FROM THE WEEKELY SWAC FOOTBALL COACHES TELECONFERENCE. October 28, 2015

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1 COACHES CORNER FROM THE WEEKELY SWAC FOOTBALL COACHES TELECONFERENCE October 28, 2015 Compiled by Desrick Rhooms Grambling State Tigers - Head Coach Broderick Fobbs LAST WEEK: The Tigers made it up to their homecoming crowd for having to sit in the rain by demolishing Mississippi Valley State The Tigers were unstoppable on the ground, running for over 300 yards in the victory. Running back Jestin Kelly ran for 159 yards and two touchdowns. The win keeps the Tigers at the top of the West Division at 6-0 and 6-2 overall. FOBBS TAKE: A game we really needed, we ran the ball well and passed well. It s good to be able to lean on Jestin (Kelly), with the way the climate was. When you have someone like (QB) Jonathan (Williams), who s talented with his arm and legs, teams try to take away your strength. We re pleased to come away with the victory for our homecoming crowd. And we re fortunate to be able to have our destiny in our hands. I would lean to Jonathan (as the SWAC offensive player of the year), but there are other deserving players in the conference as well. FAST FACTS: Fobbs spoke on trying to keep his offense balanced, which has been the case so far. The Tigers are in the top three in rushing and passing in the SWAC. FOBBS OUTLOOK ON UPCOMING BYE: Been rather long, when you haven t had a weekend off since August 7th. We need to fix up some things to get ready for this final stretch. We have to look at the film from the first eight weeks and see what s glaring so that we can fix that. Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils - Head Coach Rick Comegy LAST WEEK: The Devils were embarrassed at Grambling State s (6-2) homecoming, losing They allowed the Tigers to gain over 500 yards in total offense. The only bright spot on the team was running back Thomas Stokes Jr., finishing with 127 yards and a touchdown. The winless Devils are now 0-8 overall and 0-6 in conference, last in the East division. COMEGY S TAKE: Grambling is everything that people think they are. Going into the game I felt good because I thought that the weather would limit their speed. We thought that they might ve overlooked us and not be prepared, but they came out with their motors running.

2 FAST FACTS: The Devils offense is averaging only 11 points per game, worst in the conference. COMEGY S OUTLOOK FACING JACKSON STATE: I don t think there was a better person that they could ve chosen to lead that team (Coach Derrick McCall at Jackson State). Right now they re playing confident football and I can t wait until our team reaches that point. McCall was on the staff when Comegy was the head coach at Jackson State. Prairie View A&M Panthers - Head Coach Willie Simmons LAST WEEK: BYE. The Panthers are 4-2 overall and 4-1 in conference, standing tied for second in the West division with Southern. SIMMONS TAKE: We got to rest our guys, we were able to work on some things that got us in trouble in previous weeks. We worked on getting our tempo on offense much faster, and formation adjustments on defense. This was kind of a mini spring practice for us. FAST FACTS: The Panthers are third in offensive yards in the SWAC, despite only playing six official games so far compared to some teams having already played eight. They also lead the conference in yards per game (494.3). SIMMONS OUTLOOK FACING ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF: Our guys can t look at their record (1-6) and think that they re going to lay down because they re not. We have enough motivation to play good football. (UAPB) Coach (Monte) Coleman has always prided himself on lining up a defense that s going to come after you. Southern Jaguars - Head Coach Dawson Odums LAST WEEK: Coach Odums found a successful gameplan against Texas Southern feed running back Lenard Tillery the ball. Tillery led the Jaguars to a victory over Texas Southern running for 198 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns. The Jaguars are now 4-2 overall after the win and 4-1 in conference play, tied for second with Southern in the West Division. ODUMS TAKE: In the second half I think we played as good as we played all year offensively. The win shows that the team can bounce back from a loss (to Prairie View A&M) and still execute. FAST FACTS: The Jaguars defense stepped up big against Texas Southern, geting eight sacks. They are third in the conference in sacks. ODUMS OUTLOOK FACING ALCORN STATE: They re coming off a bye week so they ll have fresh legs. They re a tough out. We re going to have to play the best we played all year to have a chance. I think this is a good running team and we welcome the challenge to stop them. It starts with him and he s been good since he s been there, on Alcorn State s quarterback John Gibbs Jr.. Two of the better backs in the conference, they re physical and we have to wrap up, on Alcorn State s running backs Aaron Baker and Darryan Ragsdale.

3 Alcorn State Braves - Head Coach Jay Hopson LAST WEEK: BYE. The Braves are 4-2 overall and 4-1 in conference. They re on top of the East Division. HOPSON S TAKE: We have a weird schedule, having two byes in the last three weeks. The first week was a breather but we took this second one like a normal game week to prepare for Southern and to keep us on track. FAST FACTS: The Braves will need to make sure to take care of the ball as they are tied for first in the conference in fumbles lost. HOPSON S OUTLOOK FACING SOUTHERN: We talked about ball security a lot, it s no secret. We can t afford to give them the ball four times like we did against Grambling (a loss in OT). We re a pretty experienced team so hopefully the environment isn t a factor. If there s a better returner in the country than him then I need to see him because he s an explosive athlete, on Southern KR/WR Willie Quinn. Alabama A&M Bulldogs - Head Coach James Spady LAST WEEK: BYE. The Bulldogs are 2-4 overall and 2-2 in conference, standing third in the East division. SPADY S TAKE ON LAST WEEK S BYE: To have an open week before one of your biggest games of the season (Magic City Classic vs. Alabama State), is a blessing. The kids don t like it, to practice all week and not have a game to play can be tedious, I understand it. But as a coach, I couldn t live without that open week. FAST FACTS: The Magic City Classic (this Saturday vs. Alabama State) is the largest HBCU event in the country, held at historic Legion Field in Birmingham. The game annually draws well over 50,000 fans. Alabama A&M currently leads the series against Alabama State, SPADY S OUTLOOK VS ALABAMA STATE: This is the Magic City Classic, this is the biggest game on our schedule. Tootie (D Angelo Ballard) is our starter (at QB) and he will start as long as he is able to play, but Damian (May) will play as well. We just want to be 1-0 this week, that s our biggest goal. Jackson State Tigers - Head Coach Derrick McCall LAST WEEK: Quarterback Jarin Morikawa and wide receiver Devin Fosselman not only won the game for the Tigers against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-6) 37-3, but they also won SWAC honors. Fosselman won Offensive Player of the Week after grabbing six receptions for 175 yards and three touchdowns. Morikawa won Newcomer of the Week after throwing for 333 yards and three touchdowns, while filling in for the injured La- Montiez Ivy. The Tigers are now 2-5 overall and 2-3 in conference, fourth in the East Division. MCCALL S TAKE: It was the first win for interim head coach Derrick McCall. He is now 1-1 since taking over from Harold Jackson after five games.

4 FAST FACTS: Jackson State s passing offense is the best in the conference, averaging yards per game. Against Mississippi Valley State this week, McCall will be going against the coach that brought him to Jackson State (MVSU head coach Rick Comegy). MCCALL S OUTLOOK ON FACING MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE: He (former JSU and now MVSU head coach Rick Comegy) helped me in so many ways. He was responsible for bringing me to Jackson State and making me a coordinator. We ll have to be ready to go to Valley and play a very tough football game. Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions - Head Coach Monte Coleman LAST WEEK: The Lions had no answer for Jackson State s passing attack and defense, as they lost The Lions only completed nine attempts and only earned nine first downs throughout the game. The Lions also gave up nearly 500 yards on defense with 300 coming thru the air. The Lions are now 1-6 overall and 0-5 in conference, last in the West Division. COLEMAN S TAKE: We didn t play well in any of the three phases, offense, defense or special teams. And I take full responsibility for that. We just weren t ready to play and that falls on me. I need to get my guys ready and that s what we ll do. FAST FACTS: The Lions have been troubled on offense all season, scoring the least amount of touchdowns in the conference (12). Their offense is ranked next to last in total offensive yards as well, and was only able to put up 175 yards and three points against Jackson State. COLEMAN S OUTLOOK ON FACING PRAIRIE VIEW A&M: We re going to go down to Texas to face Prairie View to win. We re not asking anyone to feel sorry for us. We have players and we re capable of getting the job done. Alabama State Hornets - Head Coach Brian Jenkins LAST WEEK: BYE. The Hornets are 3-4 overall and 3-3 in conference, second in the East division but ineligible for conference honors because of NCAA restrictions. JENKINS TAKE: We evaluated ourselves as coaches and made sure we that we put our players in the best spots to succeed. FAST FACTS: It will be interesting to see if a struggling Alabama State offense can take advantage of Alabama A&M s defense, ranked last in total defense (509 ypg.) in the conference. JENKINS OUTLOOK FACING ALABAMA A&M: We know what s on the line with the boosters, alumni, and fans when it comes to the Magic City Classic. You need to have your players forget about the actual Magic City Classic and focus on the goals set and the preparation required. My philosophy is that we treat all games the same. He s a young kid and has done a phenomenal job in changing the field position for us, on being surprised by punter Trevor Vincent.

5 Texas Southern Tigers - Head Coach Darrell Asberry LAST WEEK: The Tigers just couldn t hold off Southern for the entire game and lost The game was tied at 21 entering halftime but Southern scored 19 unanswered points in the second half. The Tigers simply couldn t slow down Southern s running back Lenard Tillery as he almost ran for 200 yards. The lost brings their record down to 3-4 overall and 2-4 in the conference, fourth in the West Division.. ASBERRY S TAKE: I told our guys that Southern has been a championship team, they ve been here before. When you re facing a team that s been to championship games after championship games, you can t afford to commit mistakes. I think that Willie Quinn is one of the best returners in the country, not just HBCU football, on Southern s Quinn who returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown. I told our guys at the half that it would come down to who could run the ball and not commit turnovers, and they ran the ball well. FAST FACTS: While the Tigers aren t having the season they planned on, one thing they can hang their hat on is the fact that they lead the conference in turnover margin (+7). They got three fumbles vs. Southern. ASBERRY S OUTLOOK FACING COLLEGE OF FAITH: We need to focus on running the football, because we re going to face that kind of weather again. If the weather is dry we know we can throw the football with the best of them. S W A C G A M E S T H I S W E E K SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31 Prairie View A&M vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Waller, TX 1p Texas Southern vs. College of Faith in Houston, TX 1p Miss Valley State vs. Jackson State in Itta Bena, MS 4p Southern vs. Alcorn State in Baton Rouge, LA 4p CLASSICS / TV GAMES 74th Magic City Classic - ESPNU delayed / ESPN3 Alabama State vs. Alabama A&M in Birmingham, AL 2:30p