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SAVANNAH, Georgia -- They’ve been knocked down and keep getting up, an admirable quality for any football player but almost a prerequisite for a Savannah State quarterback.
“You won’t see any more 5-foot-5 linebackers,” said Blake Dever.
“We’re learning every day to deal with the speed of the game,” said TJ Bell.
Freshmen quarterbacks Dever and Bell are getting on-the-job training this season. They’re the future of the Tigers. It hasn’t been smooth sailing, but their reaction to adversity — a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference-worst 19 sacks in five games — has.
Dever and Bell keep getting up.
“When you factor we haven’t run the ball great and our pass protection hasn’t been great, what they’ve done becomes a little more impressive,” SSU coach Erik Raeburn said. CONTINUE READING
PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland -- There will be a new face on the sidelines of men’s basketball games for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
Ed Huckaby joins Bobby Collins’ coaching staff this season as an assistant coach. He takes the spot of Trevor Deloach, who joined the staff of South Carolina State after spending two seasons with the Hawks.
Huckaby comes to Princess Anne with a coaching resume that includes stops at the college, high school and postgraduate levels. CONTINUE READING
TV:ESPN3 (online); tape-delayed on ESPNU at 10:30 p.m.
Radio: 91.1 FM, 1310 AM
NORFOLK, Virginia -- Despite the five straight losses, despite the team goals that have fallen by the wayside and despite the not-so-glamorous notion of playing out the string, Norfolk State coach Latrell Scott remains optimistic his team will finish strong.
When the Spartans (1-5, 0-3 MEAC) meet winless Bethune-Cookman at 2 p.m. today , Scott said they’ll do so with an enthusiasm that belies their disappointing record. With five games to be played and NSU’s first winning season since 2011 still mathematically possible, all is not lost.
“I’m extremely excited that my guys are still ready to go,” Scott said. “You look at their demeanor, their tempo in practice. Nobody’s out here pouting. Nobody’s out here screwing around. These guys are looking forward to winning a game.”
They should be ready. More than two weeks have passed since NSU’s 35-0 loss at North Carolina A&T on Oct. 6. The Spartans believe they’ve put that time to good use, balancing rest and extra practice while re-evaluating their definition of a successful season.
HAMPTON, Virginia -- Florida A&M’s Saturday homecoming opponent has dreams of winning the MEAC.
The team also has the record to back up those aspirations.
The Hampton Pirates are 3-3 overall and 3-1 in conference play. Right now, the Pirates are chasing North Carolina Central (5-2, 4-0 MEAC), North Carolina A&T (5-1, 3-0) and South Carolina State (2-3, 2-0) for the top spot in the conference.C
Next week, the Pirates will have a chance to knock off South Carolina State. NCAT and NCCU will play each other at the end of the season, meaning Hampton could get the help it needs – if the Pirates beat the Bulldogs first – to secure a berth in the Celebration Bowl.
None of that is on Hampton head coach Connell Maynor’s mind. The Pirates are focused on spoiling FAMU’s homecoming.
GREENSBORO, North Carolina — At its core, this matchup is simple strength vs. strength.
Howard’s offense runs the football. N.C. A&T’s defense stops the run.
The Aggies (3-0 MEAC, 5-1) face the Bison (1-3, 1-6) in Howard’s homecoming game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Greene Stadium in Washington.
“The last time we went up and played Howard on their homecoming, we got beat,” A&T coach Rod Broadway said. “… It’s a challenge going up there with all the distractions going on this weekend, but hopefully we’ll play like we’re capable of playing.”
A&T is plenty capable. The Aggies are ranked No. 14 in both FCS national polls. They rank No. 1 in the MEAC and No. 3 in the nation in rushing defense, giving up just 68.8 yards per game.
They allowed 8 rushing yards in last week’s 52-35 victory at Bethune-Cookman.
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Southern’s defense is entering this weekend’s game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff with just five sacks in five games, the lowest figure in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
“I feel like that’s where we’ve been lacking as a defense,” said junior defensive end Aaron Tiller, who led the league in sacks a year ago but has been limited to one so far this season. “That’s where I feel like I’ve been lacking.”
But perhaps that pass-rush is in for the shot in the arm it’s been looking for this weekend.
Pine Bluff has given up 30 sacks in six games. That means it is giving up, on average, the same amount of sacks per game that the Jaguars have accumulated all season.
GRAMBLING, Louisiana -- College athletics can be viewed as a cash cow across the country, but the reality is few athletic departments turn a profit.
In Louisiana, LSU is the lone public institution that consistently generates a profit, and none of the nine schools in the University of Louisiana System are self-sufficient.
New Grambling president Rick Gallot plans to change that.
"We definitely will do a better job going forward in the business of athletics," Gallot said at Wednesday's News-Star editorial board. "If you look at the UL system as a whole, not one school, not even (Louisiana) Tech, turns a profit in athletics. If there's a school that can turn a profit in athletics, I think it's Grambling.
"I will not stop until that happens. Period. Our brand is too big. We're too well known not to run the kind of business I know we can, and we will."
HOUSTON, Texas -- The Owls (0-6, 0-4 Conference USA) remained winless on the season after last Saturday’s game against Texas-San Antonio, as the Roadrunners scored a 14-13 win behind two Dalton Sturm touchdown passes in the first half. Rice is off to its worst start since losing its first nine games and finishing 2-10 in 2009.
Meanwhile, the FCS Panthers (4-2, 4-1 SWAC) were off last week, but head coach Willie Simmons and Co. beat Alabama State 24-17 at home the last time in action. Caleb Broach scored on a one-yard run in overtime to complete the rally from being down 17-7 at the break. Owen Hoolihan’s 37-yard field goal with 12 seconds left in the game tied it at 17 and forced overtime after he missed a 34-yard attempt earlier in the quarter. Senior quarterback Trey Green went 7-of-15 passing for 140 yards and rushed for 100 yards on two carries.
While Prairie View A&M is on the road for this contest, the Panthers just opened a new football stadium and field house that university officials hope will increase enrollment and elevate the identity of the historically black college.
ORANGEBURG, South Carolina -- It can’t be considered the Fab Five or even necessarily the Fun Five, but S.C. State football has finally completed what ended up being a five-game road odyssey to start the 2016 season.
No need to go back and talk about the three-game stretch at Central Florida, Louisiana Tech and Clemson. File those three losses to more robust FBS competition under the heading Research and Development.
With as many as 17 first-year players (both true freshmen and redshirt freshmen) among the two-deep depth chart for the Bulldogs (now 2-3), those were games for players to learn their positions and see how fast and hard the college game can be played.
In the past two games, S.C. State has not only come back to play Football Championship Series competition but has won two Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference games on the road. Regardless of the season and personnel, that’s an accomplishment.
TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- It might be homecoming for Florida A&M, but Saturday’s game will be one of the Rattlers’ biggest challenges so far this season.
Head coach Alex Wood said though the team has plenty of confidence after winning two of its last games, the Rattlers are preparing for a challenge from Hampton.
The Pirates (3-3, 3-1 MEAC) are one of the top teams in the conference, plus they beat the Rattlers 33-0 last season.
Wood said this year both teams are different.
“Whenever you get a chance to win and it seems like your confidence does rise,” Wood said. “Not to the point that you’re overconfident, for sure. I like the guys we’ve got in our lineup. They’re fighters. They really are. Especially the guys up front, they’re battling well.” CONTINUE READING
GREENSBORO, North Carolina -- It was another good week for the North Carolina A&T football program. The Aggies improved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the MEAC with their 52-35 win over Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach, Fla. The win helped the Aggies move up in the national polls, remain No. 1 in the black college football polls and earn three more weekly honors.
N.C. A&T is No. 14 in the nation in both the FCS STATS Media and NCAA FCS Coaches’ polls this week. They moved up one spot in the media poll while they went up two spaces in the coaches’ poll. The Aggies went as high as 13th last season in the media poll, while their high in the coaches’ poll last season was 16th. N.C. A&T has been ranked 13 straight weeks in each poll.
The Aggies still hold the No. 1 spot in black college football and it is almost unanimous. For the fifth time in six weeks, the Aggies received all 30 first-place votes in the Sheridan Broadcasting Network Black College Football Poll. They have also received all 20 first-place votes in the BoxToRow Black College Football Poll in five out of six weeks. In the BTR media poll, the Aggies received 11 of 13 first-place votes to earn No. 1. The Aggies have been ranked in 34 straight SBN polls and 36 straight BTR polls.
The Aggies also garnered attention as individuals. For the third straight week senior Tarik Cohen (5-6, 179, Bunn, N.C.) was named the offensive player of the week in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. He also earned FCS STATS National Player of the Week honorable mention for the third straight week. Meanwhile, redshirt junior Brandon Parker (6-7, 299, Kannapolis N.C.) earned his third offensive lineman of the week honor from the conference this season.
Cohen’s third straight weekly honor coincides with Cohen’s third straight 200-plus yard rushing performance. Against the Wildcats on Saturday, Cohen rushed for 220 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries as runs of 87 and 54 helped him reach the total. Cohen is second in the nation in rushing (890) and third nationally in rushing touchdowns (10) and yards per carry (8.09). He is 79 yards short of reaching 5,000 rushing yards for his career.
Parker did not surrender a sack or have a penalty called on him, Saturday. He was credited with four pancake blocks, and he graded out at 93 percent in the film room. The Aggies produced a season-high 561 yards of offense. Parker was the MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2015.
N.C. A&T’s season continues 1 p.m., Saturday at Greene Stadium in Washington, D.C., as they take on Howard University for the 50th time in series history.
NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- When Orlando McKinley Jr. was being recruited out of Westlake in Atlanta, he wasn’t getting the offers he really craved.
Coming out of high school, colleges looked at him for track and field. McKinley was a guy who played football since he was 4 years old, and while the track offers were great, he wanted to continue his career on the gridiron.
He visited Florida A&M, and signed a scholarship offer with the Rattlers pretty much instantly.
“When I visited FAMU I just fell in love with it,” he said. “I committed the day I came up and signed my scholarship.”
The sophomore cornerback is one of many 2015 recruits making an impact this season. He was someone brought on after all of FAMU’s coaches (except for offensive line coach Edwin Pata) were fired in 2014, in the midst of plenty of uncertainty for the team, and he’s putting his head down and going to work.
MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Allen Suber did exactly what Brian Jenkins expected – including win the game.
On Monday, Jenkins praised his assistant head coach for leading Alabama State to a 56-24 home victory Saturday over winless Mississippi Valley State in his absence. Jenkins served a one-game suspension for a recruiting violation committed last season that he reported to Alabama State officials.
“He followed the plan that we put in place as normal and was able to supervise and maintain the level of expectation,” said Jenkins during the SWAC coaches call. “He was really good. It didn’t surprise me because he’s been with me a long time and he knows the system and he knows the adjustments.”
Jenkins believes Suber, who also worked under him at Bethune-Cookman as a receivers coach (2010-2011, 2014) is ready to be a head coach.
“I tell you what, he just exemplified that he’s ready to do his own thing, to have his own program,” Jenkins said. “I was really happy to see our players respond well and therefore we were able to come away with a victory.”
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Homecoming is taking on a new meaning for Southern’s football team this weekend.
Saturday's game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff will be just the second game played at A.W. Mumford Stadium this season.
The Jaguars have been no stranger to playing a heavy road schedule early in the season: This is their second straight year waiting until their sixth game for their second home date.
But this marks the latest calendar date for the second Southern home game since 1993, Pete Richardson’s first season, when Southern played its second home game Oct. 23.
The biggest relief for Southern coach Dawson Odums lies in the numbers. Travel rosters are restricted to 63 players.
“Instead of having to leave and take 63 guys and having that short number of guys on the trip, we’re able to have our whole football team,” Odums said.
HARTLY, Delaware –North Carolina A&T and Tuskegee maintained their leads in this week’s HSRN Football Polls.
N. C. A&T has been ranked #1 for seven consecutive weeks in the HSRN FCS Poll. Undefeated Tuskegee University, who had the week off, has held on to the top position in the Division II/NAIA Poll since the beginning of the season.
The top seven positions in the Division I FCS poll remained the same from last week. Grambling State remained in second place with Tennessee State close behind in third after rebounding from their first loss of the season. North Carolina Central, Southern, Prairie View A&M and South Carolina State complete the top seven. Alcorn State moved up to #8 and Hampton and Texas Southern returned to the top 10.
In Division II/NAIA, Despite a week off,Tuskegee’s Golden Tigers captured all but one of the first place votes of the HSRN pollsters ahead of a strong representation from the CIAA, who shuffled their positions but still took the next five places in the poll.
Bowie State remained in second place. Winston-Salem State and Chowan jumped to third and fourth ahead of Virginia State and Virginia Union. Kentucky State’s homecoming win over Miles propelled the Thorobreds into the top 10.
Division I FCS
School (First Place Votes)
Record
Pts
Last Week
1.
North Carolina A&T (13)
5-1
148
1
2.
Grambling State (1)
4-1
132
2
3.
Tennessee State (1)
5-1
125
3
4.
North Carolina Central
5-2
102
4
5.
Southern U.
3-2
78
5
6.
Prairie View A&M
4-2
73
6
7.
South Carolina State
2-3
50
7
8.
Alcorn State
3-3
41
9
9.
Hampton
3-3
35
NR
10.
Texas Southern
3-3
28
NR
Others receiving votes
Hampton, Jackson State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Bethune-Cookman & Delaware State
Division II/NAIA
School (First Place Votes)
Record
Pts
Last Week
1.
Tuskegee (12)
6-0
138
1
2.
Bowie State (2)
5-2
127
2
3.
Winston-Salem State
5-2
99
5
4.
Chowan
5-2
96
7
5.
Virginia State
5-2
73
4
6.
Virginia Union
4-3
61
3
7.
Albany State
3-2
54
8
8.
Clark Atlanta
5-2
46
9
9.
Miles College
3-3
21
6
10.
Kentucky State
3-4
14
NR
Others receiving votes
Lane, Langston, Morehouse, Central State, Shaw, West Va. State, Livingstone, Benedict
SAVANNAH, Georgia -- They’ve been knocked down and keep getting up, an admirable quality for any football player but almost a prerequisite for a Savannah State quarterback.
