Thursday, August 30, 2007

Morgan State rides Florida wave

Photo: Morgan coach Donald Hill-Eley recruited Miami, FL native Jerrell Guyton, who steered former high school teammates to the Baltimore campus.

By Ken Murray, Baltimore Sun reporter

With 18 players from Sunshine State, Bears are enjoying Southern exposure

Morgan State caught Jerrell Guyton on the rebound. Guyton wanted to play football for Texas Southern in Houston in 2004, but detoured to Morgan State and Baltimore after a chance meeting with Bears coach Donald Hill-Eley.

From such quirks, college football legends are sometimes made.

A native of Miami, Guyton effectively opened a pipeline to that football-rich area for Hill-Eley. When the Bears open their season tomorrow night at home against Savannah State, their roster will number 18 Floridians, the second most by state after Maryland's 24.

"Florida has been major for us," Hill-Eley said. "It's changed the team morale; it's changed the team speed."

It also gives the Bears their best chance to end a streak of three straight losing seasons.

As many as seven players from Florida could start tomorrow. An additional five or six should receive substantial playing time.

The migration essentially started with Guyton, a 6-foot, 225-pound linebacker who was dismissed as too small by Texas Southern. When he visited the Houston campus late in 2004, Morgan State was in town for its final game of the season (a 37-21 victory).

Guyton met Hill-Eley on the sideline that day, offered to send tape, "and the next thing you know, I had a scholarship," he said.

It's not as if he knew where he was going, though.

"I never heard of Morgan State. I didn't know anybody that went to school here. When I first got up here, there were two people from Florida," he said.

Guyton had starred at Miami Edison and then went to Dodge City (Kan.) Community College before arriving in Baltimore in 2005. Soon after, he played a role in helping running back Chad Simpson (South Florida), wide receiver Edwin Baptiste (Bethune-Cookman) and defensive end Clarence McPherson (Akron) transfer to Morgan. All three had played at Edison.

"All of us coming out of high school basically are family," Guyton said. "You've got to look out for each other. If you see an opportunity where your friend can step in and do some good, you're going to let him know."

Simpson was disgruntled with limited playing time at South Florida. He quit the team not once but twice.

"Guyton was saying this is a good place, the coaches are down to earth and fair," Simpson said. "That's what I was looking for."

By the fourth game of the 2006 season, Simpson was Morgan's starting running back. He totaled 795 rushing yards, including games of 192 and 178. He was voted to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's preseason first team this summer.

"I'm trying to be way better than that," he said. "I'm trying to be a new man. I've been focusing on being great, being the first 2,000-yard Morgan running back here."

After listening to Guyton and Hill-Eley, Baptiste didn't bother with a recruiting visit. He just decided to come.

"Jerrell let me know what they were trying to build here," Baptiste said. "Coach Hill wasn't selling anything. He was talking to me like a man and said the best players will play. He offered a scholarship and I came off word of mouth."

Of the 18 players from Florida, eight are transfers and 13 are from Miami. Hill-Eley, who once coached with the Baltimore Stallions in the Canadian Football League, enlisted the help of former CFL players Kwame Smith and Joe Washington to open doors in Florida.

Hill-Eley said Morgan's campus helps close the deal, especially with transfers.

"A lot of times they'll contact a bunch of different schools," he said. "We always believe if we can get them here on campus and show them our facility, we shouldn't lose a one of them, and we've been successful getting them in here."

Strong safety Gary Albury came from Orlando, transferring from Mississippi. Cornerback Darren McKahn came from Miami Miramar and Connecticut. That's half the starting secondary.
McKahn said the high number of Florida recruits attracted him to Morgan. "I didn't visit," he said. "The people who were telling me about this school, I trust."

Hill-Eley said he even won a recruiting battle with Auburn for running back Devan James from Pompano Beach. For the most part, Hill-Eley goes head-to-head with Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman for Florida recruits.

He recruits Florida himself in May and December, a key point in certain cases.

"I recruit as the head coach, so I don't need to call back to tell the head coach 'I got a kid, what do you think?'" he said. "I can make my decision on those kids right there, and sometimes you have to do that."

Hill-Eley also said he first tries to speak with the parents to present the picture beyond football.

"I don't fill the kids with the Sunday [NFL] dream," he said, "and the parents understand. When you treat them right and make sure to keep education up front, you really don't have a problem."

Florida connection

Morgan State is a haven not only for Florida players, but for transfers, too. These Florida natives all began their college careers somewhere else before arriving in Baltimore.

Player, Cls., Pvs. school, Home

SS Gary Albury Fr.* Mississippi Orlando
• Strong in run support, fast enough to cover

CB Darren McKahn So. Connecticut Miami
• Playmaker on the corner with return skills

DE Clarence McPherson Jr. Akron Miami
• Played DE, LB and TE at Miami Edison

TB Chad Simpson Sr. S. Florida Miami
• Runs with power and elusiveness

FS Willie Hardemon Jr. Temple Miami
• Adds much-needed speed to the secondary

LB Chris Williams So. Fla. Intl. Miami
• Had 13 career interceptions in high school

WR Chauncey Thompkins Jr. W. Michigan Miami
• Converted quarterback

* Redshirt

Bears At A Glance

• Coach: Donald Hill-Eley (sixth season)

• Last year: 5-6

• Conference: Mid-Eastern Athletic, Division I Football Championship Subdivision (the former Division I-AA)

• Radio: 88.9 FM

• Stadium: Hughes Stadium (10,000)

• Tickets: $20 reserved, $15 general admission, $12 senior citizens, $10 students

• Parking: Garage beside stadium, $10

• Offense: Multiple pro

• Defense: 4-3

• Outlook: The Bears need a passing game to keep defenses honest against RB Chad Simpson, an All-MEAC first-team preseason pick. Mario Melton won the quarterback job and will have to improve his .473 completion percentage. Roderick Wolfe is the go-to player in a three-receiver offense. The offensive line, led by right tackle Dakarai Grimsley, is huge, averaging 301 pounds. Offense was a weakness a year ago, when the Bears averaged 18.1 points.

They led the MEAC in run defense in 2006, defensive coordinator Alonzo Lee's first with the Bears. Transfer DE Clarence McPherson will help the pass rush, and newcomers Darren McKahn and Gary Albury will start in the secondary. The Bears allowed 17 touchdown passes last season, when they ranked next to last in MEAC red zone defense. They lost three of their last four games to finish 5-6.

AAMU: No set plan to play Atkins or Allen


Reggie Benson, Huntsville Times

Backup quarterback Kevin Atkins, a redshirt freshman, has yet to play in a game. Third stringer Stanley Allen, a redshirt junior, has played only in three games and two of those were in a mop-up role.

Even so, Alabama A&M coach Anthony Jones says there is no set plan to get either one of them in Saturday's season opener against Tennessee State. The Bulldogs visit the Tigers at Nashville's LP Field at 6 p.m.

"The most important criteria is to try to win the ballgame," Jones said. "If that means there's a time I can put Atkins in there I will do so, but I'm not going to insert him into the game to get him some experience.

"I'll make a decision based on everything I'm seeing. Stanley is still not counted out of everything. If I don't like the way Kevin is handling everything, I might go with the more experienced guy."

Allen filled in admirably for much of the second half in last year's Southwestern Athletic Conference championship after starting quarterback Kelcy Luke went down with a broken leg and helped A&M rally to a 22-13 victory.

Wright to start: Even though Javarris Williams finished second in the Ohio Valley Conference in rushing last season and was named to the all-conference team, TSU coach James Webster said Tuesday that Terrence Wright will start at tailback for the Tigers Saturday night against Alabama A&M.

Wright, 5-10 and 190, rushed for just 86 yards on 24 carries last season and scored two touchdowns.

Williams finished with 1,233 yards on 245 carries and scored 11 touchdowns. He had 121 yards on 23 carries and a touchdown and also caught two passes for 41 yards in TSU's 27-20 loss to A&M last season.

"Terrence has earned the right to start," Webster said. "In my mind and in my heart, Javarris is still our starting running back, but every day you earn your starting position. In evaluating the running backs since last season, Terrence deserves an opportunity to start."

Afterward, Webster heaped praise on Williams.

"Javarris has worked hard," he said. "He reported to camp in good shape. He's big, strong, fast and physical. I'm excited about Javarris. I expect him to be our leading ballcarrier and lead us to victory."

Winston returns: Defensive tackle David Winston returned to practice Tuesday night and moved around pretty well, but defensive coordinator Brawnski Towns said redshirt sophomore Renaldo Askew will start Saturday night against Tennessee State.

Askew, a 6-1, 263-pounder out of Atlanta, played in five games last season and was credited with six tackles.

John Merritt Classic: Tigers tout improvement


By REGGIE BENSON, Times Sports Staff

With influx of Division I transfers, Tennessee St. coach shows optimism


Two years ago, Tennessee State coach James Webster inherited a program that had had three losing seasons in the last five years. The Tigers were devoid of talent and struggled to compete in the Ohio Valley Conference despite having won back-to-back league titles in the late 1990s under former coach L.C. Cole.

TSU went 2-9 during Webster's first season in 2005 and was among the worst teams in the country. Now, three days from beginning his third season at TSU, Webster says the Tigers are one of the more improved teams in college football.

"I think we're ahead of schedule," Webster said when asked to assess TSU's program. "You have to get your people in to see where you are. We were 2-9 my first year and last in the OVC. The last game we played last year we had a chance to share the OVC championship.

"I didn't think we could make that much progress in two years. We've upped the expectations for our fans. I really feel this program is ahead of schedule. We've got some young men that have stepped up and set high goals and standards for this program."

An indication if TSU's program is ahead of schedule could come Saturday night when the Tigers host defending Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Alabama A&M in the John Merritt Classic at Nashville's LP Field. Kickoff is 6.

A&M has beaten TSU the last two seasons and Webster says it's time the Tigers got back on the winning side.

"This is the most important game of the season," he said. "It's our Classic. We've lost two years in a row. We've got to get off to a positive start. With us being in our third year, it's important for us to win the football game and prove to ourselves and our fans that we've made progress."

Webster has turned TSU's program around with an influx of Division I transfers.

Last season, the Tigers had six Division I transfers in their starting lineup, including quarterback Antonio Heffner, who came from South Carolina, and linebacker Kalvin Baker, who came from Florida. Heffner was second in the league in passing, averaging just under 190 yards through the air, while Baker was one of the Tigers' top tacklers.

This season, TSU will have at least five more Division I transfers in the starting lineup, including three on defense.

Sophomore cornerback Marquez Hall came from Vanderbilt. Linebackers Kellen Woodard and Ramone Willis came from Western Michigan and Illinois, respectively. Nose guard Harold Avodele came from Coffeyville Community College.

On offense, wide receivers Kwame Patrick and Rod Evans came from UAB and Mississippi State, respectively.

"It takes time to build a program ... to get the kind of players that you want," Webster said. "We're going into our third year and we're beginning to get the kind of players we want in our program. We're catching up."

As a result, Webster believes his team will contend for the OVC championship. OVC officials picked the Tigers to finish fifth in the league's preseason poll. Webster expects his team to be a lot better than that.

"I expect us to win the OVC," he said. "I don't see anybody on our schedule, if we play well, we can't beat. I want this football team to be confident.

"I want them to feel we can win the OVC. I don't want them to question whether we can win."

ASU running back has been impeccable

By Josh Moon, Montgomery Advertiser

A few days ago, the Alabama State coaches sat down together and discussed the type of players they hoped to recruit to the school in coming years. With several new coaches, including a new head coach, on the staff and with recruiting starting to really heat up, the ASU coaches just wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page.

So, they spent a little time tossing out attributes and building the ideal ASU player. When they had finished, head coach Reggie Barlow noticed something a little strange.

"We already had our ideal player on campus," Barlow said. "It's Jay Peck."

From academics to community work to leadership, Peck is the player every coach dreams of. He's the all-star on the field, the excellent student in the classroom and an unofficial spokesman at team events.

"You can't beat Jay Peck," Barlow said. "Really, having him on this team is just a blessing. He does so much for you and sets such a great example for the rest of the players. You can take a young guy and show him Jay Peck and say, 'That's what you're shooting for.' You don't get many guys like that."

What's really odd, though, is to have a guy like that and not know it. Yet, that's exactly what happened with Peck during his first three years at ASU.

When he first joined the team in 2003, Peck was a little-known walk-on who the coaches felt deserved a chance. For the next three years, which included one redshirt season, he was the third-string running back behind two of the top rushers in the conference. Finally, in 2006, with those two backs gone, Peck was in line for the top spot.

Wrong. He opened the season as the third-string back behind a couple of freshmen. "I never stopped believing in myself," Peck said. "I knew I could do whatever they were asking of me, whatever they needed. I just needed the opportunity to prove it. But I never got frustrated really. I just worked harder."

Finally, a game into the 2006 season, after a blowout loss to start the year, Peck found himself starting. But that had less to do with the coaches' recognizing his talent and more to do with the complete ineffectiveness of the two guys in front of him. Making Peck the starter was a move made out of desperation more than anything else.

Sometimes, desperate measures work just fine.

Peck's first carry went for nine yards. His second went for 10. He finished the game with 20 carries for 130 yards and a touchdown.

"I think he just got buried behind some guys and nobody knew he was that talented," said Barlow, who was an assistant on both the 2005 and 2006 teams. "That happens sometimes. You'll get a guy who just needs that game situation to show you what he can do. When we gave it to Peck, he made the most of it."

And the Hornets made the most of him.

Over the next nine games, no back in the conference -- and few in college football -- carried more times than Peck's 229 carries. And only one back in the SWAC - Arkansas-Pine Bluff's Martell Mallet - had more total yards and touchdowns than Peck.

"People asked me if I didn't get worn down," Peck said. "But I loved it. This is what you play for."

And now, the guy few fans knew before the second game last season finds himself all over the place. He's on billboards, fliers, the team media guide and even the passes to games. He's an all-conference selection and is listed as one of the top running back prospects in black college football. When the football team participates in a public event, such as the conference's media day, Peck is Barlow's first choice.

For all intents and purposes, for his senior year, Jay Peck is the face of Alabama State football.

"It is a little surreal," Peck says, laughing. "I certainly don't mind doing any of that stuff. I'm a humble guy, so I'm not completely comfortable with the posters and stuff. But I see it all as such an honor. To think about where I was and to have all of this happening, yeah, it's pretty cool. I guess it just goes to show that if you keep working, good things will happen."


* The One Who Got Away: Barlow and the ASU coaching staff had been working this week to sign 6-foot-6, 320-pound offensive lineman Matthew Hardick, who recently was released by Florida State.

But ASU admission standards got in the way.

"We had the kid. He was ready to sign," Barlow said. "He had taken some sort of remedial class or something at Florida State that we don't accept here. It wasn't NCAA rules, it was our rules. He was eligible to play. Could've been on the field this afternoon and playing in this weekend's game."

Barlow said it now appears that Hardrick will sign with Texas Southern, who the Hornets face in week two.

"I guess we'll get to see him play up close," Barlow said. "He'll be hard to miss."

Hardrick was ranked as the No. 8 offensive lineman in the country by Rivals, a recruiting Web site, two years ago and logged some playing time for the Seminoles last season. He had chosen ASU after taking visits to South Florida, Central Florida and Florida International. Because he's dropping a division to play at Texas Southern, Hardrick will be eligible to play immediately

Aggies' Miller will be back on familiar ground Saturday

By John Dell, JOURNAL REPORTER

The N.C. A&T Aggies might be down, but they won’t let themselves be counted out.

That’s the message that quarterback Herb Miller and his teammates have discussed at length in the preseason.

Miller, a redshirt sophomore quarterback from Winston-Salem, will lead A&T against rival Winston-Salem State at 6 p.m. Saturday at Bowman Gray Stadium. Miller is familiar with Bowman Gray, having played there twice during his career at Carver High School.

“I’m looking forward to coming home and playing,” said Miller, whose 2006 season ended Oct. 21, when he tore two knee ligaments in a game against Howard.

Miller’s season wasn’t the only one ruined. The Aggies, in Coach Lee Fobbs’ first year, struggled in every facet of the game and finished 0-11.

“There’s no doubt it was a tough year, but we aren’t worried about the past,” Miller said.

After Miller had multiple surgeries on his knee, doctors told him he would need nearly nine months to recover. He wasn’t expected back for spring practice, but he worked at his rehabilitation and returned in four months. He is expected to be A&T’s main quarterback after Wayne Campbell was declared academically ineligible in the spring.

“I was a little sore in spring ball, but now I’m 100 percent and ready to go,” Miller said. “I don’t feel it at all, so I must have rehabbed it pretty well.”

Another Aggie who has some experience at Bowman Gray is center Tim Bess, a redshirt junior. He played for Parkland in those games against Carver, and he remembers the two victories well.
“Yeah, we beat Carver pretty good back in the day,” he said.

Bess said that coming home to play in a meaningful game is important, especially for bragging rights. Two of his former high-school teammates, Monte Purvis and Jed Bines, play for WSSU.

“This is huge for me right here,” Bess said. “Myself and Herb will have a lot of family and friends at the game, so we want to go out and represent.”

The Aggies have a 16-game losing streak, and they lost to the Rams 41-14 last season.

If A&T is to improve, Miller and the rest of the offense must cut back on mistakes. The Aggies scored just 17 touchdowns last season and averaged 10.4 points a game while allowing 43.2. They had 28 turnovers, with Campbell and Miller combining to throw 19 interceptions.

“It’s a different feel for me because I am a little wiser,” Miller said. “It was tough when the injury hit, but I was able to sit back and watch a little, and I think that helped.”

Miller also said that if he doesn’t play well, Shelton Morgan, a redshirt freshman from Elizabeth City, is pushing for playing time.

“I feel a whole lot more comfortable going into this season,” Miller said. “And I think that’s going to make a difference.”

Miller said that last year’s team had mostly individuals but that this year’s team is different.

“We come to practice together,” he said. “We are more cohesive and more of a team.”

Try as the Aggies might, Miller said that putting the winless season behind hasn’t been easy.

“You know it’s there in the back of your mind, but we are moving ahead to the future,” he said. “We can’t live in the past. That’s something all the coaches have stressed to us.”

The State of Aggie Football


By: Dwight Moore II-Contributor

North Carolina A&T University is the home of many things. "The Greensboro Four", one of the most respected engineering programs in the nation and one of the best football programs in all of black college football.

However, over the past few seasons this very proud football program has endured multiple losing seasons that has caused a lot of complaining within the Aggie community among the students, fans, alumni, and supporters.

The constant question of "When is the football team going to win a game?" has become very popular topic throughout campus.

Now I am 21 year old junior from right here in Greensboro . I have spent every fall since 1990 in Aggie Stadium watching, cheering, and loving A&T football. My family and I were at every home game, every classic from Atlanta to Indianapolis, and every big game home or away. So if anyone among the student body has the right to complain about the football team it would probably be me. But I'm not, because I realize no matter how great and proud a football program is there will come a time when they will have to rebuild and that is what Coach Fobbs and his staff are doing.

The reason that so many Aggies are having a hard time dealing with the rebuilding process is because we are not use to "rebuilding" but "reloading" and we became spoil fans who always thought that our football would be great and for good reasons.

From 1990 to 2003 the football team won 111 games to only 49 losses. This run of excellence would include four MEAC titles, three trips to 1-AA playoffs that included the school's first playoff win over the number one team in the nation at the time in Tennessee State that also claimed the school's first and only black national championship during the historic 1999 season, and also an appearance in the 1991 Heritage Bowl in Miami. Names such as James White, Rudy Artis, Connell Maynor , Maseo Bolin,Maurice Hicks, Chris McNeil, Darryl Klugh, Curtis Deloatch, and "The Blue Death Defense" became apart of Aggie football lore.

However, after the 2003 season the bottom started to fall out from under and you can trace the being of it back to the end of the 2002 season when Bill Hayes was fired as head coach.

That move began a string of very questionable moves by the administration and the athletics department that included a very bad attempt at trying to become a Division 1-A football program. Those moves along with poor results under the George Small tenure lead the program to the state that it was in last season.

Usually undermanned against the their opponents last season we went 0-11, a season that we would all like to forget and there is good chance that will happen in coming seasons.

Coach Fobbs and his staff are bringing transfers and recruits to go along with the other players that we already have which allows him to have more man power at his use and more means a more competitive team and that will lead to more wins.

As a person who has followed the A&T football program their entire life I have to say that the last a couple seasons have been very hard. Going 3- 8 two straight years and then going 0-11 has been really hard for the Aggie community to handle because many of us remember when A&T was one of the respected and feared teams in black college football.

But now things are about to change the rebuilding process has began and I hope the MEAC and the rest of the HBCUs enjoyed A&T being down for these last couple of years because now A&T is getting there "swagger" back although you could argue that it hasn't gone anywhere to being with.

It is now time to remind all the HBCUs in the nation why they have always been jealous of us Aggies because "we are A&T and they aren't and every school that isn't A&T is just school wishing that it was".

Because the day will come when once again our players will make us proud and we will be able to stand in the opponents faces and there will be nothing they can do about when we scream the those two words that known are worldwide...
AGGIE PRIDE!

Golden Lions scuffle through practice


By Mike Marzelli/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

Arkansas-Pine Bluff head coach Mo Forte couldn’t have been more displeased with his team’s effort at practice Tuesday.

With UAPB’s season opener at Mississippi Valley State looming on Saturday, the Golden Lions were sluggish throughout the three-hour plus workout that featured no contact and was mostly 7-on-7 work and special teams. Their execution suffered because of it, leaving Forte in a foul mood as he addressed the team afterwards

“I told them we had a meeting tonight and that was it, I didn’t have anything else to say,” Forte said. “We were completely uninterested out there and no one wanted to do anything. I don’t know what the problem was or what we were doing but we have to figure it out over night.”

Forte blamed his team’s lack of energy and focus on the start of school. Classes started Monday at UAPB and despite the fact that the coaching staff moved practice back a half-hour to accommodate players’ late classes, there were still a number of players who were in and out of practice.

“This always happens when school starts,” Forte said. “We move practice back and then we have kids who have a class they have to take at six and they have to leave and it really hurts us.
“There is no continuity for our football team when we have kids who have to miss parts of practice because there are only certain times that sections of classes are available and they are required to take them.”

UAPB won’t be changing anything with tomorrow’s workout but Forte has made it clear that he expects a different persona from his team.”

“They just need to come out refocused and re-energized and with a better attitude and get it done because our first game is right around the corner and we know that Valley is going to be ready even if we’re not,” Forte said. “It is still just mind boggling to me how poorly we performed [yesterday], especially considering it was the coolest day of camp.”

Heflin healthy

Kicker Brodie Heflin was back in pads Tuesday with his sprained right ankle heavily taped but showed no ill effects from the injury he suffered in last Saturday’s scrimmage. Heflin boomed his first punt of the afternoon over 50 yards and had no difficulty getting off four more kicks during the final portion of practice.

Expecting the unexpected

Forte says he doesn’t know what to expect from the Delta Devils, who will feature a new quarterback and a slew of new starters on both sides of the ball.

“I don’t know much about them, whether they’re going to run the same philosophy or a new one or anything,” Forte said. “We’re preparing for them generically because we know anything can happen.”

One thing the Lions can expect is a tough game. Valley has beaten UAPB two years in a row.

“I know they feel good about that,” Forte said “They’re going to be ready to do it again.”