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Baton Rouge, LA - Thursday afternoon, during the first practice of preseason camp, Southern University’s defense forced four turnovers in the first 30 minutes. If the defense is that productive during games, it could be in for a record-breaking year. On the other hand, if the offense is that sloppy, Southern could be in for another disaster.
During last year’s 2-9 season, the Jaguars had a minus-3 turnover margin, ranking eighth in the 10-team Southwestern Athletic Conference. Now, naturally, they’re looking for a better number. A positive number. It is, of course, a two-sided affair: The offense wants fewer mistakes, while the defense wants to force more mistakes.
“We have to get turnovers on this team and give our offense some great field position,” defensive coordinator O’Neill Gilbert said.
Tallahassee, FL - Running back LaVante Page could have been speaking for any of the other Florida A&M football players who endured Thursday's scorching heat to prove their physical condition by running a 300-meter shuttle drill.
"It's burning," said Page, the last player to complete the test that was supervised by strength and conditioning coach Russell Barbarino on the team's practice field. It culminated a series of physical testing for the Rattlers that included power clean, bench press, 225-pound rep test and the vertical and agility jumps.
A handful of players who succumbed to the 90-plus degree heat will have to give the 300-yard run between cones another shot to earn a passing score. The team begins preseason practice on Wednesday, following another round of physical drills, Barbarino said.
"This kind of test not only determines if a person is in shape, but it tests... READ MORE
Baton Rouge, LA - Southern University football players report for preseason camp Wednesday intent on restoring pride to their program. In years to come, they’ll fly across the country for big games against big teams, who will presumably cut some big paychecks.
SU coach Stump Mitchell said his program has agreed in principle to play two future away games against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents - New Mexico in 2012 and Georgia in 2015. Yes, that’s correct: The University of Georgia.
“This class we’re bringing in right now - a lot of them will be (fifth-year) seniors when we play there,” Mitchell said. “These guys understand we have to take care of business now. But for them, that year is when they’ll go from being a young pup to a grown man.”
Mitchell said that without a permanent athletic director, he has taken temporary responsibility of scheduling future games, though he added that Chancellor James Llorens “has to sign off on it.”
Savannah, GA - The late Bill Davis’ unique recruiting pitch lured Shannon Sharpe to Savannah State back in the mid-1980s, sending him on a football journey that will culminate with his enshrinement Saturday in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Davis envisioned great things for the tall and slender kid from Glennville. But even Sharpe wasn’t absolutely convinced that his would-be coach was telling the truth.
“He said, ‘if I owned an NFL team and if I had the first pick in the draft, you’d be the first player off the board,’” said Sharpe in a telephone interview Tuesday.
With his older brother, Sterling, already shining at South Carolina and headed toward a first-round selection in the NFL draft, Shannon bit on the cheese Davis left for him. He wanted to follow Sterling into the NFL.
“When he told me that, it resonated with me,” Sharpe said. “I thought, obviously, here is a coach that thinks a lot about my ability and thinks I could add a lot to the program. It was the best choice that I could have made.”
CANTON, Ohio — It was during lunch when Shannon Sharpe understood that what he was really doing this weekend was rushing a fraternity.
The luncheon here Friday was for Pro Football Hall of Famers only. Gold jacket attire was mandatory. Sharpe didn't wear one, nor did anyone else in his Pro Football Hall class of 2011. That would come later Friday night at the formal gold jacket ceremony.
Deacon Jones, the original sack artist and star of the Fearsome Foursome for the Los Angeles Rams, was a featured speaker. Sharpe, as a newbie, a pledge, was not allowed to speak. But it was while he sat silently at attention that he was struck by the impact of his moment.
"When you play high school, you know there's college," Sharpe said. "When you play college, there are the pros. And the pros, you graduate to the Hall of Fame. And when you get to the Hall of Fame, that's it. That's your last stop."
Chicago, IL - Back in 1983, defensive end Richard Dent was an eighth-round selection out of Tennessee State by the Chicago Bears. Twenty-eight years later, Dent will find himself in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH. A member of the storied mid-1980s Bears defenses, Dent made his reputation in the league by becoming a feared sack artist. His 137-1/2 career sacks have him tied for sixth all-time with 2010 Hall of Fame inductee John Randle. But that doesn't tell the whole story of Dent's dominance.
After playing in all 16 games as a rookie, Dent followed that up in 1984 with 17-1/2 sacks, third best that year. He didn't let up in 1985, leading the league with 17 sacks. He was in midst of recording double-digit sacks in eight of 10 season from 1984-93. In 1993, Dent, 33, had 12-1/2 sacks, his last great season. He would float around the league for the next four seasons to San Francisco, back to Chicago, then in Indianapolis and finally finishing things with Philadelphia.
Dent garnered a number of awards during his 15-year career. He was the 1985 Super Bowl MVP, which saw him record 1-1/2 sacks in the Bears' 46-10 romp over the Patriots. He made four Pro Bowls...
Excerpt: TSU Took a Chance The defensive coordinator at Tennessee State, Joe Gilliam happened to be teaching a graduate course in public health. One of his students was William Lester, Dent’s coach at Murphy High in Atlanta. Gilliam was also responsible for recruiting in Georgia, and one spring day, he stopped by the school. Lester put in a tape and asked what he thought.
“I said, ‘I have cornerbacks that are bigger than Richard Dent and he’s an offensive tackle. He just won’t cut it, Coach,’” Gilliam said. Lester wouldn’t take no for an answer, though, and when fall practices started, Gilliam said he showed up with Dent in tow even though there was no scholarship offer.
“He says, ‘We can’t leave him in Atlanta. He won’t make it, Coach.’ I said, ‘I can understand. He comes from a pretty rough area and all that, but I just don’t have a scholarship for him.’ He says, ‘Coach, I can’t leave him. So I brought him.’ He says, ‘You do what you can for him. I know you'll do that.’ ”
He remembers Lester telling him, “Well, you got him” and then leaving.
ORLANDO, FL – Tickets for the 32nd Annual Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Classic, the traditional showdown between historically black institutions Bethune-Cookman University and Florida A&M University, are now on sale to the general public.
Tickets to America’s preeminent HBCU football game may be purchased at Ticketmaster.com, at the Amway Center box office, by phone (407.839.3900) or any Ticketmaster outlet. This year’s game will be played on Saturday, November 19 at 2:30 p.m. in Orlando’s Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium while being televised nationally on ESPN Classic.
Tickets are available for as low as $10.75 (3rd level, corner), while other seats are available at great price levels ($27 end zone, $37 goal line or lower-deck corner). Priority seating for the game is available with season ticket packages purchased through either B-CU or FAMU. For Wildcat ticket information, call 386.481.2202; for FAMU, call 850.599.3141.
Student tickets are available for $27 and may be purchased through the student’s respective school.
Group tickets (20 or more) may be purchased through Florida Citrus Sports (407.423.2476) or at the FCSports Box Office, located in the South end of the stadium (open Mon. and Wed., Noon – 4:00 p.m.; Fri., 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.).
Parking is on sale and available by visiting www.ClickandPark.com.
Fans should purchase their tickets at one of the approved locations listed above. Buying from any alternative source increases the risk of receiving a counterfeit ticket.
Proceeds from the BCBS of Florida Classic and all official ancillary events support the participating institution’s mission of providing educational opportunities through scholarships for all students.
Montgomery, AL - It didn't take two practices for Reggie Barlow to figure out his starting quarterback for the 2011 season. It might take a little longer to choose the backup.
Barlow said he wanted to wait on the start of preseason practice to name a starter in order to give last year's starter, Devin Dominguez, a chance to win his position. Dominguez, a star pitcher for the Hornets' baseball team, missed the spring under new offensive coordinator Fred Kaiss, then returned home to Indiana for the summer.
"Basically, it comes down to just playing football," Dominguez said. "All concepts are similar in the passing game. There are a lot more reads in the running game, but I'm coming along better than I thought. I thought I would be completely lost."
Dominguez started his career as a tight end and receiver for the Hornets, but...
Baton Rouge, LA - Thursday afternoon, during the first practice of preseason camp, Southern University’s defense forced four turnovers in the first 30 minutes. If the defense is that productive during games, it could be in for a record-breaking year. On the other hand, if the offense is that sloppy, Southern could be in for another disaster.
