Battle for fullback heats up for Rattlers

If Florida A&M football coach Joe Taylor had to name his starting fullback today, Ronald Jackson would be atop the depth chart. But that isn't stopping the next two players in line from mounting a fierce competition to at least make the process interesting during FAMU's spring practice. Kory McCloughen and Jonathon Smith are trying to make a statement for the role as Mykel Benson's replacement. Smith is coming off being idle last season when he had to sit out while recovering from an ailment that robbed his body of protein. McCloughen has given up waiting behind snapper Jay Culpepper.



They both understand the position isn't one that will get them a lot of attention, unless they have a phenomenal year. They do know it's a position that comes with the huge responsibility of getting the all-important short yardage, though. Benson got his assignment done most times. He had 19 carries for 63 yards and even scored four touchdowns that helped FAMU win pivotal games. There is more to the job, which Smith understands.

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SSU shows competitive edge in first scrimmage‎

Babb runs for two touchdowns; Hunter returns an INT for score

Neither the offense nor the defense dominated during the Savannah State football team's first scrimmage of spring practice Saturday morning at T.A. Wright Stadium. "It's a great sign," SSU interim head coach Julius Dixon said after the Tigers' 75-minute scrimmage in cold and windy conditions. "And the reason being, we're trying to emphasize competition." Defenses typically develop faster than offenses during spring drills and fall camp, so Dixon was excited to see offensive coordinator Alan Hall's spread offense produce three touchdowns.

Dixon, who also serves as defensive coordinator, was equally pleased to see his defensive unit intercept quarterback A.J. DeFilippis three times, including for a touchdown. SSU did not keep score or statistics. SSU struggled with fumbles, bad snaps, offsides penalties, dropped balls and receivers running incorrect routes. "We had too many mental errors out here today," Dixon said. "We want to try to stomp those out as soon as possible."

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JSU's Washington shows flashes of old form‎

Sam Washington sprang off the corner and bullied his way past an offensive tackle to sack quarterback Dedric McDonald in Jackson State's first scrimmage of the spring last Saturday. It was a familiar sight in 2007 and '08 when he recorded a combined 11 sacks. Everyone around the program was concerned when the defensive end was diagnosed with a pinched nerve in his back and had to miss all of 2009. Not only was the team losing a preseason All-SWAC selection, but it was the same injury Washington had in 2006.

Saturday's performance made the coaching staff breathe much easier. "He was able to beat any lineman he wanted to any time he felt like it," defensive coordinator Darrin Hayes said. "If there was any doubt before that, it was soon erased." Washington, a senior, has been cleared by doctors to fully participate in the spring sessions and coaches have allowed him to participate at his own discretion. He's not taking every snap, but his presence is apparent.

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Pettaway says A&M will be a winner again‎

With returnees, new recruits, coach says Bulldogs will be better

A day after school officials informed him that he would return for the 2010-2011 season, Alabama A&M men's basketball coach Vann Pettaway vowed Tuesday that he would do everything in his power to turn the Bulldogs into a winner again. "I want to thank the administration, from the president's office on down, for having the confidence in us to give us an opportunity to turn it around," Pettaway said. "This is my school and I'm going to do everything I can to move our program forward."

Pettaway's contract was set to expire on May 31 before school officials decided to retain him. His future came into question after the Bulldogs finished the regular season 11-15 overall and 8-10 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Alabama A&M was eliminated in the first round of the tournament for the fourth time in five years after falling to Alabama State earlier this month. It was A&M's fourth straight losing season and sixth in the last eight years.

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No-quit Grambling streaks into Monroe‎

First year Coach James Cooper has the Grambling State Tigers on a early season win streak.

The Grambling State baseball team was the coldest team in the Southwestern Athletic Conference at the beginning of the season. Now the Tigers may very well be the hottest After starting the season 0-9 Grambling has won eight of its last 12 games. The hot streak began in early March with two-game sweeps of Jarvis Christian and Alabama State, and continued with 2-1 series victories over a pair of SWAC foes. Grambling took two out of three games against Texas Southern, and followed by taking two out of three against Prairie View A&M this past weekend.

Grambling (8-13 overall, 4-2 SWAC) visits ULM tonight for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch, and hosts Arkansas Pine-Bluff for a three-game conference series this weekend.

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Rebuilding effort begins at Southern

United and confident, the Southern men’s basketball team rolled into Hammond on a cool, breezy December night, ready to build on a bit of success. The Jaguars were coming off their best effort of the young season: a five-point home win over the University of New Orleans that was supposed to serve as a blueprint for the rest of their schedule: Work hard, play defense, rebound, and win games down the stretch.

But four days later, when the bus pulled up the University Center, a blowout awaited. From the opening tip, Southeastern Louisiana ripped Southern apart. The Jaguars changed defenses. They took timeouts. They tried different players. Nothing worked. By halftime, Southern trailed by 18 points. By the final buzzer, a small but happy crowd cheered as two walk-ons came off the bench in the final few minutes in a 94-48 disaster. It only got worse from there.

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TSU's new offense will stress run before pass

TSU head coach Rod Reed.















Mike Jones etched his name in Tennessee State's record books catching the ball, but he plans to re-energize the Tigers' offense emphasizing the run. Jones, a Division I-AA All-American in 1981 and 1982 who holds many of the school's receiving records, returned to TSU as offensive coordinator when former defensive coordinator Rod Reed replaced James Webster as head coach in December. The Tigers begin spring practice today with a chief objective to improve the offense, which ranked 97th (274.6 yards) in the Football Championship Series and failed to score more than one touchdown in four games.

Jones, who had 200 catches at TSU and 165 in six NFL seasons, said he learned to appreciate a quality running game during his coaching career, which included nine years in NFL Europe, a year at Liberty University, a stop in the XFL and last year in the CFL (Toronto). "Go back over my history in coaching and you'll see I probably ran it more than I threw it,'' Jones said. "I had some coaches with me in NFLEurope who felt the run game was very important and when I played (in the NFL) at Minnesota and New Orleans they ran it quite a bit. I developed an appetite for it as well."

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