Joseph edges Douglas in QB battle at Southern scrimmage

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - Southern football coach Stump Mitchell didn’t waste much time getting to the point.

There were many topics of discussion after the Jaguars’ first scrimmage of fall camp on Saturday, but Mitchell cut straight to the one on SU fans’ minds: the quarterback battle between Dray Joseph and J.P. Douglas.

“I thought Dray played the best — and I know that’s what everybody wants to know — out of the two quarterbacks,” Mitchell said. “J.P. made some mental errors, and he just has to do what we ask him to do and not try too much.”

Joseph was a surprise participant after being held out of Friday’s practice with a blister on his right big toe, but the junior wasn’t about to hand Douglas a day with the spotlight to himself.

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MEAC Announces Policy on NCAA Postseason Bans

NORFOLK, Virginia - The MEAC announced that team's ineligible to compete in NCAA postseason activities will not be eligible to compete for the conference's regular season championship title in the specific sport.

In addition, the ineligible teams' head coach will not be allowed to win the Coach of the Year honor for regular season competition and their teams will not earn points towards the conference's All-Sports tally during the ineligible season.

All MEAC games will be counted towards the overall conference standings despite the team's postseason eligibility. An ineligible team will not be considered the conference's regular season champion if the team finished with the best overall MEAC record. The title will be awarded to the highest team eligible for postseason competition and earn the conference's automatic qualification to the NCAA playoffs.


FROM MEAC PRESS RELEASE

S.C. State gets in first scrimmage on rainy evening

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina - Playing inside the Georgia Dome in Atlanta will keep rainy weather from being a factor in the Aug. 30 season opener for South Carolina State.

The wet conditions did almost prevent the Bulldogs from holding their first scrimmage Saturday at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium. However, head coach Buddy Pough pressed forward with the 100-play, two-hour scrimmage and came away with a valuable assessment of his team.

“It was more important than anything else to get it in,” he said. “The fact that we play on the same kind of surface (as Georgia State) and we got as much work as what we got done, which was most important. So, I’m extremely happy with the fact that we got a lot of work done tonight and, of course, we got a lot of film and it gives you a chance to get a lot of guys an opportunity to get out here and kind of show a little bit. So it gives us now some information for further consideration down the road.”

Both the offenses and defenses had their share of highlights during the scrimmage. Returning quarterbacks Richard Cue and Derrick and TeDarius Wiley all had ...

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Mistakes haunt Jones after Alabama A&M's first scrimmage, but defense is stout

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- When Alabama A&M defensive coordinator Brawnski Towns pronounced the Bulldogs' defense was "way ahead of the offense" after Saturday's intrasquad scrimmage, it wasn't some idle boasting.

It was the inevitability most teams discover on a summer's first scrimmage, coupled here by A&M's experience on the defensive front and a raft of injuries on the O-line. Said Towns, "We should be in control."

It was obvious from the offensive output, with only one touchdown -- a deft, pinballing run from Brendan Johnson, a 5-7 sophomore from Atlanta -- in 68 snaps.

It was also a warning to his defense that the next scrimmage "will be a different story. ... We've got to get focused for the second time around," he said.

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Lane Dragons plan to rise in SIAC

JACKSON, Tennessee - Last year’s Lane College football team won four games out of ten. After a winless 2010, that record indicated a huge improvement.
Three weekends from the start of the 2012 season, Lane plans on showing major growth again.

“We’re excited about the upcoming season,” head coach Derrick Burroughs said Saturday morning at the team’s Media Day. “Every position has improved this summer,” senior running back Evan Yabu said.

It will be interesting to see how Lane’s offense develops in the coming weeks.

The coaching staff must choose a starting quarterback out of five competing for the position. Offensive coordinator Malik Hoskins said the staff would name the starter “as soon as possible.”



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Alabama A&M Football: WHS grad Hunt set for SWAC foes

NORMAL, Alabama -- After two years of sand, sandstorms and radiating heat, Wetumpka High grad Winston Hunt has parlayed his New Mexico Military experience into an Alabama A&M scholarship.

“(A&M) had a great atmosphere,” said Hunt. “It felt like home.”

After two years at New Mexico Military, Hunt earned a starting job at right tackle.

He is expected to be in the Bulldogs’ fray for that same position.

“Here, there are better players and better competition,” said Hunt.

Choosing Alabama A&M, was in essence, a second trip through the recruiting carosel.

Arkansas Pine Bluff, Alabama State and Florida A&M had shown interest in the 6-foot-7, 310-pound tackle.



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Jackson State Tigers dream of 'Honey Badger'

JACKSON, Mississippi - Just like the rest of the college football world, word of Tyrann Mathieu's dismissal from LSU had the T.B. Ellis Annex buzzing by the time Friday's practice rolled around.

It's possible that Mathieu, a Heisman Trophy finalist as a sophomore last season, could wind up at an FCS school. With a need at cornerback - Mathieu's position, could JSU be a possible fit? Perhaps.

"I would definitely check into what he did and then take it to my athletic director so she was aware of everything," JSU coach Rick Comegy said. "We definitely want young men of character and a good kid. He'd have to be a fit."

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