SWAC Spring News............

[Blacknbengal]

Learning continues during in-state tour

By Ian R. Rapoport
irapopor@clarionledger.com


Jackson State's spring football practice sessions are long over. But that doesn't mean new coach Rick Comegy has allowed the learning to stop.

This week, Comegy took his coaching staff on an in-state football tour of sorts.

Tuesday, they watched Mississippi State's practice. Thursday, Ole Miss was the plan. On Friday, some were scheduled to see USM's practice, while others chose LSU.

"We just want to go out and see what other people are doing," said Comegy, who was hired in December to revive a once-proud JSU program. "Pick up some drills, kind of scan around, and try to see where we can improve, if we're doing the right things. We can measure what they're doing against what we're doing."

The 30-year coaching veteran is moving up a level - from Division II to Division I-AA. But the coach who most recently led Tuskegee to a 90-26 record in 10 seasons, said this is part of building a winning program. Part of helping the Tigers avoid a fourth straight losing season is to seek "professional growth for the entire staff. To know you don't know everything."

"I'm looking for some time management things on the field," said Comegy, who takes over for James Bell, who was fired before the end of his third season and compiled an 8-23 record. "We picked up some good things that we can incorporate."

The practice is common among college football coaches. Mississippi State's staff, for instance, recently visited a workout at Clemson. Last season, it sent its offensive coaches to Miami, while the defensive coaches went to Florida State.

"It might be one play, one technique, one drill," Bulldogs coach Sylvester Croom said, "You can always improve."

Comegy, a coach with a work-aholic reputation, will do everything in his power to make sure he sees improvement. He already raised eyebrows by signing 55 players in February, then by forcing his current players to "try out" for a spot on the roster during spring practice.

When the learning for his staff is over, Comegy still has the detail-oriented, off-the-field chores of a coach to conclude. For instance, he's focused on filing the necessary paperwork for eligibility, meeting people, and doing the things a football coach does. And when the fall rolls around, Comegy sees a bright future for JSU.

"I don't know how far our program is going to come this season," he said. "But we're working hard enough to be successful."



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[Blacknbengal]

Southern signing class adds depth

By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN
Advocate Sports Writer
Published: Mar 26, 2006

Southern?s football team pushed almost every qualified freshman into action, with most of them starting, last season. That?s not how SU coach Pete Richardson has done things for more than a dozen years.

But that?s how thin the Jaguars, who went 4-5, were.

So what about the class of 25 prepsters signed last month? How quickly will they be pushed into the fray?

?I don?t think we?ll have as many starters? among true freshmen in comparison to last season, Southern coach Pete Richardson said. ?But I think we?ll have as many who have an opportunity to play some, and I think that?s going to help our football team down the road.?

At least six of those February signees are likely to be nonqualifiers. Historically, Southern, like many Southwestern Athletic Conference schools, has a high number of nonqualifiers in any signing class.

Nonqualifiers from the February 2005 class, who were ineligible to practice or play last season, will augment those who qualify from the latest signing class when the team starts preseason practice in August.

?If the returning individuals can elevate their level of play, then a lot of those individuals will have an opportunity to be in competition ? as far as being strong backups and having an opportunity to push,? Richardson said. ?That?s what makes you a good football team, knowing you have some depth.?

The defensive side is the most pressing. Especially at linebacker and defensive line.

There are eight signees who have defensive line experience, and three more are linebackers.

?There is no one guy who really stands out,? defensive coordinator Terrence Graves said. ?I?m just glad we addressed those issues ? speed, depth, size. ? All the defensive guys were must-haves.?

Though the transfer of former North Carolina transfer defensive tackle Isaiah Thomas this spring helps, there are three walk-ons among just nine players competing in spring practice.

Still, line play usually requires a year of maturity ? both physically and maturity. Both Richardson and defensive line coach David Geralds said more transfers were welcome to help add talent and depth.

Five offensive linemen were signed. Even though SU loses left guard Lunda Wells and center Brandon Jones, the unit is in better shape ? albeit slightly ? than their defensive counterparts. That?s because freshmen like Adrian Banks and Myles Williams started last season.

?The big thing is we were able to get the numbers up front we need,? offensive coordinator David Oliver said. ?We feel, at the (Division) I-AA level, that you?re going to have to develop linemen. You?re going to have to get guys who fit your system, get them practicing for a year or two and give them a chance to practice and run plays and get a feel for the scheme.

?We?re still fairly young up front. Just getting those numbers up front was a crtical part of the signing class for us. The big thing was getting those interior linemen, especially among the offensive line, who are qualifiers. I was excited about those guys.?

Southern did not sign a quarterback (after bringing in three, with one of those, Damion Clark, moved to wide receiver in the fall) and hauled in just one running back (with the position loaded with injured players, none of whom dominated last season, this spring).
?We need some depth in those areas,? Richardson said.

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[Blacknbengal]

GSU not taking a spring break
By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com

GRAMBLING ? Grambling State could be forgiven for taking it easy.

After all, the Tigers won the Southwestern Athletic Conference last season in the most dominating of fashions, beating opponents by an average of three touchdowns. Coach Melvin Spears boasted the league's top offense and No. 2 defense.

GSU also emerged largely intact, losing only a handful of impact starters to graduation.

That number includes record-setting quarterback Bruce Eugene. But backup Brandon Landers, who won conference freshman of the year honors subbing in 2004 when Eugene went down, has ably stepped in.
So most of the lineup for next year is already written in with a permanent marker.

Yet, GSU's spring sessions have been up-tempo and focused. The practices start early and they run long.

"I don't think anyone is stuck on what happened last year," said Farmerville middle linebacker Dimitri Carr, who led the team in tackles in 2005. "Nothing is going to be handed to us. You've got to go out and take it again."

That's why GSU enters its final week of spring camp at such a furious pace.

"They have to put forth the kind of effort that brings consistency," Spears said. "If they play and practice at full speed, it will spill onto the field. We want them to have some fun, but they also have to compete."

Spears was a member of Doug Williams' staff, as offensive coordinator and assistant head coach, while GSU earned three consecutive conference titles in 2000-02. Spears said that gave him unique insight into what it takes to get back to Birmingham.

"They have to be committed to work hard, even harder than before," Spears said. "Last year is last year. There's still a whole bunch of little things to improve upon."

Demanding so much work after so much success, however, can be a tough sell. Spears gets it by nurturing a bunker mentality within the locker room.

This team remembers well an emotionally battering 2004 campaign that saw Grambling lose its starting quarterback to injury ? and then all of its home games, something that had never happened before at GSU.

The Tigers returned with a searing intensity last spring ? and the result was an undefeated conference mark on the way to the 2005 championship.

In after-practice talks, Spears reminds the players that they won't be sneaking up on anyone this time around. He has also consistently framed their experience within Grambling's larger story.

"We talk about the bull's eye on our backs," Spears said. "That's been put there for 80 years at Grambling. Not only do they need to understand about being the champion this year, but also that legacy. Everybody is always gunning for us."

Of course, there are plenty of unrealized goals for those few roster members who had a sideline perch during GSU's magical '05 title run.

Carr, surveying Grambling's practice field, said: "People who didn't get to play too much last year, they may want it the most of all."

That includes Landers, who redshirted in 2005 after Eugene returned from a knee injury.


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[Blacknbengal]

Guice girds Grambling secondary

Wossman product looks to lock down corner spot
By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com

GRAMBLING ? A former receiver, Wossman product Bakari Guice still longs for the ball.

Asked what he missed most after a season lost to ineligibility at Grambling State, Guice said: "Making an interception."

Guice returns to GSU's spring sessions as the starting cornerback opposite of Greg Fassitt, though Southern Miss transfer James Nelson is making a strong argument for playing time.

Things were slow going at first for Guice, who had 12 tackles as a key backup in 2004. He also filled in at kick returner, averaging 13.4 yards on five attempts, before that long time away.
"The first couple of days, I was rusty," he said, "but it's been great coming back. I've still got my instincts."

And remarkable natural ability.

Guice, part of a 4A state-champion 400-relay team at Wossman in 2001, has been clocked at 4.3 in the 40-yard dash. GSU coach Melvin Spears loves to talk about his "unbelievable hops."

"He's a good player overall," confirmed defensive backs coach Sam Petitto, "but what makes him special is his speed."

Is it possible that Guice makes the conference's best pass defense even better?

"I was confident with things last year, but we are not satisfied," Petitto said. "I'm expecting more when we step on the field with Guice and Fassitt."

Remember that GSU, with Fassitt and the departed Marques Binns on the corners, led the league in 2005 for interceptions and passes defensed ? earning a national ranking at one point.

"Binns did an outstanding job, but he was not a true speed merchant like Guice," Spears said. "We'll have speed across the board."

Guice looked from the beginning like someone who would make a steady contribution at Grambling. That made last year's academic stumble all the more puzzling.

Turns out, his ineligibility was not about Guice's grades so much as misunderstanding NCAA regulations for dropped classes.

"I think he learned his lesson," said Spears. "He got a little overwhelmed and dropped a class that was not offered again. He paid the price."

Guice said: "I thought I could make it up. It was a misunderstanding."

Even chastened a bit, Guice hasn't lost any of his outsized on-field confidence, or that penchant for rat-a-tat trash talking. Guice was sporting a T-shirt from his two-way playing days this week with an old nickname across the back: "Light Switch."

"We missed him last year," Petitto said. "It made him hungry, though

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[Blacknbengal]

Coe takes over ASU offense

By Josh Moon
Montgomery Advertiser




The departure of former ASU offensive coordinator Chris Kapilovic, far right, leaves head coach Charlie Coe, left, in charge of play-calling this season.
-- Advertiser


It looks like the perfect setup for failure for Alabama State head coach Charlie Coe.

The year after losing a quarterback who could go down as one of the most talented players in school history, two running backs who formed what was likely the best backfield combo in school history and three other cogs in the Hornets' offense, Coe has decided to take over the team's offensive coordinator duties.

"Yeah, I'm probably a little crazy," Coe said, jokingly. "This is something I feel comfortable doing. It doesn't matter to me about the criticism. I'm a football coach. Criticism comes with this job. I'm certainly not going to ask somebody else to do a job I wouldn't do on my staff."

No matter how good Coe is at calling the plays, there's little chance next season won't be a down year for the Hornets. The loss of offensive talent is simply too great and the number of experienced backups too few for it be anything but a step down from the previous three seasons.

And with losing comes criticism, especially when the losing comes on the heels of success.

Most of that criticism is sure to go in one direction -- Coe's.

"There's going to be criticism for me, no matter what. I'm the head coach," Coe said. "I'm ultimately responsible for this team. I shouldn't get any more because I'm calling the plays."

Criticism or not, this season will be a challenge for Coe and the ASU coaches.

Attempting to replace Tarvaris Jackson, Keldrick Williams and Robert Randolph would be trouble enough, but those losses aren't half the problem. There are also three new coaches on the staff, an entirely new defensive line and a football team that, overall, will be the youngest and most inexperienced in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

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[Blacknbengal]

Southern LBs must learn on fly

By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN
Advocate Sports Writer
Published: Apr 2, 2006


There are times on the practice fields these days that Southern defensive coordinator Terrence Graves has to stop. Then he reminds himself that linebackers Jonathan Malveaux and Donald Steele were still in high school a year ago.

?It seems like they?ve been here longer than two semesters,? Graves said. ?The fall before, those guys were playing high school football. We threw them in the fire last semester.?

Malveaux and Steele didn?t have breakout seasons in 2005. Like many of Southern?s true freshmen, they had to learn on the run.

Malveaux, who worked his way into the starting lineup, had 11 tackles in three games but had his season end with injuries. Steele had six tackles and a fumble recovery in five games.

The intensity of the process last season maybe makes Graves and his crew seem like they?ve been together longer, but they haven?t.

Other than senior D.J. Brooks (63 tackles, second best on the team), who is in his second spring, this is the first spring together for five of the six players in the first and second strings.

?For a lot of the guys we played last year, what a difference a spring makes,? Graves said. ?They have improved. The thing I stress to them is to improve everyday, to win every play, every drill. They?re starting to buy into that.?

The three starters, right now, are inside linebackers Brooks and Maurice Runnels (14 tackles in two games, starting both before going down to season-ending knee injury) and drop linebacker Johnny Berry (nine tackles in four games).

The second line has Malveaux pushing Runnels and Steele behind Brooks, with former McNeese State transfer Demonta Bellard at drop linebacker.

Brooks is even better. A former nonqualifier who broke out last season, this is his second spring.

?You can see the level of improvement from when he first got on the field to where he is now. And he?s not satisfied,? Graves said.

Runnels had a strong two games as a starter, but then went down on the final defensive play of the Alabama State game.

?He?s still feeling his way through,? SU head coach Pete Richardson said. ?He?s about 85 percent. He?s getting a little bit better each practice.?

Berry is also finding his comfort level.

?(Berry) plays with a lot more confidence than he did last year,? Richardson said.

Malveaux has been slowed by a growing injury lately, but Graves likes his promise.

?Malveaux, he has the attributes and athleticism ? barring a major injury ? can possibly be a special player before he leaves,? Graves said. ?He?s that exciting. He just makes plays. ? The effort he gives, you want all your players to have.?

Bellard practiced last spring, but at strong safety. Then he was ineligible in the fall semester.

?He?s showing some promise. It?s a matter of him getting acclimated,? Graves said of Bellard. ?He came out and was very impressive last spring. Very physical. Loves to compete. It?s good to have him.?

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[Blacknbengal]

GSU rushes to better its run stopping
By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com

GRAMBLING ? One of the focuses for Grambling State's coaches now that spring sessions are over will be film work.

And no game from last year will run through the VCR more than last season's squeaker at Arkansas-Pine Bluff.


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That night revealed just how far GSU still has to go in stopping the run. Talented UAPB freshman Mickey Dean averaged an impressive seven yards a carry, hanging a total of 157 on Grambling.

"We had alignment problems," GSU coach Melvin Spears said. "Guys weren't executing. And Mickey Dean was just outstanding. I said all year that was the best running back we'd seen."
Dean's big day wasn't even the worst of it. As late as Grambling's last regular season game, at Alcorn State, the Tigers were seen surrendering 199 yards ? worst all year ? to Jeremy McCoy.

Grambling won both games, but only escaped UAPB with a three-point victory when Dean simply ran out of time.

A superior secondary eventually pushed GSU to the Southwestern Athletic Conference's top spot for total defense, but Grambling finished No. 4 against the run ? giving up an average of 142 rushing yards per contest. Even after such a dominating championship run, it's an obvious area for improvement.

"The thing we lacked," said defensive coordinator Luther Palmer, "was two strong defensive tackles. We never had two playing great at the same time."

That both inside positions were manned by freshman created some inconsistency, he added.

The spring revealed both the quick maturation of rising sophomore tackle Melvin Matthews of Clinton ? and a trickle-down effect in attitude from new line coach Brett Beard.

"They've responded to his style of coaching," Palmer said. "He's an upbeat, high-tempo guy."

Sophomore Baton Rouge tackle Jason Banks, the other presumptive starter in the middle, has shown marked improvement after a year that saw him excel in spurts.

"We've been working a lot of technique," Banks said. "Our focus has been on getting off the ball and staying in our lanes, so we don't open things up."

A key backup in Grambling's rotation upfront will be Donald Williams, a sophomore from Parker High in Birmingham, Ala.


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[J C]

Comegy starts process of trimming roster with exit interviews
By David Brandt
david.brandt@clarionledger.com
Resurrecting the Jackson State football program won't come without some hurt feelings.
Tigers coach Rick Comegy got some of those uncomfortable moments out of the way last week as players had exit interviews with the new coach before summer break begins.
"Nobody was completely cut from the team, but we had to reduce several scholarships," Comegy said. "Truthfully, some of the kids just aren't at the level we need to be successful. But it's all in an effort to get this program back to where it should be."
Comegy said the spring cleaning is needed to make room for a monster incoming class of over 50 players.
Additionally, Comegy and his staff continue to beat the recruiting bushes, traveling to St. Louis, Memphis and Chicago to find new talent.
The aggressive recruiting is an effort to wipe away the bad taste of a 2-9 season and get the Tigers back in SWAC's upper tier.
"I'm just trying to get our name out as much as possible," Comegy said. "We lost a few kids this year in recruiting that I don't want to lose again next year."
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