Arizona Cardinals' 2017 draft picks:Round 3, No. 98: Chad Williams, WR, Grambling

GLENDALE, Arizona  --  My take: This could be the receiver the Cardinals needed to find in this year's draft. At 6-foot-1, 204 pounds, he was a second-team FCS All-American last season after he caught 90 passes for 1,337 yards and 11 touchdowns, leading the Southwestern Athletic Conference in every category. Arians said a “top-round” receiver wasn't necessary, and he was right. Given Williams' size and intangibles, he looks as though he'll be able to fill the void left by Michael Floyd. He might need to add some weight and learn to play better with a defensive back hanging on him. But Williams has speed -- he ran a low 4.4-second 40-yard dash, according to Keim -- and size, making him the ideal Arians receiver.



How he fits: If Williams can adjust to the NFL quickly, he can be the ideal complement to Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown, J.J. Nelson and Jaron Brown. Williams can be an option for quarterback Carson Palmer deep along the sideline and someone who can take advantage of mismatches against smaller defensive backs, particularly as he stretches the field. Keim expects Williams to go through a rough patch while adjusting to the NFL -- most, if not all, players from small schools do -- but he could be the player to round out Arizona's receiving corps and help the unit put up 2015-esque numbers.

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Chicago Bears Take North Carolina A&T Elusive Running Back Tarik Cohen in 4th Round of 2017 NFL Draft

CHICAGO, Illinois -- With Jordan Howard in the fold, running back was not a major area of need for the Chicago Bears heading into the 2017 NFL Draft. That being said, they just took a shot on an exciting player at the position, as they drafted Tarik Cohen in the fourth round.

Cohen was an explosive back at North Carolina A&T who showed ridiculous speed and quickness with the ball in his hands. For his amazing change of direction quickness, Tarik was nicknamed the “Human Joystick.” Simply put, this guy can make anyone miss in the open field.

Cohen clearly has ridiculous elusiveness and has the speed to take it to the house from anywhere on the field. He is also a strong receiver out of the backfield and should be a great change of pace back to compliment Howard.

I projected Cohen as a possible target for the Chicago Bears over a month ago. I think this explanation from that post helps give us an idea of Cohen as a player.

An extremely slippery and elusive runner, Cohen is ridiculously difficult to bring down in open space. He has fantastic short area quickness and elite-level start-and-stop ability. Also, despite being so small, Cohen is a relatively compact runner who has a bit of power behind his pads. He did a great job of bursting through arm tackles in college.

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XULA sweeps four GCAC Player of the Week awards

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana swept all four Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week awards for April 17-23. The GCAC announced Tuesday that XULA's recipients are:

• Women's field: Drew Chatters (junior from Lake Charles, La./St. Louis Catholic High School), who won the javelin at the GCAC Championships for the third consecutive year Saturday. Chatters broke the GCAC meet record for the second time; she did it on her final throw (36.90 meters/121 feet, 1 inch).

• Women's track: Brianna Pace (sophomore from Junction City, Kan./Junction City High School), who scored in five events at the GCAC meet and led the league-champion Gold Nuggets with 26 points. Pace placed second in the 800-meter run (2:29.33) and 3,200 relay (10:32.98), third in the 1,500 (5:22.86) and 5,000 (22:14.58) and fourth in the 3,000 steeplechase (13:47.90). She was all-conference in four events by virtue of top-3 finishes.

• Men's field: Keairez Coleman (sophomore from Harrisville, Miss./Mendenhall High School), who became the first XULA male since 2004 to win the triple jump at the GCAC meet. His mark of 14.19 meters (46 feet, 6 3/4 inches) is a PR and the fourth longest in the history of the meet. His marks in the long jump (6.55m/21-6, fourth place) and shot put were season bests.

• Women's tennis: Charlene Goreau (sophomore from Toulouse, France/Raymond Naves School), who won in singles and doubles on the first court against ranked opponents and dropped just two games along the way in the Gold Nuggets' 8-1 home victory Saturday against NAIA No. 11 LSU-Alexandria. Goreau beat the ITA's No. 33 NAIA singles player, Sara Andrade, 6-1, 6-0 and teamed with Emma Kranendonk to defeat No. 12 Andrade and Gisela Amor 8-1.

The GCAC awards are the second of the season and fourth of Coleman's career and the fifth of the season and the eighth of Goreau's career. Pace is a first-time winner in track — she won three cross country awards in 2015 — and Chatters won for the first time this season and the third time in her career.

XULA's track teams will compete Friday and Saturday in the Southern Miss Open at Hattiesburg, Miss. Both tennis teams have concluded their regular seasons and are expected to receive at-large bids to next month's NAIA National Championships at Mobile, Ala.


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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Gold Nuggets win GCAC title for 4th time in 5 years

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana, with 20-of-24 athletes scoring Saturday, won the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's outdoor track and field championship at Tad Gormley Stadium for the fourth time in five years.
     
The Gold Nuggets produced 183 points with the help of five first-place finishes, six seconds and seven thirds. Premeet favorite Edward Waters was second with 177 points, and SUNO was third with 124. Dillard, the 2016 champion, was fourth with 118 points.
     
XULA freshmen Taylor Price and Ry-Anne Riley both scored a pair of first-place finishes. Price won the 1,500-meter run (5 minutes, 18.73 seconds) and the 5,000 (21:02.54). Riley won the long jump (5.36 meters/17 feet, 7 inches) and anchored the 400 relay team to its first-ever victory in this meet.
     
Riley and sophomores Martina Wright, Alexis Milton and Janelle Jones combined for a season-best and NAIA A-qualifying time of 47.25 in the relay.
     
Drew Chatters won the javelin for the third consecutive year and broke her GCAC meet record with a throw of 36.90 meters (121-1). Chatters set the previous mark of 35.48 meters (116-5) in 2015.
     
Dionysia Love repeated as 3,000 steeplechase champion (13:21.35).
     
A critical event in determining the women's team championship was the high jump, where top-seeded Davia Chin of Edward Waters passed on the first five heights, then missed all three of her attempts at 1.57 meters (5-1 3/4) — a height she cleared or surpassed in five meets this season. All three of the Lady Tigers failed to clear a height, and XULA collected 14 points with a 2-3 finish from Chinyere Jones and Terri Cunningham.
     
Ariane Williams set a XULA record of 56.63 seconds in the 400 and placed fifth.
     
XULA's Joseph Moses was voted women's GCAC Coach of the Year by his peers. It was Moses' third conference team championship of 2016-17; he led XULA to GCAC men's and women's cross country titles in October.
    
Edward Waters scored a meet-record 303 points to win the men's team title for the third straight year and the fifth time in six years. Dillard was second with 149 points, followed by SUNO with 120 and XULA with 34. Gold Rush sophomore Keairez Colemanwon the triple jump — his mark of 14.19 meters (46-6 3/4) is No. 4 all-time in this meet — and freshman teammates Khalil Gallien and Oji Wells both scored in three events.


Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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NAIA power Rush win 3rd straight vs. NCAA Division I

NEW ORLEANS — For the fourth time in its last five attempts, Xavier University of Louisiana has defeated the University of New Orleans in men's tennis.

Tushar Mandlekar and Karan Salwan won in doubles and singles, and Antoine Richard and Moses Micheal saved the doubles point in the Gold Rush's 4-3 victory at UNO Monday.

XULA (11-5), ranked second in the NAIA, snapped a 2-dual losing streak but won its third in a row against an NCAA Division I opponent. It was the Gold Rush regular-season finale; next will be a May 17 dual match in the second round of the NAIA National Championship at Mobile, Ala. The NAIA will announce the 24 qualifying teams May 8 and the pairings and seedings May 9.

"Our coaching staff conducted a team meeting yesterday to air some things out, and the guys responded well today," XULA coach Alan Green said. "We got off to a good start in doubles, and the momentum carried over to singles. I give the guys full credit for the way they handled their business."

UNO led 3-2 before Salwan tied the dual with a 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 victory against Federico Staksrud on the third court — Salwan's ninth victory in 10 singles decisions this spring. Mandlekar clinched on court five with a 7-5, 7-5 victory against Luis Albuquerque.

Mandlekar and Salwan put the Gold Rush in position to win the doubles point with a 6-2 victory against Albuquerque and Giacomo Adoncecchi. Richard and Micheal saved a match point in the tiebreaker and clinched the doubles point with a 7-6 (8-6) victory against Staksrud and Federico Boscarino.

The other XULA victory was on court four, where Catalin Fifea beat Nicolas Kramer 6-3, 6-3 and won for the 10th time in his last 11 singles decisions.

The Privateers (7-12), headed to Beaumont, Texas, this weekend for the Southland Conference Tournament, dropped their third in a row.

Results

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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FAMU basketball coaching search includes big names

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Florida A&M hasn't yet named a men's basketball coach, but there certainly isn't a lack of applicants.

FAMU on Wednesday closed the application for the job after it was reopened on Monday. The job’s original posting date was March 21, four days after it was announced then-head coach Byron Samuels’ contract would not be renewed.

A list of names obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat reveals 122 candidates applied to be FAMU's next head coach. Their experience levels range from assistant coach at the JUCO level to NBA champions.

One name is former NBA player and current Buffalo assistant Lindsey Hunter. The two-time NBA champion was the interim head coach for the Phoenix Suns and was also an assistant for the Golden State Warriors.

Another name is current Savannah State head coach Horace Broadnax. Savannah State's athletic department recently announced it will drop down to Division II. Broadnax has had plenty of success in the MEAC. He lead the Tigers to a 14-2 conference record in the 2011-12 season and was named MEAC Coach of the Year.

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SWAC Football Media Day scheduled for July 14

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – As summer nears, the excitement and anticipation of a new football season is upon us.

The signal of a season anew begins with the annual Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Football Media Day that will once again take place at the Birmingham Marriott on 3590 Grandview Parkway on Friday, July 14.

All head coaches are returners from the 10-member institutions and will be available for interviews at this time.

Among the coaches scheduled to appear will be James Spady (Alabama A&M), Brian Jenkins (Alabama State), Fred McNair (Alcorn State), Broderick Fobbs (Grambling State), Tony Hughes (Jackson State), Rick Comegy (Mississippi Valley State), Willie Simmons (Prairie View A&M), Dawson Odums (Southern), Michael Haywood (Texas Southern), and Monte Coleman (Arkansas-Pine Bluff).

Two players per team will also appear for interview opportunities as well as the revealing of the 2017 SWAC Preseason All-Conference selections and the predicted order of finish conducted via a vote by school head football coaches and sports information directors.

The official start to the 2017 football season will feature live video coverage via SWAC Digital Network. The three-hour broadcast will display a stage session, one-on-one interviews on the set of SDN. In addition, league head coaches and student-athletes will also join SDN live audio stream as part of the continuous coverage on www.swac.org.

A more detailed schedule with information on head coaches and student-athlete interview times will be released at a later date, however the event production will include:

SWAC Commissioner Address
Photo Opportunities
Season Preview by Head Coaches
Championship Promo
SWAC Preseason Teams Announced
SDN Video Stream and SDN Radio
SWAC Audio Drops
Print Media Interviews
One-on-one TV Interviews

COURTESY SWAC MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS