FOX 54 Sports XTRA Special - A Look at SWAC 2024

This Fox 54 sports special presentation, sports extra. A look at Swack 2024 is sponsored by parties. Now, your host, Mo Corder, Nick Kuzma and Simon Williams. Hey, everyone 2023 was a banner year for the Southwester Athletic Conference and football attendance was great. Once again, the games were phenomenal and Florida A and M won the celebration bowl, but a lot has changed since then and that's why we're here to get you ready for the 2024 season alongside Nick Kuzma. I'm Mo Carter and this is a look at Swack 2024. Once again, the goal for all 12 teams is to win the swag title, travel to Atlanta and win the celebration bowl. Absolutely. We've got some big stories across the league. So let's waste no time and show you what's on tap. Con Mayor and the Alabama A and M Bulldogs have posted back to back losing seasons on the hill. Can the Bulldogs turn things around and get back to their winning ways? And down in Montgomery arch rival, Alabama State is poised to make a run for the East crown. We'll talk to coach Robinson Junior about his new weapons. This year, I had a distinct honor. Speaking with swag. Commissioner, Doctor Charles mcclelland, he'll break down some of the new items in the conference this season. Plus, there are five brand new head coaches in the swag this year. We're talking to all five about, uh, their first season. Plus we'll wrap things up with a interesting choice of H BC U classics. All right. So let's start as is tradition with the guys on the hill, Alabama A and M the Bulldogs finish 2023 5 and six overall and three and five in Swack play. Let's take a look at what their offense will look like this upcoming season. My mindset never changes. It is always, uh, kill ant with a hand grenade. You know, uh, you know, my wife one time it was an ant in the kitchen and she told me to kill an ant and I went in the back room got a grenade and, and blew it up and killed Ann and she was like, what, what, what did you do that for? You blew up the kitchen. I said you told me killed Ann on paper. It seems like Alabama a and M's path to an annihilation and offensive success starts with the run game at the start of fall camp. Head coach Connell Mayor said four offensive linemen are back in normal this season and they are expected to open up holes for HB preseason all American running back, Donovan England. Well, I expect Donovan to do what he's done in the past two years, but more this year, um, and it's all gonna be on the offensive line. I think we got a great offensive line and I think we're gonna prove that. And, uh, Eagle, uh, you know, has been right around, around that 1000 yard mark. We want him to get over that 1000 yard mark this year. The offensive lineman that is expected to anchor an already experienced unit is Carson Vinson. He stands at 66, 305 pounds and has received national football league interest throughout fall camp. The Chiefs Steelers and Giants have visited Alabama A and M and six scouts were in town to watch the fan day scrimmage on August 17th. Vincent is, is that guy, he's the leader of the group, he's been here. Um It's his senior year. Um, you know, he got a chance he's on the draft boards and, uh, you know, scouts have been coming out looking at him and he's just doing a tremendous job of leading those guys and we knew that was gonna probably be the strength of our team in the offensive line. And so far in camp is proven, uh, they proven us right third fall camp in a row. There were major questions as to who will be under center week one for the Bulldogs. A and M has five quarterbacks on its roster and offensive coordinator Dwayne Taylor had this to say about the group before the fan day scrimmage. I feel real good about that group. They all have different skill sets. It's my job to figure out put them in their best light. Uh Cornelius Brown is playing really well right now at a high level. Uh So are the other guys when Fox 54 reached out to coach Mayor for a quarterback update on a Wednesday, he said they were probably going to play a combination of Cornelius Brown Avion Smith and Xavier Langford coach manner said previously that he hopes to have an appointed starter this season last year. Two quarterbacks got snaps in the Bulldogs week one game at Vanderbilt, the 2024 Alabama A and M quarterback room is expected to have receivers Duke Miller Keenan Hambrick and Jacoby Hewitt in its arsenal of weapons this season. All right, thanks Nick. Hey, let's take a look at the preseason predictions for the East division. The Bulldogs are picked to finish fourth right ahead of Bethune Cookman. The Mississippi Valley state above them are arch rival Alabama State who's the favorite. Florida A and M, the defending champions of the conference and Jackson State over in the western division and all Corn State was picked as the favorite followed by Prairie View. Grambling Southern Arkansas Pine Bluff and rounding out the bunch is Texas Southern. A lot of football still has to be played, especially on the Hill for a look at the bulldogs defense. Let's check in with Simon Williams, Alabama A and M's offense while inconsistent was able to move the ball down the field. It's the defense that got the bulldogs trouble. But when looking at the stats, it's not like there's one glaring area of concern last season, the defense gave up 3811 total yards and only allowed conversions on 3rd and 4th down on 35.8 and 23.5% of the time respectively. But most notable about those stats is where they rank in the league 7th, 7th and 2nd best respectively. So how is a defense that was relatively average, sink their team to a losing record in league play? Whatever it was. Connell Maynor knew it needed a shake up. You know, we gave up 37 points a game the last couple of years. So we're looking for a huge improvements on that side of the football. So Mayor made the move of hiring Thomas Howard as defensive coordinator replacing kind as Bwa Howard is tasked with leading the defense, but also is a linebacker coach being consistent every day. You know, we can't take any steps back every day. We gotta get better, you know, 1% better every day. We had our ups and downs through our camp and offensively, let's be honest, we got some good athletes on offense that are gonna make us better. A lot of the competition has been really good, so it's gone back and forth, but they got to get us one day. We'll come back a little bit the next day in the early going of practice. He noticed some traits of his new group. I got some guys, veteran guys that have been here that understand what's going on. We're adding a little bit more to what we did this spring, an individual to look out for is Amari Payton, the red shirt sophomore from Culver City, California played in all 11 games last season and finished as the team's interceptions king and fourth leading tackler bringing down opponents 31 times and having a hand in 18 others. He comes in with high expectations after being named to the Aeneas Williams award watch list, an honor for the best H BC U defensive back. It's good because, you know, like last year I stand out and then this year I got the chance to just lead the team. You know, everybody followed behind me because of what I did last year. So just leading them leading them in the right way so we could uh do our best as we went through the spring. I got a chance to see him show his speed and show his athleticism drive. He'll tackle, he does a really good job communicating with the guys across the unit. Mayor needs a healthy line up. We've got a couple of guys banged up on that side of the ball. So we need to get those guys back and that's the key over there. If we can stay healthy in the right position over there, we think we got a chance. We're gonna bring some pressure. We're gonna be aggressive and, uh, we're gonna stop the run. The Bulldogs will be tested in their first game out when they kick off the season on August 31st at Auburn. All right, thanks, Simon. Can't wait to see the Bulldogs defense in action very soon under coach Howard. So Nick, if I were to ask you the question, who is swack? What would be your answer? Yeah, it's gotta be Eddie Robinson Junior. I would make sure he says you are s swack. Uh, because I know mo you might think you have a little bit of something, the running for that because you, of course, did your undergrad at Southern and you've done work with the conference, but it's gotta be Eddie Robinson Junior. No, absolutely. He is definitely the originator of that famous phrase from, uh, two seasons ago. Speaking to Eddie Robinson Junior. He's the head coach at Alabama State and he's ready to lead these guys to the top. Eddie Robinson junior begins year three at his alma mater and this may be his finest team yet to go along with a solid defense and great special teams unit. Coach Robinson Junior has added quarterback Andrew body from Texas Southern. He may be the piece that helps the Hornets win the East. I think the leadership part is the big thing about it. That that's what we can see right now, the things that he does off the field, uh just around the community, uh just, just on campus, that type of stuff and, and we want that to transfer to, to more consistent play at that position and uh he has to go out there and compete and, and play hard and, and execute. But the biggest thing I think for us offensively, we have to be more explosive. We need more guys who can make big plays, not so much from the quarterback position but the wide receivers and running backs, we got to take those 10 yard plays and make them 50 yard plays. November 16 could be a huge day in the Southwester Athletic Conference. That's when Alabama State plays host to Jackson State, possibly for the east division crowd. TC Taylor is back for his second season at his alma mater and he's got a lot of weapons on offense that can light up the scoreboards on Saturday night in the swag, the JSU Tigers on a slouch on defense either, but they did lose some key pieces at the linebacker spot. But thanks to some great off season recruiting and building coach Taylor feels that the linebacker room may be one of the best on the team. Now, it's one that I had a big question mark going into this season about this linebacker group, you know, our coaches have done a great job of recruiting those guys and some players over there that's really stepped up. Ashton Taylor, uh, Reed pulling those guys playing at a high level as well as Austin. But, uh, that was the one big question mark going into the season we wanted to get better at. So I would definitely have to say the linebacker room. All right, Fox 54 was the only local sports team to speak with that guy. Doctor Charles mcclelland at swag Football media day. Coming up next, the commissioner will talk about all the changes that are coming up in 2024 hear from the commission next. Ok. Welcome back. Several changes are set to take place in the Southwester Athletic Conference and they all should yield positive results. Recently, Mo Carter caught up with swack commissioner, Doctor Charles mcclelland to speak about those changes. A lot of changes this upcoming season, um especially for football. I want to talk about what went into the idea of now bringing those tablets on the sideline for the football team, similar to what the NFL is doing. Well, the NCAA just adopted the rules. So this is the first year that it could be done throughout college football and we just wanted to be on the front end of it. We think we have outstanding coaches, this technology will allow them to be even better coaches. So as you saw with the NFL, they can make real time adjustments. So the conference office wanted to step up and make sure that all 12 institutions have the same tablets, the same set up and the same technology. Now, this year is kind of unique with the coaches that you just mentioned. Five first year coaches and then three second year coaches. So. Well, over half of your head coaches in the league are new to the head coaching roles, but they're not new to the conference. What are your thoughts about that? Well, I think it's good and, and you know, often times when we talk about coaching changes, it's talking about coaches getting fired, but we've had a really good record of coaches moving on to bigger and better things. So all of those are not necessarily on the on the bad side. Anytime you can bring new life, new energy, new blood into the conference is significant. You're talking about three Houston Oilers, two of the greatest defensive backs and Eddie Robinson as a linebacker play with Steve mcnair, a standing member of this conference from a collegiate player. Now to a college coach, it just continues to enhance our pool and our depth of coaches and talent. You mentioned coach Eddie Robinson, of course, he and coach Connell Manor of Alabama A and M will go head to head in a couple of months here in the Magic city. Of course, there are potential changes for the, for the future, or at least they're talking about it. But when we just push that aside, how important is that rivalry to the city of Birmingham and also to this wonderful conference. Well, when you have Willie Beaman, uh, Connell Manor on the sidelines is always an exciting opportunity. Alabama State, Alabama A and M Magic City Classic. Uh, in my opinion, is one of if not the best classic, you really don't know about it until you attend. But the way that the mayor kind of sets the city up, the way that this entire community embraces that game is unique and it's like none other. So as long as Alabama State and Alabama A and M has that rich tradition and history, that classic will always be one of the best. Of course, a lot of great classic within the swag, of course, Magic City, the Bayou Classic, the Florida Classic, um Arkansas Pine Bluff, participating in the Southern Heritage Classic. You know, the swag is just full of classic, but of course, beyond the classic, you add pageantry and a lot of history that you've been a part of for so many of those. Yeah, and a lot of fans, we have seven games where there's 50,000 people or more. That's a remarkable record. 47 for the last 48 years leading F CS in attendance. And with the addition of H BC U go and the upgrading of ESPN S packages. We're in 82 million homes each and every time our game is on. So that's significant. And it again helps enhance the overall brand. I'm extremely proud, I'm extremely honored to lead this conference and we just want to continue to do the right things for the conference. And the student athletes took a look at the press release from Andrew Roberts today. About now the addition of the SW a digital network with many football games. So now ESPN H BC U go and swag digital network. So in a nutshell, every game will be on some form of streaming platform this year. How important was that uh for you and the presidents and the A DS to get that job done? Very important. We heard that our constituents wanted that we didn't rush it because we want it done in a correct fashion. We want it to be a quality broadcast. So there were several things we had to do behind the scenes to get it done. But regardless of where you are, you will be able to watch each and every swag game. That's a true, remarkable feat, something that our fans wanted, something our student athletes wanted, something the institutions wanted. And it's here for the 24 football season. Of course, Doctor mcclelland, you received another extension from the athletic directors and presidents. Um a few months ago, talk about how important that is for you to continue being in this position and pushing your vision forward. Well, just that they thought enough of me to continue and to extend. And ultimately, the vision starts with the membership. My job is to carry out what they want and to create these different opportunities. And the fact that they have shown enough, you know, in me or seen enough in me to say Charles, we want you to continue to lead this conference is just a humbling experience. We'll be right back on Fox 54 and welcome back to our look at SW a 2024 this season, more than a third of the head coaches in the swag will be leading programs uh for the first time and I'll tell you this, I cannot believe it because that just shows you how much of turnover we had last season. Now, almost half the conference filled with guys leading the programs for the first time and we'll start off down in a very familiar place of mine, Nick, the Southern Jags familiar face is leading that program at Mo Carter's alma mater, Southern University. Longtime Slack assistant, Terence Graves officially became the head coach of the Jaguars following his victory as the interim in the 2023 Bayou Classic. The victory over Grambling gave Graves the district distinct honor. Excuse me of becoming first head coach to win the Bayou Classic on both sidelines. Now, he's poised to lead the Jaguars back to the Swack western division to lift them to a title for the first time in a decade. Graves has a lot of swack hours as an assistant and he's ready to apply what he's learned from many into his current role. Been around a lot of great head coaches. I played for one, legendary coach Pete Richardson and he, he started preparing me for a head coaching job when I was playing for him at Winston State. So then to, to, you know, have a relationship with the great, late, great coach G Robinson, the late great coach Clarence Big House Gaines. Uh Coach Marino Kem, those those coaches, coach Ben job, those coaches have been preparing me for such a time as this. So, uh it wasn't a really, really huge transition. And again, you know, I have three hip, uh three former head football coaches on my staff. So to have uh coach mcnair coach Todd and coach Todd, uh it's, it's awesome to have those coaches and I get to lean on those guys and learn and, and grow and develop as a head coach following Thanksgiving. Graves will lead the Jaguars in the battle against this guy, Mickey Joseph and his grambling State Tigers like Graves. Joseph is a long time assistant who's made stop sad places. Uh You may have heard Ellis U Louisiana Tech and Nebraska just to name a few like Graves. Joseph is using the knowledge from his predecessors to deliver a good product on the field. This season in the northern port of Louisiana. Well, you know, in the coaching profession, everybody takes something from somebody. You know, you, you never have your own plan. You know, even, you know, you look at the big time college coaches, they had to get it from somewhere, you know, and by me being under a number of head coaches. So you, you pick some from all of them, you get something from all, You get some from Elsie, you get some from Darryl Day, you get some from old Jon, you get something from Scott FROI. You get, you know, you, you just pick things up from and you try to put it together to make it fit to where you're at. And that's what we did at Gramling, staying in the swack west division, the Texas Southern Tigers went to a guy who made a name for himself playing pro ball in H town, former Houston Oiler. Chris Dishman was hired during the off season to lead the Tigers. Now, Dishman will have the task of coaching a Tigers program that officially on paper has not had a winning season in more than two decades. During the early portion of preseason camp, we learned from Dishman that he and the staff are taking things day by day as they build towards a championship. Everybody got the first day jitters. I even have the first day jitters. They want it. They hungry, you know, they're very hungry of getting out here today. Uh, they were, they were very responsive of what we have tried to turn around and do I told us today that we're not going to try to win the swack today, but we're getting close to it for the first time in almost a decade. All Corn State will have a new head football coach, Cedric Thomas taking over on the reservation following the departure of Fred mcnair Thomas is no stranger to the swag. He played and coached at Arkansas Pine Bluff and was the defensive coordinator for the all core state. Braves the past two seasons. Thomas wants his guys to play straight free football and that's why he relies on stories of the past in his teachings. So even in the Super Bowl, you know, with the ultimate athletes, you know, in our profession, there still was mistakes being made and so it's gonna be mistakes um that's happening. Um But we just want to be able to co curtail those and uh just have maximum effort to be able to over, over to overcome those when we lost. Uh last saw Florida A and M Willie Simmons and the Rattlers were raising up the celebration bowl trophy and winning the H BC U national title. Now Simmons is off the Duke and James Cozy, the third is poised with leading the green and orange Cozy has been with the program for a few years now. He knows Tallahassee quite well since he played across the city at Florida State Cozy says that the rattlers understand the task at hand since they are the reigning swag champs. You know, when, when you're the reigning H BC U national champs, you, you, you have to understand that no matter who you play, you're gonna get their best, you know, and, and, and so our, you know, our, our motto with this year is, you know, we got a few uh reload and repeat obviously. But the biggest thing I need our guys to understand is that we can't have any, we can't have no surprises. All right, coming up next, we know that the swag is full of great H BC U classics that are played throughout the year. But which ones would we like to see in person the most? We'll talk about that as we wrap things up on the sports extra spectrum. Welcome back, everyone. The swag is full of great H BC U classics like the Magic City Classic as you see right behind us takes place during the last week of October in Birmingham. That game is full of pageantry but also hatred between Alabama A and M and Alabama State. Now, Nick and I have covered our fair share of Classic, but there are still a few that we wanna check out in the future, Nick. I'll let you go first. Yeah, mine, I know Mo you have plenty of association with that is the bayou Classic. Between Grambling State and, uh, Southern. Excuse me, uh, Southern has the just very small lead in that all time series. It's in the Superdome in New Orleans. I gotta get out there sometime though. Absolutely. Maybe we'll, you know, get you away from covering the Iron Bowl to get you out there to the Bayou Classic at some point in time. Plus I gotta make sure you go to the Battle of the Bands, one classes that has been on my radar for a while, but I haven't been able to get out. There is about three hours away in Memphis, the Southern Heritage Classic. Of course, uh fedex, the big sponsor of the game over at the Liberty Bowl. Texas State was a part of it for a long time, but now it's Arkansas Pine Bluff going up against Tennessee State, which is led by former Tennessee Titan. Eddie George. The game traditionally is played second week of the season over in Memphis. Crowds can go from 35,000 up to 50,000 to pack that stadium and watch the game. Awesome. Absolutely. A lot of great games to watch this upcoming season. We hope you learn something right here on our sports extra special for the entire crew. Have yourself a great night and we'll see you next time. This special edition of Sports Extra has been sponsored by parties.