Scott Hamilton columnist WSJournal previews WSSU football

Scott Hamilton a columnist for the Winston-Salem Journal explains why WSSU football is leading the way in the CIAA conference.

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Southern's Roman Banks, Rummel's Jay Roth named coaches of the year

ROMAN BANKS
SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY JAGUARS
 

NEW ORLEANS -- Roman Banks, from Southern University, has been named the Outstanding College Coach of the Year for the State of Louisiana and Archbishop Rummel’s Jay Roth, has been selected as the Outstanding Prep Coach of the Year for Louisiana. Both coaches will be recognized at the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Banquet on Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

The Greater New Orleans Sports Selection Committee, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, selects annual award winners in a variety of categories, in addition to selecting each year’s Hall of Fame class and Amateur Athletes of the Month. Overall, 26 individuals and two teams will be honored at the banquet. Additional honorees will be announced over the next two weeks.

Banks took little time in reestablishing the Southern University men’s basketball program as one of the best in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. After winning only 11 games in the two seasons prior to his arrival, the Jaguars are 40-24 in two seasons with Banks as coach.

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Ex-UVa. QB Phillip Sims heads to Winston-Salem State

HAMPTON ROADS, Virginia  --  Former Oscar Smith quarterback Phillip Sims apparently has picked his third college.

Sims, who had short stints at Alabama and Virginia, used his Twitter account Sunday to announce he was headed to Winston-Salem State University.

“I’m the newest member of the #wssu fam,” Sims’ account read. “I am thankful for this opportunity that I’ve been given.”

Attempts to reach Sims were unsuccessful Sunday.

Winston-Salem State is a member of the Division II CIAA. Sims told The Pilot last week that he had narrowed his list of suitors to three or four schools and that he’d have to sit out a season whether he chose a Division I or II school.

Sims heads to a program coming off its most successful season. The Rams finished 14-1 and reached the Division II national title game.


University of Virginia announced in late May that Phillip Sims was academically ineligible and would leave school after the summer session.  The former Alabama recruit is now headed to Winston-Salem State to get his college career back on track.

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10 Bulldogs named to CollegeSportsMadness.com Preseason All-SWAC team

NORMAL, Alabama – Another preseason poll has come out and again the Alabama A&M football players are well represented.

Ten players on the 2013 team have made the College Sports Madness.com preseason All-SWAC team.

Earning a role on the first-team at wide receiver is Montaurius Smith. This is Smith's third honor as a member of a preseason team in 2013. Reginald Bailey joins him as a defensive lineman on the first team. This is also Bailey's third preseason team.

At offensive lineman Justin Goodrich earns the lone spot on the second team and also earns his third preseason award.

Transfer quarterback Kyle Harmyk leads the way at quarterback on the third-team. Joining him is Reshaad DeJarnett at wide receiver, Alan Cruz at offensive line, Corey Johnson at defensive line, Jeremy Isabelle at linebacker, while Derrick Harris and A.J. Clark at the defensive back position round out the Bulldogs on the list.

For more information on A&M Athletics, visit aamusports.com. Fans can also find the Bulldogs on Twitter at @aamubulldogs or on Facebook at Facebook.com/Alabama-AM-Bulldogs.

Additional FCS All-Conference teams will be announced each day. See all the Madness FCS Football Preseason All-Conference Teams.
Madness FCS Football Preseason All-American Teams to be announced in the next few days, watch for the announcement.

College Sports Madness has full FCS Football coverage. We are counting down the Football Top 44 Teams with in-depth previews. The previews began with #44 and countdown one per day until opening day when College Sports Madness reveals the preseason #1 FCS team in the nation. As the teams are revealed they will be inputted into the College Sports Madness NCAA Tournament Bracket Projections, predicting the post season games and then updated each week once the season begins. The countdown will also feed our initial FCS Football Top 25 team ranking which will also be updated each week during the season. Once the season begins we will be awarding Players of the Week honors on a national and conference basis.

CollegeSportsMadness.com All-SWAC Team

COURTESY ALABAMA A&M UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

Baltimore Ravens Sign Former MSU Tight End Visanthe Shiancoe

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BALTIMORE, Maryland  --  The Ravens have started the process of replacing injured tight end Dennis Pitta.

The team signed veteran Visanthe Shiancoe to a one-year contract Sunday, one day after Pitta went down for the foreseeable future and perhaps the entire season, with a hip injury. The deal is worth the veteran minimum of $940,000, according to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun.

Shiancoe immediately got fitted for equipment after signing his deal to participate in Sunday's practice.

Shiancoe, a 10-year veteran, spent last season with the New England Patriots. He saw action in four games, but did not register any statistics. Before going to New England, Shiancoe spent five years with the Minnesota Vikings and four with the New York Giants.

The 6-foot-4, 250-pound tight end is known as a red-zone threat who can make an impact  in the passing game. He has 243 receptions for 2,677 yards and 27 touchdowns in his career. His best season was in 2009 when he had 566 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.

Shiancoe will now join a tight end group that includes Ed Dickson, Billy Bajema, Alex Silvestro and Matt Furstenburg. Dickson is expected to take over as the starter, but the No. 2 spot is up for grabs.

Bajema spent last year on the roster as the No. 3 tight end, but was primarily just used in goal-line situations and as an extra blocker. He did not have any catches last season.

Silvestro was on the practice squad last year and Furstenburg is an undrafted rookie out of Maryland.

"Somebody is going to have to step up, and we do have some capable guys all across the flanks," Offensive Coordinator Jim Caldwell said Saturday. "We do have some weapons, and we're just going to have some guys make plays for us."

Shiancoe enjoyed a successful college football career at Morgan State University, playing in 30 games and receiving 52 passes for 1001 yards. His senior year proved to be noteworthy, garnering both All-American Dream Team and All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference 1st-team honors from the NFL Draft Report.


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COURTESY MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

SWAC Football lands on Phil Steele's FCS Position Rating

ORLANDO, Florida  --  Phil Steele's College Football Preview release its 2013 FCC Preseason Position Ratings with 35 players from the Southwestern Athletic Conference making the lists.

The ratings are solely based on college perfromance. The list of players from the SWAC include:

QB - out of 52
17. Dray Joseph, Southern, Sr.
31. Benjamin Anderson, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Sr.
51. Kyle Harmyk, Alabama A&M, Jr.

RB - out of 48
6. Isaiah Crowell, Alabama State, Jr.

FB - out of 20
4. Rakeem Sims, Jackson State, Jr.
17. Chris Gilzeane, Alabama State, Jr.

WR - out of 86
14. Lee Doss, Southern, Sr.
34. G’Alonzo Milton, Alabama A&M, Sr.
63. Ladarius Eckwood, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Sr.
74. Montaurius Smith, Alabama A&M, Jr.
86. Chuck Baker, Southern, Fr.

TE - out of 53
31. Dezmond Beverly, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Sr.
47. Justin Robinson, Alabama State, Sr.

G - out of 37
25. Kenny Eagle, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Sr.
31. Jonathan Smith, Jackson State, Jr.

DE - out of 62
5. Robert Simpson, Mississippi Valley State, Sr.

LB - out of 108
53. Jer-ryan Harris, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Sr.
75. Xavier Lofton, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Sr.
77. Anthony Balancier, Southern, Sr.
85. Jerome Howard, Prairie View A&M, Jr.
96. Todd Wilcher, Jackson State, Sr.
101. Leland Baker, Alabama State, Sr

CB - out of 66
3. Qua Cox, Jackson State, Sr.
34. Virgil Williams, Southern, Sr.
42. A.J. Clark, Alabama A&M, Jr.

S - out of 57
15. Cameron Loeffler, Jackson State, Sr.
16. Ryan Shaw, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Sr.
32. Kevin Eugene, Mississippi Valley State, Sr.

P - out of 45
2. Bobby Wenzig, Alabama State, Sr.
33. Travis Jatzlau, Prairie View A&M, Jr.

K - out of 38
18. Chris Barrick, Prairie View A&M, Jr.
31. Bobby Wenzig, Alabama State, Sr.
32. Tyler Strickland, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Jr.

KR - out of 43
8. Julian Stafford, Mississippi Valley State, Jr.
17. Johnta’ Hebert, Prairie View A&M, Soph.
38. Jaleel Richardson, Southern, Jr.

PR - out of 45
13. Virgil Williams, Southern, Sr.

ALL PURPOSE - out of 39

19. Julian Stafford, Mississippi Valley State, Sr.

 

COURTESY SWAC.org
 

Langston University Lions Fall Camp Opens August 1st

LANGSTON, Oklahoma  --  The Lions will start their 2013 campaign on August 1^st when players report for fall camp. Head Coach Dwone Sanders' squad will have four weeks to prepare before they head to Greeley, Colorado to face NCAA Division I FCS foe Northern Colorado. The schedule features three more FCS opponents: Incarnate Word, Nicholls State, and Northwestern State. LU will be on the road for all of them.

Langston's NAIA Central States Football League title defense starts Week 6 in Waxahachie, TX, marking their fifth straight away game. The annual homecoming game will take place on October 19^th against Texas College.

The Lions' national championship bid starts with defense. LU ranked third in the NAIA last year and will return nine players. Pierre Alexander and Ronald Burgess anchor the front four. Burgess is a highly touted prospect coming off the edge. He stands at 6'3, 245 pounds and runs a 4.6 forty. Behind them is the leader of the defense, inside linebacker John Hunter. "I'm impressed with his mental and physical development this offseason," said Coach Sanders. Impact hybrid player Chace Green will stay at striker this season. Finally, there is four year starter, safety Isaiah Ross. Coach Sanders: "He's my version of the Honey Badger. Same size, same speed as Tyrann Mathieu. And they're both from New Orleans."


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Offensive Coordinator Darryl Mason will bring a multiple system from Arkansas Baptist. Jac'Quon Miles is his quarterback. Miles is a returning starter and a three year letterman. He threw 5 touchdown passes last season. Sheldon Augustine caught 2 of them and returns along with another playmaking wideout, Asphen Gaines. They want to stretch the field vertically and give Will Taylor the opportunity to find the running lanes.

After a successful golf tournament in the spring raised over $100,000, there are new expectations around LU football: "Langston is on the brink of greatness. We've been putting in work this offseason that other teams simply cannot match. We have the talent. We have the coaching. We're ready to make this a national championship caliber squad," said Coach Sanders. Everyone is looking forward to one date: August 31^st. The talk ends then. Northern Colorado awaits.

2013 LU LIONS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE (.html)

Date	Time		Opponent	Location
8/31/2013	1:30 PM		Northern Colorado	Greeley, CO
9/14/2013	6:00 PM		Incarnate Word	San Antonio, TX
9/21/2013	6:00 PM		Nicholls State	Thibodeaux, LA
9/28/2013	6:00 PM		Northwestern State	Natchitoches, LA
10/12/2013	2:00 PM	*	Southwestern Assemblies of God	Waxahachie, TX
10/19/2013	2:00 PM	*	Texas College (Homecoming)	W.E. Anderson Stadium
10/26/2013	2:00 PM	*	Oklahoma Baptist	W.E. Anderson Stadium
11/2/2013	2:00 PM	*	Oklahoma Panhandle State	Goodwell, OK
11/9/2013	2:00 PM	*	Bacone	Muskogee, OK
11/16/2013	2:00 PM	*	Wayland Baptist	W.E. Anderson Stadium

BOLD: HOME GAMES