Florida A&M Rattlers hit field early for practice

Tallahassee, FL - Dew was still on the grass and sunlight was nowhere in sight – only the brightness of the lights inside Bragg Stadium lit up half of the practice field.

From a distance the Florida A&M football players looked like silhouettes. The constant sound of whistles was a reminder that for the second-to-last time in the preseason workouts the Rattlers were involved Tuesday in the early morning portion of a two-a-day drills.

Not a single player seemed bothered that they had to rise at a time of the day before most people make their first turn, though.

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3 QBs, one opening at JCSU

Charlotte, N.C. - Johnson C. Smith’s quarterback derby is now a three-man race.

True freshman Andrew Alexander has impressed coaches after a week of drills and is in line to contend for the starter’s job, head coach Steve Aycock said. Alexander, an Ardrey Kell High graduate, is battling redshirt freshman Maliek McCall and true freshman Keahn Wallace for playing time. McCall finished spring drills as the starter.

“It’s still up in the air,” Aycock said. “(Those) guys are fighting and pushing each other, but one guy that’s been standing out with the coaches is Andrew Alexander and he’s on Maliek McCall and Keahn Wallace’s heels like never before. He’s a take-charge kid…. He’s really grasping the game (offensive coordinator Maurice) Flowers has given him.”

Aycock said he wouldn’t rule out spreading playing time, but is leaning toward ...

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Could TSU stadium see new glory days?

Nashville, TN - Tennessee State interim President Portia Holmes Shields admitted her hopes of having some football games at Hale Stadium on campus in 2012 are “pie in the sky” at this point.

Still, she is making an extensive effort to make it happen. She wants the team to return to 10,000-seat Hale Stadium, known as “The Hole,” as part of the Tigers’ 100-year celebration of playing football in 2012.

The Tigers experienced their glory days in the 1960s and early 1970s playing in The Hole.

But TSU also would need to spend around $1 million for repairs to Hale Stadium to be able to play there again.

“The stadium has been sitting there dormant for years,” Shields said. “And so you wouldn’t expect to just go out there and hike the ball. There’s got to be some work done. But it wouldn’t take much money to play in The Hole next year.”

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FAMU's offensive line has experience

Tallahassee, FL - Offensive line coach Lawrence Kershaw hasn't felt this good about his unit as he does these days — even with a redshirt freshman as one of his starters. On Monday, Kershaw had to reach back two seasons ago, when he had two All-Americans to make his point.

Understandably so.

Injuries depleted the line after the opening game last season and it wasn't until the last three games of the year that the line featured those same starting five players.

Three of those starters are back this season, along with Lincoln High grad Steven Robinson, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury that required surgery. Aram Wynn is the lone freshman starter. He won the spot with an impressive spring and has been winning praises from his upperclassmen since.

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FAMU offensive lineman is all business

The idea was strictly hypothetically, but it demonstrated the passion that FAMU freshman offensive lineman Kawika Pieper has for business.

During his senior year in high school, Pieper drew up a business plan that included using casinos to market his native Hawaii. He not only outlined every detail of how such a plan would benefit the island's economy, but he illustrated how it would move through government bureaucracy to where it stopped short of senate approval.

The senate rejection has been a real-life occurrence for many who attempted to introduce casinos to the island, where state law bans gambling. But Pieper wanted to show the upside, which he said would entice more visitors to come to the island.

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Barbarino keeping Rattlers in shape, healthy

Some days, Florida A&M strength and conditioning coach Russell Barbarino sets up outside the locker room. Other days he waits inside at the entrance of the shower stall — always with an electronic scale on the floor and clipboard in hand.

It's a routine he does twice a day, checking the weight of FAMU football players going out onto the practice field and immediately after they've completed practice. It's the latest initiative that Barbarino has taken to make sure he gives coach Joe Taylor and his staff the strongest and best conditioned players he can.

That's not all, because the weight check also would give him and the training staff a sign that something might be physically wrong with a player. Barbarino has already spotted one player who had a 13-pound weight loss before he began showing signs that he might be dealing with a health issue.

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Meet the Atlanta Falcons Rookies: RB Philip Sylvester, FAMU

FLOWERY BRANCH, GA – Early in training camp, Falcons coach Mike Smith singled out the speedy running back Philip Sylvester for praise.

The former Florida A&M Rattler was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent after the lockout was lifted. Here’s bio from FAMU. He sings in the choir at his church so I know the veterans had a good time during his performance.

(I promised one of regular commenters, Marcus, that I’d catch up with Sylvester.)

So here’s are Q&A with him:

Q: How’s camp been going for you?

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Fayetteville State's Larry McDonald shows physical strength and mental toughness

Offensive star
If Fayetteville State can find reliable playmakers at tailback and receiver, quarterback Brandon Cluff, a transfer from Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College, has a chance to open some eyes with his arm strength.

Defensive star
All-CIAA safety Andre Lyles had 70 tackles, six interceptions and 15 passes defended last season.

Extra points
Linebacker Marcos Esquivel, who led the CIAA in tackles in 2009, returns after a one-year hiatus to finish his eligibility. ... Coach Kenny Phillips believes sophomores Anthony Council and Colon Bailey plus junior Anthony Williams can all be factors in the Broncos' running game.

Board Drill.
It's a daily staple at Fayetteville State football practices, a test of strength and determination that calls for Broncos linemen to battle one another with vigor.

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Xavier Gold Rush to conduct tryouts Friday at The Barn

Head coach Dannton Jackson will
conduct  tryouts for the Xavier men's
 basketball team Friday at the Barn

New Orleans - Xavier University of Louisiana will conduct men's basketball tryouts for the 2011-12 season this Friday from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at The Barn.

Participants must be full-time Xavier students and enrolled in a minimum of 12 hours for the fall 2011 semester.

Contact assistant coach Alfred Williams at (504) 520-6778 or awilli39@xula.edu for more information.

Xavier was 27-6 in 2010-11, ranked 17th in the final NAIA Division I poll and qualified for the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship for the fifth time in seven seasons.





By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial unveiled

Washington, D.C. - The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial is revealed to members of the press before opening to the public today. The design is derived from part of King's famous "I have a dream" speech when he said, "With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope." The memorial sits by the tidal basin between the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials.



King memorial opens to the public today

The first members of the public to see the official opening of Washington’s new $120 million memorial to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. walked in quietly, smiling but “so slow it was like we were coming to see a body,” said Weldon Ferguson of the District.

What they saw instead was stone and water, words and an iconic image on a picture-perfect summer day along the Tidal Basin. Some were weeping. Others were taking pictures of the statue and each other and giving high-fives, lending the unveiling of the memorial the feeling of one big block party.

“It’s beautiful, exquisite,” said Paulette Davis of Washington. “I’m remembering where he led us. This exceeded my expectations.”

More than 25 years in the making, the granite memorial features a 30-foot-tall statue of King on a landscaped parcel on the northwest shore of the Tidal Basin, just southwest of the World War II Memorial.

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From Home Depot to Hampton University, Queens native Christina Delille completes comeback

New York, NY - Christina Delille was that girl, the one your coach warns you might become if you don’t work hard, if you don’t take care of your studies. Christina Delille was a basketball horror story, a how-to on what not to do when you’re talented in a sport.

Two years ago, Delille was working in Home Depot. She never graduated high school, instead getting her GED. She gained almost 60 pounds on a steady diet of Big Macs with honey mustard sauce and a side of fries.




That once promising basketball career – coaches who knew her growing up compared her to Epiphanny Prince – was so far in the rear-view mirror that she could barely remember it herself.  “I was just chilling, partying, staying home, watching TV and doing nothing,” Delille said.

Delille had fallen so far, yet she didn’t really start off too high to begin with. The Cambria Heights, Queens native didn’t take basketball or class seriously at St. Michael Acad or August Martin, falling in and out of academic eligibility. She played just one high-school season at Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Mass., as a reclassified sophomore.

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Southern Jaguars rich in receivers

Baton Rouge, LA - Jorge Baez grew up in Little Havana, the historically rich neighborhood just west of Miami, which, among many other things, was home to the old Orange Bowl. The old Orange Bowl, of course, was home of the Miami Hurricanes.

When Baez was growing up, the ’Canes were really the ’Canes: the meanest guys on the block, winners of 58 straight home games, teams that practically made national championships a yearly routine.

They were Baez’s first heroes. And the Orange Bowl, may it rest in peace, was the most special place to watch college football. “I grew up running in there and watching them ’Canes play,” Baez said.  He was hooked.

“I kind of knew at an early age that, once I graduated from college, that’s what I wanted to do,” said Baez, now in his first season as the wide receivers coach at Southern University.

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GSU coach in search for starting QB

Grambling, LA - Quarterbacks D.J. Williams and Frank Rivers have been under pressure all throughout fall camp, courtesy of the Grambling State defensive front seven.

After Saturday's scrimmage, a bit of that pressure may have shifted to GSU head coach Doug Williams as the Tigers' fall camp begins to wind down. "As a coach who's been around a while, even as a player, you always want that veteran," Williams said.

"Unfortunately, we don't have a veteran, but, somewhere along the line, one of these young guys have to grow up. (Saturday) I was real pleased with the quarterback play. I thought D.J. (Williams) shook off some jitters. Frank (Rivers) is coming along. The little guy, Jonathan (Williams), played with a lot of confidence, played with a lot of poise. When you look at the three, you have to be happy with your situation."

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Campbell among 6 to enter FAMU Hall

Tallahassee, FL - William Campbell still has a very vivid memory of the stoic look on Costa "Pop" Kittles' face when he gathered the Florida A&M baseball team in the middle innings of the final game of a 1972 doubleheader against the University of Miami. FAMU was down 5-0 and Kittles had seen enough.

"Pop called us in and told us we were better than we were showing," Campbell recalled Thursday night during a telephone interview from his Las Vegas home. "We began chipping away, chipping away."

The Rattlers ended up with an 8-5 victory, giving them a doubleheader sweep after taking the first game 5-2 from the Hurricanes who were ranked No. 1 at the time. That was the biggest win in the three seasons (1972-76) that Campbell played for FAMU.

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JSU Tigers' Smith trying to overcome injury

Jackson, MS - Jabril Smith yanks back his left sock. There's no need to point at the 4-inch long, 1-inch wide stomach-churning scar he exposes.

Streaking along the outside of his left leg, just below his ankle and just above his foot, the discolored mark only serves as an ugly reminder, a stain he wishes to forget but can't quite remove.

"I haven't looked at it in a while," the current Jackson State and former Callaway High kicker says. "It only bothers me every once in a while."

It pains him more mentally, maybe, than physically these days. After all, that broken leg kept him from, possibly, winning Jackson State a championship...

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TSU builds offense around workhorse running backs

Houston, TX - Charles Coe had no time to waste when Texas Southern interim football coach Kevin Ramsey hired him as offensive coordinator in early May.

Coe had to devise an offensive plan without the benefit of being able to implement it during spring practice. He and Ramsey had to put their heads together to fill out the remainder of the offensive coaching staff. On top of that, he had roughly three months to get it all done.

Fortunately for Coe, his other marching orders were simple. "From day one, (Ramsey) instructed me that we want to run the football," said Coe, who has more than 30 years of coaching experience at the high school, college and professional levels. "We've got some horses, and we want to run them."

But the Tigers don't have just any horses; they probably have the best running back stable in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. TSU features the SWAC's No. 1 returning rusher in senior Marcus Wright (1,212 yards, eight TDS in 2010). And his backup, Martin Gilbert, finished among the SWAC's top 10 in rushing yards with 482.

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Benedict hopes to rally around Michael Adams

Columbia, S.C. - The Benedict Tigers keep upgrading their talent base but, as head coach Stanley Conner knows all too well, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference isn't getting softer.

"The NFL lockout ended and right away Fort Valley State had four players sign free agent contracts," Conner said. And Fort Valley State was picked to finish behind Albany State in the SIAC East in an official poll of league coaches. Benedict was picked last in the five-team division.

Benedict won its last three games last season to finish 5-6.

"I think our program is headed in the right direction," said Conner, entering his fifth season at the Columbia school. "We just have to get current on some things we're doing and keep up with our upgrades in order to compete. But I think we turned a corner late last season."

New hope is built around junior quarterback Michael Adams, who takes over in a spread offense for departed Pat Riley as the starter. Adams threw for 526 yards (three TDs, three interceptions) and ran for 455 yards (five TDs) in a backup role last year.

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Tennessee State president pushes on-campus football games

Dr. Portia Holmes Shields

Nashville, TN - Tennessee State interim President Portia Holmes Shields said she hopes the Tigers’ football team will play three games at Hale Stadium on campus in 2012. Holmes Shields said the Tigers would keep the John Merritt Classic and homecoming at LP Field if the plan is approved.

TSU has played all of its home games at LP Field since 1999, moving there instead of repairing the 10,000-seat Hale Stadium, known as “The Hole.” Part of the agreement to build the Titans stadium was contingent on TSU getting to play there.

“There still is a lot of work and a lot of planning that has to take place to make it happen,” TSU Athletics Director Teresa Phillips said. “Our new president has shown a lot leadership by just putting the matter on the table for the university and for our community.”

Holmes Shields could not be reached for comment Saturday. In April, TSU’s students voted to add $25 to their fees per semester to fund renovations to Hale Stadium. TSU’s current enrollment is 8,824.

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Death at North Carolina A&T shifts culture

A&T Athletics Director Earl Hilton

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A year removed from a student death on its track, N.C. A&T is updating its athletics policies and boosting its oversight of coaches and efforts to keep athletes safe, even as it prepares for possible litigation after the death of Jospin “Andre” Milandu.  If a lawsuit against the school or its former employees is filed, it could cost the state up to $10 million — just one potential cost of Milandu’s death on Aug. 19, 2010.

“Well-meaning, good-intentioned people in the past have made decisions based on other things than health and safety of the athletes,” said Earl Hilton, athletics director at A&T. “That’s not a shift in perspective that I think is helpful.”

Meanwhile, the family struggles with the emotional cost of losing a son. “In the past, they thought they would be better a year later,” said the family’s attorney, Frank Johns. “They are struggling with this loss.” Johns spoke on behalf of family members, who did not want to comment.

Hilton said he is reviewing athletics department procedures with other high-level A&T staff members to avoid preventable deaths. He’s putting more staff and money toward athlete safety.

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Taylor pleased with FAMU Rattlers after first scrimmage

Tallahassee, FL - There were no new concerns about who the Florida A&M starting quarterback will be this season following Saturday's 76-play scrimmage. But former North Florida Christian player Austin Trainor agreed he and the rest of the offense have to tidy up a few things.

"We were moving the ball up and down the field pretty well but we had some mistakes out there; stuff we should have had cleaned up," said Trainor, who has only been intercepted once in the two weeks since preseason camp began. "After having a whole week of walk-through and a full week of contact, I feel we should have some of that a little bit more cleaned up."

In part, the flaws that were obvious weren't all because the offense wasn't executing. The first team defense had a lot to do with the disruptions. Of the three touchdowns scored, none were by the first team offense and one came on an interception that ...

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SU offense, defense almost even

Baton Rouge, LA - They couldn’t wait. Yes, as usual, it was a virtual steam bath Saturday at Southern University, with a heat index that crept into the 100s. Yes, the football team was still two weeks away from its Sept. 3 season opener in Nashville, Tenn., against Tennessee State. Yes, it’s often hard to make heads or tails out of one simple dress rehearsal.

Despite all that, a few hundred die-hard fans lined the practice fields Saturday for Southern’s second preseason scrimmage, clamoring for an early glimpse of Stump Mitchell’s team. What did they see? How much, exactly, have the Jaguars improved from last year’s 2-9 mess?

Was the offense ahead of the defense Saturday? Or was it the other way around? Call it a draw. Maybe.

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Lots of action in JSU's final scrimmage

Jackson, MS - This is what they came to see: Jackson State's pass-happy offense slinging completions and scoring touchdowns, the Tigers' defense sacking quarterbacks and causing turnovers. About 50 fans gathered Saturday for Jackson State's second and final scrimmage of fall camp. It didn't disappoint.

Quarterback Casey Therriault completed his first 12 passes, finished 13 of 16 for 202 yards and tossed two touchdowns.

It wasn't just offensive fireworks, though. CB Ryan Griffin, an incoming freshman, returned a bobbled option pitch 80 yards for a score. CB Anthony Johnson, seeing his first full speed action of camp, intercepted backup QB Dedric McDonald. The defense had three sacks and two tackles for loss, too.



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2011 DC Pro City Recap

SIAC: Miles College Football Practice

Miles College vs. Morehouse College

5th Annual Labor Day Golden Classic

September 4th @ 6:00 PM

Legion Field

Birmingham, Alabama

Fairfield, AL - First-year Miles College football coach Reginald Ruffin takes his Golden Bears through the physical training portion of a daily practice.

After warming up at the stadium, players sprint over to their grass field. Once there, they break into groups and go through training stations. Ruffin barks encouragement through a bullhorn and sounds a horn when they are to move quickly to the next station.

Miles is working toward its Sept. 4 season-opener against Morehouse in the fifth annual Labor Day Golden Classic at Legion Field.



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VISIT: MILES COLLEGE
VISIT: MILESGOLDENBEARS

Unshaken JSU's Therriault not fazed by preseason hype

Jackson, MS - One year ago, a transfer from Michigan was competing for the starting quarterback job at Jackson State. No one knew much about him - except that he had spent six months in jail a year earlier. Folks couldn't even pronounce his last name - it's Terry-oh, by the way. And fans didn't expect a whole lot - after all, he had started just one season in junior college.

Now, Casey Therriault has already been the focus of two stories on ESPN.com, and he's expected to be featured in a segment airing on the network later this year. He's the centerpiece of the 2011 team poster celebrating the 100th year of Tiger football, is on the Walter Payton Award watch list and is the preseason Southwestern Athletic Conference offensive player of the year.

Feel any different, Casey?



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Long road ahead for Southern Jaguars

Coach Stump Mitchell

Baton Rouge, LA - A year ago at this time, Southern University second-year coach Stump Mitchell made the bold preseason prediction the Jaguars could go 12-0, nabbing a Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship and possibly a Black College National Championship.

Mitchell's hopes for a stellar inaugural season on the Bluff, however, never came to fruition. Instead, the former NFL running back coached SU to a 2-9 record, its worst season in school history. Since then, Mitchell and his coaching staff only have asked for one thing: change. And, as Mitchell says, it starts with him.

As the 2011 season approaches, there have been no such statements. No predictions. Only hard work.

"We look different academically. We look different in terms of the attitude of players. We're just a whole new team," Mitchell said. "This year our guys understand no one can stay pat and expect to retain their position. Same thing with me. I can't stay pat and expect to maintain my job. That's just the way life is, and everyone is doing things in order ...

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SCSU: 'We've got to put in some extreme work,' Ferguson says

Orangeburg, SC -- Ronell Ferguson should have been in good spirits Saturday at Willie E. Jeffries Field.

Following the Bulldogs' second preseason scrimmage, the senior defensive lineman was going to collect his third Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship ring as part of a special ceremony in conjunction with "Meet the Players Day." Instead, Ferguson was not in a smiling, celebratory mood after what he described as a "sluggish" effort from the defense.

"We came out a bit sluggish," he said. "We've got to get everybody clicking on the same cylinder. Other than that, we're going to be all right."

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