Florida A&M's George Small Is The Coach's Coach

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  -  Coach Joe Taylor never claims his successes have been the work of one person. Rather, he always emphasizes the work of the conglomerate that feeds success. For years, Taylor's right-hand-man has been George Small, who carries among other titles, associate head coach.

Small is no ordinary associate head coach, because he has had two stints at head coach. In two separate instances, legendary head coaches have inspired him to pursue head coaching offers. "When I was working for coach (Eddie) Robinson at Grambling, he pushed me to the head coaching job at Kentucky State with his graces. He said I was ready to be a head coach. He said he didn't want to lose me, but he had a strong feeling that I was ready to take charge," Small said. The second opportunity came as Small was assistant coach with Joe Taylor at Hampton University. "Joe encouraged me to take the job at North Carolina A&T when that head coaching position became available," he added.

Small is in his second stint at FAMU. Under Ken Riley, Small was the defensive coordinator in 1993. After time at NC A&T, where he won the MEAC championship in 2003, Small was contacted by Taylor as he was selected the 15th head coach of Florida A&M. He currently serves as associate head coach and defensive line coach. With several successful athletes such as Jerry Willis, Kendrick Washington and Marquiste Ramos to his credit, Small is known for getting the maximum out of his players.



"It has been a tremendous blessing to have worked with two of the best black college coaches of all-time. When coach Taylor called me in Texas and said he wanted me to come with him to help build this program back up, I told him FAMU isn't a bad place to be. Being here at FAMU before, under coach Riley, I remember us having some fine players. Earl Holmes was one of our players at that time and to see his maturity to this point is a lesson I use to motivate my players. It's very heartwarming when I see him passing on lessons he learned from us," Small said.

Taylor gives Small credit for his gift of cohesiveness. "As a head coach, you always need someone on your staff that you can turn to at every junction. George has taken on things within the staff that never need to make it to me. He handles the logistics of our travel and hotels and things that require some leadership. He solves the problem or makes the issue better just as I would...or better," Taylor said with a smile.

Small is in his fifth season in his return to FAMU and he couldn't be happier. "To come back and be around these guys is like coming home. This literally gives me chills. FAMU has always treated me well and the people have always treated me well, so it's been a great relationship since day one when I came here in the 90s," Small said.

Small's Christian faith is the force that drives him. A native of Radford, NC, a small town in the southeast portion of the state, Small excelled as an athlete at Hoke County High School. He was recruited by NC A&T and was successful playing both offensive and defensive line. He earned All-MEAC honors, while serving as captain of the Aggies his senior season. He was a Pittsburgh Courier All-American, and went on to a five-year career in the NFL with the New York Giants, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers.

With those experiences, Small is the perfect fit for the Rattlers. He is part of a coaching staff that has had tremendous success in graduating athletes, while maintaining their integrity off the field of play. "A lot of the focus of our athletes starts with coach Taylor. I feed off of his lead and we've worked well over the years, keeping everything in the right mold for our players to be successful on and off the field," Small said.

Taylor describes Small as the glue that holds the whole team together. On Small's part, he graciously accepts that role and is very excited about this upcoming season. "When you look at the guys on the staff, all of these guys have been successful. It makes it easier for our kids to buy in when they are being coached by former NFL players and successful college players. They (coaches) are good guys that I love to be around and have no doubt in my mind that eventually, they'll have their own programs to run," he added.

Small credits focus during the Summer as the factors that improve the team. "It's the Fall now, and I put outside things out of my mind...I don't have time for anything else but football. My focus is here. I stay focused on our goals and objectives for the season and reiterate to our players that we can't focus on anything that isn't in line with our goal. Things beyond our control, we'll have to let God handle those, but we have to do what we are supposed to do," he concluded.


Florida A&M University Gospel Choir sings "I Won't Complain", led by Karen Clark-Sheard (The Clark Sisters).

COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Tennessee State Tigers Camp: Scrimmage Ends Week One

NASHVILLE, Tennessee - The first scrimmage of fall camp on a beautiful Saturday morning marked the end of the first week of practice for Tennessee State.

After a good day of practice on Friday, the offense struggled a bit at time on Saturday.

"I was a little disappointed in our offensive production," head coach Rod Reed said. "Not so much overall, but we threw three interceptions today. That’s not good by any standard. We’ve got to protect the football and we’ve got to keep the football off the ground."

On the flip side, Reed said that he was pleased with the production from the defense.

"We got after it a bit on defense today. We had two or three sacks, three picks. Anytime you get that kind of output from your defense, that’s a good day for you."

Even though the weather conditions were perfect, that's not necessarily great for getting the players in shape for the upcoming season.

"Mother Nature has been pretty good to us," said Reed. "That’s why you see us conditioning a lot more after practice. Normally on a two-a-day you wouldn’t condition, but the elements were so great today, we had to get some conditioning in after practice. I feel real comfortable where we are shape wise. Our guys did a good job this summer running."TSU holds its' first two-a-day today as the Big Blue works on special teams at 5:45pm.



With Sunday off, the second week of camp starts on Monday at 9:15am. Practice is open to the public. All sessions will be outside at the practice field unless there is inclement weather.

Fan Day Set

TSU Fan Day will be Saturday, Aug. 25 at the indoor practice facility. Fans are invited to come out and collect autographs and photos with the 2012 football team.

Kick-Off Times Confirmed

TSU Athletics announced on Wednesday that kick-off times have been set for all home games. The John Merritt Classic against Florida A&M is slated for a 6 pm contest on Sept. 1.

All Hale Stadium games (Austin Peay - Sept. 15, Eastern Kentucky - Oct. 6 and Tennessee Tech - Oct. 27) are scheduled for a 1 pm start time. TSU kicks off Homecoming against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Sept. 29 at 5pm.

2012 TSU FOOTBALL CAMP SCHEDULE

Monday, Aug. 13 - Practice (full) - 9:15-11:30am
Tuesday, Aug. 14 - Scrimmage - 7:30-9:30am/Special Teams 5:45-7:45pm
Wednesday, Aug. 15 - Practice (full) - 9:15-11:30am
Thursday, Aug. 16 - Scrimmage - 7:30-9:30am/Special Teams 5:45-7:45pm
Friday, Aug. 17 - Practice (full) - 9:15-11:30am

Follow TSU Athletics on Facebook.com/TSUTigers and Twitter @TSU_Tigers.

Large crowd shows for Fan Day - FAMU fans upbeat about season

TALLAHASSEE, Florida - FAMU’s football fans didn’t come out to the Lawson Center on Saturday afternoon just to get autographs, collect posters and the miniature footballs that were given away.

They were seriously into their team, expressing optimism that if the Rattlers get through a tough September, they should finish well. Some even went as far as to take objection to the fourth-place finish predicted for their team.

“I’m pretty sure this is going to be our year,” James Alison said. “I don’t care what they were picked. I’m talking about something I know. They are going to be No. 1. I know the talent is here.”

Alison arrived in a motorized chair. He would have been a player for Jake Gaither, he said, if the legendary coach didn’t think he was too small when he tried out during the 1950s.

His loyalty as a fan goes that far back. And even with back issues that left him relying on a powered chair to get around, he said he couldn’t miss getting his meeting with the players on Fan Day.

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Howard Bison holds first intra-squad scrimmage

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Howard University head football coach Gary "Flea" Harrell will be looking to evaluate the team's progress after its first week of practice during an intra-squad scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 11 at 1:00 p.m. in William H. Greene Stadium.

"We were able to get the football conditioning in this week," said Harrell, who begins his second year at the helm. "Right now the defense is a little ahead of the offense, so we will be looking to get better timing in the passing game, limit the penalties, get the defense off the field and smooth transitioning from offense to defense and special teams."

One segment of the offense, which has seen the stiffest competition, is the running game. Senior running back Terrance Lefall, who rushed for a career-high 839 yards last season, has an edge on the competition, but Harrell adds that sophomore Aquanius Freeman, seniors Charles Brice and Jarren Brown, have all looked good along with freshman William Parker and freshman walk-on Addison Clopton.

The receiving crop is relatively inexperienced with the loss of playmakers Willie Carter and Brandon Drayton. Sophomores Stewart Hartman and Rodney "DJ" Tyson and juniors Clayton Gidron and Brandon Flanagan have a year under their belt in the system. Harrell made special mention of a couple of talented freshmen Jonathan Booker and Matt Colvin, as two players who could bring much-needed speed to the unit.

An area of concern each season has been the kicking game. The Bison had special teams miscues that proved to be costly in a couple of winnable games. To address that, Harrell brought in a kicker and a long snapper that he is excited about.

"We have been very pleased with freshman John Fleck," said Harrell. "He has been able to get kickoffs in the end zone, which is big for us and he gets good hang time on his punts."

He continued. "Matthew Poulin has been tremendous so far. He has shown great consistency on his snaps. He is going to be an outstanding long snapper."

The 2012 Bison season opener is slated for Saturday, Sept. 1 when the Bison take on Morehouse College in the AT&T Nation's Football Classic at 3:30 p.m. in RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

Visit the official Howard University athletics website at www.howard-bison.com for more information on HU football.

COURTESY HOWARD UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

AT&T Nation's Football Classic® Morehouse vs Howard

Williams embracing role as captain for Southern football

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - During Virgil Williams’ freshman season at Southern, someone called the cornerback “Virgil Island.” 

It’s a nod to “Revis Island” — the phrase trademarked by New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis to describe that any receiver he’s defending is stranded — and Williams’ nickname stuck. It’s now his Twitter handle, as well as his mission every time he hits the field.

“They have confidence in me to lock any receiver down on any play,” Williams said. “That’s pretty much the mentality I’ve been approaching every game with.”

As Southern enters the season looking for vast improvements across the board, there are many questions yet to be answered. Williams isn’t one of them. The Jaguars know what to expect out of the junior from Shreveport: a shutdown corner and dynamic return man.

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Could Bethune-Cookman Land Mathieu? Not as Far Fetched as You Might Think

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida  —  As soon as the shocking news rocked the college football world on Friday that former Heisman Trophy Finalist and LSU defensive back Tyrann Mathieu was released from the team for violating school and team policies, I immediately reached out to a media colleague of mine to discuss possibilities about where he would continue his football career.

Knowing Mathieu had two years of eligibility left eliminated the notion he would choose a Division II school, (much like former University of Florida DB Janoris Jenkins had done when selecting South Alabama), so we started to wonder aloud what Football Championship Subdivision programs might be a good fit for him.

We went through the local universities such as Southern, Grambling and McNeese State and formulated arguments as to why those schools would have the inside track on landing him. We also wondered whether he would seriously consider Alabama State who had just acquired former University of Georgia freshman phenom Isaiah Crowell.

We ended the conversation jokingly discussing the possibility of him landing at Bethune-Cookman and speculated on ...

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