Southern notebook: Few surprises as Jaguars release Week 1 depth chart

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Southern released its first updated depth chart since the start of preseason camp, and while it mostly held true to the units the Jaguars ran out to the practice field, there were a couple of interesting notes.

Senior defensive back Rhaheim Ledbetter was not listed on the depth chart at all. Ledbetter missed all of last season because of eligibility issues but is considered to be a key component of this year’s secondary.

Three true freshmen appear on the two-deep, with one — Southern Lab graduate Curtlan Williams — penciled in as a starter.

Freshman Jerimiah Williams is listed as the top backup at both guard positions, and Kaycee Ntukogu is listed as Blake Monroe’s backup at the rover position.

Redshirt freshman Mason Sims won the camp battle with junior college transfer Christian Rodriguez to be the starting left tackle.

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Analyzing Grambling's floor, ceiling for 2016 season

GRAMBLING, Louisiana -- It's been five years since Grambling last won a Southwestern Athletic Conference championship.

Not long enough to call it a drought, but the Tigers are thirsty to bring home another conference title after falling short in the 2015 championship game to Alcorn State.

Is this the year Grambling climbs back to the top of the HBCU mountain of college football?

Grambling certainly has the makings of a championship team. Yes, Grambling lost about a quarter of its seniors from 2015, but an influx of transfers and in-house talent from the last two signing classes has expectations sky high around the football building.

Led by quarterback DeVante Kincade, running back Martez Carter, a deep receiving corps and a defense revamped with transfers, the sky is the limit for Grambling's potential. It all depends on how things progress, and more importantly, how the Tigers finish the season.

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Del State Hornets aim to improve as Carter enters 2nd year

DOVER, Delaware -- Once the curtain came down on the 2015 season, the Delaware State football team had already put it in the rearview mirror.

It was coach Kenny Carter’s first season and the Hornets slumped to a 1-10 record.

But Carter has called it a transition year. It took him some time to establish his system, his outlook for the program and, perhaps most importantly, bring in the players he wanted.

So the 1-10 year doesn’t have any effect on how the Hornets are setting their goals for this season. They’ve seen improvement in the spring, summer and fall. They want to keept up that trend of getting better.

“Hopefully we can keep progressing so we can be in Atlanta in December,” said sophomore quarterback Kobie Lain. “Because at the end of the day, that is the ultimate goal.”

A December trip to Atlanta means a MEAC Championship and a berth in the second-annual Heritage Bowl against the champion of the SWAC.

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2016 Norfolk State football preview: Impact players, big numbers and more

Impact players
QB Greg Hankerson

The first season-long starter to return at NSU since 2011, Hankerson is a dual-threat passer and runner with the ability to escape trouble in the pocket. The senior transfer from Florida Atlantic passed for 2,052 yards and rushed for 423 last season, but his goals are loftier: 2,500 passing yards and 1,000 on the ground.

RB Gerard Johnson

A senior transfer from ODU, Johnson is coming off ACL surgery to his right knee late last season. In his first campaign at NSU, Johnson led the team’s running backs with 418 rushing yards but just one touchdown. Scott expects bigger things: “I think Gerard Johnson’s back,” he said.

LB Kyle Archie

The former star at Portsmouth’s Norcom High was second on the team as a sophomore last season with 66 tackles, behind graduated LB Deon King’s FCS-leading 163. In NSU’s new 4-3 defense, the defensive line will be relied upon to replace the production of King, who has spent the summer in camp with the Dallas Cowboys. But should opposing runners get past the linemen, Archie will be waiting.

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Wyatt sees improved Edward Waters College football program

JACKSONVILLE, Florida -- A good start and a solid finish couldn’t mask the disappointment of six lopsided losses in the middle of Edward Waters College 2015 season. As far as head coach Alvin Wyatt is concerned, the Tigers have already put that 4-7 season behind them.

“Right now as we speak, Morehouse College is watching videos of this team from last year,” Wyatt told EWC supporters Wednesday at the school’s fall sports media day in the school gym. “But all those old tapes do is provide a false, negative view of our past. We are better than that now. We are ready to move forward.”

EWC hosts Morehouse on Saturday, Sept. 3, at Stanton Stadium. The NAIA Tigers will be looking for some payback from a year ago when Morehouse hung a 51-7 defeat on the Tigers to start their six-game slide. EWC allowed at least 42 points in all six losses, including 44-31 to Jacksonville University in the first Jacksonville Classic between the two city schools. They will meet again this year at JU on Sept. 17.

There’s reason for optimism this season. It starts with Wyatt, whose fiery, passionate dissertations to his team and the EWC community are met with the same enthusiasm and vigor in which they’re delivered.

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WSSU eyeing opener against UNC Pembroke

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina -- Winston-Salem State has its new-look helmets almost ready to unveil.

The helmets are all red with new decals complete with a new logo coming next week. They should be ready to go right before Sept. 3 and the opener at Bowman Gray Stadium against UNC Pembroke.

Coach Kienus Boulware and the Rams completed their camp Wednesday, and now the preparations in practice will be geared toward UNC Pembroke.

“Our camp went well, and we had a lot of competition really at all positions,” said Boulware, who will start his third season as head coach. “I like the way the guys got after it, and the energy level has been very high.”

With classes starting, Boulware said it’s a great time to eONnd the two-a-day workouts as practices will be scaled back to once a day. There will be a final scrimmage over the weekend, then the normal game-week approach will take hold Monday.

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Transfers bolster St. Augustine’s as Chavous era begins

RALEIGH, North Carolina -- Tom Chavous was named St. Augustine’s head coach during the offseason after he coached the final eight games of the 2015 season. He now has the opportunity to bring in new talent on the field and in his coaching staff.

New assistant coach Alvin Parker and new quarterbacks coach Jason Mai were hired from CIAA rivals Elizabeth City State and Winston-Salem State, respectively.

Additionally, Chavous said he recruited more than 30 college transfers to add depth — and, in some cases, elite talent — to his roster.

The parade of new acquisitions joins 14 returning starters on a St. Augustine’s squad that went 1-9 last year, beating only rival Shaw.

“(I’m) bringing in experienced players that focus on academics first. If I can get guys that focus on the main thing while they’re here, football is going to be pretty much easy for them, the playbook is going to be a little easy for them,” Chavous said. “I just want to change the attitude and bring a winning tradition here ... that they’ve never had.”

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