2014 Pro Football Hall of Fame: Aeneas Williams gets emotional during Gold Jacket Ceremony

CANTON, Ohio  --  Aeneas Williams tried not to get emotional Friday night as he was welcomed into the exclusive fraternity of the Pro Football Hall of Fame by the gauntlet Gold Jackets awaiting.

Williams had promised himself he wouldn't.

But three steps into the line of Hall of Famers, which included one-time nemesis Dallas Cowboy receiver Michael Irvin, Williams' eyes were already beginning to fill. By the time Williams reached fellow New Orleans native and former St. Louis Rams teammate Marshall Faulk, there was no controlling his emotions.

Williams and Faulk shared a long embrace as the more than 4,000 attendees of the Gold Jacket Ceremony applauded at the Civic Center in Canton. The seven Hall of Fame enshrinees were presented their signature Gold Jackets.

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Texas Southern and Tennessee State University Marching Bands Play in 2014 Pro Football Hall of Fame Parade

CANTON, Ohio - Tens of thousands of fans line the parade route to honor Michael Strahan and the six other 2014 enshrinees to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

The morning crowds watched as the class of 2014 Enshrinees - Derrick Brooks, Ray Guy, Claude Humphrey, Walter Jones, Andre Reed, Michael Strahan, Aeneas Williams - and many more returning Hall of Famers were escorted in cars through downtown Canton.

There were specialty units, giant helium balloons, fabulous floats and marching bands including Tennessee State University and Texas Southern University "Ocean of Soul" as the enshrines were cheered by the crowds that were five rows deep.

PHOTO GALLERY

Watch Tennessee State University Aristocrat Marching Band at the 40:00 mark.
Watch Texas Southern University Ocean of Soul Marching Band at the 56:00 mark.

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Hall of Fame notebook: Mel Blount gets some Southern support in Canton

CANTON, Ohio —Mel Blount finally is getting some company from Southern University in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Exactly 25 years after being enshrined in 1989, following a spectacular career with the great Pittsburgh Steelers teams of the 1970s, Blount will be joined Saturday night by former Southern star Aeneas Williams.

Being only the second former Southern player to be elected to the Hall has even more meaning for Williams, who like Blount played cornerback for 14 NFL seasons.

It’s extra special to Williams because his father, Lawrence, attended Southern when Blount was on his way to stardom during his career with the Jaguars in the late 1960s.

“I love football and I’m a historian of the game, so I knew Mel’s statistics and all of that,” Williams said Friday, on the eve of his induction along with six other former NFL greats.

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Southern's Aeneas Williams still ‘enjoying this wave’ all the way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame

CANTON, Ohio — After 14 productive seasons in the NFL and another 10 years removed from the game he played so well, Aeneas Williams turned back the clock Friday.

From an early-morning photo shoot on the steps of the Pro Football Hall of Fame museum surrounded by 106 members of the shrine, to the Ray Nitschke Luncheon, to a solemn Gold Jacket Dinner that capped a busy day, Williams was a wide-eyed rookie again.

Williams, a New Orleans native and former Southern University star, harkened back to his days as a third-round draft pick by the then-Phoenix Cardinals by doing a lot of listening on the eve of his induction into the Hall of Fame.

“Being in that room with those guys,” a smiling Williams said during an afternoon news conference, “I’m a rookie all over again.”

At the same time, Williams wasn’t intimidated by ...

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As SU Jaguars open camp, no early clues on QB situation

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  -- Southern’s quarterback competition resumed Friday with the first practice of preseason camp.

Every snap, every throw and every decision of four inexperienced players is being dissected by the coaching staff as they try to choose the one most capable of leading the offense when the Jaguars open the season Aug. 30 at Louisiana-Lafayette.

While the coaches look for clues as to which player deserves to start, observers are looking for clues as to what the coaches are thinking.

On Friday, Deonte Shorts worked with the first-team offense, and fellow redshirt freshman Frances Kennah worked with the second team.

And just what does that mean?

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SC State To Begin Preseason Football Camp With 95 Student-Athletes

COACH BUDDY POUGH

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina  --  SC State will begin preparing for the 2014 football season Friday (Aug.1) when players report to the campus for orientation, team seminars, and physicals. The Bulldogs will conduct their first two practices in helmets Saturday (Aug.2) and Sunday (Aug.3) —at 9:30 a.m.

SC State will also conduct, single workouts in shorts and helmets on Monday (Aug. 4) and Tuesday (Aug.5) at 9:30 a.m. and Tuesday at 3:10 p.m. First workout in full pads begin Wednesday (Aug.6) at 9:30 a.m., with two-a-day practices, on an alternating basis, beginning Thursday (Aug.7), with the morning workout set for 9:30 a.m., on Friday (Aug. 8) as well.

Coach Buddy Pough's team will hold its annual "Press and Picture Day" Saturday (Aug. 9), beginning at 9 a.m. at the O.C. Dawson Stadium before conducting its first preseason scrimmage at 7 p.m. The team will take Sunday off before resuming practice Monday (Aug.11) at 9:30 a.m., followed by evening practice at 7:10.

The team's annual "Meet the Players Day", sponsored by The STATE Club, will be held August 16^th at 12:30 p.m. and will be preceded by the second preseason scrimmage at 10 a.m.

 

The Bulldogs open their 12-game 2014 schedule Aug. 30 on the road against intrastate rival Benedict College in the Palmetto Capital City Classic at 5 p.m.at Charles W. Johnson Stadium in Columbia. SC State has five home games slated this season at Oliver. C. Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg. Pough's team was picked to finish second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for the second straight season in a preseason poll of head coaches and sports information directors.

2014 Bulldog Preseason Football Information
Friday Aug. 1 Players report/Orientation/Seminars/Physicals/Team Meeting/Sports Information- 6:30 p.m.
Saturday Aug. 2
Practice # 1 (helmets) 9:30 a.m.
Sunday Aug. 3
Practice # 2 (helmets) 9:30 a.m.
Monday Aug. 4
Practice # 3 (shells) 9:30 a.m.
Tuesday Aug. 5
Practice # 4 (shells) 9:30 a.m.
Wednesday Aug. 6
Practice #5 (full pads) 9:30 a.m.
Thursday Aug. 7 Two-a-day Practices Begin
Practices #6 (full pads) 9:30 a.m.
Practices # 7(shells) 7:10 p.m.
Friday Aug. 8
Practice #8 (full pads) 9:30 a.m.
Saturday Aug. 10 Media & Picture Day-9 a.m. O.C. Dawson Stadium
Practice#9
(Scrimmage #1-full pads)-7 p.m.
Sunday Aug. 11 No practice
Monday Aug. 11 Two-a-day Practices
Practice # 10(full pads) 9:30 a.m.
Practice # 11(shells) 7:10 p.m.
Tuesday Aug. 12
Practice # 12(full pads)-9:30 a.m.
Wednesday Aug. 13 Two-a-day Practices
Practice # 13(full pads) 9:30 a.m.
Practice # 14(shells) 7:10 p.m.
Thursday Aug. 14
Practice #15 (full pads)-9:30 a.m.
Friday Aug. 15 Two-a-day Practices
Practice # 16(full pads) 9:30 a.m.
Practice # 17(shells) 7:10 p.m.
Saturday Aug. 16
Practice# 18 (Scrimmage # 2-full pads) 10 a.m.
Sunday Aug. 17 No practice
Monday Aug.18 Two-a-day Practices
Practice # 19(full pads) 9:30 a.m.
Practice # 20(shells) 7:10 p.m.
Tuesday Aug. 19 Classes Begin, No Practice

**In-season practice schedule begins Aug. 20 (times vary, consult Athletic Media Relations Office).**
 
COURTESY SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Freshman linebacker in hurry-up mode at FAMU

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  -- The sense of urgency to play college football was obvious in Fitzgerald Mofor's voice, as he talked about finally getting his college football career started.He had to make an unexpected stop at a prep school. He's at FAMU now, hoping to make the team as one of four starting linebackers.

"I'm really pumped," he said. "I want to showcase my talent; try to show what I can do."He would have been doing that a year ago at Benedict College, which signed him in the spring of 2013 out of Sherwood High School in Maryland. Instead, he ended up at Jireh Preparatory Academy high school in Matthews, N.C., for a semesterHe's been attending summer classes at FAMU, hoping the stay ahead of the academic curb.

"I'm really pumped," he said. "I want to showcase my talent; try to show what I can do."

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