Concordia-Selma looks to coach's fast tempo

SELMA, Alabama - When the Concordia-Selma football team takes the field, whether it's for practice or games, the players are expected to play at the "Skanes Tempo." That's the name Hornets head coach Shepherd Skanes branded his style.

"It's fast-paced football," Skanes said. "They have to play fast in all three phases of the game for four quarters. I preach that to the team all the time."

In 2011, the "Skanes Tempo" produced a 6-4 record and NAIA Concordia was tabbed the co-independent program of the year among historically black colleges and universities by TSPNsports.com.  Skanes was named coach of the year.  With nine starters returning on offense and seven on defense, Skanes believes the Hornets will have another successful season in 2012.

"We have got to stay focused," he said. "If we do that and keep the tempo I want, I think this could be another big year for our football program."

A big part of Skanes' optimism is centered on the return of junior quarterback Keith Ray. Skanes calls the Hornets leader "Mr. Everything."

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Isaiah Crowell ‘happy,’ seeking fresh start at Alabama State

MONTGOMERY, Alabama  -  About 225 miles from Athens, in the opposite direction from where most people will be looking when the college football season opens, you can find Isaiah Crowell here.

Take the last exit of I-85 south, make a left under the overpass and drive straight down Decatur and into the projects. There you will see a weathered sign reading, “Hornets Stadium,” and a football practice field bordered on one side by a small college campus and on the other by less-than-idyllic surroundings.



“The culture is a little different here,” Alabama State coach Reggie Barlow said with understatement.

Barlow, the seventh year coach, said that when he met Crowell, he found him “regretful for what had happened. I remember when he was here for his visit, I heard him whisper to his mom, ‘Thank God for a fresh start.’ I didn’t say anything. But I saw Isaiah walking around and looking. He seemed relieved that somebody was ready to embrace him again and give him a second chance.”

Alabama State is in the midst of a makeover. A 30-year, $600 million wish list of constructions projects includes several new athletic facilities, including a $62 million football stadium scheduled to open on ...

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Morris Brown College seeks federal protection, hopes to prevent auction of campus

Bishop Preston W. Williams II, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Morris Brown College address supporters on the status of Morris Brown College. The historically black institution today filed for Chapter 11 Reorganization in the Federal Bankruptcy Court in Atlanta.

ATLANTA, Georgia - Morris Brown College officials have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a last ditch effort to prevent the 131-year-old school from being foreclosed on and sold at auction, and to give them time to regroup.

Morris Brown, which is more than $30 million in debt, was facing foreclosure next month after investors called $13 million worth of bonds tied to the college. The bonds were issued by the Fulton County Development Authority in 1996. As security for the bonds, Morris Brown pledged several pieces of property, including the school's administration building. An auction of assets had been scheduled for Sept. 4.

"The trustees are taking several deliberate actions to insure that we not only survive, but thrive," board Chairman Preston W. Williams said Saturday. "Our commitment is to focus on restructuring and making it possible for us to survive another day."

Chapter 11 is part of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, which permits reorganization and gives federal protection to businesses unable to pay their debts.

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Ex-Wildcat returns as B-CU quarterback's coach

MATT JOHNSON
(COURTESY B-CU ATHLETICS)

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida - Graduate assistants coaches usually don't have a lot of heavy lifting to do, other than maybe lifting some heavy equipment. Grad assistants are like the scout team of college football coaching. It's where you pay your dues.

But Bethune-Cookman coach Brian Jenkins is bucking the trend by giving the keys to his newest grad assistant, Matt Johnson. The 2010 Jake Gaither Award winner will be the Wildcats' quarterback's coach this season while working on his master's degree, Jenkins said during B-CU's media day Sunday at Municipal Stadium.

"I've been impressed already with the things he has been able to do with the quarterbacks and some of the things he's noticed offensively," Jenkins said of Johnson, who has been with the team since the beginning of training camp on Aug. 2.

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TSU running back Trabis Ward sets sights on record books

NASHVILLE, Tennessee - Trabis Ward checked the Tennessee State record books in the offseason and then checked with his offensive line.

The junior running back from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., thought his linemen should be the first to know that he had set a goal to break the Tigers’ single-season rushing record this season.

Ward gained 978 yards last season despite being sidelined with an ankle injury for two games and part of another.



He spent the summer in an intense workout program with former Miami Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder. The record is 1,739 yards set by Charles Anthony in 2004.

“I got injured in the (Sept. 24) Air Force game last year and then missed two other games and was still just 22 yards away from 1,000,” Ward said. “I also split carries last year with Dante’ Thomas. That showed me that I could do something special this year, so I checked the school rushing record and I believe it’s something I should be able to break.”

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Southern University basketball team expecting uphill climb in 2012

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  -  Last year, men’s basketball coach Roman Banks brought the excitement back to Southern, engineering a 13-win turnaround that saw the 17-14 Jaguars finish second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

That means an older, wiser group will go even further in Year 2 under Banks, right?

It’s too early to say “wrong,” but after a ton of offseason comings and goings, it will certainly be an uphill climb.

Of the 12 players on last season’s roster, seven are gone, and Banks will have to re-teach his system to seven newcomers in what’s essentially a second first-go-round.

“This is going to be like a brand-new year because we have so many new guys and so many first-year players,” Banks said. “We have to take baby steps just like we did last year.”

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Fort Valley State hoping for improvements up front

FORT VALLEY, Georgia  -  The line is where everything on the offensive side of the ball begins or ends.  And a year ago, Fort Valley State’s offensive line had a season it would certainly like to forget, like pretty much the rest of the team.

That unit caught plenty of heat for the many woes of the offense, which were affected by injuries to FVSU’s top two quarterbacks and shuffling in the backfield.

FVSU was 110th nationally in Division II in rushing (115.7 yards per game), 97th in passing (188.7 yards per game), 114th in pass efficiency (108.66 rating) and 126th in total offense (304.4 yards per game) out of 152 teams.

And the Wildcats were ...

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