Grambling to kickoff 2003 season
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
The Tigers travel to California this weekend
to take on San Jose State in a game that not only kicks
off the black college season but is among just two games
to be played on the opening weekend of the 2003
college football campaign. The game will be televised live
at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN2.
Grambling, not Florida A&M, is the team that has dominated play on its level winning three straight Southwestern Athletic Conference championships and finishing at the top of most year-end black college rankings during the same period. The Tigers are 31-5 over the past three seasons.
Under head coach Doug Williams, the former Grambling and NFL quarterback who took over from legendary coach Eddie Robinson in 1998, the Tigers have prospered and reclaimed their place as the preeminent black college team in the land.
That perception was furthered recently when Sports Illustrated named the Tigers the 2003 preseason No. 1 team in all of I-AA football, the first time in history a black college entered the season with that lofty a perch.
'We're grateful (for the ranking) and that just shows a lot of respect for this program," Williams said from his office Tuesday after taking his team through an afternoon workout.
But any talk that the Tigers should be competing with the Div. I big boys is just that, according to Williams.
"You have to look at the big picture. It's about dollar bills and we at Grambling can't afford to even think about moving up," he said.
"Florida A&M obviously has the support to do it and if everything goes right I think they'll get the athletes to compete."
Getting ready for San Jose State, a Div. I program that finished 6-7 last year and has the likes of Florida, Stanford, SMU and Hawaii on its 2003 schedule, is enough of a challenge for Williams. Last year's Grambling squad, which finished 11-2, began the season with a 52-20 loss to McNeese State, a team that finished the regular season as the No. 1 ranked I-AA squad in the nation. Williams said there's a big difference between this year and last.
"We know this (our) team a little better," he explained. "Last year we went into the season with just seven starters (returning). We didn't really know what we had. Some had us going 9-3, others 7-5. We've got experience now, and we've got Bruce Eugene.
As a sophomore, Eugene began last season as the Tigers' starting quarterback but was pulled during an awful performance against McNeese State. He came off the bench a week later against Alcorn State to engineer a last-second, come-from-behind 41-35 win.
From that point on, the 6-1, 260-pounder literally threw his considerable weight and arm strength around putting up one of the greatest seasons in college football history.
He finished with 4,483 passing yards, 43 touchdown passes with only 16 interceptions. He added another 510 rushing yards and eight scores on the ground en route to being named SWAC Offensive Player of the Year. He finished third in voting for the Walter Payton Award given to I-AA's top offensive player. Many, including his coach, thought he should have won it.
Eugene placed his name just below former Mississippi Valley State QB Willie Totten and former Alcorn State QB Steve McNair in the NCAA record books for single season performances. They're 1-2.
"Bruce is a lot better than he was last year," said Williams, who calls Eugene the best pure passer in college football.
"He's worked harder. He's faced a lot of game conditions. He's reading defenses better making better decisions and quicker decisions. We've thrown a lot at him and he's responded well. And he's a lot better athlete than people give him credit for.
As for his size, Williams didn't divulge his weight but said Eugene is "still a fatback."
He'll have a squad that the coach says is bigger, stronger and greatly improved around him.
Among them is senior wide receiver Tramon Douglas, whose totals of 92 catches, 1,704 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns broke all the school records and put his name alongside guys named (MVSU's Jerry) Rice and (Randy) Moss in NCAA annals.
Facing a Div. I program like San Jose State, which competes in the Western Athletic Conference, in front of a national television audience with a No. 1 ranking on their backs is a formidable task but not one Williams nor his coaching staff shrinks from.
"What pressure?," said Williams referring to the attitude that he and the coaches are trying to transmit to the players.
"If the coaches look like we're scared, the kids will be. This is an opportunity to show just what kind of program we have here. We're confident and capable."
The Grambling State-San Jose State game is billed as the first "Literacy Classic" and concludes "Literacy Week" activities in conjunction with the opening of the $177-million Dr. Martin Luther King Library, a one-of-a-kind collaborative venture by the city of San Jose and San Jose State University.
One sidenote to the game is that it pits Williams against San Jose State head coach Dr. Fritz Hill, one of only four African-American head coaches in Div. I football and one of only two with doctoral degrees. Hill, in his third season at SJSU, has posted a 9-16 record over his two seasons. His team features QB Scott Rislov and returns the top three receivers from a year ago. SJSU was third nationally in interceptions in 2002 with 23 in 13 games.
© 2003 Azeez Communications, Inc.