversation changed to a recent $4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

But sitting in his campus office, Yarbrough instead had to address two racial discrimination lawsuits filed against the school. It is bitter news because he said the doors to the historically black school are open to all. "I have worked very hard to make this a more diverse campus, and then to be slapped with this eats at your soul," said Yarbrough, president since 2007. "It is constantly on your mind."

So, perhaps, is Robby Wells, the football coach Yarbrough hired in 2008 who said he was forced to resign in January because he is white. He filed a lawsuit May 25 based largely on the alleged comment of an administrator, who has since retired and denied making the remark.

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B-CU moves A&T game for ESPNU coverage

DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- Bethune-Cookman Athletics Director Lynn Thompson and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference announced Tuesday that the B-CU vs. North Carolina A&T football game originally scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 30, will now be Thursday, Oct. 28, at 7:30 p.m. at Municipal Stadium. The switch was made so the game can be shown live on national television (ESPNU).

"There is a lot of interest in the new direction of our program," Thompson said. "With our phenomenal band, and the new construction of the athletic training facility and schedule upgrade, plans are underway to attract youngsters to our program from our backyard and beyond. "It will also be a super opportunity for our city to showcase the new improvements at Municipal Stadium." B-CU coach Brian Jenkins agreed.



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Five burning questions for Grambling football

The Grambling State Tigers opened their fall camp on Saturday in preparation for the team's season opener on Sept. 4 against Louisiana Tech in Shreveport. The Tigers' camp, though, was somewhat overshadowed by the news on Friday that Grambling quarterback Greg Dillon's request for a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA was denied.

"I see this as one of the unfortunate and, to an extent, tragic times when a rule that was created to keep universities from abusing the system penalized the courage of a young man to play through pain," Grambling athletic director J. Lin Dawson wrote in an e-mail to The Times. "In the last five years, Greg has played on two years, and we fought to get him another year in which I believe he deserves."

The quarterback question looms over Grambling's fall camp.

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DSU's only veteran starting defender ready to lead young team

DOVER, DE -- Andre Caroll checks in at around 280 pounds.

This season, he'll be carrying much more weight for the Delaware State University football team. Caroll, a defensive tackle, is the only returning defensive player who started in all 10 games for the Hornets, who went 4-7 overall, 3-5 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, last season. The Hornets open their season in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge against Southern University in Orlando, Fla., on Sept. 5.

Caroll, a 6-foot-2, redshirt senior, welcomed the challenge as the DSU players began preseason practice at Alumni Stadium on a sweltering Wednesday afternoon. "A lot of guys on this team are young, especially on the defensive side of the ball, so being able to get us together is going to take us being able to trust one another," Caroll said. "That's one thing we really didn't have last year. There were just a lot of individuals out there."

Ray Petty, DSU's defensive coordinator, is entering his fourth season with the Hornets. "He's the best player we have on our team right now, on both sides of the ball," Petty said of Caroll. "He had an outstanding junior year and he worked hard in the offseason. He's one of those guys who leads by example with the things he does on and off the field.

PHOTO GALLERIES

• DSU preseason practice

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