Jackson State receiver can't shake SWAC championship loss to Grambling

JACKSON, Miss. -- Keenan Tillman was little more than a pleasant surprise in 2008. The Jackson State receiver started all season - an accomplishment for any freshman. His numbers (23 receptions, 300 yards) weren't mind-boggling, but they were more than acceptable for someone who was supposed to be overshadowed by three upperclassmen on an offense that didn't exactly make opposing defenses sweat.

Jackson State wide receiver Keenan Tillman takes a hit from TSU's Nahshon Bigham. Tillman got a first down on the play as the ball pops out.

Apparently, "acceptable" didn't sit well with Tillman. "After that (SWAC) championship game, it left a bitter taste in my mouth," he explained. "I don't know ... by the end of this year I don't want that same taste in my mouth. "Every time I go in the weight room and am getting tired, I think about that game and what Grambling did and how they embarrassed us." If the 2009 spring session is any indication, it will be Tillman embarrassing defensive backs in the fall.

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FAMU Rattlers inconsistent in last spring football practice

Taylor does a simulation of Delaware State

Running back Philip Sylvester made his usual big runs. Quarterback Curtis Pulley found a few gaps and his backup Eddie Battle connected with receivers in spots. There were even some big hits by the FAMU's defense, but coach Joe Taylor didn't see the consistency he'd hoped for during Thursday's final spring football practice.

"We've got to finish; every play, every quarter, every half," Taylor said. "It's been a great spring, but I don't know if today was a good finish. "I don't know if the intensity was where it should have been today. I don't think we saw the kind of intensity that we needed to see." Cornerback Curtis Holcomb said he would have especially liked the defense to go out with a little more momentum.

Photo Gallery: Last Spring Practice

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The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Addition of Texas Southern underwhelming at best

Texas Southern's AD Charles McClelland takes step up from Texas College and Texas State by adding road games with Louisiana-Monroe and Rutgers to Tigers 2009 schedule for Coach Johnnie Cole second season.

Rutgers loads schedule with cupcakes -- Howard Bison (Sept. 12), Texas Southern, Florida International and Army.

The Scarlet-White game is tomorrow, Rutgers Stadium’s expansion is taking shape and the open slot in the "Rutgers University" 2009 schedule has finally been filled. With Texas Southern. From the Southwest Athletic Conference. Really.

I’m not knocking the thought of a second Football Championship Subdivision (I-AA if you will) opponent, but when Morgan State and Norfolk State look like USC compared to these guys, excuse me if I’m a little underwhelmed. Texas Southern was all of 4-8 last season, falling to mighty 6-6 Arkansas State in a close 83-10 slobberknocker. Three of its four wins were against non-Division I opponents Shaw, Texas College and Concordia College, and they were an impressive 1-6 in the SWAC.

To Rutgers’ credit, it’s not like they didn’t try to get a better opponent. “We have worked diligently for months to complete our 2009 schedule with a Football Bowl Subdivision team,” Athletic Director Tim Pernetti said in a press release. “We were unable to convince any of the institutions with openings to come to Rutgers, including numerous BCS conference opponents.” If they waited this long and worked this hard to try to schedule a better opponent, so be it. I commend that effort. But to settle for Texas Southern is unacceptable. But there are still a bunch of positives to come out of this.

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Coach K won't say if Casey Printers his type

But ex-Ticat welcome at tryouts, Kelly says

He's been labelled a clubhouse cancer and a prima donna. And if you were to paint a picture to best describe quarterback Casey Printers' days with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, it would almost certainly involve a mushroom cloud, an enormous crater and several kilometres of scorched earth. And now, just a few weeks after vehemently denying any interest in his services, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are tap-dancing around weekend reports emanating from a Vancouver radio station that Printers is suddenly in their plans.

QB Casey Printers (Florida A&M Rattlers - 2002) has dropped in one season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from the top paid player in the CFL to unemployed professional quarterback.

"It's beyond me how this story has taken on a life of it's own," head coach Mike Kelly said from San Diego, where the Bombers conducted a free-agent tryout camp on the weekend. "Right now, we're just looking for good players (the club has two more camps scheduled in the next month). These are open tryouts. Joe Montana might walk out and say, 'Hey, I want to throw the ball around' and we'll say, 'OK, let's see what you got.' "I can't turn anybody away from these workouts."

That may be true, but despite his considerable skill set and his glowing credentials -- Printers was the CFL's Most Outstanding Player in 2004 -- the Bombers have until this point repeatedly spit out a polite "no thanks" when his name popped up in recent weeks. They vehemently denied interest in him in January when rumours surfaced that Printers would be traded to the Bombers for Kevin Glenn. And last month, when Printers was cut adrift by the Ticats, the Bombers took a pass on him as well.



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Extra text-ures

ASU moves ahead with plan to upgrade athletic facilities

Excerpt:

ASU's board of trustees ap­proved two proposals in recent weeks that call for the construc­tion of a new football complex and a complete overhaul of the team's practice field, including the installation of synthetic turf. The football complex project, which is still in the "early plan­ning stage," will cost the school around $6 million, according to Kippy Tate, ASU's vice presi­dent for buildings and grounds, and has an estimated time of completion of 18 months. The new two-story building will be approximately 25,000 square feet and will be located on the north side of Hornet Stadium, where the school's old bus barn currently stands.

Under those current plans, which Tate said are far from be­ing finalized, the bottom floor of the facility will contain the stan­dard facilities for players, in­cluding a locker room, trainer's room, meeting areas and an aca­demic center for tutoring of all student-athletes. The second floor will primarily consist of coaches' offices, a lounge and meeting areas. The field project, which will cost the school around $900,000 and is close to entering the bid­ding stage of the process, should be completed prior to fall drills in August. The new Sprinturf synthetic turf will be identical to the turf in place at Cramton Bowl, where the Hornets play their home games.

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McDonald gives JSU Tigers motivated backup QB

In an ideal world, Jackson State coach Rick Comegy would carry five quarterbacks on the roster. He has just three this spring, and a lot of that has to do with Dedric McDonald. The JSU coaching staff was very selective during the recruiting process last year and just a few quarterbacks drew interest. None signed, but it wasn't the end of the world. "Dedric puts us, not in a comfort zone, but we know we've got a guy that can throw the home run, hit the soft pass and can run," Comegy said. "He does make up for saying, 'Well, we didn't get that guy.' "

McDonald redshirted his freshman year after graduating from Morton. He ran the scout team all year, going against one of the best defenses in the nation on a daily basis. At 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, McDonald stands tall in the pocket and seems to put a perfect spiral on every pass. His arm strength has never been questioned, but his touch has improved since last year and he's carrying himself much differently. "He does throw a very catchable ball, Dedric just seems so natural," receiver Keenan Tillman said. "The difference in Dedric, his first year he accepted that he was a redshirt. This year ... he's more into it. He wants to compete for that starting job.

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Taylor sees good things at FAMU scrimmage

Rattlers All-American KR LeRoy Vann

There were enough good signs during Saturday's practice for Florida A&M football coach Joe Taylor to beam with optimism about his team. Running back Philip Sylvester toyed with the interior defensive linemen, then darted through some holes to score twice. Receiver Kevin Elliott made a leaping catch for another touchdown and quarterback Curtis Pulley showed more efficiency with his passes.

On a scale of 1 to 10, Taylor rated the performance by both the offense and defense as an eight. He also said the team will begin preparation for its season opener against Delaware State, starting with the final two spring practices next week. "We are doing some good things, and like I told them -- all you ever want in life is a chance," Taylor said. "You give yourself a chance when you're competitive. I'm very, very convinced that we will be very competitive this year."

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