Ohio State-Florida A&M 2013: Know Your Enemy

COLUMBUS, Ohio  --  In spite of all the talk about the sugary, frosted goodness of Ohio State's 2013 schedule, Florida A&M is the only non-FBS team on the schedule. The Rattlers are going to make $850,000 to make a trip to Ohio State to receive their whomping and head home, but it's worth noting that despite their HBCU status, the Rattlers have a proud football history. Even though their most famous attribute is the Florida A&M Marching 100 (and we will avoid any talk of the hazing scandal here, because football), they still have had some extremely notable players come through the program in past years.

 

We'll get into that later, but first, the nuts and bolts:

 

Ohio State vs. Florida A&M Kickoff Time, TV Schedule

Both are yet to be announced. I fully expect, however, that this will be a noon game, probably on the Big Ten Network.
 

Q: Wait, I want to hear more about this band! Are they as good as TBDBITL?

Well, they're certainly different. Here they are performing at halftime of the game against Southern in 2011.
 

 

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FAMU vs. Ohio State Football Tickets

Ticket Liquidator

Shouppe among 3 finalists for FAMU baseball job

Dr. Larry Robinson
FAMU Interim President

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  --  FAMU has narrowed its search for a new head baseball coach to three candidates, including former interim coach Brett Richardson and former Florida State associate head coach Jamey Shouppe.

Both names, along with that of Santa Fe assistant coach Bruce Larkin, will be sent to Larry Robinson, interim president at FAMU, by the end of this week, said interim athletic director Michael Smith.

Smith said a new coach should be named within a week.

Smith headed up the searched committee, which began its work shortly after the Rattlers’ season ended in May.

Smith stressed on Monday that new coach must have a solid understanding of the urgency in turning the program around, knowledge of FAMU culture and the community.

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Former NFL coach tackles VSU defensive line

ETTRICK, Virginia --  Coaches in the National Football League often lead transient lifestyles as they travel from team to team. Such was the life of Larry Brooks, a former football standout at Prince George High School and Virginia State University.

But, after an NFL playing and coaching career that spanned four decades, Brooks retired and returned to his hometown. The 61-year-old now lives in Dinwiddie and coaches the defensive line at his alma mater.

"This is home," Brooks said. "And every time I'm out of work in the NFL I come home."

While the right offer might coax him out of retirement, Brooks said he is happy to be back in the Tri-Cities area and content to remain on the VSU coaching staff.

One thing is for sure, the Trojans are happy to have him back.

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Ex-Michigan State WR says he’s transferring to Florida A&M

EAST LANSING, Michigan  --  It was announced in late May that backup Michigan State wide receiver Juwan Caesar would be transferring from the program, though no destination for the wideout was announced at the time.

While there’s still nothing official from the program, Caesar said via his Twitter account that he’s at Florida A&M, which is significantly closer to his hometown of Miami.



A three-star member of the Spartans’ 2011 recruiting class, Caesar was rated as the No. 67 receiver in the country and the No. 77 player in the state of Florida. He was one of three wide receivers — the other two being Jay Harris and Kyle Kerrick – to leave the program over the course of a month for one reason or another.

Caesar’s true freshman season was ...

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Former B-CU quarterback Johnson thriving in German football league

Matthew Johnson, QB
Kiel Baltic Hurricanes

KEIL, Germany  --  Matt Johnson knew life in Germany would be totally different, even before stepping foot in his new home country.

“Descending in the plane, I looked out of the window and thought to myself, ‘all of that can't actually be snow, right?,' ” Johnson said. “I happened to come to Germany on one of the longest winters in years. I started my journey in Fort Lauderdale in 80-degree weather.”

While the weather may be extremely cold this year in Germany, the former Bethune-Cookman quarterback has been red hot in his first season with the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes of the 16-team German Football League.

On Sunday, he contributed four touchdowns -- two by ground and two by air -- as the Hurricanes hammered the Dusseldorf Panthers, 47-10. Johnson has helped guide his team to a 6-1 start -- Kiel is averaging more than 38 points per game.

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West Virginia State and Mountain East Conference Takes Flight

WHEELING, West Virginia – As of Monday, July 1st, the Mountain East Conference (MEC) officially welcomed its twelve charter members of the newest NCAA Division II league.

West Virginia State University is a charter member of the Mountain East Conference.
    
"While we are still more than a month away from when action begins in the Mountain East Conference, we are very excited that our twelve members are moving forward as members of the MEC as of today,” said Commissioner Reid Amos. “This is one of several landmark days for the Mountain East as we officially become the newest active NCAA Division II conference this year. We have every confidence that our new conference will be highly competitive and will provide great opportunities and memorable experiences for our student-athletes.”
   
The new league's charter members include: Concord University (W.Va.), Fairmont State University (W.Va.), Glenville State College (W.Va.), Notre Dame College (Ohio), Shepherd University (W.Va.), The University of Charleston (W.Va.), The University of Virginia's College at Wise (Va.), Urbana University (Ohio), West Liberty University (W.Va.), West Virginia State University (W.Va.), Wheeling Jesuit University (W.Va.), and West Virginia Wesleyan College (W.Va.).
     
The new conference will begin begin competition in the fall of 2013 after receiving approval from the NCAA in February.  Eleven schools are currently members of NCAA Division II with Virginia-Wise nearing completion of Candidacy Year 1 of the NCAA Division II membership process.
    
The 12-team regional all-sports league will sponsor championship competition in 16 men's and women's sports during the 2013-14 academic year. 

VISIT: MOUNTAINEAST.org

West Virginia State University is a public, land grant, historically black university, which has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multi-generational institution, located in Institute, W.Va. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to academic growth, service, and preservation of the racial and cultural diversity of the institution. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.

COURTESY WEST VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION 

Tennessee State Peters to Play Pro Ball in Germany

WIL PETERS

NASHVILLE, Tennessee  --  Earlier this week, former Tennessee State guard Wil Peters signed a deal to play basketball overseas with the BSW Sixers of the German ProB Bundesliga.

 

“I appreciate all the support from family and friends. This is only the beginning. All the praise and glory to God,”Peters said shortly after inking the deal. “One of the scriptures I stood by is Galatians 6:9: ‘and let us not be weary in well doing for in due season we shall reap is we faint not.’”

Last season, the Sixers went 10-12 in Group North, which tied the club for seventh place. The squad also had two American-born players in Jeremie Simmons (Ohio State) and Paul Harrison (North Greenville).

Peters starred for the Tigers from 2008-2012, amassing 951 career points and 386 assists.

The Sixers will begin its season in the first week of October.

 

 

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Southern falls behind in championship chase

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  -- Charles McClelland had the toughest assignment in the Southwestern Athletic Conference when the Prairie View grad was named athletic director at his alma mater in 2001.

Though just 29 and with a background in accounting, his mission was to turn around an athletic department that long had been the laughingstock of the SWAC.

McClelland figured his best bet was to look 300 miles east, to a Southern University program that treated the conference’s athletic fields like its own personal playground.

“When I became the athletic director at Prairie View, Southern was on top,” said McClelland, who has spent the past five years as AD at Texas Southern. “Not only were they winning, they had the attitude to go with it. They knew they were going to win. So I really looked in-depth at what Southern was doing in order to try to elevate Prairie View.”

The Jaguars ruled the SWAC with such authority that their fans claimed the acronym should stand for Southern Wins Another Championship. Never was Southern’s reign more prominent than in ...

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NC A&T Quarterback Lewis Kindle Suspended Indefinitely

Lewis Kindle
(Courtesy: NCA&T Athletics)
 

GREENSBORO, North Carolina  --  North Carolina A&T senior quarterback Lewis Kindle has been suspended from all football related team activities pending the resolution of two criminal charges.

At approximately 3:06 a.m., Friday, July 5, Mr. Kindle was stopped by an A&T campus police officer while driving his vehicle on East Lindsay Street and attempting to make a left turn onto Sullivan Street with no operating headlights, and at what appeared to be an accelerated speed.

Mr. Kindle was later charged with failure to burn headlights from sunset to sunrise and driving while impaired. He is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 26, 2013.


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Ex-OC Smith a candidate to resume old job at Albany State

ALBANY, Georgia  — Albany State expects to officially name its new offensive coordinator next week, and it could end up being a familiar face to the Rams program.

 

Several sources have told The Herald that former Rams offensive coordinator Steve Smith is a candidate to return to his job after being away from the program for two seasons.

 

Neither Smith nor head coach Mike White would confirm an impending hire, but sources associated with the team and school believe that Smith is the leading candidate.

 

Smith spent last season as an assistant offensive line coach with the Kansas City Chiefs, and if he takes the job at ASU he will replace Uyl Joyner, who stepped down as ASU’s offensive coordinator in the spring to take a similar job at Dougherty High.

 

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Former Alabama A&M professor Salah Yousif, who launched Bulldogs national championship soccer program, dies in Ethiopia

Coach Salah Yousif

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Salah Yousif, hired at Alabama A&M as an economics professor but later to become coach of two national championship (men's) soccer teams, has died in his native Ethiopia. Yousif, 77, was a college professor in Ethiopia at the time of his death. Sources said he died of an apparent heart attack on campus.

Yousif, who seven months ago suffered the loss of a son, died June 27, according to former co-workers at Alabama A&M.

Yousif won 238 games in 21 seasons as the A&M soccer coach and 50 in four seasons as soccer coach at Howard University.

His was a turbulent career at A&M, where he arrived in 1976 to ...

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Hotard: Star power aplenty for SWAC football in 2013

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  --  Because the All-Southwestern Athletic Conference first and second teams included 21 juniors and sophomores last year, the league promises to have a heavy dose of football star power this season.

Southern quarterback Dray Joseph returns for his senior year after passing for a SWAC-best 2,511 yards — with 25 touchdowns and only seven interceptions — in his first season as a full-time starter.

Some other notable players to keep an eye on:

• Arkansas-Pine Bluff quarterback Ben Anderson beat out Joseph for first-team All-SWAC honors while distinguishing himself as the league’s top dual threat. The junior, who lit up Southern for 371 yards of total offense in a 50-21 rout, will look to build on a 2012 in which he used his arm (2,356 passing yards) and legs (519 rushing yards) to lead UAPB to the conference title.
• Alabama State running back Isaiah Crowell made a predictably big impact on the SWAC last year after rushing for ...

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Southern University Football Marine Day 2013 & Highlights

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TSU's Reed to Appear on 102.5 The Game Saturday at 8 a.m. CT

TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY COACH ROD REED
(Courtesy: TSU Athletics) 

NASHVILLE, Tennessee  --  Tennessee State football coach Rod Reed is scheduled to be a guest on 102.5 The Game for City College Sports Saturday at 8 a.m.

The TSU football program is coming off of an 8-3 year, which is the best winning percentage for the team since 2001.

Expectations are high for the 2013 season as Reed, who enters his fourth year at the helm of the program, has improved his win total by at least two games in each of the past two campaigns.

Big Blue also returns 20 starters, including 11 from the Ohio Valley Conference’s top-ranked defense in terms of yards per game.

Fans can hear Reed talk about these subjects and more by tuning their radios to 102.5 or by listening online, here.

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Two B-CU football players get preseason All-America honors

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida  --  Bethune-Cookman football players Terrance Hackney and LeBrandon Richardson were named to The Sports Network FCS Preseason All-America team Monday.

The three-team All-America squad is 98 players deep and includes players from 59 schools and all 13 conferences.

Hackney was a second-team selection as an offensive lineman, while Richardson earned second-team honors as a defensive end.



Hackney finished the 2012 campaign listed on three All-America squads. Selected as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year as a sophomore, the 6-foot-6, 310-pound tackle from Chapel Hill, N.C., had 15 pancake blocks with just a single sack yielded in 11 starts.

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Stillman's Henderson on U.S. team for World Championships

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama | Second chances do not come often, but leaving a winning mark in the sand makes all the difference when they do.

 

Stillman Tigers track and field star Jeffrey Henderson will represent the United States in the World Championships on Aug. 10-18 in Moscow, Russia. Henderson will be competing for the U.S. for the second time in three years.

 

Henderson was recently named the fastest man in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and placed second in the long jump at the 2013 U.S. Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, which helped him qualify for the national team.

 

Henderson competed in the long jump in the 2010 World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar, and said he is competing this time for redemption.

 

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CIAA Volleyball Championship Moves to Winston-Salem State

HAMPTON, Virginia – For the first time since 2005, Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) fans will be able to witness the crowning of two Conference champions the same weekend in the same city.

The 2013 CIAA Volleyball Championship will move to Winston-Salem State University in Winston-Salem, N.C., and take place November 15 – 17 on the university’s campus.  In addition, the CIAA Football Championship game will crown its champion on Saturday, November 16 at Winston-Salem State University’s Bowman Gray Stadium.

First round volleyball action begins on Friday, November 15 as the top four teams from the Northern and Southern Division meet in a double-elimination tournament.  Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, N.C., is the 2012 defending champion.

"Winston-Salem State University will be a fantastic host for both the CIAA volleyball and football championships.  Their experience in hosting will assist the conference in ensuring the fans, sponsors and student-athletes have a spectacular weekend.  This is a great opportunity to support and showcase volleyball and football in the community, while celebrating the athletic and academic achievements of some of the best student-athletes in Division II," said Jacqie Carpenter – Commissioner, CIAA.  

Specific match times and locations will be released at a later date.

COURTESY CIAA.com

Slain Howard University student is mourned

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Friends could count on Omar Sykes. For a smile, a hug, an attentive ear, he was always open to helping others.

Sykes, a 22-year-old rising senior and business marketing major at Howard University, was shot and killed Thursday night just outside the college’s Northwest Washington campus in what police said was a random robbery attempt. A second student was struck with a handgun and is recovering.

Friends and family were shocked by the death of the community service-oriented young man, who was a leader of Howard’s chapter of Alpha Phi Omega, a coed service fraternity. He was also a member of the Noble Black Society, an organization founded at Howard that defines itself on its Web site as a “family oriented entertainment collective focused on the purpose of Redefining Black.”

“Just to think something like this could happen is just unheard of,” said Lance Coleman, a 22-year-old Howard student and a close friend of Sykes’s. “He was probably the most well-liked guy in my life. He was always about helping people. . . . The world just lost someone pretty amazing.”

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Odums says SU will not be intimidated by Houston

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  --  Speaking at the weekly Baton Rouge Press Club luncheon Monday afternoon, Dawson Odums said he knew most of the media in the room wouldn’t pick him to start his run as Southern University’s permanent head football coach with a win.

The Jaguars open 2013 against the University of Houston on Aug. 30 in Reliant Stadium, a game that will net Southern’s athletic department a $350,000 payout.

But Odums, who inherited the Southern job full time after going 4-5 as the interim coach last season, said the talk around the Southern football facility this summer hasn’t been about collecting a check.

He said the Jaguars will play hard against an opponent transitioning from Conference USA to the new American Athletic Conference. He said they won’t be intimidated.

“If they put their pants on one leg at a time, we’ve got a chance,” Odums said he has told his players. He then added, “If you see anybody who jumps in there (with both legs) at the same time, call timeout. We’re getting on the bus and coming on back home.”

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Albany State signs ex-Grambling State QB Rivers

ALBANY, Georgia  --  Albany State’s cloudy quarterback picture is now a little bit clearer.

 

The Rams, who have been searching for a quarterback the entire offseason, have signed Grambling State transfer Frank Rivers, ASU coach Mike White confirmed to The Herald on Thursday.

 

Rivers, a rising junior, started eight games the last two years at Division I Grambling State and said he is excited to be the newest member of the ASU program.

 

“I am really happy to be here,” said Rivers, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound native of Fairfield, Alabama.  “I have been working out with the guys, and them and the coaches all accept me. This team gets a lot of support from the surrounding areas, so I am excited to see how this goes.”

 

It’s the announcement ASU fans have been waiting for ...

 

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Toronto Blue Jays Sign Benedict's Lydell Moseby

COLUMBIA, South Carolina  --  Benedict College All-American baseball player Lydell Moseby has signed a free-agent contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, the team announced.

Moseby was assigned to Dunedin, Fla., the spring training home of the Blue Jays.

He was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-America Second Team as a shortstop. The senior from Sacramento, Calif., also played catcher, third base, first base and outfield for the Tigers this season.

Moseby was named the SIAC Utility Player of the Year after batting .418 and ranking second in the nation with a .799 slugging percentage. He led the SIAC and was among the nation's leaders with 11 home runs. He also led the SIAC and ranked third nationally with 1.34 runs batted in per game. He also ranked eighth nationally with 1.24 runs scored per game.

Moseby's family has a strong connection to the Blue Jays organization. His father, Lloyd Moseby, was the second overall draft pick in the 1978 draft by the Blue Jays and spent 10 years in the Major Leagues playing for Toronto and was named to the All-Star Team in 1986. The elder Moseby also played for the Detroit Tigers for two years.

COURTESY BENEDICT COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION

WSSU’s Carrothers says he’s on the mend after shoulder surgery

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina  --  Anthony Carrothers, the expected starting quarterback at Winston-Salem State, has that bounce back in his step.

Carrothers, who went 2-0 in a backup role last season, underwent surgery for a torn labrum in his left shoulder on April 24. The surgery was performed on his non-throwing shoulder — but he still was forced to take some time away from football.                 

“It feels good to throw again,” Carrothers said earlier this week in between workouts during a break from summer school. “I just want to get in that groove again and I’ve been throwing to my guys about three or four times a week.”

Carrothers was given clearance to throw June 24 and he took to ...

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Arvie: Grambling State O-line coach crucial

GRAMBLING, Louisiana  --  Herman Arvie, a former Grambling and NFL offensive lineman, said he couldn’t believe his ears when he heard that his alma mater laid off offensive line coach Ben Wilkerson on June 27.

Arvie, who played with the Cleveland Browns/Baltimore Ravens from 1993-96 as an offensive tackle, said he was relieved to hear the offensive line coach was reinstated Tuesday because of that position’s importance.

“As an offensive lineman, you’ve got to be in sync with the running backs, the quarterback and even the wide receivers,” Arvie said. “You’ve got to know what they’re doing, depending on whether the quarterback is taking a three-step drop or a seven-step drop.

“When I heard the news, I couldn’t believe that ...

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Citrus Bowl Renovation Could Cost More Than Thought

Florida Citrus Bowl
Event: Florida Blue Florida Classic

The Florida Citrus Bowl is home to the MEAC/SWAC Challenge and Florida Blue Florida Classic between Florida A&M University and Bethune-Cookman University

ORLANDO, Florida  --  The pricey renovation of the Florida Citrus Bowl -- already controversial because the municipal stadium doesn't have a professional sports team -- may be getting more -expensive, the Orlando Sentinel has learned.

After years of delays, work on the 77-year-old stadium is expected to begin in February. But as the city prepares to put the finishing touches on the redesign, stadium boosters say the budget of about $190 million isn't enough.

They are quietly lobbying for another $18 million to $27 million.

"We're trying to make sure that we leave ourselves with maximum flexibility and get a first-rate stadium when we're finished," Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said.

Plans call for demolishing much of the stadium, including the entire lower bowl, and then rebuilding. When the work is finished in early 2015, about 80 percent of the facility will be new.

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GETTING TOUGH, MENTALLY: SCSU quarterback Richard Cue using voluntary summer workouts to gain strength and focus

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina  --  The return of strength and conditioning coach John Williams is not the only change at summer workouts for South Carolina State University’s football program this year.

Personal issues at home kept quarterback Richard Cue from participating in summer workouts last year. While the Florence native did manage to keep the starting job he claimed after Derrick Wiley’s mid-season knee injury in 2012, he struggled with consistency and accuracy as part of an offense which ranked among the lowest in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

This summer, Cue is front and center at the Bulldogs’ daily voluntary workouts. Each morning during the week, the fifth-year senior is ...

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