UNDER THE BANNER
What's Going On In and Around Black College Sports
PROFILIN': Former black college football standouts now playing on the professional level have been the focus of several features in national publications in recent weeks.
· Former Alcorn State football and track standout Donald Driver, now a 1,000-yard receiver for the NFL's Green Bay Packers, is featured in a story in the July 21 edition of ESPN The Magazine entitled "Driven." The former SWAC high jump champion is entering his fifth season after a breakout 2002 campaign that saw him catch 70 passes for 1,004 yards, become Packer QB Brett Favre's favorite target, earn a Pro Bowl spot and a new five-year $11.5 million contract. In the story, writer Seth Wickersham talks with Driver about overcoming struggles in his life and the August birth of his first child.
· "Brown thunders back into the NFL" is the story of former S. C. State offensive lineman Orlando "Zeus" Brown's NFL comeback in the July 11 edition of USA Today. Brown, 32, out of the league for three years after being struck in the eye by a referee's flag in 1999, is returning this season as a member of the Baltimore Ravens. He sued the NFL for $200 million and reached a settlement last year for $20-25 million. The 6-7, 354-pound Brown talks with Jarret Bell about the long road back and the challenges of harnessing his tremendous size.
· Darnerian McCants, the former all-MEAC tight end out of Delaware State, is entering his third season as a wide receiver with the Washington Redskins. A July 15 Washington Post story focused on another of his talents art. McCants, who has an art degree from DSU, talks with writer Nunyo Demasio about art as his passion and how he's incorporated it while he develops as an NFL pass receiver. He's also dating Vivica A. Fox.
FEARS PASSES: Former Norfolk State basketball coach and athletic director, Ernie Fears was funeralized in Washington, D.C. on July 15. He died July 9 of heart failure at the age of 71. A Tallahassee native and 1992 inductee into the Florida A&M Sports Hall of Fame, Fears was an assistant basketball coach at FAMU from 1960-62, after playing basketball and baseball at FAMU from 1947-51. From 1962-69, he served as head basketball coach and athletic director at NSU, comprising a 147-31 record, giving him the highest winning percentage in school history. Fears coached the Norfolk State team that included Richard "Pee Wee" Kirkland and Bobby "Stick" Dandridge that averaged 106 points per game and won the 1968 CIAA championship. After serving a year as AD, Fears became Director of the Virginia Selective Service Program in 1970. He later joined the Washington Star Station Group and had a successful career as a broadcast administrator and motivational speaker.
GRID COACHING MOVES: Several head coaching moves were announced last week just prior to the beginning of preseason black college football press conferences.
· Lane College promoted Darrin Hayes to the Dragons' head-football coaching position and hired three other football coaches, including former Lane head coach John Gore. Hayes, the school's sixth head coach in eight seasons, has been Lane's defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach the past three years. He replaces Miles Brandon, who was fired last month after two seasons and a 7-14 record, including 4-7 last year. Gore returns to Lane as defensive coordinator. Michael Jackson, a 1990 graduate of Tennessee State, has been hired as the Dragons' offensive coordinator. Ted Bahhur will coach Lane's quarterbacks and wide receivers.
· Central State dug into its past to find its football future. Theo Lemon was introduced by Athletics Director Teresa Check as CSU's new head coach at a press conference on July 18. Lemon was a CSU assistant from 1985-90. He worked as CSU's academic adviser, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 1990, the year the Marauders won the NAIA Division I national title. Legislators voted to prohibit CSU from fielding a football program for the 1997 season following NAIA sanctions and financial difficulties. CSU may field a team in the 2004 season if they raise enough funds but are looking at 2005 as a realistic starting date.
© 2003 Azeez Communications, Inc.