What's in store in BCF '04
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
The Winston-Salem State Rams kick off the 2004 black college football season next Thursday (Aug. 26) when they travel to Jefferson City, Tn., to take on perennial NCAA Div. II power, Carson-Newman.
A slate of 15 games will follow next Saturday (Aug. 28) in an abbreviated opening week schedule. On Saturday, Sept. 4, a full slate of 30 games will kick the season into full gear.
While we wait for the excitement of the 104th season of black college football to begin, check out these questions and subplots that should figure greatly into how the 2004 season unfolds.
Who's Back?
Underclassmen manned the top eight spots in black college
rushing stats last season, each topping the 1,000-yard mark. Three of the
eight were freshmen while two other first-year players gained over 900 yards.
Of the top 12 returning rushers, only three will be seniors in 2004. That gives credence to the idea that this will be The Year of the Running Back.
Tennessee State's Charles Anthony, who
topped all rushers with 1,708 yards last year, 350 yards more
than the next guy in the rankings, returns for his senior
campaign. In fact, the top rushers in all conferences except the
SWAC are back.
Howard had three runners with 100-yard games last season, sophomore Antoine Rutherford and juniors Jamar Smith and Keon Coleman. Rutherford had two 200-yard games en route to being the Bison's first 1,000-yard freshman rusher in history. Petty also gets back senior Roland "Jay" Colbert who rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2002.
Virginia Union's dangerous do-everything (QB, RB, KR, WR) Cordell Roane returns after being redshirted last year after suffering an injury.
Who's Not?
One 1,000-yard rusher who won't make it back this year is
senior LaShun Peoples of 2003 SWAC
and black college national champion,
Southern. Peoples, a first team all-SWAC selection, was
declared academically ineligible earlier this week. Joining him on the
sidelines will be another Jag all-SWAC first teamer, 2003 SWAC Freshman of
the Year, safety Jamaul George, who has been ruled ineligible to play by
the NCAA. The two were among seven veteran Jags players felled this
week by either academics or the NCAA.
MEAC champion North Carolina A&T also lost three important members of its starting offensive backfield.
Leading rusher Frank Patterson decided to leave the team for personal reasons, leading scorer Carl Scriven was declared ineligible by the NCAA and part-time starter at QB, Randall Rankin, lost out on academics.
Streaks to Continue?
With Southern's win last year, West Division teams have won the
last seven SWAC football championships three straight from Southern
(1997-99), then three straight from Grambling
State (2000-02) before the Jaguars reclaimed the top spot
last year.
With new coaches at four SWAC West Division programs, look for E. Div. favorites Alabama State, Alcorn State or Alabama A&M to have a real shot at breaking the West's stranglehold.
Only Fort Valley State with a title in 1999 has kept Albany State (1993-97, 2003) or Tuskegee (1998, 2000-2002) out of the winner's circle in the SIAC.
Killer Schedule?
It's not even close.
Take a look below (Team-By-Team Schedules) and you'll see these 2004 opponents for Florida A&M, results of their aborted move into the Div. IA football ranks: Illinois, Tulane, Temple and Virginia Tech. What's more, the Rattlers have formidable I-AA competition in Bethune-Cookman, Florida Atlantic and Florida International.
New Classics?
Get ready for new gems in Orlando's (Sept. 4)
Labor Day Classic (Hampton vs. Jackson
State) at the Citrus Bowl with proceeds to
benefit the Eddie Robinson Foundation. It will be the first meeting ever
between Hampton and JSU.
The Washington Redskins' Fed Ex Field is the site for the first annual Prince George's Classic pitting Howard against Alcorn State on Sept. 18. This SWAC/MEAC matchup should bring back memories of the Jay Walker (Howard)/Steve McNair (ASU) duels of the early 90s.
Fat (Phat) Backs?
The term "phat" usually refers to
a someone that is not obese but has substantial meat on its bones.
At 6-1, 255 and 6-4, 258 respec-tively, outstanding quarterbacks
Bruce Eugene of Grambling State and
Bradshaw Littlejohn of Morgan State certainly test the f-a-t vs.
p-h-a-t designations. And these guys
certainly have plenty of meat in their games.
Eugene, the most celebrated black college senior quarterback since Alcorn State's Steve McNair (1991-94), has earned several first-team I-AA all-American selections. Littlejohn, the preseason first team all-MEAC signal-caller, is the man expected to put the finishing touches on the Bears' turnaround.
At 6-2, 240, Fort Valley State freshman Deshun Carmichael, has the size and the potential to join the big-size, big-game club.
Eugene and Alcorn State QB Donald Carrie give the SWAC perhaps the two top senior QBs in black college football.
Eugene has eclipsed all of former GSU QB and Head Coach Doug Williams' Grambling passing records, now having passed for 8,953 yards and 84 TDs in his career. Add 951 rushing yards and Eugene has posted 9,904 yards of total offense. Carrie with 7,810 career passing yards and 66 TD passes is just past halfway to McNair's incredible 14,496 yards and 119 TDs.
Carrie has thrown for over 2,000 yards in each of his first three seasons. McNair surpassed 3,000 yards in all four of his. (By the way, need I remind you that McNair had 16,823 career total offense yards). Incredible!
The best group of QBs however, may be in the SIAC where three excellent signal-callers return. Talented Uyl Joyner is back to lead conference champion Albany State. Nicholas Smith will wind up his excellent career at Miles while Kentucky State junior Joe McBride sees if he can guide the Thorobreds back into title contention.
Sprinters' Speed?
One world class sprinter returns to lead black college receivers
while another joins the fray. MEAC 100- and 200-meter champion
Jerome Mathis of Hampton, who finished
fourth in the NCAA Div. I 200 meters, is a speed
burner that sparks the Pirates offense. David
Oliver, a fourth place finisher in the 110-meter high
hurdles at the NCAA Championships, has decided to take his jets to the field
for Howard.
New Coaches?
SIAC - Cornell Burbage, Kentucky
State and Tayrone Odoms, Clark
Atlanta;
MEAC - Al Lavan, Delaware
St.;
CIAA - Michael Lynn,
Bowie State; Willard Bailey, St.
Paul's and Arrington Jones, Va.
Union;
SWAC - Steve Wilson,
Texas Southern; Melvin Spears,
Grambling State; Henry Frazier, Prairie
View and Mo Forte, Arkansas-Pine
Bluff
The Defense Rests?
Not hardly!
Defensive standouts by conference:
SIAC - Albany State DL/LB Walter
Curry;
MEAC - Norfolk State LB Kevin
Talley;
CIAA - Shaw safety Shawn
Woodard;
SWAC - Alabama State LB Ronald
"Rock" Dillon
© 2004 Azeez Communications, Inc.