PIcked Third in the OVC, Experienced TSU Tigers Looking for a Big Season

By ADD SEYMOUR JR.

TSU WR Patrick Smith

Tennessee State has the same typical run every season – they do really well with their primarily HBCU non-conference schedule, and then run into problems when they begin playing Ohio Valley Conference foes.

That’s understandable, as Jacksonville State, which is the OVC’s preseason pick to win the conference title this season, has been picked to win the OVC each of the previous three seasons and has gone on to finish on top each time.

Then Eastern Illinois, which is picked to finish fourth this season, won three of the five OVC titles before then.

So what does all that mean this year to the conference’s only HBCU, Tennessee State?

The Tigers, 7-4 (4-3 OVC) last season, are picked to finish third in the OVC this season after finishing fourth in the conference last season.  The Tigers finished 4-3 in the OVC play, with six of their games decided by a total of just 21 points.

But they are an experienced and talented team that sees themselves as a team that finished just a game away from last season's FCS playoffs and can make a better run at a national title this season.

“Our biggest challenge is to take them one game at a time and stay focused,” said TSU Head Coach Rod Reed said during the OVC Media Day. “We play classic games… and sometimes we get hyped up for those games and then every other game is just another game.  I think we’ve got to treat all of them as the same.  Every game is a classic game. Every game you’ve got to play like its fourth and goal.”

The Tigers seven starters returning on offense, including the OVC’s Preseason Offensive Player of the Year in wide receiver Patrick Smith. Smith was the conference’s second leading receiver last year and tied for tops in scoring with 13 TDs.  His wide receiver mate will be last season’s OVC Newcomer of the Year Steven Newbold, who averaged 19.1 yards a reception in catching 41 passes for 784 yards and six touchdowns.

The question is who will be throwing the ball to Smith and Newbold this season.  Ronald Butler, a senior who had 28 touchdowns and led the second-best passing offense in the OVC last year, has graduated and presumed replacement, O’Shay Ackerman-Carter, decided to transfer.  In will step, Treon Harris, an intriguing transfer from FBS Florida.  Harris started during parts of two seasons at Florida, throwing for nearly 2,700 yards and 18 touchdowns.  He also ran for 570 yards and three TDs.

“With a player like Treon, because he is so versatile, he poses a big threat,” said TSU linebacker Chris Collins. “With us dealing with him all spring, you don’t know what you’re going to get from him because he can throw and he can run. It’s hard to game plan against quarterbacks like that because he goes against all the rules.  So, he’s going to be a big threat for us.”

Leading rusher Erick Evans is also gone, as well as two All-OVC offensive linemen. The Tigers have two FBS transfers, Chidi Okeke (LSU) and Christian Morris (Ole Miss) to replace them.

On defense, where the Big Blue usually shine, they return nine starters, including 15 of their top 19 tacklers from last season. That includes preseason All-OVC defensive end Ebenezer Ogundeko.  Ogundeko was an All-Conference pick last season, even as he missed three games due to injuries.  He had 48 tackles, 11 for losses, and 5.5 sacks.  Collins led TSU with 87 tackles and safety Laquarius Cook had 66 even though injuries kept him out of the last two games of the 2016 season. 

That early season schedule this year won’t be like previous years.  They start off at FBS Georgia State which is opening their new stadium, the former Turner Field/Olympic Stadium in Atlanta.  They go to Memphis to play rival Jackson State and then to Tampa for a new classic game against Florida A&M.  Then it’s right into a tough OVC schedule.  They go to UT-Martin, who TSU beat in a wild game last season, but UTM is picked to finish second ahead of TSU.  Then their first home game is against a tough Eastern Illinois squad.  The Tigers take on Jacksonville State in the final game of the season.

"We don’t set boundaries, we don’t set limitations," Collin said. "We are shooting for the stars. We want to reach the national championship and win that as well." 

“Our kids are really excited,” added Reed. “I’m fired up about this season. I think they are going to take the challenge.  They are going to play with a chip on their shoulders.”

Picked Last in SIAC East, Morehouse Looks to Rebound in 2017 With New Offense and Solid Defense

By ADD SEYMOUR JR.

TE Ryan Edwards, Head Coach Rich Freeman, QB Kivon Taylor

Morehouse College head football coach Rich Freeman will be the first to admit it – last year, his team didn’t play very well.

The Maroon Tigers had an experienced quarterback and some good defensive pieces coming back for the 2016 season and were picked to finish high in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s East Division race. 

But bad special teams play, a defensive secondary that was carved up by teams like Elizabeth City State, Tuskegee and Clark Atlanta, and a lackluster offense led to a 3-7 record and a last place finish.  

“We own it,” Freeman said during the recent SIAC Media Day, where Morehouse was picked to finish last in the 2017 East Division race.  “All of those things attributed us to being picked a fifth-place preseason football team.”

But look past what happened in 2016, Freeman said. Heading into the new season, the 2017 Maroon Tigers are a very different looking, talented team.

“It definitely motivates me because I don’t see fifth-place talent when I look around our locker room,” he said. “And I definitely don’t see fifth-place coaching when I look around and see the experience on our staff.”

Shoring up the defensive secondary has been a priority this year, and Freeman said a solid recruiting class, and a year of experience, should help that. Otherwise, led by Preseason All-SIAC players in linebacker David Smith (first team) and defensive lineman Voris Bryant and Antonio Johnson (both second team), the Maroon Tigers already look to again be strong against the tun. While Morehouse was next to last in pass defense in 2016 (giving up a league-high 21 touchdowns), they had the SIAC’s second-best run defense and was third in total defense.

The biggest move at Morehouse this off-season was the hiring of offensive coordinator Harry Williams.  Williams, who replaces longtime offensive coordinator Leon Murray, was the coordinator for a Langston University offense that led their conference in scoring with 51 touchdowns and averaged nearly 41 points a game.

Williams brings a spread offense that has already had the football all over the field during spring drills at Morehouse.  For a program that didn’t even have a full-time offensive line coach, a more free-wheeling offense, instead of one heavy on reads and intricate blocking schemes, is a better fit for the program and for the players, said Freeman and his players.

“The offense had become stagnant,” said dual-threat quarterback Kivon Taylor of 2016.  “With Coach Williams, he’s brought in a bunch of new looks and he kind of re-invented the spread look and put some power into it.  The conference hasn’t seen this look. “[Coach Freeman] went and found a coach who suits our playing strengths. Now we have an offense designed around our strengths. It’s exciting.”

With those needs being addressed, Freeman is chomping at the bit get this season started.

“We don’t have everything we need, but we have what we need to be a lot better than fifth place and I’m looking forward to that happening,” he said. 

SIAC East Fave Albany State Stout On Defense But Questions On Offense For New Coach

By ADD SEYMOUR JR.

Albany State is again picked to be one of the best football teams in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. 

But what is different is leadership.  Out this season is former head coach Dan Land who resigned in March.  In is former Charleston Southern offensive coordinator Gabe Giardina, who takes over a team that is picked to win the SIAC East Division after falling one game short of making it to the SIAC championship game in 2016.

Giardina, in his first head coaching job, has yet to be on the field with his new team as he was hired after spring practice wrapped up.

“I think we’re really excited to get the pads on and get our family going,” Giardina said during SIAC Media Day.  “We’re getting hired here at the end of April, so I think the players are just as excited as I am to get out there on the field and see who is coaching them and what they are actually like.  It’s exciting to be picked first, but at the same time, we know that’s just on a piece of paper. None of that means that much, other than people respect our program.

“But at the same time know we’ve got to go out there and play the games,” he said. “The real deal is being in that championship game at the end of the season.”

Giardina inherits a team that went 5-4 (3-1 SIAC) last season, mainly on the strength of the “Dirty Blue” defense.  The unit was the SIAC’s toughest against the run and second-best overall to Tuskegee by less than a yard.  They were the league’s best in only allowing teams 18 points per game.

Seven starters return on defense, including defensive back Nick Scott, who led the team with 42 tackles and two interceptions. Also back will be Emmanuel Brown (41 tackles} and Zavondrick Shingleton (40.5 tackles).

The Golden Rams return six starters on offense, but not quarterback Caleb Edmonds, the SIAC’s top passer and leader in total offense who has graduated.  He was also their leading rusher.  Sophomore Charles Stafford is the only quarterback returning with any experience, completing 4-of-6 passes last year. The team’s four leading receivers are back, but the question remains as to who will be throwing the ball to them.

Also graduating was Jarvis Small, ASU’s star running back who battled injuries most of last season. The team’s second-leading rusher, McKinley Hambersham, returns after rushing for 337 yards and two TDs last season.

Giardina’s forte is offense, having led Charleston Southern’s multiple offense which averaged 33 points and 410 yards of offense per game last season. His offenses helped CSU to 36 wins over a four-year period. Charleston Southern won the Big South Conference championship in 2015 and 2016 and was ranked 14^th in the final NCAA FCS Coaches’ Poll last season.  

While Giardina said his Albany State team will also feature a multiple offense, right now he is just focused on getting his team on the field so coaches and players can finally get to know each other. He admits that having to “hurry up and wait” for fall camp to start is a little frustrating as they look to get going.

“We’re just trying to establish our culture, our core values and environment and what we want to be important to our players,” Giardina said. “Obviously we had a little late start, being hired after spring ball. So, fall camp is going to be important in establishing our identity and who we want to be and who we want to be going forward.”