Will John Andrews Ever Find a Position at Alabama State?

He came in as a quarterback and got moved to receiver. Now, redshirt freshman John Andrews is giving it a go at cornerback for the Alabama State Hornets.

“John is blessed with athletic ability,” said {head coach} Reggie Barlow. “Maybe we can get something out of him at another position. He just wasn’t ready to contribute as a receiver.”

Think that I wouldn’t be transferring out of there on the first thing smoking?

There are such things as promises, even in college football. If he was recruited to be a quarterback and they found a greater need at receiver, than that’s acceptable. But to be bounced around from offense to defense, and likely having to learn complex techniques in a short amount of time is unreasonable.

Shame on ‘Bama State for giving this kid the run around. Even if he doesn’t mind it, there’s no reason to keep him on an island about how he can contribute to the success of the Hornets. Cut him if you must, but it’s better for him to know where he stands than to constantly be on the move.

Jackson State Self-Reports NCAA Violation

Jackson State University has submitted a self-report detailing a minor infraction of NCAA policy regarding practice time. Star quarterback recruit Domonick Britt practiced beyond the 14 hours allowed while waiting for academic clearance from the NCAA, and consequences for this infraction will be left to the SWAC conference and Jackson State.

It’s no great difficulty to miss rules like this, and occurences of this nature are not genuine to black colleges. Perhaps there will be a reduction in total team practice hours, or another maneageble sanction, but the truth is that compliance officers have to be cognizant of these kinds of possibilities and have to stay on top of them.

Does South Carolina State Have a Chance Against UCF?

A quick trip around the Internet yields a resounding ‘no,’ but that won’t stop us from rooting for the MEAC preseason favorites.

UCF head coach George O’Leary cautions against overlooking the smaller school.

“Everybody else wants to talk about games down the road and that’s not how you play your A game each and every Saturday,” O’Leary said. “So I always talk about the game and that game only and then the one after that is the second season and third season and whatever one is coming up and that’s where our focus is.”

UCF bloggers are also realistic about early season rust, and what the Bulldogs have to prove in this game.

Why South Carolina State might win: The Bulldogs have been picked to win their league for a reason—they’ve got talent and 16 returning starters. Ford is a big-time back, who’ll be running behind a veteran line littered with all-star candidates. On defense, South Carolina State welcomes back nine starters from a salty unit that yielded less than 300 yards a game. If UCF doesn’t get settled on offense in a hurry, it’ll have problems reaching the end zone.

And while the Bulldog message boards are not as optimistic, the common thread among all three sources is that SC State is not a team to be taken lightly.

Grambling Names Dillon Starting Quarterback

Greg Dillon, a sophomore who ran the scout team for the Grambling Tigers in 2007, has been named the starting quarterback for the 2008 campaign, head coach Rod Broadway announced yesterday.

Dillon won the spot over sophomore Missouri-transfer J.P. Tillman and freshman Brendan Crawford by throwing the sole touchdown of the preseason. He will get his first start against the University of Nevada this Saturday.

Said Broadway, “We’re playing a lot of young guys. We’re probably going to have three freshman on the offensive line. Nobody wants to be in that position. We have a quarterback with no experience and we have new receivers. … We have to shorten the game and play great defense.”

Things could work out well for the Tigers behind Dillon and running back Frank Warren, who was a star freshman in 2007. But to listen to Broadway, it certainly doesn’t seem like help will come from under center?