Alabama State must stop run against Mississippi Valley

MONTGOMERY, Alabama - Football can be complex.  There are myriad formations and as many audibles out of those formations into others. There are techniques, reads, down-and-distance situations to remember and two-minute drills to run to perfection.

But the game is also awfully simple at times. Often, the difference between winning and losing boils down to the most rudimentary aspects such as stopping the run.

It's an issue Alabama State will have to address, following its 38-28 loss to Bethune-Cookman in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Orlando this past Sunday. Alabama State led 21-0 before crumbling in the second half. 

 The Hornets  gave up 367 yards on the ground in the loss to the Wildcats, who led their conference in rushing last year. Wildcats running backs Isidore Jackson and Rodney Scott both had 100-plus yard outings. Jackson led the way with 123 yards on 21 carries and Scott had 103 yards and a touchdown while toting the rock 13 times.

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Doing 'little things' led to Alcorn State's upset victory

LORMAN, Mississippi - First-year Alcorn State football coach Jay Hopson had a simple message for his team at halftime.

You've tried it your way, now try mine.

Trailing preseason SWAC favorite Grambling State 14-6 at the half of last Saturday's Port City Classic in Shreveport, Hopson reminded his players of one of his favorite coaching adages.

"You have to do things right if you're going to be successful," Hopson said. "It's all about letting them know they have to do the little things ... that's what football comes down to."

Alcorn went on to score 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to open the Hopson era with a dramatic - and unexpected - 22-21 victory over the defending SWAC champions.

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Benedict to host Bowie State on national stage in DII game of the week

BOWIE STATE at BENEDICT Watch: Sept. 6 at 8 p.m. ET Stats: Benedict | Bowie State | National

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College Tigers will be in the national spotlight on Thursday night, and head football coach James Woody said a packed Charlie W. Johnson Stadium will help the Tigers against a big and fast Bowie State team.

“We're a very young football team, but we're very excited about the opportunity,” Woody said. “With us being home, I really think that's going to give us momentum. We just hope we get everyone out to the game and pack this stadium because our kids feed off that energy. I think we can pack the stands here with everyone very excited and we'll feed off the crowd and get some energy.”

Thursday night's game will be part of CBS Sports Network's Division II Game of the Week package. This is the seventh season CBS Sports Network has broadcast NCAA Division II regular-season games. Two years ago, the Tigers had a basketball game on CBS Sports Network.

CBS Sports Network is available across the country through local cable, video and telco providers on Verizon FiOS channel 94 and AT&T U-Verse channel 643 (1643 in HD) and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 613 and Dish Network Channel 158. In Columbia, the channel is available on Time Warner Cable channel 537 (1537 in HD) or Sky Angel channel 323. It is also carried on Benedict College's on-campus cable channel 32.

A video stream will also be available at ncaa.com.

Thursday night's game will also be available on a national radio broadcast, as Heritage Sports Radio Network will broadcast the game. HSRN is available on SiriusXM channel 128 as well as streamed over the Internet at www.hsrn.com.
The Benedict athletic department has been blanketing the Columbia area with tickets, providing free tickets to school children and everyone 17 and under.

The Tigers will be looking to rebound from Saturday's season-opening 28-7 loss to Virginia Union. Despite the final score, Woody said after studying the film, he was encouraged with several aspects of the team.

“Overall, I thought we played well,” Woody said. “The defense played extremely well. Offensively, we didn't sustain some drives. We've got to get better on third-down conversions. That really, really hurt us.”

Benedict converted on five of 17 attempts on third down, while holding the VUU Panthers to 1-for-18. But the Panthers did convert on one fourth-down attempt, which resulted in a touchdown.

The Benedict offense struggled at times. Freshman quarterback Marcus Graham was 12-for-25 for 119 yards and one interception. Chris Thomas came in and sparked the team to its only touchdown, and was 4-for-9 for 67 yards. Woody said the quarterback job is still up for grabs.

“Right now, Marcus is still our starter. Hopefully he can put this thing together,” Woody said. “Chris is coming along real, real strong. I have confidence in both of those guys playing, and, hopefully, after that they will be able to separate themselves. Right now, they're not able to separate themselves, they're so inconsistent.

“But that job is still up for grabs, so we'll see what happens after these next couple of practices.”

Woody said another key for Thursday night will be to hang on to the football. The Tigers had three turnovers against Virginia Union, including fumbling the second-half opening kickoff when they trailed just 12-7.

The Bulldogs come into the game riding a lot of momentum. Bowie State rallied from a 14-point deficit, including scoring the winning touchdown with just five seconds left in the game for a 24-20 victory over Assumption. Assumption went ahead with 33 seconds left, but Bowie State moved the ball 65 yards in just 28 seconds for the winning score.

Bowie State quarterback Jared Johnston threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns. Receiver Douglas McNeil III had seven catches for 144 yards.

Running back Keith Brown was All-CIAA last year as a freshman, but was held to just 23 yards against Assumption. The Bulldogs sport a front line that averages 300 pounds.

“I know they're a good football team, a very talented team,” Woody said. “They have great speed, great size. It's going to be a challenge for us, but we look forward to it.”

COURTESY BENEDICT COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION

First lady Michelle Obama’s full speech at the Democratic National Convention; President Obama speaks at NSU

Remarks by the First Lady at the Democratic National Convention, September 4, 2012 Transcript



Remarks by the President (Transcript) at a Campaign Event -- Norfolk, VA at Norfolk State University



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The Show: 2012 Port City Classic - Alcorn State Sounds of Dyn-O-Mite vs. Grambling State "World Famous" Tigers

Bethune-Cookman coach says Pough ‘preparing for war’ in key game

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Boxing is clearly on Brian Jenkins’ mind when he discusses South Carolina State football.

The Bethune-Cookman head football coach has likened the two previous meetings against S.C. State (1-0) to the famous trilogy of bouts between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.



Not surprisingly, Jenkins sees the latest installment of the Wildcats/Bulldogs rivalry at 6 p.m. Saturday as a potential “Thriller in Manila” – this time taking place on the gridiron of Willie Jeffries Field at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.

“I’m expecting for it to be another heavyweight fight,” said Jenkins during Tuesday’s Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference teleconference. “You’ve got two proud (teams) that want to go at it and they want the victory. South Carolina State is another championship-caliber team that’s on our schedule and we feel that we’re a top-level team and they’re going to go head-to-head. They’re well-coached. They got a lot of talent. They’re playing at a high level and it’s a cat-and-a-dog fight and everybody knows when a cat and a dog get into a fight, it’s very serious. So it’s going to be another good football game and people should tune in.”

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Alabama State defensive lineman Derrick Billups ruled ineligible for this season

MONTGOMERY, Alabama - Derrick Billups, the projected starter for Alabama State at defensive tackle this season, has been ruled academically ineligible for the season, Hornet head coach Reggie Barlow announced.

The Hornets were counting on the 6-foot-2, 310-pound junior to take the place of graduated senior Kynjee Cotton and shore up a Hornet rushing defense that ranked eighth in the 10-team Southwestern Athletic Conference last season.

Those problems were evident on Sunday when Bethune-Cookman rushed for 367 yards in a 38-28 win over the Hornets in the MEAC-SWAC Challenge in Orlando.

“Losing Billups is a tough, tough thing on us,” Barlow said. “We just have to keep going.”

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Early-season showdown in the MEAC

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina - It’s only the second week of the season, but there’s a big conference game in the MEAC on Saturday between South Carolina State and Bethune-Cookman.

Both teams posted impressive season-opening victories. The Bulldogs thrashed Georgia State 33-6 in its season opener in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome, while the Wildcats posted a huge come-from-behind 38-28 win over Alabama State in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. SC State and B-CU, along with defending champ Norfolk State, are the top teams in the MEAC. This early-season conference matchup should be a good one.

It looks like Bulldogs coach Buddy Pough has a good field general in Richard Cue, the redshirt junior quarterback. Cue had a career-high 300 yards passing in the victory over Georgia State, completing 19 of 29 passes for three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Cue has a tremendous passing game with wide receivers Caleb Davis, Lennel Elmore and Tyler McDonald, who can really stretch the field. Davis led the team in receptions with 10 catches for 110 yards. Elmore had three receptions for 117 yards, including a 72-yard TD pass, while McDonald scored two touchdowns on three catches for 52 yards.

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Conditioning was key factor in Bethune-Cookman's opening win

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida - Bethune-Cookman's Harold Love saw the telltale sign early in the second quarter Sunday.

Alabama State was leading 21-0, but the Hornets were already dragging, wilting in the heat and humidity that is commonplace in the state of Florida midday in September.



“One thing our coach teaches us is not to have our hands on our hips,'' said Love, a 6-foot-3, 325-pound defensive tackle. “Once we see the other team with their hands on their hips, that means go attack. I saw a lot of hands on hips and that's a sign of weakness. Once we saw that we just mashed the gas.''

The Wildcats (1-0) rallied to a 38-28 victory over the Hornets in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Orlando, but now B-CU has a short-week to prepare for Saturday's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener against South Carolina State (1-0).

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NCCU Eagles gain confidence with home win

DURHAM, North Carolina — Literally speaking, N.C. Central is having a winning season. Of course, the Eagles are 1-0, and their goal is to talk in terms of being on the plus side of .500 ball 10 games from now when the regular season wraps up.

NCCU struggled a year, finishing 2-9 for the team’s fourth straight losing season. It was NCCU coach Henry Frazier III’s first season with the team, and his squad didn’t win a game at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium.



On Saturday, Frazier finally delivered a home victory to NCCU fans, a 54-31 win over Fayetteville State. It was a long time coming, Frazier said.

“It was,” Frazier said. “I kind of went to the guys and talked to them about, ‘Hey, I’d like to get this one, guys.’ Normally, I treat all of the games the same. But after that was over with, I looked at the coaches and said we can check that one off our list. It’s important to me to put out a product our fans can be proud of.”

NCCU fans were treated to ...

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Xavier adjusts competition schedules after Hurricane Isaac

Xavier University of Louisiana's 2012 women's cross country team
Roster
Head Coach:  Joseph Moses (Bio)
 

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's cross country and women's volleyball teams are adjusting their schedules after Hurricane Isaac.

XU's distance runners withdrew from this past week's Mississippi College Opener because of the storm, and the host school subsequently canceled the meet. Coach Joseph Moses replaced that meet with the Azalea City Classic at Mobile, Ala., on Sept. 15.

The Gold Rush and Gold Nuggets will open their seasons Saturday in the Loyola Wolfpack Invitational at Lafreniere Park in Metairie, La. It will be XU's only local competition of 2012. The men's race will begin at 7:50 a.m., and the women will run at 8:25.

Xavier did not lose any volleyball matches while the university was closed but postponed its home opener against Loyola, which had been scheduled for today (Tuesday, Sept. 4). Coach Christabell Hamilton said no makeup date has been determined.

The Gold Nuggets (1-2) will travel to Jackson, Miss., for the Belhaven Tournament on Friday and Saturday. Xavier will play Pensacola Christian, Mississippi College, Rust and Belhaven in that event, then return home to play Spring Hill — which was 40-3 a year ago — on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. in The Barn.

The university received no major damages from the hurricane, which made landfall on the Louisiana coast on Aug. 28. Classes resumed today.

"Our Xavier staff members are doing an incredible job in making the campus available for classes and the other required services," XU president Dr. Norman C. Francis said. "We will continue to pray for all of those who have experienced the effects of this hurricane and ask that we be spared further hardships during the remainder of the hurricane season."


By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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Chris Carson: Around the MEAC Week 1

NORFOLK, Virginia - And we're off. And little has changed. Little has changed from my preseason predictions, although South Carolina State answered its quarterback questions, and the MEAC's lower-ranked teams did a nice job beating some FCS-level out-of-conference opponents. Here are your weekly awards, power polls and links.

Offensive Player of the Week – Richard Cue, QB, South Carolina State. In a nice win for the MEAC over Georgia State, a CAA team, Cue passed for 300 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 47 yards. Most importantly for the Bulldogs, he ended any hint of a quarterback controversy before it started. Runner-ups– Broderick Waters (Bethune-Cookman QB) and Eddie Poole (Bethune-Cookman WR).

Defensive Player of the Week – Joe Rankin, DB, Morgan State – His interception return for a touchdown helped Morgan State get to overtime, and the cornerback also made six tackles. Runner-ups – D’Vonte Grant (North Carolina A&T LB); Jamal Giddens (Norfolk State LB).

Special Teams Player of the Week –



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Tennessee State Tigers' Price continues Paralympic run

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – On Sunday, Sept. 2, Markeith Price took part in the 400-meter dash final- a day after competing in the men’s long jump competition.

Price finished in eighth and sixth in the 400-meter dash and long jump, respectively.

On Aug. 31, Price ran a time of 51.11 seconds in the 400-meter dash which was good enough for fourth place in his heat. Price’s finish also earned him a spot in Sunday’s final race.

Before running the final however, Price competed in the high jump competition. His best jump was 6.17 meters, making him the top American jumper.

 

(Left) MARKEITH PRICE
6'- 0" Senior, Sprinter, Jumper
Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland
High School: Mount Saint Joseph
(Photo Courtesy: TSU Athletics)
 

Price was also the top American in the 400-meter dash final. At 51.98 seconds, his time in the finals was .87 seconds slower than the time he ran in qualifiers.

Price’s next events will be the 200-meter dash and the 4 x 100-meter relay. The first heat of the 4x1 will take place tomorrow morning with the finals to follow in the evening.

P
rice was born with his vision impaired and has been involved in track and field since the age of 11, competing on different levels.
 

Back in 2005, he won gold medals for the long jump and the 600-meter dash in the IBSA World Youth Championships. He added a silver medal in 2007 in the triple jump at the IBSA World Games, and in 2009 at the IBSA Pan American Games, he won the event and added a gold medal in the 400-meter dash.
 

According to the U.S Association of Blind Athletes Indoor Track & Field, Price currently holds the records for the 200m, 400m, 800m, and long jump.
 

Follow TSU Athletics on Facebook.com/TSUTigers and Twitter @TSU_Tigers.

 

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Catawba wants to keep Mayor's Cup from Livingstone

SALISBURY, North Carolina — It wasn’t the standard early September football press conference.

Not with Salisbury mayor Paul Woods on hand to sample the buffet at Ryan’s. Not with the towering, gleaming, freshly polished Mayor’s Cup trophy conspicuously standing on the floor.

And and not with athletic directors and sports information directors from two Salisbury colleges packed into a banquet room along with a pair of head coaches and five athletes — three Blue Bears and two Indians.

After a one-year-hiatus in their annual get-togethers, Catawba and Livingstone will clash for the 13th time on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Shuford Stadium. The Mayor’s Cup will again be at stake.

“We’re very anxious to play Catawba,” Livingstone’s All-CIAA linebacker Tyheim Pitt said. “There’s always that feud for bragging rights. It’s a good rivalry and may the best team win.”

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J. Nichols' 360SPORTSMAG.COM - THE CIAA, SWAC, MEAC Preview

Check out J. Nichols perspective on HBCU Sports at: 360Sportsmag.com

Trippin': Norfolk State has to replace much more than Kyle O'Quinn

NORFOLK, Virginia - Take any of the 345 D-I teams and I don't think you pluck a group whose expectations need to be curbed from the outside looking in more than Norfolk State.

Sounds odd, sure, but consider: The Spartans defeated Missouri in that memorable 15-over-2 game last March. It provided one of the seminal moments of the 2012 tournament; we'll talk about Lehigh and Norfolk State sharing a day, two 15 seeds beating the beasts, years from now.

In reality, NSU was a good-not-great team. It plays 20 times against that Missouri team, it probably only wins once. And now, the team loses four starters. The most notable was the most loveable, Kyle O'Quinn, who was drafted by the Orlando Magic in June.

So now the team's got a boatload of new players and guys who have to adapt and somehow try to improve on what became the greatest year in Norfolk State history. It will be tough. But at least the guys had a head start, as the team traveled to the Bahamas last month and went undefeated playing against competition that, to be honest, would barely qualify as MEAC-worthy (and that's coming from the NSU coaching staff, not me).

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SWAC: Vann Pettaway’s Battle Off The Court

MADISON COUNTY, Alabama (WHNT) – Vann Pettaway was the men’s basketball coach at Alabama A&M for 25 years. He led the Bulldogs to eight NCAA tournament appearances and eight conference championships.

The year 2005 was one of the highlight years of his career, as he led A&M to a SWAC regular season title and tournament title. But what many didn’t know was that he was facing a battle off the court as well. Pettaway had prostate cancer.



He had no symptoms. It was a routine PSA blood test that was higher than usual. A biopsy confirmed his worst fears. “The cancer was so aggressive,” Pettaway said. “It was the middle of August when I got results, and we scheduled surgery three weeks later in September.” But he attacked the cancer the same way he would any opponent on the court.

“They laid out the different treatments, told me what was best for me,” said Pettaway. “Because it was so aggressive, I needed to get it out, and I was all for that because I wanted some more birthdays.”

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Oklahoma a steep challenge for Florida A&M Rattlers

TALLAHASSEE, Florida - The sting of opening the season with a loss at Tennessee State had barely dissipated Monday when FAMU football players found themselves talking about Oklahoma.

They weren’t discussing how the Sooners struggled early against Texas-El Paso before getting a win on the road, either. They were making comments about how they’re not accepting the underdog role although the matchup Saturday at Owens Field overwhelmingly favors Oklahoma.

“At the end of the day, they put their (uniforms) the same way that we do,” said lineman Robert Hartley. “The only thing that they have is depth (but) we are as strong at every position. It’s one against one and it can’t get better than that.”

Hartley isn’t predicting that an upset is certain or anything like that, but he brought up their performance in 2009 against Miami as a reminder of the effort that they could give. Ironically, the Hurricanes were coming off a one-point win over the Sooners when they faced FAMU the following week.



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'We don't ever want to embarrass anybody'

Up next for No. 7 FSU is Savannah State team coming off 84-0 loss in season-opener

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  -  Everyone knew the Florida State Seminoles weren’t going to be playing a good football team in the second week of the season.  Not many understood just how weak the Savannah State Tigers were going to be though. Because they aren’t just bad, they are historically bad.

The FCS program, which took the place of West Virginia on the FSU schedule after the Mountaineers canceled their home-and-home contract with the Seminoles, was beaten 84-0 by Oklahoma State on Saturday night.  That’s right. 84. To. Zero.

Now the Tigers get to play the seventh-ranked Seminoles, who many college football experts feel have the best defense in the country and perhaps the deepest wide receiver corps in the nation as well.

In a word: Yikes.

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B-CU's Brian Jenkins puts student before athlete

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida - Brian Jenkins makes no secret about how badly he's pining for a championship.

Just a few days before his Bethune Cookman University football team rebounded from a 21-0 deficit to beat Alabama State in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge Sunday, Jenkins told reporters during his first weekly press conference that he was less than impressed with his 18-5 record he'd built during his first two years as the head coach.

"I hate those five games we lost more than the 18 games we won," Jenkins quipped toward me when I asked him if he was content with his early tenure with the Wildcats football program. "Whenever I become satisfied with 8-3 seasons then I need to get out of coaching."

Normally, that type of response would make me nervous. In today's morally challenged environment of college sports, that answer reeks of a power hungry leader willing to sacrifice anything to win. Thankfully, that's not the case with Jenkins.

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Lincoln comes to Wofford as a willing opponent

WOFFORD, South Carolina - Wofford head coach Mike Ayers has been asked the question since the football schedule was released in February.  Who is Lincoln?

And while Ayers is perhaps tempted to sarcastically answer “16th president of the United States,” he has to explain that Lincoln University is an NCAA Division II school near Philadelphia. The Lions play in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and will be Wofford's opponent at 7 p.m. Saturday in the home opener at Gibbs Stadium.

“People said, ‘What do you know about them?' ” Ayers said. “I told them, ‘Nothing right now because we haven't played Gardner-Webb yet.' ”

Wofford, No. 10 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, took care of Gardner-Webb, 34-7, in last week's season opener. Lincoln, picked sixth in a preseason CIAA poll, lost to rival Cheyney (Pa.) 34-21, despite 363 passing yards and nearly doubling the opposition in total yards. Eight turnovers, including five lost fumbles, were the Lions' undoing.

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WSSU basketball adds two players

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina - Winston-Salem State has added two late signees in men's basketball — Michel-Ofik Nzege, a 6-foot-8 wing from Switzerland, and Kevin Powell, a 6-7 post player and junior-college transfer from Fayetteville.

"We were able to get Michel-Ofik late, and he'll be a welcome addition," said coach Bobby Collins, who didn't lose any starters from the team that won the 2012 CIAA title. "We've got 15 players on our roster and a 16th (JuCo transfer Maurice Nash) will be eligible for second semester."

Nzege, who played last season at Mount Zion Christian Academy in Durham, was being recruited by several Division I schools but didn't have the required grades, Collins said. Old Dominion and Xavier made hard pushes late in the recruiting process.

To become eligible in Division I, Nzege would have had to ...

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MEAC time: S.C. State begins Bethune-Cookman preparation

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina - No rest on Labor Day is a common practice for the South Carolina State coaching staff under Buddy Pough.

The Rowe Hall offices were especially active Monday morning as the Bulldogs turned their complete attention to Saturday’s Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opening opponent — Bethune-Cookman. Much like last Thursday’s game won by S.C. State over Georgia State 33-6, Pough emphasized the “sense of urgency” with this matchup, particularly against a Wildcats’ team which has enjoyed success in recent years at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.

“As I said earlier, it’s live or die,” said Pough during Monday’s press conference. “It’s pretty much like it was last week against Georgia State. We had to win that game and this situation is very, very similar. I’m pretty sure they’ll (Bethune-Cookman) say the same thing.”

The coaching staff received high praise from Pough for the game plan against Georgia State. S.C. State tallied 488 total yards on offense and collected six sacks and two turnovers on defense as Pough believed his team accomplished the rare feat of “outcoaching and outplaying” their opponent.



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THE SHOW: Labor Day Classic - PVAMU vs. Texas Southern

Florida A&M's Kevin Elliott earns spot on Jaguars roster

ORLANDO, Florida - There is really only one thing harder than sitting around waiting for a phone to ring. That has to be sitting around waiting for a phone to not ring. That was Kevin Elliott’s predicament Friday night as NFL teams began cutting their rosters down to the 53-man minimum by the 9 p.m. deadline.

Elliott, the former Orlando Colonial High and Florida A&M standout, has been working as a free-agent wide receiver in the Jacksonville Jaguars camp ever since being signed by the Jaguars one day after the NFL Draft in April.



He had an extremely strong preseason camp, during which he had two touchdown catches in preseason games, including a 77-yarder against Atlanta on Friday night. Then it was time to wait. The Jags told Elliott that if he didn’t hear his phone ring by 9 p.m., Saturday, he was safe. The problem was, his phone kept ringing. And ringing.

“Ah man it was crazy,” Elliott said of hearing his phone ring constantly Saturday night as the hours ticked away.

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