KEYS: First four games not easy for Southern University

Baton Rouge, LA - Reciting them from memory, one by one, Southern University football coach Stump Mitchell listed the first four games of this year’s schedule, barely stopping long enough to blink. “After that, I don’t know,” he said. You’ll have to forgive the man for not looking too far ahead.

Mitchell’s pivotal second season at SU could hinge on how well the Jaguars navigate their way through a rock ‘em-sock ‘em September schedule, which goes like this: Tennessee State, Alabama A&M, Jackson State and Florida A&M. No fluff. No filler. No breaks.

If the Jaguars somehow thrive in those first four games, they’re in for a great year.If not ... well, remember how last season went?

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Blue signs track scholarship with Morehouse

ELLAVILLE, GA — Jeremy Blue came out of nowhere in the spring to win the Class A championship in the discus. In the process, he broke a 21-year record with his throw of 167 feet, 9 inches as he became Schley County’s second athlete (Carmetrick Ross) to win a state championship in track.

Blue is already throwing a college discus, which weighs almost a pound more than the high school discus, at 151 feet, which would still win the state championship. Blue is taking his throws to Morehouse College, hoping he can continue his success at the collegiate level.

“I’m amazed,” said Blue. “I didn’t think I’d be able to do it, but I’m here now, and I’m ready.”

Blue’s throw would have won all classes this year with the exception of 4A, which went to Georgia freshman football player Ray Drew.

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FAMU Rattlers feeling good about replacements at cornerback

Tallahassee, FL - When All-American cornerbacks Curtis Holcomb and Qier Hall completed their eligibility at Florida A&M last season, they left a glaring hole in the secondary.

Rattlers coach Joe Taylor wasn't too concerned, though. After all, he had three qualified replacements, led by Marvin Ross who has the most experience of the trio. While Ross has clearly established himself as a starter, Jerral Stewart and Terry Johnson also are contending for one of the two positions at corner.

The competition isn't over, though, and Ross knows it. "Coming into the starting role, I've got to play hard, use the techniques," he said. "We had Holcomb and Hall and they gave me a lot of help and study. "I took advantage of it because there was no reason to sit back. They were experienced guys. Qier and Curtis gave us a lot of encouragement."

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Ammons intends to improve FAMU facilities

Dr. James Ammons, FAMU President

Tallahassee, FL - Smack-dab in the middle of a drive down Wahnish Way, through the Florida A&M campus sits the attractive Lawson Center, home of the Rattlers' basketball and volleyball teams.

From inside the glass-laden building, one view is of a section of athletic facilities that includes softball, tennis and a drawn-down Olympic-size swimming pool. A short walk through the state-of-the art Lawson Center brings into view Bragg Stadium, which hasn't had a major renovation in more than 30 years.

Three short blocks south of the Lawson Center sits FAMU's baseball field, which also is in need of upgrades. Just about every one of the venues where the Rattlers play is high on the must-do list of FAMU president James Ammons.

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ASU Hornets wrap up preseason camp, head to class

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- The Alabama State University football team ended preseason camp Tuesday afternoon at Hornet Stadium.

With fall classes beginning Wednesday, the Hornets will not practice tomorrow and will resume practice Thursday and Friday at 3:30 p.m., prior to a Saturday scrimmage at 9 a.m.
The Hornets had one practice Tuesday afternoon in full pads, their 15th practice over a two-week period that began on August 3.

"We have a group that has come together, that has been working hard and doing some good things," head coach Reggie Barlow said as he assessed the team's status at the end of camp. "We have a host of guys we know are going to show up on a daily basis, like Kynjee Cotton, DreQuay Everett, T.C. McWilliams, Greg Jenkins just to name a few, and I really admire those guys. We have some other guys that are coming along also."


ASU New Hornets Stadium Flyover Graphics (Bootleg Version I provided by ASUcheerguy) See the real deal at: BAMASTATESPORTS

Barlow likes how the team has progressed but will look for continued improvement with the Sept. 3 season opener at Mississippi Valley State just 18 days away.

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ASU Rams on No. 9 preseason ranking: ‘We are blessed’

ALBANY, GA — The Albany State football team stepped onto the practice field Tuesday as one of the Top 10 Division II teams in the nation, but coach Mike White said he isn’t even thinking twice about the preseason honor.

The Rams are tied for ninth in the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 Division II Preseason Coaches’ Poll, which was released Monday. ASU ended last season ranked fourth in the national poll. This season, the Rams received 379 votes and are tied with Bloomsburg (Penn.) to start their 2011 campaign.

Several ASU players echoed their coach’s belief Tuesday that rankings — especially those in the preseason — matter very little.

“The rankings really don’t matter,” senior running back Darryl Carey said. “We come out here and work hard every day and expect to be a good team. When we come out here on this field, we practice hard, we work hard in the offseason, we have some great coaches, and we are blessed to be on the field.”

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Southern University linebacker corps deeper this year

Baton Rouge, LA - Now in his fifth season at Southern University, senior linebacker Corey Ray knows the drill. He’s used to it. Every preseason, he said, players and coaches naturally believe they’ll be better than they were the year before.

“We said the same thing during camp last year,” Ray said. Of course, they weren’t better.

The Jaguars went 2-9 in their first season under Stump Mitchell, and the linebackers had their share of disappointing moments. All too often, in crucial third-down situations, SU linebackers blew assignments, missed tackles or did both at the same time. As a result, opponents had 58 third-down conversions last season, forcing Southern’s defense to stay on the field and wear down in the second half.

So why, then, will this season really be...



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Southern Linebackers at a glance
LINEBACKERS

POSITION COACH: O’Neill Gilbert.

PROJECTED STARTERS: Demetrius Bentley, Corey Ray, Jamie Payton, Corry Roy.

ON THE BENCH: Franchot West, Jared Detrick, Javandon Vallare, Robert Sanchez, Larry Johnson, Christian Allen, Daniel Brown.

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