JOHNSON: Southern no stranger to adversity — or how to get past it

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Problem-solving is a fact of life on The Bluff.

I got that impression my first day covering Southern football last month, when I met Lenard Tillery at Southwestern Athletic Conference media day in Birmingham, Alabama.

In response to one of the several questions he was getting about Southern’s lack of spring practice, a result of APR-related NCAA sanctions, Tillery said simply: “We’re uCOsed to handling adversity at Southern University."

It was a bit of a shock to the system. Tillery was being candid rather than doling out a prepackaged response many athletes fall back on. It sounded, at first, like an admission of the affect Murphy’s Law was having on the campus at large.

But here’s the thing: He’s right.



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Aerial attack for Morgan State could get big boost from return of receiver Thomas Martin

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- While all players look forward to the regular season, it might be difficult to top how eager Morgan State wide receiver Thomas Martin is to play.

The senior was one of several Bears who were deemed academically ineligible after they were not properly certified by the university. So instead of trying to help last year’s team retain the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship it had captured in 2014, Martin was relegated to onlooker status for the entire campaign.

“It was real tough,” Martin said recently. “I took it kind of hard, but my coaches told me just to build on it because I was coming back next year. So I just went hard in the classroom and worked hard off the field so that I could help the team any way that I could. It paid off because I didn’t drop balls like some guys would have. I just took it as a learning experience.”

So how anxious is he to suit up for his first game since catching four passes in Morgan State's Football Championship Subdivision playoff loss at Richmond in 2014?

“It’s really high because there’s a big sense of urgency,” he said. “Our first few games are really big, and on top of that, it’s my last year. So I really feel like we need everything we can get as soon as possible.”

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Unique Opener, Program's Legacy Has Morgan State's Fred Farrier Excited

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- When Fred Farrier was appointed the interim head coach of the Morgan State football program in February 2015, he was already familiar with the Bears' first opponent.

Farrier will make his debut as Morgan State's head coach Sept. 3, when the Bears open the 2016 season at Hughes Stadium against his alma mater, Holy Cross. Farrier, who was promoted when former head coach Lee Hull left Morgan State to become the Indianapolis Colts' wide receivers coach, will be looking across the field at the familiar purple-and-white uniform he used to wear.

"Just getting to the football season in general is a super-exciting time," said Farrier, who graduated from Holy Cross in 1994. "I have an opportunity to be a head coach again. To be in a situation where I get to coach my first game against my alma mater is pretty special. It's not something that I could have drawn up."



Farrier has already heard from several people who were a part of his Holy Cross undergraduate experience.

"Chris Summers was my college roommate," said Farrier, a native of Cleveland Heights, Ohio. "His dad, Andre, who followed us to every game when we were at Holy Cross, is a Morgan State graduate, and he's actually going to come back on campus for the game. Chris and his entire family will travel to watch me coach in this game against our alma mater. A couple of my former teammates have called."

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FVSU Kevin Porter looking for competitive spirit

FORT VALLEY, Georgia -- After a seven-year stint under Donald Pittman ended in March, the Fort Valley State football program will have a new face on the sidelines this season: former NFL All-Rookie team safety Kevin Porter.

The Wildcats finished 5-4 last season after losing their regular-season finale, a win that would have propelled the team into the SIAC championship game.

But Porter didn’t talk about tangible benchmarks, like reaching a conference championship, for his first year. He said the goal for the Wildcats simply will be to be competitive.



“Everyone wants to get out and be competitive every week, and that’s what we want to do,” he said. “We want to get our program to where we can compete at the highest level in Division II, and it’s going to require a tremendous amount of effort from our staff, our university and our football players. But ultimately, that’s what we’re looking for.”

Reaching that level of competitiveness will be more challenging for Fort Valley State because of the program’s current amount of scholarships. Division II programs can have up to 36 scholarships. Right now, Fort Valley State has around nine.

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UAPB Coleman retools staff, eyes turnaround

PINE BLUFF, Arkansas — Monte Coleman rebuilt a large chunk of his coaching staff in 2010 following a sluggish two seasons as Arkansas-Pine Bluff head coach. Three seasons after that makeover, the Golden Lions won their first outright Southwestern Athletic Conference championship.

Coleman is hoping a similar reboot can have similar results.

Coleman begins his ninth season as UAPB’s coach this year trying to snap a skid of three consecutive losing seasons. He’s hoping some fresh faces and new ideas among his coaching staff, particularly on offense, can breathe new life into a program that is 8-25 since winning the SWAC title in2 012.



“There was a sense of need for something different,” he said. “It’s a real tough business. Just wanted to go in a different direction and that’s what we did.”

Coleman’s staff makeover includes the addition of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ted White, wide receivers coach Mark Fredericks, linebackers coach Damion Frenchie and defensive line coach Carrillo Santos. Frenchie is actually the second linebackers coach he’s hired since the end of last season. Stanley Smith resigned about a week before practice started to tend to his pregnant fiance, Coleman said.

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New football stadium ushers in next era at Prairie View A&M

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas -- Harold Bonner, who attended Prairie View A&M from 1958-62, couldn't believe his eyes when he glanced up at the Panthers' pristine, $61 million stadium.

"We never thought we'd see a day like today," Bonner said of older PVAMU alumni, many of whom were in the crowd during the stadium's grand opening on Saturday. "It's almost like an impossible dream coming true."

It's true all right, and PVAMU will play host to rival Texas Southern at 5 p.m. on Sept. 4, in a contest televised nationally on ESPNU to usher in a new era. The Panthers have come a long way in a short time, in constructing the state-of-the-art stadium on the same site of the old football home, a bare-bones structure now only a memory.

"Where this university has come from is truly amazing," Panthers coach Willie Simmons said. "We want to thank everyone who has blazed a trail before today – who have made it all possible."

The 15,000-seat stadium holds 10 skyboxes/suites and 500 premium seats, along with a field house featuring a large weight room, a dining area, locker rooms and training rooms, among other amenities. The long-term plan calls for an increase to 30,000 seats on down the line – and partially based on the Panthers' on-field success moving forward.



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In year 3, Comegy is ready to win at Mississippi Valley

MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE

Rick Comegy (3rd season at MVSU, 159-101 record overall)

What happened last year?

The Delta Devils struggled mightily on their way to a 1-10 record. MVSU started 0-8 before pulling off an overtime road win against Alabama A&M. Eight of the Delta Devils’ 10 losses came by 28 points or more. A lot of freshmen and sophomores gained experience throughout the season, though.

Three questions for coach Rick Comegy

What are you looking forward to this upcoming season with the group of guys you have now?

“I’m looking forward to a group of guys that, themselves, are looking forward to an exciting year. They’re young, but I like that youth we have, that experienced youth. It’s going to pay off for us.”

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