Remembering: Grambling's Brandon Landers

Carroll's Landers picks Grambling
· Playing for Super Bowl quarterback Doug Williams played an important part in the decision. December 11, 2003

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
Carroll High quarterback Brandon Landers, the area's top local offensive recruit, confirms that he has verbally committed to play for Doug Williams at Grambling State.

"To be coached by the first black quarterback to win the Super Bowl had something to do with it," Landers said. "He knows the game. I'd like to follow in his footsteps and do some of the things he's done at Grambling State University."

Williams has said that any prep signings this off-season would redshirt in 2004 behind senior Bruce Eugene, the top quarterback in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Coach Jesse Smith has installed a similar spread offense at Carroll High.

"Whatever move he made, I'd support," Smith said of Landers' commitment. "But we do a lot of the same things that Grambling does. He will be in a system where he will throw the football. I believe, with the experience that he has gotten over the years, that this is as fine a program as he could be going to."

Landers also recognized the opportunity to quickly integrate into the SWAC's best passing offense the past two seasons.

"I feel like Grambling would treat me better," Landers said. "The offense they run is basically the same offense that we run."

Landers, who led Carroll to a second straight District 2-3A crown this season, finished his prep career with 2,302 yards on 140-for-245 passes, along with 16 TD passes and five interceptions. He was The News-Star/Glenwood SportsCare player of the week for Week 5 this season - after passing for 300 yards and a score against Ferriday, while also returning an interception for a touchdown.

"In my opinion, he had an outstanding year," said Smith. "He pretty much led the team. He was able to run the football and pass it too. He did everything we expected."

In his last high school game, the multi-talented Landers passed for 204 yards and ran for a score in a third-round playoff loss.. He also had 48 career tackles and three interceptions for Carroll.

Landers says he was recruited by McNeese State, Northwestern State, Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana Tech. Others like Texas A&M were reportedly interested as well.

"But I never really considered anywhere else," Landers said. "I felt like Grambling fit me."

Landers follows in the footsteps of Grambling State legend James "Shack" Harris, who is also a Carroll High alum. Harris was the first black quarterback to be drafted into the NFL, playing for Buffalo, Los Angeles and San Diego.

Cooper's departure could shift QB status

Carroll High quarterback Brandon Landers could immediately move into the No. 2 slot at Grambling State. Coach Doug Williams granted two-year backup quarterback Gary Cooper a release on Monday.

"I'm not a guy who believes in a two-quarterback system," Williams said. "Somebody has to take the bull by the horns. It's unfortunate for Cooper, because he wants to play. But as long as Bruce is healthy, he's our starter."

Cooper had career numbers of 14-for-36 at GSU, with three interceptions and two scores.

Further back in the quarterback rotation are Texas freshmen Brandon Logan from San Antonio and Arnel Rolfe of Dallas. Neither has taken a game-day snap.

"They've got to step it up in the spring," Williams said.


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Landers learns another lesson the hard way
September 12, 2004

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
NORMAL Ala. - The grounds crew at Louis Crews Stadium can thank Grambling State quarterback Brandon Landers for all the work facing them this morning.

I expect there are several freshman-shaped holes out there today.

Perhaps that was expected for Landers, who got his first collegiate start a year early when senior All-American Bruce Eugene was injured last week.

Still, the timing couldn't have been worse, as GSU arrived in Alabama to face one of the Southwestern Athletic Conference's most inventive and aggressive defenses.

Alabama A&M relentlessly harassed Landers. It threw everything at him - linebackers, safeties, the kitchen sink, other appliances. That ensured Landers wouldn't win the game, yet his fiery determination would again win over the coaches.

"We have believed that Brandon Landers could handle the things we do," said interim GSU coach Melvin Spears, who fell to 0-2 with the loss to Alabama A&M. "Brandon and Bruce worked closely together all summer. He has grasped the information at a very fast pace."

There were moments of shimmering promise, followed by thudding despair.

That's a freshman quarterback for you.

For instance, Landers took advantage of a blocked punt by Winnfield junior Donald Alexander on A&M's first possession of the third quarter, firing a brilliant pass to Mangham senior Chad White over the middle for a critical completion at midfield.

But the inevitable sack ended that drive. Landers ran right into the rush on that play, a rookie error.

He kept his head up.

"My athleticism will always help me," Landers said. "As I get more familiar with the offensive scheme, I will only get better."

As soon as Landers got going on Saturday, he would get leveled.

A sack - no surprise, that - by A&M's Cedric Harris killed the first promising drive of Landers' night in Alabama. After starting 0-of-4, Landers had finally completed an underneath pass to junior Henry Tolbert that turned into a 15-yard gain.

GSU didn't score, but Landers kept going. He kept getting hit, but he kept going.

With 6:03 left in the game, Grambling State had used all of its timeouts. This was how this tough night would end, in real time - a slow wait.

Somebody forgot to tell Landers.

With 54 seconds left, he was still flinging it. GSU's first 0-2 start since 1996 - when former coach Eddie Robinson lost his initial three contests on the way to a 3-8 record - would have to wait. Landers hit Tolbert for a 25-yard touchdown pass to bring the score to 21-9.

But, too often, even when Landers could get a throw off, a very young receiving group again dropped it. GSU was also without its top target from last year's A&M game, as Moses Harris joined Eugene with a season-ending injury during Week 1.

"It hasn't been roses for them. They've faced some challenges," said third-year Alabama A&M coach Anthony Jones, who had never before won against GSU - a streak that included the 2002 SWAC title game. "Grambling has enough guys on that team that are used to winning. One thing I know about winning, once you get that taste in your mouth, you don't roll over for anybody."

So A&M kept coming.

Sacks count against a team's rushing yardage on the official stat sheet, so it's no surprise that the Tigers ended up with a staggering minus-two yards in the first half. Junior Ab Kuaan's first-down yardage was leaking out with each defensive play on his quarterback.

Yet, Landers was always out there under center when the whistle blew, lined up again and ready to go. He prides himself on that.

"I lead by action," said Landers, The News-Star/Glenwood SportsCare Offensive Player of the Year as a senior at Carroll. "I've never been a very vocal person. So, I lead by what I do."

A big, tough unit, GSU's offensive line was simply outnumbered by A&M's zone-blitz scheme. It often had seven hats on eight defenders.

That's why Landers could have been confined to bed rest by a doctor and not spent as much time on his back. Adding insult to injury, Grambling State wore white - meaning those grass stains may never come out.

But Spears takes solace in that flickering passion from his first-year signal-caller. You won't find many players still gunning for the end zone with under a minute left in an already-decided game.

"He's very athletic, very versatile, with an outstanding arm," enthused the ever-upbeat Spears. "When the lights come on, he's a different kind of player. He has a flair as a leader. I think we are in good hands."


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Saving the day has been child's play for Grambling freshmen
September 20, 2004

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
CINCINNATI- Remember when they used to make freshmen carry the older players' shoulder pads back in after practice?

Now, they're carrying the team.

Witness Grambling State's first win of the 2004 season. Quarterback Brandon Landers hands off to Landry Carter, who runs it in from four yards in the third quarter on Saturday against Bethune-Cookman, GSU's first points on the day.

Defensive end Jason Banks also notches two sacks for 14 yards in losses.

Landers tosses a 46-yard scoring strike to Clyde Edwards to get GSU to within two points.

Every one of the playmakers mentioned is a freshman. GSU would beat Bethune-Cookman 24-23 on Saturday in the Ohio Classic.

"I couldn't ask for anything better," said Landers, a Carroll High product named offensive player of the year just last spring by The News-Star. The ... high school ... offensive player of the year.

"To be on the Cincinnati Bengals field, being a young player," Landers marvelled from inside Paul Brown Stadium. "I've waited for this my whole life."

His whole life. Landers was born on Groundhog Day, Feb. 2, 1985.

But we've never seen anything like this before: Kid's stuff is now the stuff of legend. Landers has led GSU to 32 fourth-quarter points in three games.

"Leaders," Landers mused, and he couldn't be more right, "are born."

Born in the second Reagan administration.

And not just Brandon Landers, who replaced All-American Bruce Eugene after the senior suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first game of 2004.

First-year Georgia running back Danny Ware exploded for three scores against Georgia Southern. Tennessee's Brent Schaeffer became the first true freshman to start an SEC opener since 1945. A youngster named Darius Walker might have turned Notre Dame's season around with 115 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a second-week win over Michigan.

Landers' first start was somewhat less glamorous. But playing through it made him a better quarterback in Cincinnati.

"They were sending six or seven people at me last week (against Alabama A&M)," said Landers. "So (interim GSU) Coach (Melvin) Spears told me that we were going to the shotgun (against BCC), and that I should be patient and stay with it. He put the ball in my hands."

That Alabama A&M nightmare included just 11 completions on 40 tries. GSU didn't convert a single third-down - putting freshman punter Tim Manuel just one punt away from the school record for attempts in a game.

"Bouncing back from a performance like that," said Eugene, "is all about character."

Alabama A&M was credited with a five sacks, but Landers was hurried and pushed around all night.

"He's taken so many licks," said offensive coordinator Sammy White. "To keep getting up, that says a lot about him."

Landers would flourish Saturday in the shotgun, a scheme that made all the more sense when senior center Lance Wright left the game with an injury.

"What we were trying to do was to take some of the pressure off of Brandon," said Spears. "When you get down a couple of touchdowns, you've got to keep passing. But we wanted to give him a better opportunity. At halftime, we told him: `It's your show. Show us what you've got.' "

But just in case the freshmen get too comfortable, however, note that Landers' first collegiate win came with some veteran help.

Junior Henry Tolbert made a key scoring grab to narrow BCC's lead to two points in the third quarter. And Eugene attended Saturday's game, encouraging the team during warmups and helping out with playcalling upstairs with running backs coach Vyron Brown.

"We're going to keep him around," Spears said of Eugene, laughing. "He'll basically be our cheerleader - and he'll also help us with Brandon."

Saturday's game was Eugene's first since undergoing knee surgery a week ago on Thursday.

"I can help him, because I've been there," said Eugene, who was given wide latitude last season to audible from the line based on what he saw on the field. "That hands-on experience will make a difference."

A Landers scramble for a quick 53 yards seemed to loosen up this offense in the third quarter. The team's biggest second-half adjustment had to do with confidence.

"Those are the intangibles that Brandon brings to the table," said Spears. "He had great poise. In the end, he looked like Bruce Eugene back there - and that's a good comparison."

The move into the booth will also ensure that Eugene can stay for the entirety of the game, without enduring whatever pain comes from standing on the sidelines. Eugene, who moved around on crutches, is applying for another year of eligibility on a medical waiver.

"Everything is progressing very well for Bruce," said Spears, who is also taking a more prominent role in the offense, after concentrating on the defense early in the season. "As he heals, we'd like to give him an opportunity to look at the game from a different perspective. Hopefully, when he gets back, he will have a better understanding - and be a better player."

You could criticize GSU's hard-headed focus on making Landers pass. After all, he had attempted 62 throws in five quarters of play before arriving in Cincinnati. But whether they ran or he threw, there was going to be a learning curve.

"When you lose your trigger guy, it makes you a little stagnated - until you get the new trigger guy in place and working," said Spears. "I knew you would start seeing an outstanding quarterback soon - one who happens to be a freshman - in Brandon Landers."

NICK DERISO, named columnist of the year this summer by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, is sports editor at The News-Star, 411 N. Fourth St., Monroe, 71201. Contact him at (318) 362-0233 or at nderiso@thenewsstar.com.


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Landers' stellar freshman season may not yield sophomore one
December 14, 2004

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING - Another week brings another freshman of the year honor for Carroll High product Brandon Landers. Yet, he still doesn't know whether he will get to start again next season at Grambling State.

Landers, who was honored Saturday night by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, took over when senior GSU quarterback Bruce Eugene went down in the third quarter of the 2004 season opener. Landers was also named freshman of the year by the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

"It never ran across my mind to win both awards," said Landers, who broke the school's single-season passing yards record for a freshman - set by Doug Williams in 1974. "You always set goals for a season - you know, once I got the starting job, I decided I wanted to win. But awards like this are a great feeling. I didn't even think I was going to play."

GSU defender Kenneth Pettway and place-kicker Brian Morgan, both seniors, also received first-team All-Louisiana honors from the LSWA, while sophomore offensive tackle Andre' Bennett was given an honorable mention.

The awards come as GSU awaits word on a medical exemption for Eugene. If the NCAA grants Eugene an extra year of eligibility, coaches have said Landers would be redshirted.

"We talked with the NCAA, and it's still under review," said interim GSU coach Melvin Spears. "If Bruce comes back, Landers will redshirt. He will get an opportunity to watch more, and to learn. But if Bruce doesn't come back, then Landers will be the incumbent in camp."

GSU signed LaMarque High product Larry Kerlegan out of Houston last season - who was ranked No. 11 nationally among dual-threat quarterbacks by Rivals.com - but grades kept him off the roster. Kerlegan is expected to be in camp this spring.

"I talked to Bruce the other day, and he still doesn't know whether he will be back or not. We'll wait and see," said Landers, who posted a 6-4 mark as a starter while completing 132-of-316 passes for 2,283 yards, along with 18 touchdowns against 15 interceptions. "In the meantime, I know we're going to start back up in January. I am going to work on getting stronger, on my technique. Redshirting, if that happens, could make me better - just sitting back and watching and learning. I could get more of the experience I need."


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GSU's quarterbacks battle as friends
Camp competition at Grambling is far from combative
August 17, 2005

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING - There's a sure sign that Bruce Eugene is feeling it again.

Grambling State's former All American quarterback is trash talking once more during the team's stretching exercises before practice.

"This offense," Eugene was saying the other day, "has speed for sale."

GSU coach Melvin Spears has consistently hedged on how that return impacts his depth chart. After all, Brandon Landers rocketed to conference freshman of the year honors once Eugene lost his senior season to a knee injury in the 2004.

"Brandon did a wonderful job for us last year down the stretch," Spears said. "But when you talk about experience, Bruce Eugene knows the system. We will let the best guy play."

Landers has a different answer.

"I know what the situation is," he said. "Bruce is getting his old position back."

Even so, the expected creative tension hasn't followed.

In fact, these two remain friends. As they enter the practice field, one will say to the other: "Be perfect today."

"That way," Landers said, "we know we are pushing each other to do better. At the same time, I am trying to learn from him."

Eugene also says that competition hasn't gotten in the way of their relationship: "The whole thing of `let's be perfect' is that we are trying to make each other better. We get along just fine."

Eugene still wears a knee brace - though Spears says that's simply as a precaution.

"He's the only guy I've ever seen go through an ACL injury and not lose any flexibility," said Spears. "Bruce is better than he was before. First off, his rehab was extensive, but also he's a fast healer."

Questions about the knee haven't trumped Eugene's past performances, which likely pushed Grambling to the top of the Southwestern Athletic Conference's Western division in more than one preseason poll so far.

Grambling's career total offense leader with 10,172 yards, he was last seen as a junior in 2003 passing for 3,805 yards and 34 touchdowns. Eugene also ran for 412 yards - second most on the team - and another six touchdowns on the ground.

That makes Eugene, despite the fact that he spent the last season earning his degree, the most productive returning quarterback in Division I-AA.

Yet Landers never stopped working, even as a move to the No. 2 spot became clear.

The Carroll product paid particular attention to his upper-body strength this offseason, focusing on bench pressing on an incline and lifting by shoulder shrug. The result has been a sharper release, and better ball speed.

Spears, wary after an injury-marred 2004, said he won't consider redshirting Landers.

"The nature of the beast is that you never know how the game goes, and how it may fall," said Spears, who lost Eugene in the third quarter of the season opener last year.

Landers isn't interested either.

"A quarterback who redshirted might relax," said Landers, who threw for almost 2,300 yards as a freshman. "It's a mind thing. I'm not thinking about next year. I'm thinking about right now. That will help me stay ready, as always."

The No. 3 quarterback is a celebrated prep prospect, Larry Kerlegan of Houston's LaMarque High.

"You always have to think in terms of two or three years down the road," said Spears. "You've got to be prepared. Bruce Eugene won't be back - one way or another. Those other guys have to be ready to play."

Still, as even Landers admits, it's clear the team belongs to the likeable Eugene right now.

Eugene has always been gregarious, knowledgeable and well regarded, even if he is only just now completely inhabiting the leadership role.

"The kids really rally around Bruce," said GSU offensive line coach Carl Roberts. "He not only knows his own assignment, but also the linemen's assignment. He has that leadership quality."

Eugene earned a lot of credibility when he led Grambling to the 2002 championship, after a season behind Randy Hymes - quarterback on those 2000-01 title teams.

But Eugene gained real authority as a team captain when he wrestled down a more common nemesis: His weight.

"I know within the circle of this team, they believe in me," Eugene said. "That's what I go on."

Spears sent Eugene to the Duke University diet and fitness center over the summer, where he lost 25 pounds in just four weeks on a diet of 1,800 calories a day.

Eugene was just getting started. He's now dropped more than 40 pounds.

"In rehab, and while I'm lifting weights or walking, every time I get ready to eat something I shouldn't be eating, I think about the naysayers," said Eugene, who at one point ballooned up to a startling 308 pounds. "Everybody said I couldn't lose weight. Let them talk. I know in the end I will be standing on top."


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For Grambling State quarterback Brandon Landers ...
Waiting was the hardest part
March 15, 2006

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING - Brandon Landers was brought in to be the Next Big Thing at Grambling State.

The Carroll High product expected to apprentice during the 2004 season behind record-smashing quarterback Bruce Eugene, then assume the spotlight.

Something happened on the way to his debut.

Eugene went down with a knee injury, and suddenly Landers - just months after playing Class 4A ball in high school - was under center.

It took time and adjustment for both Landers and the staff, but he eventually claimed conference freshman of the year honors after leading a newly run-oriented GSU to a winning season.

"My freshman year, they wanted give the ball to the veteran backs," Landers said. "Having guys like that, it took some pressure off of me."

Landers then got his belated redshirt, gaining more valuable experience, when Eugene was given a medical exemption before the 2005 campaign.

So, there's little drama in this: Landers is penciled in at starter as GSU's spring sessions get underway today.

The plot thickens, however, when examining how Landers' return could affect the playbook.

"We might put in a few wrinkles here or there to play up to Brandon's strengths," GSU coach Melvin Spears said. "But a year behind Bruce has given Brandon a much better grasp of the offense, both in terms of being able to make all the different adjustments and running the team more efficiently."

Landers, always gritty and confidant, says the days of running the ball to mask immaturity are over. He's ready to fit into a passing system that has established itself as the Southwestern Athletic Conference's most dangerous and entertaining.

"I don't know about any changes (to the scheme); I hope they keep it the same so we can keep rolling," Landers said.

Then, after some thought, he adds: "Playing behind a guy like Bruce, everyone will be expecting a whole lot of things. I'm just going to go out and play the game that I know how to play."

Questions about the offensive focus can be forgiven, even by some of the players, after the way Landers' presence in 2004 so radically altered Grambling's look.

His freshman campaign ended with redemptive win over Southern, but Landers had just 13 passing attempts on the day. (To put that into perspective, Eugene had as many tries by the first GSU possession of the second quarter in the 2005 Bayou Classic.)

Ab "Killer" Kuuan was the tip of the sword in this reworked ground attack, averaging 131 rushing yards a game over the final month of the season. The last time he and Landers shared the field, Kuuan was receiving his Bayou Classic MVP trophy after running for 126 punishing yards against Southern.

"That was my first question: Are we still going to have the same offense? Or are we going to run it?" said senior Henry Tolbert, who just set a new school record for receiving touchdowns in a season.

"The coaches feel like it's on him," Tolbert said. "If Brandon can show this spring that he can run the offense the way Bruce did, everything will be the same."

Spears said he has always known that Landers was physically gifted. He just felt Landers needed more time to adjust to the speed of decision-making in the college game.

He got that chance when Eugene returned for a rare sixth season of eligibility - though the bench wasn't always a comfy spot for a competitor like Landers.

"It was tough; that was my first time ever sitting out an entire season, but I learned a whole lot," said Landers, who earned offensive player of the year honors from The News-Star and Glenwood SportsCare in 2003.

"I paid attention to the game, learning about what was called on the field," he said. "I knew my role. I did what was asked."

In the end, Landers had a front-row seat as Eugene marched through the record books. A capstone came when Eugene smashed a 20-year-old Division I-AA mark for touchdown passes in a season during the SWAC championship win last December.

Landers found that, in the end, he had made a friend.

"We bonded together; we developed a really good friendship," Landers said. "I hope to be a leader and do the same things Bruce did. It was honor playing behind him."

Landers also grew closer to Tolbert, sure to be one of his primary targets in `06, over the past two seasons. That chemistry translates off the field too, where the two are roommates.

"I feel really good about Brandon taking over," Tolbert said. "I don't think I could feel any better about anybody. I was here when he first got here, so I've seen a lot of progress. Sitting behind Bruce was great for him. My expectations are really high coming in."

Look for a strong push for starting time from second-year passer Larry Kerlegan, a celebrated former Texas recruit. Grambling was also still in the market for another quarterback signee as late as last weekend.

But in the end, the stage is set. It's Landers' job to lose.

"Brandon Landers showed a lot of maturity last year in the way he handled things," Spears said. "It allowed him to learn a lot from Bruce Eugene. What we will do this spring is polish that. We're eager to see what he learned from the whole process."


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Landers lays down the law
Grambling QB interned as local marshal this summer
August 7, 2006

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING — When Grambling State holds its first fall practice this afternoon, quarterback Brandon Landers will be the new sheriff in town.

Well, marshal, actually.

The Carroll product, a criminal justice major, spent the summer interning with Ouachita Parish marshal Wince Highshaw Jr. — a stint that included serving warrants and working court security.

Landers said that real-world experience uniquely prepared him to take over a leadership role as GSU quarterback.

And to continue in that role in his impoverished neighborhood when football is over.

"I'm the first person in my family to go to college," Landers said. "Doing something like this, going to school and working hard, it's a way to show younger people that success is not about drugs. I want to be a role model in the neighborhood."

Landers — friends have already taken to calling him "Officer Landers" — is by far the most experienced returning quarterback at Grambling.

Pushed into duty after an injury to the now-departed Bruce Eugene, a two-time Walter Payton Award finalist, Landers would eventually earn conference freshman of the year honors.

He struggled with the assignment early on, but showed flashes of the talent that only months before helped lead Carroll to a second straight District 2-3A crown.

Landers now stands 309 attempts, 131 completions and 17 touchdowns further along than sophomore Larry Kerlegan, GSU's backup when Eugene returned and Landers redshirted a year later.

In fact, Kerlegan has just one college completion on seven attempts — a touchdown pass late in that blowout win over Concordia, an over-matched NAIA team. Presumptive No. 3 Desmond Brentley is a true freshman out of Pittsburgh's Perry High.

Still, GSU coach Melvin Spears has stressed that this will be a competitive camp for Landers, with Kerlegan and Brentley getting their share of reps.

"Our goal was to bring in enough competition so that we could make certain that Brandon doesn't get complacent," Spears said. "We've got a couple of guys who can do that. We want to be competitive everywhere, at every position."

Later, Spears reiterates one of this off-season's early mantras: "Leadership has no seniority."

A visibly more mature Landers welcomes the challenge.

Time spent in local courtrooms, where he's gotten an up-close examination of how life can turn on a bad decision, along with a year behind Eugene helped reshape this flinty former high school star. Landers is focused, energetic, and a bit humbled.

"Some people from my neighborhood have asked me, how can you be a police officer with where you come from?" Landers said. "I want to show them you can make it out. You don't have to do illegal things to get there."

Landers was already something of a neighborhood hero, finishing his prep career with 2,302 yards and 16 touchdown passes to go with 48 career tackles and three interceptions as a defensive back for Carroll.

His senior season in 2003 included a 300-yard, one-touchdown passing day against Ferriday. He also returned an interception for a touchdown that night, on the way to <I>News-Star</I>/Glenwood SportsCare player of the week honors. Landers' final prep game was a third-round playoff loss, but he passed for 204 yards and ran for a score.

"He was able to run the football and pass it too," said Carroll coach Jesse Smith when Landers committed to Grambling. "He did everything we expected."

That led to offensive player of the year recognition at the All-Northeast banquet — though Landers couldn't attend because he was also a crucial contributor on the Bulldogs' basketball team, which was playing that night.

Recruiters, Landers said, came calling from ULM, Louisiana Tech, McNeese State, Northwestern State and Texas A&M. But he chose to stay close to home, hoping to play one day for former Grambling coach Doug Williams.

Landers figured to have some time to gather himself, since he arrived as Eugene entered what promised to be a heralded senior season. But in short order, Williams left for an executive job in the NFL — turning the reins over to Spears, his former offensive coordinator — and then Eugene blew out his knee in the season opener.

"Brandon did an outstanding job in 2004 when Bruce went down," Spears said. "He has a great feel for the game when the lights come on."

Still, the life lesson was clear: Be prepared.

Landers started contemplating on a longer timeline.

"You gotta think about life after football," he said. "The air might go out of the ball one day."

Landers said Highshaw, a family friend, helped him get the internship — and it's been something that helped Landers frame everything that's important right now, not just football.

"When I got into criminal justice, and found out the type of things that they do, I got really interested," Landers said. "Marshal Highshaw gave me the opportunity to get some hands-on training, and I've learned so much that will help me."

Landers took the summer to get in shape, and not just physically. That's something that will bolster a maturation process his coach thinks is critical for Grambling's success on the field this year.

"He's learned the system; he has the tangibles," Spears said of Landers. "It's just going to be a matter of how quickly he can show that on the field."


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Landers handled it all on and off the field
September 4, 2006

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The context surrounding Grambling State quarterback Brandon Landers' numbers on Saturday makes them all the more impressive.

While attempting to mediate an argument, Landers saw his brother murdered and his cousin critically wounded in his hometown of Monroe just two Fridays ago. Yet, he still threw for 273 yards and four touchdowns against Hampton at legendary Legion Field.

"I tried to go on with my everyday life," said Landers, a former Carroll High standout. "I tried to stay close to my team and my coaches, really just to take my mind off of things. Coach kept telling me that everything happens for a reason. I just looked at is as motivation."

Perhaps accordingly, Landers had his struggles, from a one-pass possession stopped on an interception to several attempts that badly overshot receivers.

But in the end, he was efficient enough to put the team in position to win — even if it didn't work out that way — and he did a good job of distributing the ball, hitting four different receivers for touchdown passes.

"He's had some ups and downs the week, certainly," GSU coach Melvin Spears said. "But he worked hard, and he executed for the most part. It's a whole lot for a young man to have on his shoulders. I'm ready proud of him."

The funeral for Frank Landers, 18, of Monroe, is set for Tuesday, Brandon Landers said.

Tallying it up: Hampton got big numbers courtesy of its big stars against Grambling, from NFL prospect Justin Durant — who led the team with eight tackles and 2½ for a loss — to running back Alonzo Coleman.

Coleman, the MEAC's preseason offensive player of the year, amassed 78 yards on 12 carries, despite missing the latter part of the game to injury. Van Morgan took over and added another 83 yards on 14 carries.

Princeton Shepherd left the game as well, but still passed for a team-best 120 yards, along with a touchdown. T.J. Mitchell spelled Shepherd and connected on 6-for-16 attempts for 89 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Marquay McDaniels was stellar, with 113 yards and a score at wideout, 48 yards on punt returns, and 8 yards rushing on three tries.

Shepherd (passing), Coleman (rushing), McDaniels (receiving) and Durant (tackles and sacks) were the team leaders last year, as well.

Sweet home, Alabama: Six Grambling teammates played for linebackers coach Andre Robinson during a previous tenure at Birmingham's Parker High School.

They include: linebackers Brandon Arnold and Josh Bester; center Tavarus Cockrell; wide receivers Reginald Jackson; Xavier Jackson and Henry Tolbert; and defensive lineman Donald Williams.

Senior running back Ab Kuuan is also from nearby Sylacauga, Ala.

They'll be headed right back this week, as Grambling returns for a rematch of last December's SWAC Championship Game against Alabama A&M.

"We've got to come out and take care of A&M," said safety Bryan Langford. "We've got to be ready, even if it goes to overtime, to go the distance."

Tolbert had four catches for 78 yards and a touchdown at Legion Field. Kuuan had 37 yards on 17 carries and a special-teams tackle.

Bester had six tackles, including an assist for a loss; Williams had four, with one for a loss.

Kuuan and Tolbert were pregame team captains, as well.

Gave them five: Hampton and Grambling shared the Sheridan Broadcasting Network's black college national title in 2005. But the Pirates have owned Grambling as of late.

GSU actually has a 57-25 overall record against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, but it has fallen to 2-6 all time against Hampton — including five losses in a row.

But GSU didn't go easy, fighting until the last play of the game as it went to overtime.

"It's what you expected," Landers said. "It was a hard-fought battle to the end. Hopefully, we gave the people what they came out to see, two great teams trying to be victorious."

You have to go all the way back to former GSU coach Eddie Robinson's 1994 team to find a win — and it was a squeaker, too: Grambling won 32-29.

Spears has lost to HU three times, twice as a offensive coordinator in 1998-99 and then this year as head coach. GSU, under Doug Williams, lost by scores of 28-15 and 27-7.

Grambling is now 2-2 on ESPN affiliates since 2003, beating Alabama State and Alabama A&M last year and falling to San Jose State in '03 and Hampton over the weekend.


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Landers back as GSU's starting QB
October 11, 2006

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING — Three games into Grambling State's two-quarterback experiment, the race is a dead heat.

Larry Kerlegan and Brandon Landers, both redshirt sophomores, have each shown the ability to take charge — and to take a leave of absence.

Kerlegan was the dynamo at Houston, winning a weekly Southwestern Athletic Conference award while Landers posted negligible stats. The roles were reversed at Mississippi Valley State, where the opposing coaches clearly schemed to stop Kerlegan and Kerlegan alone.

The two passers also shared duties, though they had more similar success, in a rout against Prairie View in between.

"I think they are getting there," GSU coach Melvin Spears said. "We're still looking for a little more continuity."

Landers will get the start this week against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, as first reported at www. thenewsstar.com on Tuesday morning. But Spears said that Kerlegan will again spell him at quarterback.

Situations, Spears said, will dictate who plays and when.

"It's a studying process," he said, "and I think Brandon is a little further along. That's why he's getting a few more reps."

Landers, who won SWAC freshman of the year honors while subbing for the injured Bruce Eugene at Grambling in 2004, has played with renewed vigor since Kerlegan hit the field. The competition seems to have emboldened both to work harder.

Still, add in the bye week, and it's been a month since these two began splitting duties and the numbers still don't provide an easy answer as to who should start.

The efficiency ratings are lopsided in Kerlegan's direction, with a 68 percent completion rate compared with 53 percent. But Landers has piled up nearly twice as much passing production. Through this week, he has 882 yards and nine passing touchdowns while Kerlegan has 418 yards and 4 scores.

That means they'll continue to share time, Spears said.

"We're not asking them to win the game, just to manage it and get the ball to our receivers and running backs," Spears said.

Kerlegan got 285 of those passing yards against Houston, while Landers went 0-for-3. Landers then had 213 yards in the air last week at Valley, while Kerlegan had minus-2.

In Dallas against Prairie View, they almost perfectly split 297 total passing yards, as Kerlegan sparked the offense with 172 yards.

Again, no clear frontrunner.

Kerlegan is the team's second-leading rusher with 180 yards, but Landers is the only one of the two with a score on the ground.

And so it goes.

"Larry Kerlegan throws the ball just as well," Spears said, "He just needs to continue to learn the system. Brandon can run too, though he's not as a fast as Kerlegan. They both have things we like. That's why we'll continue to use both."



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AGENT OF CHANGE: Monroe's Landers settles in with new Grambling staff, playbook
August 5, 2007

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING — Brandon Landers, now a redshirt junior, has seen it all during his time at Grambling State.

He's been the green freshman, unexpectedly inserted in 2004 when GSU's record-smashing passer Bruce Eugene blew out a knee.

He's been the camp underdog, fighting to get that same job back, when Eugene returned.

Once relied upon, in 2005 Landers was eventually redshirted.

He's been the presumptive No. 1 himself, struggling in 2006 to fight off a flinty backup.

Today, the Monroe native is, simply, the starter.

"I always live by the idea of being ready for anything," said Landers, a criminal justice major and volunteer with the Marshal's Office. "Things will come at you. I am making the necessary adjustments, but I don't think of it as a difficult thing. Football is football."

Landers' career has been the definition of things coming right at you. He is, in fact, the first quarterback to start consecutive seasons at Grambling since '04.

Then coming off All-Northeast offensive player of the year honors at Carroll, Landers was recruited in 2003 by Doug Williams, played in 2004 and '06 under Melvin Spears and will finish his career under new Grambling coach Rod Broadway.

"Brandon has something about him that you can't help but like," Broadway said. "He has shown some leadership skills. The guys have taken to him, and he's a nice guy to be around."

The first transition was largely seamless, since Spears had run Williams' offensive for six seasons before succeeding him as head coach.

Broadway, however, is installing a completely new look — one that will test both Landers' decision making and his ability to manage the playcalling in a variety of offensive situations.

Landers, bolstered by the new coaches' confidence in him, remains steadfastly optimistic as he faces perhaps his most rigorous challenge yet.

"We're excited about being back at it," Landers said. "We're bonding as a team, trying to get better. You can sense the change, and the excitement about the coaching staff. I feel a difference already in the team."

Landers was productive last season, averaging 194.4 yards per game. A highpoint was his 350-yard passing performance at home against Jackson State, which earned Landers Southwestern Athletic Conference player of the week honors. He also passed for 17 scores, which ranked second in the league.

The offense's troubles at closing out games contributed to Grambling's disastrous 3-8 record, but it still would finish with a SWAC-best average of 348.3 yards per game.

New offensive coordinator James Spady loses six starters from that group, but can find some solace in the return of Landers and senior receiver Clyde Edwards, his favorite target.

Both have been meeting three to four times a day, Landers said, as a new playbook has been installed. Gone is the flashy go-for-broke style associated with Spears' tenure.

This offense will certainly take its shots, but it's more in keeping with the pro-style offense that Williams always favored.

"It's different from last year, when we were wide open," Landers said. "This is more of a set-up type offense. We won't be stuck on the approach of just getting the big play."

That puts Landers in a place he's never been, having been asked to pass upwards of 50 times in games against Alabama A&M (his first start) and Jackson State in 2004. Landers never stopped competing, and eventually rose to Southwestern Athletic Conference and Louisiana Sports Writers Association freshman of the year honors.

He finished with a school-record 2,283 passing yards, besting a freshman mark that had stood since Williams's debut in 1974 under Eddie Robinson.

A highlight of that initial campaign came during the season-ending Bayou Classic when, in a style that could become familiar under Broadway, Landers attempted fewer than 20 passes as GSU slowly suffocated Southern.

"We're not asking him to win the game for us," Broadway said. "We want him to learn how to manage a game. Once he understands that, along with his continued growth as a player, he should be in pretty good shape — because if you have a triggerman, on all levels of football, then you have a chance to compete."

Landers, matured in a crucible of change, is taking it all in stride.

"I like the new look," Landers said, though he bristles at any suggestion that this offense might lack the implicit danger of GSU's old attack. "If you sleep on us, we'll hit you big."

BEHIND BRANDON
Senior Larry Kerlegan, an athlete of uncommon playmaking ability, is listed as the backup on Grambling State's fall depth chart.

Over seven games last season, Kerlegan passed for 633 yards and seven scores, while running for another 215 yards to rank second on the team in rushing. That led to a move by the staff to work Kerlegan into the wideout rotation.

"He plays the way you want kids to play, and that's fast," first-year Grambling coach Rod Broadway said. "We're going to use him in a variety of offensive situations."

Sophomore Al Hawkins, the former minor-league baseball player, is the only other quarterback on the roster. He didn't attempt a pass in the Black and Gold game.

"The guys who were backups in the spring will have to step up in the fall and get better," Broadway said. "They'll have to perform well or get out of the way for some of the freshmen we're going to give a chance to play."

Grambling's remaining quarterbacks from the 2006 roster included Desmond Brentley, who has apparently transferred; and Zak Latif, who's now listed at tight end. --Nick Deriso, nderiso@thenewsstar.com.


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Academics could sideline Grambling's senior quarterback
July 26, 2008

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING — Monroe product Brandon Landers, a three-year letterman at Grambling State, will likely miss next season over an academic issue.

"I'm trying to see what I can do," the quarterback said. "I didn't get the grade I needed (in a history class), so it's up in the air right now if I will even play."

Landers, a fifth-year senior after redshirting in 2005 at Grambling, most recently posted career highs for completions, yards and touchdowns in the inaugural season under GSU coach Rod Broadway. That helped the Tigers advance to their fifth Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship Game since 2000, before falling to Jackson State last December.

Landers' absence opens the door to a spirited competition at the position just weeks before the year's much-anticipated opening kick. Grambling was again picked to win the SWAC's Western crown in preseason polling at the league's media day.

Greg Dillon, a 6-0, 200-pound sophomore, is listed as Landers' backup in the 2008 season prospectus. The academic status of Larry Kerlegan, the No. 2 Grambling passer in 2005-07, is also unclear.

GSU signed three prep athletes with quarterbacking experience, including Rayville product Justin Higgins. The 6-2, 185-pounder passed for more than 6,000 yards, rushed for nearly 2,000 yards and scored 60 touchdowns in high school.

El Paso, Texas, product Brendon Crawford (2,207 passing yards and 20 scores as a senior) and South Boston, Va., product Rodale Pippen (who split time at wideout, recording nearly 5,000 yards of total offense last year) were announced in GSU's most recent signing day.

The most intriguing option might be J.P. Tillman, a redshirt freshman transfer from the University of Missouri who has been participating during informal summer 7-on-7 drills at Grambling. The 6-3, 250-pound prospect was a three-sport high school athlete, and ranked No. 22 in the nation among dual-threat quarterbacks by Rivals.com as a senior.

Landers said it was unclear if an appeal could be made on his behalf. He is pursuing a degree in criminal justice.

"They are trying to do all they can do," Landers said. "I hope to know more by Tuesday (when Grambling football players report for fall practice sessions)."

Grambling coaches were unavailable for comment on Friday afternoon. The team opens this season Aug. 30 in Reno at the University of Nevada.

Landers, who was named prep offensive player of the year by The News-Star after his senior season at Carroll High in 2003, ranks third all-time among Grambling passers with 7,024. He needs 1,388 to pass Doug Williams for second place.


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Final narrative for Grambling's Landers hasn't been written
August 1, 2008

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
Brandon Landers' time at Grambling, as impressive as it is statistically, will always be one of lost promise. But his narrative is far from finished.

Landers initially signed as a prep quarterback with Doug Williams, only to see his would-be mentor leave for an NFL job. Then he was pushed too early, and with too little instruction, into the starting position as a true freshman in 2004 when Bruce Eugene went down. Then pushed back into a redshirt, and largely ignored, a season later when Eugene returned. Then pushed around as a redshirt sophomore in 2006, having belatedly retaken the starting position without ever having been properly prepared for it.

He remained erratic, able to gut out terrific wins (Bethune-Cookman in Cincinnati, Bayou Classic XXXI) on the one-hand but still subject to deflating breakdowns (memorable OT losses to Alabama A&M and Hampton, last year's Southwestern Athletic Conference title match).

Landers finally caught a decent break with the hiring of yet another new staff before his junior season. He was on his third head coach, but seemed to finally connect.

That's when the interior of his line fell apart. Landers withstood the kind of blows that would bring down buildings, and occasionally fell into old habits.

Grambling ended up one win shy of a championship. But Landers had become a vastly improved passer, a stronger locker room presence and, most importantly, an emerging leader off the field: He planned a successful offseason mentoring camp, volunteered as a marshal at the courthouse.

"He wants to become an inspiration for kids in this area by becoming a mentor," said Esther Gallow, who has done so much important outreach work in the economically depressed Booker T. community that Landers was raised in. "He's saying, even if I don't go pro, I still want to show young people that they can get out of the neighborhood, get a college education and do something great with their lives."

Sports fans don't like to hear it, but that's the important stuff.

Just like that, though, and just 1,400 yards shy of Doug Williams' No. 2 all-time passing marks at Grambling, Landers came up short on a summer course — and a football career that never reached its full potential is apparently over.

Yet what Landers accomplished, despite so much adversity (both the crushing poverty of his childhood environment and then at GSU), shouldn't be defined in total by the number of Bayou Classics or SWAC titles won or lost.

Landers is one credit away from doing something more notable than winning that last game on the gridiron. He has dreams of becoming a law enforcement officer, and then a community leader of enduring substance — and that's more urgently needed than another shiny item for the program's trophy case.

When he does all of that, and I think he will, football will perhaps finally be put in perspective as just one part of Brandon Landers' still-evolving story.

Selected 2005 Grambling preseason stories

Two veterans to compete for top offensive position
By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com

GRAMBLING - All eyes were on competing quarterbacks Bruce Eugene and Brandon Landers throughout Grambling State's spring sessions.

They will be again in the fall. Coach Melvin Spears said he won't make a final determination on who will lead GSU's offense until after the arrival of heralded quarterback prospect Larry Kerlegan.

So these sessions, though upbeat, didn't reveal much about the offensive scheme for 2005.

"We'll evaluate the films, see how well we played. We'll look at Kerlegan when he gets here. But there will be no big changes in what we do," said Spears, who was 6-5 as interim last year after finishing with three wins in the final four games.

Eugene, a former two-time Walter Payton Award finalist, was just one of several injured players from last year who rejoined the offense - including senior receiver Moses Harris.

"Practices were a lot more up tempo," said Landers, who shot to conference freshman of the year honors when Eugene went down in Week 1 of last season. "We were moving from station to station in a more timely manner."

Talented newcomers from the 2004 season, like freshmen receiver Clyde Edwards and lineman Tavarus Cockrell, also returned as savvy veterans.

"Injuries last year meant our kids got an opportunity to play at a young age," said Spears. "We had 15 freshmen playing last year - and that's been the difference this spring. They had participated and could work on the little things now. They got better."

A POSITIONAL LOOK
QB: Eugene's heralded return, though marred by an obvious weight gain, was capped by a stellar performance at GSU's Black and Gold game. He was 19-of-34 for 275 yards, including three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Landers, on the other hand, was just 4-of-13 for 100 yards.

"I felt like it was a good spring practice, that there was good competition," said Landers, the former Carroll standout. "The spring game was tough for me, but you have games like that. We will go back and evaluate the film then go from there."

Despite that game's disparity, coaches insist that the position hasn't been filled yet.

"Bruce Eugene brings great leadership," said GSU offensive coordinator Sammy White. "His experience tell him to change the play, if need be. Brandon has different skills. When he first came in, straight out of high school, that was big adjustment - just getting used to the speed of the college game. But he's been working, and he's gotten stronger."

RB: Senior Ab Kuuan's MVP performance in the Bayou Classic - along with a sturdy spring game - has solidified his position as the offense's every-down rusher.

"He's become a complete back," said Spears. "He does all the little things."

Kuuan, oozing confidence, finished the Black and Gold scrimmage with 11 carries for 151 yards and a touchdown.

"He's starting to see the hole better," said Landers. "He's beginning to get a great feel for where he's supposed to be when he gets the ball. He's built a lot of confidence."

A bevy of talented change-of-pace runners back up Kuuan - including Michael Rainey, a newcomer who impressed coaches throughout the sessions with his toughness. Ruben Mayes, a punishing runner and blocker, returns at fullback.

OL: The loss of starting center Lance Wright, a team leader, and right guard Darryl Rodgers might have meant a steeper learning curve. But Wright had been out since the first play of the Jackson State game last October, when he went down with a lower-leg injury.

Cockrell got some valuable experience as a substitute, as did senior Chris Wiggins.

"They have had a chance to gel," Spears of the offensive line. "Wiggins is the most athletic guy out there. He can play all five spots, including center."

Left tackle Jonathan Banks, left guard Charles Wilson and right tackle Andre Bennett return. They will be bolstered by mammoth Mississippi State transfer Donovan Davis.

"We will have a couple of different combinations, with new guys who are coming in here," Spears confirmed.

TE: GSU hasn't had a reliable performer here since the departure of all-conference tight end Gershone Jessie in 2003. Coaches aren't that concerned, though, since their scheme doesn't rely on the tight end to make plays. Jerome Spears made two big catches in the spring game, but it appears Matt Feeheley will get most of the snaps.

WR: The return of Harris, who broke his ankle in the week before 2004's season opener, balances the unit across from the burner Edwards.

"Moses' conditioning is not where it needs to be," said White, "but he's coming on in a hurry. We didn't push him too much this spring. We want to make sure he's ready for fall."

Harris had four catches for 51 yards, including a score, in the Black and Gold scrimmage. Edwards added a 39-yard reception.

Henry Tolbert will play the slot. The senior caught three passes for 49 yards and two touchdowns in the spring game.

GSU's thunderous four- and five-wide sets will feature Reginald Jackson, Kovarus Hills and Paul Hardiman.

"Hills is pushing all of those guys," said Spears. "He's certainly going to be in that rotation. Paul Hardiman is asserting himself. All he's got to do is become a little more physical."

Depth chart
OFFENSE
QB: Brandon Landers*, Bruce Eugene
TB: Ab Kuuan*, Michael Rainey
FB: Ruben Mayes*, Terrion Rodgers
WR: Clyde Edwards*, Moses Harris
SLOT: Henry Tolbert*, Tim Abney
TE: Matt Feeheley, Jerome Spears
LT: Jonathan Banks*, Derrek Governor
LG: Charles Wilson*, Jamar Dorsey
C: Tavarus Cockrell, Chris Wiggins
RG: Chris Wiggins, Tommy Dural
RT: Andre Bennett*, Doug Smith
* - returning starter

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Replacing defensive line, secondary brings battles
By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING - Battles for starting jobs on the defensive line and secondary took a backseat to the ongoing quarterback derby this off-season at Grambling State.

Perhaps they shouldn't have.

"We've got a dogfight right now at defense end, with (sophomore Jason) Banks and (converted senior tight end Matt) Duhe," said GSU coach Melvin Spears. "There's a great competition there. But the good thing is they are all interchangeable. We can allow all of them to play."

Coaches also converted another offensive player, wide receiver Bakari Guice, in an effort to replace Lewis Carter at the corner. The junior was lost to a knee injury before spring sessions had begun.

Guice showed promise, as did Texas Tech transfer Ivory McCann, but the team jumped at an opportunity to sign Oregon transfer Marques Binns - who coaches say will push them all.

A POSITIONAL LOOK
DL: All-conference defensive tackle Lennard Patton, who sat out last season with academic problems, brought needed experience to a unit that lost three of its four starters - including Houston Texans draftee Kenneth Pettway.

Patton, who is already getting postseason game invites, lived up to the hype: He had seven solo tackles in the spring game, including five for a loss of 21 yards. Patton added four sacks for a loss of 49 yards and a safety, along with a recovered fumble.

The other spring starters were tackle Kevin Wiggins, Banks and Jena product Jason Hatcher. But then Matt came over from tight end.

"The big, big surprise is Matt Duhe," said Spears. "That light has finally come on."

LB: This unit was decimated by graduation, with the loss of Pettway, Marcus Yanez and John Petty. But no one played better down the stretch run in 2004 than returning middle linebacker Dimitri Carr. The Farmerville product finished as GSU's leading tackler.

David Hicks and Joshua Bester have emerged at the top of the depth chart on the strong and weak side, respectively.

But two other performers had impressive showings at the spring scrimmage: Tim Wilson had nine tackles, including five solo. Cedric Harris, a sophomore from Monroe's Neville High, had seven tackles, with three for a loss of 12 yards.

Linebackers coach Andre Robinson said Harris was this unit's most improved player during the spring.

"He's gotten bigger, after having a really good off season," said Robinson, himself a former consensus All-American linebacker at Grambling. "I'm pretty pleased with all of the guys."

Richwood product Michael Gilbert - who, like Bester, is a converted strong safety - has been working on both the strong and weak sides as a backup.

Out last season with academic problems, Hicks has also been playing behind Carr, but Wilson is Carr's main backup.

DB: Greg Fassitt, a smart junior from New Orleans, secured a starting position on one side of the defense, while the other remains competitive.

"Greg Fassitt can just flat-out play," said Spears. "He's got a 3.3 GPA, and does everything the right way. A model guy."

Guice, a product of Wossman in Monroe, showed steady improvement throughout the camp and will play nickel situations.

"Bakari has great speed," said Spears. "He just has to gain some confidence in playing a new position - and come to the weight room this summer."

While the school continued to sort through transfer problems for McCann, coaches continued tinkering.

Sterlington's DeMichael Dizer, along with talented newcomers Tyrone King Jr. and Deshon Pennie, were competitive. But GSU will also bring in Binns, the Oregon transfer.

"I think Ivory is one of the most promising guys out here," said Spears. "But we don't know now about his situation with Texas Tech."

Binns left with 61 tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery in 26 games during the past three seasons at Oregon. His best season was a breakout freshman year in 2002 when he had 30 tackles after a starter went down.

Zaire Wilborn and Jermaine Mills - who Spears calls "Mr. Consistency" - are the starting safeties.

Specialists: The team returns a stellar return tandem in Landry Carter and Keantwon Gray. These two combined to help lead GSU to the top of Division I-AA in returns for several weeks last season. Carter, then a freshman, was the No. 12 kick returner in the nation.

But the kicking and punting game is less settled. GSU lost Brian Morgan, the conference's top kicker last year, to graduation. Punter Tim Manuel returns, but he sometimes struggled through his freshman season - finishing ranked No. 9 in the 10-team conference.

Several promising kicking recruits are expected to arrive in the fall.

Depth chart
DEFENSE
DE: Jason Hatcher*, Antonio Hughes
DT: Kevin Wiggins, William Nance
DT: Lennard Patton, Johnathan Favors
DE: Matt Duhe, Jason Banks
WLB: Joshua Bester, Michael Gilbert
MLB: Dimitri Carr*, Tim Wilson
SLB: David Hicks, Cedric Harris
CB: Bakari Guice, Deshon Pennie
SS: Zaire Wilborn, Bryan Langford
FS: Jermaine Mills*, Antonio Rainey
CB: Greg Fassitt*, DeMichael Dizer
* - returning starter

GSU buzz list
Signal-calling smoke signals: GSU coach Melvin Spears said no decision had been made in the quarterback battle, but senior Bruce Eugene was taking the majority of the snaps with the first team by the end of spring - and had the far better spring game.

Secondary consideration: Sterlington product DeMichael Dizer could work his way into multiple-set cornerback situations, and might even see game-time action elsewhere in the secondary. "He had probably the best camp of them all," said Spears. "He can play safety or corner, and with great speed. We saw a lot from him."

Hills climbs up: Clinton sophomore Kovarus Hills secured a role in the wide receiver rotation. "He got better every day," said Spears. "He's a Sammy White-type player, a game-time player. You can't really tell how fast he is."

Duhe gets defensive: Matt Duhe flourished at defensive end this spring. "He is playing," Spears said, "at another level." Like starter Jason Hatcher of Jena, Duhe is a converted tight end.
- Nick Deriso, nderiso@thenewsstar.com

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Guessing GSU's success
Preseason rankings quite varied for Tigers
July 1, 2005

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING - Grambling State is either one of the Top 10 Division I-AA programs in the nation - or has tumbled all the way down to No. 36, depending on the preseason predication.

GSU coach Melvin Spears sees both rankings as grist for the inspirational mill.

"I don't think it necessarily matters," Spears said. "It can be a pride thing, but you can't let either one leave you stranded in one place. Either way, it can be used to motivate our troops."

A middle ground might be found in I-AA.org's consolidated Top 25 preseason rankings, where Grambling - which finished 6-5 overall, but third in the SWAC's West division with a 3-4 mark - was a respectable No. 19. That was the highest ranking for a Southwestern Athletic Conference school.

GSU fared best in Street and Smith's, where writer Lut Williams had the Tigers at No. 9 in I-AA.

"That's a whole lot of respect built up over the years with Coach (Eddie Robinson) and Doug (Williams)," Spears said. "We've just got to play like a No. 9 team."

Grambling returns its top rusher in Ab Kuuan, last year's Bayou Classic most valuable player, as well as top receiver Clyde Edwards on offense. Former two-time Walter Payton Award finalist Bruce Eugene and Brandon Landers, last year's conference freshman of the year, are battling for the quarterback spot.

Street and Smith's preview said that returning experience makes Grambling the team to beat in the West this year, facing Alabama State from the East in the title game. It did not select a conference champion.

"The loss of Eugene in Melvin Spears' first game as head coach knocked conference favorite Grambling State for a loop," said Williams, editor of the online Black College Sports Page. "With Eugene back after being granted a medical redshirt by the NCAA, the Tigers will come in as West division favorites."

Still, GSU could only manage No. 24 in Lindy's Poll. Hampton was the top-ranked historically black college in that poll, debuting at No. 13.

"We just want to go out and prove them wrong," said Eugene, a senior who missed 2004 with a knee injury. "We know when the dust clears, we will be in it - regardless of preseason ranking."

The worst preseason ranking for GSU comes courtesy of the AnyGivenSaturday.com poll, which had Grambling at No. 36 - one spot behind Southern. The top-ranked black school in the AGS poll was again Hampton, at No. 22.

"A lot of folks are putting us down in the pack, because we've got some holes to fill - in particular defensively," said Spears, who lost five starters - though returning linemen Jason Hatcher and Jason Banks combined for 10 sacks. "We need to find out if we can play consistent football."

Grambling's overall preseason rankings were damaged by finishing 94 out of 120 schools in I-AA.org's final Gridiron Power Index for 2004.

That score is weighted down by the sometimes-weak SWAC's strength of schedule, something the GPI includes as a main statistical base. For instance, the Tigers only cracked the Top 20 in that rating system once (at No. 20, in 2001) during their 2000-02 three-peat conference title run under Doug Williams.

Still, the uneven nature of the talent in their home conference, some writers said, could easily spark another title run for the Tigers - though the instate Bayou Classic rivalry game always looms as a deal breaker.

"After opening with Alcorn State followed by Alabama A&M, the G-Men should take a 2-0 record into a payday game against Washington State in Seattle," said Steve Brown, a radio host who writes for TheSportsConnection.org. "Afterwards, expect them to roll off six consecutive victories until they face rival Southern - where they could pick up their only conference loss of the season. Unfortunately, it could be such a loss that could thwart their championship hopes in a tight Western Division race."

Athlon, Phil Steele's and Sporting News, a trio of the best-known football prognosticators, didn't mention Grambling because they do not produce preseason Division I-AA previews.

GSU's star power
A trio of Grambling State athletes have been recognized in the positional preview series by The Sports Network's Matt Dougherty.

Senior quarterback Bruce Eugene, on the comeback from a season-ending knee injury in 2004, was named the No. 7 returning quarterback in Division I-AA.

"On numbers alone, Eugene could earn a spot in the top two or three or even No. 1," writes Dougherty. "Eugene finished in the top three of the Walter Payton Award voting in 2002 and 2003, and leads all returning quarterbacks with 84 career touchdowns and 9,122 yards passing."

Meanwhile, Dougherty named junior Ruben Mayes as the top fullback and senior Jonathan Banks as the No. 2 offensive tackle in Division I-AA.

"The mammoth Banks returns at left tackle for a Tigers line that boasts three players over 350 pounds," writes Dougherty.

GSU also swept Street and Smith's offensive and defensive players to watch in the Southwestern Athletic Conference for 2005. They are Eugene and defensive lineman Lennard Patton.

Remembering: The 2006 season

Grambling's coaching search follows problem-plagued year
December 23, 2006

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING — The new coach at Grambling State inherits a talented, but badly underachieving, team.

While he'll have to move forward without several senior leaders, there remains a stable foundation upon which to build. As long as he can figure out how to win the close ones.

He'll also have to rebuild one of the league's worst defenses. And decide what to do with a messy quarterback situation.

Grambling (3-8 overall, 3-6 in the SWAC West) fell six of eight times this year by a touchdown or less. The only definitive losses were to Division I-A foe Houston (by 20) and then to Alabama State (by 19).

"We struggled a lot, just couldn't finish," said senior cornerback Bakari Guice, a Wossman High product. "We'd keep falling short."

In the end, a total of 25 points stood between GSU and a 9-2 record. Instead, Grambling — just a year after posting an undefeated league mark on the way to the Southwestern Athletic Conference title — was out of the divisional race by October's end. That season-turning loss to Texas Southern began a dramatic slide to end the year.

Grambling lost its homecoming, its traditional rivalry game against Southern and then its coach, as Melvin Spears was fired after three years.

Spears, a product of SWAC foe Alcorn State, had also worked for six seasons under former coach Doug Williams as an offensive coordinator — helping Grambling to three other titles in 2000-02.

None of that apparently mattered in the wake of Grambling's first losing record since 1998.

"It was a long year, a tough one," said interim coach Sammy White, a former wingback at Grambling who was hired by Williams to coach receivers before that '98 campaign. "You don't see many like this around here."

In fact, Grambling lost eight times for just the third time in 60 years.

The season was punctuated by this team's struggles to adjust to the absence of record-smashing quarterback Bruce Eugene. Spears was 11-1 with Eugene under center, but 9-13 without him.

The staff mixed and matched the talents of redshirt sophomores Brandon Landers and Larry Kerlegan — with mixed results.

After the season's first two games, both with Landers under center, ended in overtime losses, Kerlegan was inserted against the then-undefeated Houston, an eventual bowl team.

It seemed an almost impossible task, in particular when recalling his last performance against a I-A opponent. Kerlegan attempted just one pass in 2005 against Washington State, and it was picked off.

On this night, however, Kerlegan sparkled — finishing with 248 yards in the air and 88 yards on the ground in a game that was tighter than its 20-point margin suggests.

Even standing at 0-3, Grambling's future seemed a bit brighter because of that performance.

Yet Kerlegan came out sluggish and got benched a week later, beginning a merry-go-round at the position that left both quarterbacks at a disadvantage. Each struggled to find his rhythm, and the coaches seemed unable to settle on a definitive starter.

"It was hard, day-to-day," Kerlegan said. "You never knew who would start. I just kept coming back week after week, hoping to get the chance to compete."

There remains some question, too, as to whether a remade offensive staff — one that by then included Eugene himself in play-call decision making — was doing enough to tailor its attack to the talent currently on the field.

Landers put up big numbers, winning multiple league player of the week honors, but wasn't able to finish off key games against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (the eventual Western Division representative in the 2006 title match), Texas Southern, Southern and Alcorn State — each of whom won by an average of only five points.

Kerlegan seemed to be operating on a stripped-down, run-first playbook, and performed like a quarterback worried about getting yanked for his first mistake. More often than not, he was.

All along, however, Kerlegan remained steadfast. His is a talent the new coach likely can count on.

"I'll be back," Kerlegan said. "With all the great legacy here at Grambling, I want to be a part of that."

Fullback Ruben Mayes and running back Ab Kuuan, working with a new position coach, both had disappointing senior years behind a shuffled offensive line.

Kuuan finished as Grambling's leading rusher for the fourth straight year, but saw his production fall to its lowest since he was a freshman under Williams.

Returning junior receiver Clyde Edwards quietly put together another stellar season, finishing first in the conference for catches per game and second in yards. But seniors Henry Tolbert and Tim Abney both missed chunks of time to injury.

Tolbert — a year after leading the SWAC in touchdowns, total yards, receptions and yards-per-catch — would ultimately fall just short of several career marks at Grambling.

"It goes so fast," Tolbert said. "All I expected, and all I wanted, was to set those records. To come up short is unbelievable. But I think my place at Grambling is set."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, infighting among the similarly remade defensive staff trickled down into the locker room. As players questioned the calls, some began to execute with less heart. Others appeared to quit all together.

The new coach will have to radically rebuild most of this unit, from front to back. Linebackers Dimitri Carr and David Hicks are graduating, as are defensive backs Guice, DeMichael Dizer (a Sterlington product) and Greg Fassitt — who suffered from neck and then hamstring problems all year.

There were flashes of intensity from younger defenders like linebacker John Carter, cornerback Kenneth Anio and lineman William Nance.

But in the end, this team — which began with three losses and ended with four — similarly sagged on both sides of the ball.

An emotional mid-season win against Jackson State, then the conference's hottest team, simply came too late.

By the time Grambling hit the field for that home opener, on Oct. 21, it had already played six games in four states — including back-to-back bus trips to Alabama, first for the season-opening MEAC-SWAC Challenge against Hampton at Birmingham and then right back to Huntsville to face eventual SWAC champion Alabama A&M.

When Grambling was held scoreless after halftime in its own homecoming against Alabama State, it marked just the third time GSU had been shut out in the second half in five seasons.

Spears' subsequent four-point loss to Southern was his first since taking over for Williams. But it underscored for a national audience on NBC what plagued this squad all year.

Cameras caught glimpses of staff arguments, laid bare questionable playcalling (GSU actually punted on third down at one point) and illustrated how a team that had averaged eight wins a season over the last 10 managed to reverse that figure in 2006.

Needing a yard to get a first down and extend the game, Grambling was stopped behind the line of scrimmage. Southern ran out the clock to preserve yet another loss for GSU by less than a touchdown.

Grambling chose to move its popular home date against Alcorn State to the end of the slate in order to play Hampton, setting up a deflating final image on the year.

The GSU community would said goodbye to its seniors — many of them are the last to play a full season under Williams — in a meaningless game before an announced crowd of just 2,383. That's roughly half of what a NAIA provisional team drew last year.

One of the few fans there held up a sign, as the team left the field, that read: "Send Spears back to Alcorn."

Grambling greats: Henry Tolbert

GSU has new passing pattern
With Douglas gone, WR stable emerges
August 8, 2004

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
It will take an army to fill the shoes of departed three-time all-conference receiver Tramon Douglas at Grambling State. Literally.

"Our philosophy this year," said interim GSU coach Melvin Spears, "is to play between six and eight guys at wide receiver."

The Tigers report for summer sessions today with a remade coaching staff and a remade secondary. But there may be no more important position to resolve than who will be downfield for quarterback Bruce Eugene, named to the preseason I-AA All America team by The Sports Network.

"I've got to get used to not seeing him out there," Eugene said of Douglas, who hauled in 28 touchdown strikes from Eugene in just two seasons. "He was that safety valve that I always had."

Douglas graduated in May, but not before breaking GSU's single-season receiving records for catches, yards and touchdowns - as well as career receptions.

"He was the heart of what we did last year," said Sammy White, who coached receivers for six seasons before being named offensive coordinator this spring.

Douglas is the only person in Southwestern Athletic Conference history, including such luminaries as Jerry Rice and White himself, to record more than 1,700 receiving yards in a single season.

"There will always be an initial drop-off when you lose a guy like Tramon Douglas," Spears said. "But I think we've got some guys who are going to step up. There's going to be a dog fight at wide receiver."

But losing Douglas isn't the unit's only challenge: Tim Abney, the team's No. 3 receiver last year, hasn't practiced this off-season because of a lingering groin injury. He had six touchdown catches - tied with senior Moses Harris, this year's presumptive No. 1 target.

"Moses had a decent year," White said. "But this year we look for him to break out."

Henry Tolbert will move from running back to Douglas' position in the slot.

"A utility guy," White enthuses. "I can put him outside, too. I can put him in the backfield. He's working hard."

The top receivers going into summer sessions are Harris, transfer Frank Green and freshman Paul Hardiman, who redshirted last year. Talented performers who could quickly push into the top six include junior Bakari Guice, a former Wossman High standout, and Houston-Westbury High signee Clyde Edwards.

"We have a bunch of great receivers," Eugene said, after ticking off the list of hopefuls.

His coach agreed: "We just got a wealth of outstanding wide receivers," Spears said. "So it's going to be great to watch."

GSU's August Agenda
Interim GSU coach Melvin Spears, left, will tell you that winning often comes down to a play or two. He will tell you that one or two moments in its final game of 2003 kept Grambling State from an unprecedented fourth trip to the Southwestern Athletic Conference title game.

"That's correct," he said, looking determined. "That's exactly the way we are approaching this season."

So, he'll tinker with the well-established template left behind by former GSU coach Doug Williams, Spears' mentor. He'll add a flourish, or a feint.

But this is not an out pattern. No, Spears talks about the legacy of his adopted school often, taking as his mantra: "Raising the bar." He repeats it often, adding. "That's all we're going to do."
That means playing within the scheme, with less freelancing. It means balancing the pass and the run, getting out in front - and staying there. It means consistency, from kickoff to finish, from week to week.

Last season, Grambling State would fall behind, only to mount a succession of late-game offensive explosions. It was October before someone other than the quarterback scored a rushing touchdown.

As GSU reports for its first summer sessions in six seasons without Williams, his former offensive coordinator will challenge them to do a little more, and do it a little better:

Camp competition: It wasn't going to be easy replacing senior All-SWAC receiver Tramon Douglas - who led the team in receiving and the conference in all-purpose yardage last year.

Then Tim Abney, a sophomore on the rise, spent the spring and summer trying to recover from a lingering groin injury. That leaves the door open behind senior Moses Harris, who is slated for the No. 1 position. Aaron Johnson, the sophomore out of Shreveport's Huntington High, would presumably move into Abney's No. 2 role, if he sits out. Junior Bakari Guice, freshman Paul Hardiman and sophomore transfer Frank Green will compete there, too. Junior wide receiver Henry Tolbert will start in the slot.

Numbers crunch: Even though Spears has played a larger role on the defensive side this off-season, the assistants have a lot of ground to make up in working with a unit that finished No. 9 out of 10 SWAC school in pass and red-zone defense in 2003.

On the cusp: Senior linebacker Kenneth Pettway excelled after he was called upon to work on the defensive line when injuries felled ends Lennard Patton and Jason Hatcher. That versatility, and his non-stop motor, has him poised for a breakout season.

Instant impact: Clyde Edwards, the receiver out of Houston-Westbury High, has already exhibited the kind of athleticism and polish to start - even as a freshman. "He has shown that, with a little bit of coaching, he could do very well," said GSU offensive coordinator Sammy White. "He's catching everything in sight."

Shallow pool: There has been little consistency in the punting and return game. Freshman punter Larry Anderson from Redemptorist was signed, and could see immediate playing time. There hasn't been a solid returner since Kenneth Shanklin's breakout season a couple of years back. While running back Keantwon Gray looked good in the spring, a deep pool of receiver talent could also be raided to fix this lingering problem.

On the mend: Abney was poised for a breakout season, before a groin injury failed to heal properly. The staff thought resting him through the off-season would help, but Abney's still slowed by the problem. Losing almost 17 yards per reception - or, say, his four-catch, two-touchdown performance against Southern in the 2003 Bayou Classic - would be a crushing blow.

Gone with the wind: Junior backup quarterback Gary Cooper, perhaps tired of waiting for Bruce Eugene to falter, has quit the program. In two seasons, Cooper played in parts of just eight games - with 260 yards passing, two touchdowns and three interceptions. All but 54 of those yards, and both touchdowns, were in 2002.

Camp chatter: "There will always be an initial drop-off when you lose a guy like Tramon Douglas," said interim GSU coach Melvin Spears. "But I think we've got some guys who are going to step up. There's going to be a dogfight at wide receiver. The entire secondary was also a focus. Right now, the jobs don't belong to anyone. The best guys after these next 28 days will start."
- Nick Deriso

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Tigers having fun while cruising through SWAC
GSU's loose attitude hasn't hurt win column
November 3, 2005

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING - The change in attitude for this Grambling State team is palpable.
But is this new sensibility the cause, or the effect, of an undefeated run through the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 2005?

GSU coach Melvin Spears isn't prone to philosophical, chicken-or-egg conversations. For him, it's simple.

"I think once all the controversial stuff was over with, regardless if it was about the coach or the record," he said, "the guys started being themselves."

Last November, GSU was staggering to a 3-4 record under the weight of a rash of injuries. The staff, led by an interim coach fighting for his job, led practices with a grim-faced tightness. The players seemed to overcompensate by going through their paces with a bit too much emotion.

These days, Spears runs things with a loose bravado, often giving the playcalling over to senior quarterback Bruce Eugene - even in critical down-and-distance situations.

"This is probably the most fun," Eugene said, "I have ever had playing football."

GSU's assistants - notably the professorial Darnell Wall - run a more controlled practice than those seen last season. Everything about the process exudes a smooth, business-like confidence.

Spears spent a recent practice trying out nicknames for Eugene. "The Round Mound of Touchdown" was an early favorite - until somebody suggested "The Big Easy."

"The Big Easy," he said, slowly and enthusiastically.

"This is probably the most laid-back team I have coached," Spears added. "The national championship teams under Doug Williams were high intensity, uptempo types. This is more of an academic type of team. They come to work and are pretty steady. We don't have a whole lot of rah-rah types."

That's perhaps best personified in senior receiver Henry Tolbert.

"I don't do all that trash talking," said Tolbert, who leads the league in yards per catch and total touchdowns. "Even on the field, I just look at them and smile. After I score my touchdown, I look at them and smile again. I let my stats do the talking."

Not that there isn't talking. There is plenty of it - even on the field during games.

"Big (Jonathan) Banks, I'll have to stop him from rapping in the huddle all the time. You'll see linemen dancing," Eugene said. "(Andre) Bennett (the line's other tackle) is talking about one thing; somebody's always talking about something else."

Eugene sets the stage: Receiver Moses Harris can be found comparing performances, he said. Tight end Tim Abney admits that he's still trying to muscle into the lineup after a year lost to injury.

Running back Ab Kuuan is usually begging for one more chance to run the ball.

In fact, receiver Clyde Edwards might be the only quiet one in the bunch.

"If you could see us in the huddle, it would be the same as having me and Bruce sitting right here talking," said Tolbert, who's known for relentlessly counting his own receiving touchdowns and yards.

"We're so relaxed. Everything is so calm," Tolbert added. "We're cracking jokes. We're really out there having a good time. And that's a direct reflection of what's happening on the field."

Spears thinks the last month of last year was a turning point for this team. GSU finished with three wins in its last four games, including an emotional victory against Southern in the second-ending Bayou Classic.

"Down the stretch last year," Spears said, "everything started falling into place."

Still, such a laissez faire approach might have been questioned at 3-4 in 2004. But with this year's 6-1 mark - the only loss came to a Division I-A opponent - it looks like genius.

The reason for that success, Eugene said, is that the team knows how to have fun, but remains focused.

"As soon as we break the huddle," he said, "everybody knows that we come to the line with a business-like attitude. I look forward to Saturdays."

Setting the table
For all the chatter in the Grambling huddle, quarterback Bruce Eugene says his linemen mostly talk about eating.

Eugene started feeding his line, as a way of showing his appreciation, on Mondays. After throwing for seven touchdowns on three different nights, Eugene is doing it on Tuesdays now, as well.

His mom, living in Lincoln Parish now in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, usually cooks. Occasionally, the group might hit a local eatery.

They're difficult to miss.

Offensive tackle Jonathan Banks "orders two of everything," said Eugene. "Not that I am complaining. The cashiers are always asking him, though: `Who's paying for all this?'"

Receiver Henry Tolbert could be next. He's told the linemen that he would buy them all dinner if he can register 200 receiving yards in a game.

"It's cool," said Eugene. "As long as I keep passing for these kind of yards, I will feed them on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, whenever."
- Nick Deriso, nderiso@thenewsstar.com

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Game week focus on...
GRAMBLING'S UNDEFEATED SWAC SEASON
December 6, 2005

Grambling finished the year with an unblemished conference record, something that hadn't been done since 1989 under former coach Eddie Robinson.

"Our guys are elated about it," said GSU coach Melvin Spears. "Our goal at the beginning of the year was to win all of our conference games and go to the championship. That means a whole lot."

GSU (10-1, 9-0 in Southwestern Athletic Conference) plays Alabama A&M on Saturday at Birmingham for the SWAC championship, in a rematch of the 2000 and 2002 title contests.

"In order to win these games," Spears said, "you have to have outstanding players. That's where all the credit goes."

The Tigers enter Saturday's game with the league's leading passer (Bruce Eugene), receiver (Henry Tolbert) and tackler for a loss (Jason Hatcher).

"I sit back and think sometimes about that great season we had in 2002, when Bruce was a sophomore," said Tolbert. "That was the best team I had ever played on, and even then we weren't undefeated."

The 2005 season's 9-0 romp through the SWAC included an average winning margin of 25 points. Grambling's defense gave up less than three TDs each game, while the offense scored more than six.

"We're trying to tear this conference apart," said Eugene. "Years from now, we want people to remember this 2005 team."

Grambling had previously provided information that put the last undefeated SWAC season at 1992, but further research showed GSU lost to Alcorn State during that campaign.

In 1989, Grambling went 9-3 and was spotless in conference play. Grambling won the SWAC championship and, as with this year's team, boasted the conference's offensive player of the year at quarterback, Clemente Gordon.

The `89 season ended when the Tigers lost a heartbreaking 59-56 thriller in the Division I-AA playoffs at Nacogdoches, Texas, against Stephen F. Austin. GSU's only other losses that year were to Howard and Tennessee State.

- Nick Deriso, nderiso@thenewsstar.com

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All-SWAC snub fuels WR Tolbert's fire
December 8, 2005

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING - Henry Tolbert went to high school a stone's throw from the venue where the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game will be played this Saturday.
If recent history is any guide, that will again push the senior Grambling State receiver to brilliance.

GSU (10-1, 9-0 in the SWAC) plays Alabama A&M (9-2, 7-2) at 1 p.m. Saturday for the league title at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN Classic.

Tolbert, a receiver out of Parker High in Birmingham, is coming off a four-score performance at Alcorn State - he caught three touchdowns and ran for another one - after an insulting second-team all-conference snub earlier in the week.

"I'll put it this way," said Grambling offensive coordinator Sammy White, "he felt he should have been on the first team. Now, he didn't say anything about it. He just got more focused. By Saturday, he was a man possessed."

Tolbert has led the SWAC in yards per game, yards per catch and scoring since Week 1. He enters this week with 63 catches for 1,207 and 15 touchdowns, averaging a startling 19.2 yards per reception.

What about that says … second team? It hurt.

"Honestly, I did care," Tolbert said. "When the newspaper came out, and I saw it, I was so mad. I did my best to get over it, but once the game got here on Saturday, it was stuck in my mind."
Yes, history means something to Tolbert. That's why he aims to make a similar showing in Birmingham.

Parker High is also the alma mater of Junious "Buck" Buchanan, Grambling's first Pro Football Hall of Famer; All-America defender Andre Robinson, now the linebackers coach at GSU; and Robert Taylor, a legendary sack artist from the Williams championship period.

"That school has meant so much to Grambling over the years, and Tolbert is just another to go along with that long line of great players," said GSU coach Melvin Spears. "We call him 'X Factor' because he's often overlooked. But Henry Tolbert can do it all."

Tolbert's uncanny talent is best observed during his runs after the catch - perhaps not surprising for a player pegged by former coach Doug Williams as a running back during the program's most recent SWAC title-winning season in 2002.

Still, by 2003, Tolbert was rushing for 381 yards, while adding 392 receiving yards. He was starting to establish himself as a difference maker on the other end of passing plays.

A disciplined, not-overly showy style of play continues to disguise an emerging talent. After all, even last year, when a freshman quarterback led GSU's attack and a nagging hip injury, he caught 29 balls and averaged 19.4 yards per catch. Tolbert had game-changing performances against Prairie View and Jackson State.

By 2005, he was doing things that recalled Grambling greats like Trumaine Johnson and Tramon Douglas.

Of 11 games played so far this season, Tolbert has had 90 or more receiving yards in nine of them. Though he only had three catches for 35 yards against Division I-AA opponent Washington State, one of those receptions was GSU's only score of the day.

Second team?

"It's hard to pick on me, because most things don't really bother me," said Tolbert. "But when I'm in a situation like that, where I feel like someone is trying to take something from me that I think is mine, that's a pet peeve."

It's true: Tolbert, with a smile that could light up a stadium, is mostly an easy-going type. That might have contributed to his being relegated to the All-SWAC second team - despite being just the fourth Grambling receiver ever to gain 2,000 in receiving yards. Those 1,207 yards this season are second all time for a single campaign, and Tolbert still has the title match to play.

"The stats he has already are unbelievable," said White, himself an all-conference receiver for former GSU coach Eddie Robinson. "He has a chance to be Grambling's all-time leading receiver in just about every category. It's funny, he kind of sneaks up on you."

That's how Tolbert arrived in Lorman, Miss., to face Alcorn State last week, silent but with a chip on his shoulder. Heck, it was more like a bag of chips.

"The coaches said: 'The eyes can't lie,'" Tolbert said. "They knew. They could look at me and tell that I had blood in my eyes. That was the motivation for the kind of output I had last weekend. I was really ticked."

That translated into consecutive scoring receptions of 6-, 12- and 35-yards beginning in the second quarter to put the game away against Alcorn, along with an earlier 5-yard rushing touchdown.

"I couldn't," Tolbert said, "have responded any better."

Nobody's expecting anything less this week from Grambling's most consistent receiver.
After all, the last time he faced A&M, Tolbert had four catches for 174 yards - including a gut-check 70-yard touchdown reception.

"You are playing before your home crowd, your family," said White. "He wants to have a great game, and we all know what he did last time."

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Records, A&M fall
GSU comes alive in 3rd for a dominating finish
December 11, 2005

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The third quarter would decide this championship.

Alabama A&M had expertly followed Coach Anthony Jones' script through two quarters, slowing down this Southwestern Athletic Conference title match. GSU only had the ball four times, and managed just two early scores.

That left a slim 12-6 lead as the bands played.

And Grambling coach Melvin Spears looking for answers.

He called it nerves, noting as he came off the field that quarterback Bruce Eugene and safety Jermaine Mills were the only players left from the Tigers' 2002 championship team.

"We'll settle down," he said. "They've just got to come out and play Tiger football."

Grambling had turnovers to begin and end the first half, and a rash of penalties to boot.

The jittery start painted the picture of a team that had overthought the game. Ironically, that was precisely what might have been expected of Alabama A&M - which, after all, arrived three weeks removed from its last contest.

The day had essentially been played to a draw, with the momentum tilted A&M's way since the Bulldogs' goal was to keep record-smashing senior quarterback Bruce Eugene off the field.

"I was upset with the way we played in the first half," said Eugene, who missed last season after suffering a knee injury. "I wanted to come out in the third quarter and press the issue."

Now, there were signs that Grambling could stay loose enough to mount a late-game surge.
Running back Ab Kuuan and returner Landry "Blue" Carter, looking happy and confident, pretended to direct the Tiger Marching Band in its pre-game rendition of "Neck." Line coach Larry Metevia was busy recreating a familiar sight from Grambling's home locker room, the word "WIN" spelled out in trainer tape.

Even so, this third quarter will remain a moment of blinding artistry, a withering 15 minutes of football.

Grambling, see, ran just 16 plays.

And scored 28 points.

"We talked it over," said junior GSU cornerback Greg Fassitt. "We knew we could win the game if we came back out and played hard for the rest of the game."

As the period began, GSU made a quick stop. Eugene then directed a two-play, 63-yard drive to push the Grambling lead to 13. Both passes were caught by senior Henry Tolbert, a Birmingham native who would score three more times.

Next was another three and out for the Bulldogs.

Three plays later, Eugene hit George Piggott for a 41-yard touchdown pass to complete a 60-yard drive.

Just that quickly, GSU led by 19.

"The first half, we had all kind of mental errors," said Kuuan, who had scored a gutty touchdown on fourth-and-goal. "We came out in the third quarter and just executed."

Executed A&M, anyway.

A pass interference call on Grambling, another in the seemingly endless trail of yellow flags, helped A&M convert a third down on its subsequent drive. But consecutive holding calls on the Bulldogs stalled that effort, too.

"We didn't change all the much after halftime," said GSU senior defensive end Jason Hatcher. "We just kept hitting them in the mouth. We knew from playing them the first time that they would lay down."

Eugene then threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Reginald Jackson, another Birmingham native, to cap the next GSU scoring drive. Neville High product Tim Abney added a two-point conversion catch.

Another GSU stop came next. Then another Eugene touchdown pass, again to Tolbert - who broke the school's single-season record for touchdowns in a season.

Grambling was suddenly ahead by 33 unanswered points.

And all of that was before Eugene's fourth-quarter TD pass, also to Tolbert, broke former Mississippi Valley quarterback Willie Totten's once-thought unassailable SWAC and NCAA record of 139 career touchdowns.

Grambling would win 45-6, beating Alabama A&M for a third time in the seven times the SWAC title game has been played.

Conference officials, with 45 seconds left in regulation, hustled the championship trophy down the Grambling sideline for the postgame presentation.

Decorum may have required it, but they needed not wait. This thing had been over since Grambling emerged from the locker room.

With 20 seconds left, the team let go - dancing and singing: G-S! G-S! G-S... U! I thought you knew!"

After 11 victories in 2005, five of which featured 50 or more Grambling points, they know now.
Jones, in a hallway deep inside Legion Field, was still marveling over Eugene's staggering feat when he came across Spears.

The two men shook hands, and Jones - who beat GSU for the first time in five tries last year while Eugene was out - said: "You better not bring him back again."

Both of them laughed softly.

Outside, a fan rolled up a sign that read: "Play Grambling, Get 50."

Not quite. But good enough for a title.

GSU's season of SWAC dominance would end as it began. Alabama A&M lost to Grambling, in games played three months apart, by a combined score of 89-6.

As the team streamed into the locker room, there was no champagne, only shaken-up Coca-Cola showering down on Spears.

It was just as sweet.

The players, wearing new championship hats and shirts, broke into a raucous rendition of the old-time gospel favorite "This Little Light of Mine."

That third quarter had let them shine.

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Tolbert set for record year
Grambling receiver could break all-time school marks
August 22, 2006

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING — When senior Grambling State receiver Henry Tolbert caught two crucial passes on Saturday — including one for the scrimmage's only touchdown — he underscored just how he operates.

Quiet, even amiable, and clutch to a fault.

"That's his nature," said GSU coach Melvin Spears. "Don't sleep on Henry. We call him the 'Silent Assassin.'"

Nobody had more touchdowns, total yards, receptions or yards-per-catch than Tolbert last year. Yet he only received second-team all-Southwestern Athletic Conference honors.

The SWAC Championship Game against Alabama A&M was held the Saturday after the team was announced. Tolbert was critical to GSU's big win — scoring 24 points, setting SCG records for receiving and overall touchdowns and tying a record for total points scored by an individual in the contest.

That the game was played in Birmingham, Ala., Tolbert's hometown, only made the understated revenge sweeter. Grambling opens its 2006 season right back at Legion Field, this time facing Hampton in the MEAC-SWAC Challenge on Sept. 2.

"I'm very excited about the chance to go back and prove myself again," said Tolbert, who had 30 family members in attendance last December. "How could I not be?"

As the team warmed up for the scrimmage on Saturday, running backs Ab "Killer" Kuuan and Landry "Blue" Carter were talking the typical trash — sending several players into hysterics.

You could find Tolbert nearby, fiddling with a new mouthpiece, then still and determined.

He's had a busy summer, dropping from 208 to a sculpted 195 — adding muscle while going from 4 to 2 percent body fat — and earned his undergraduate degree.

"Being in better shape is what we need from Henry so that we can use him all over the field," Spears said.

And use him, they will.

Tolbert has returned to his familiar slot alignment, but has also shown up in some surprising places, including as a punt returner.

"We want to utilize his talent in every way possible," Spears said.

That will perhaps offset what could be a dip in touches for Tolbert as part of a unit that returns a 1,000-yard receiver in Clyde Edwards and picked up lightning-quick Georgia Tech transfer LaKeldrick "Burner" Bridges.

Spears disagrees, countering: "People won't be able to combo him as much. I don't see his production falling off."

That was true Saturday, when Tolbert led all Grambling receivers in yards — pulling down passes for nine and 21 yards (to score) in the offense's final and most successful drive.

That it took so long didn't faze Tolbert: "We won't see a defense as good as ours all year," he said.

Tolbert, a graduate student now with a championship ring, enters the season with some as-yet-unattained goals.

Even though he lost ground while spelling at running back as a younger player, Tolbert sits just 838 yards behind Scotty Anderson as GSU's all-time leader in receiving yards. He needs seven touchdowns to best Anderson for career scores, and 55 catches to pass Anderson as Grambling's all-time receptions leader.

Tolbert has doubled his yardage every year since switching to wideout, finishing with 1,400 yards and 19 scores in 2005. His three-year average is 45 catches, 782 yards and nine touchdowns per season.

"When they asked me to move to receiver during my sophomore year, it was an easy transition because I knew everything the position offered," said Tolbert. "It was foresight on their part because they saw me as a wide receiver and when they called my number, I was ready."

Tolbert had been a highly recruited rusher out of Parker High, where he played for current GSU linebacker coach Andre Robinson. But a late-career hip injury sent several programs, including Auburn, elsewhere.

"Andre thought a whole lot of him," Spears said. "He was a guy we really wanted. But we never pictured him as a running back."

Tolbert would have to bulk up, for one thing. He arrived on campus with decent height at 6-feet tall, but weighing a slight 165 pounds.

"It was a matter of working on his body structure," Spears said, "and then infusing him into our system."

While recognition from his home league has been slow in coming, Tolbert has garnered a string of national honors — something that could position him for a shot at playing pro ball.

Tolbert was named the No. 4 receiver in Division I-AA by Matt Dougherty of The Sports Network, and earned first-time preseason I-AA All America honors from Don Hansen's Football Gazette. He was also named a second-team All America receiver by The Sports Network and Lindy's Magazine.

"He has the ability to play at the next level," Spears said, "if he plays sound football, remains the team player he's always been. The rest will work its way out. What he's thinking about now is Hampton and going back to Birmingham."

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Tolbert hopes to spark GSU
Senior receiver wants to help team return to winning ways
October 19, 2006

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING — Injured senior Grambling receiver Henry Tolbert is almost there.

He hopes his team is, too.

"I feel pretty good," he said. "A lot better than I did last week."

Tolbert ran full speed on Wednesday night, just days after non football-related surgery caused him to miss several practices.

The time away, Tolbert said, gave him new perspective. One of the most important things he said he's seeing is an emerging will to succeed.

That comes in the wake of a player's-only meeting Tolbert called to sort out what has gone wrong in this disappointing 2-4 campaign. He said he made sure to focus on the team concept.

"We talked about accountability," Tolbert said. "It wasn't about pointing fingers, but trying to get better."

GSU coach Melvin Spears agrees that the squad needs to build more of that internal chemistry.

"They're still looking for that coach-on-the-field guy," he said. "Those young guys at quarterback are still transitioning into that. That's why we as coaches need to consistently hone in on who wants to be a champion and make sure we get them on the field."

The team, Tolbert said, came away with a strong sense of purpose, along with the firm belief that it can get on a run and return to the conference championship game. That begins with a 3 p.m. Saturday contest against the undefeated, Eastern Division-leading Jackson State.

"I haven't seen this kind of focus and intensity yet all year," said Tolbert.

Spears seemed to agree, saying again and again in the post-practice huddle on Wednesday: "Way to work."

Tolbert attempted to play Saturday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, but ended up as more of a decoy than legitimate threat. At what he estimated as "60-to-65 percent," Tolbert caught just one pass for 17 yards but drew some attention from the Lions' defense.

His presence freed junior receiver Clyde Edwards for a 10-catch day. Edwards finished with 145 yards and two scores in the losing effort for GSU.

"I just wanted to do whatever I could to help us win," he said.

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GSU's prospects perhaps undrafted, but not undaunted
April 27, 2007

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
Grambling State’s graduated seniors can take solace if they go unselected in the NFL Draft.

Two of the program’s most famous football products, Willie Brown and Everson Walls, went undrafted — and both found their way to multiple Pro Bowls. Brown even made the Hall of Fame.

Players like GSU receiver Henry Tolbert and running back Ab Kuuan understand that they might be following the same uphill path.

“I’ve talked to a few scouts, but it’s hard to tell if there is any real interest,” said Kuuan. “All I can do is sit back and wait.”

If Grambling's departing seniors don’t hear their names this weekend, it will be the first time that’s happened since 2004. Last year, defender Jason Hatcher was a third-round selection by the Dallas Cowboys; Kenneth Pettway was taken on the second day of the 2005 draft by the Houston Texans.

Kuuan and Tolbert both received one-star ratings from Scouts.com, but are unranked in their respective draft categories on the site.

Tony McClean of the Black Athlete Sports Network, listed Kuuan and Tolbert as one of black college football’s Top 8 pre-season draft prospects, while NFL.com’s Gil Brandt also included Tolbert as one of just 14 non-Division I-A players in his pre-season watch list.

But both had off years as Grambling slipped to 3-8 in 2006.

Tolbert had 48 catches and 730 yards (with just four touchdowns) last season, after a career-best 74 receptions, 1,391 yards and 19 scores as a junior.

By the end of a disappointing season, NFL.com had dropped the converted running back to a “camp prospect.” Sports Illustrated predicts that he will become an undrafted free agent, but said Tolbert “has the skills necessary to be a fifth receiver at the next level.”

Louisiana football analyst Mike Detillier of Raceland has Tolbert ranked as the No. 61 available receiver in the draft.

Through he perhaps lacks an ideal burst, Tolbert had tirelessly worked to improve, nearly doubling his receiving production every successive year — logging 391 yards in 2003 and then 563 in 2004 before his breakout ’05 campaign. As a junior, Tolbert set a new school record for receiving touchdowns in a season with 20 — surpassing Eric Gant’s 19 scores, a mark which had stood for 13 years.

“He has only been playing the receiver position for three years and he has yet to reach his full potential,” according to the Louisiana-based OnTheClockDraft.com. “Tolbert is a versatile player who could project as a running back or receiver at the next level. He has a good deal of upside and should be a second day pick.”

Kuuan, meanwhile, led Grambling in rushing for four consecutive seasons, but similarly slipped from 891 yards as a junior to 551 last year.

NFL.com reported Kuuan’s time in the 40-yard dash at 4.77 seconds and then 4.71 seconds. A solid performance in the North-South All-Star Classic postseason showcase, where Kuuan ran five times for 26 yards, helped him to recognition as a sleeper pick on several draft sites.

“Kuuan runs hard and strong, however he’s more of an inside runner who struggles at times to turn the corner and pick up speed,” McClean said. “He has the size to play at the pro level, but must work hard to improve on his blocking.”

Pro Football Weekly has Kuuan listed as the No. 46 available running back. Detillier has him at No. 33.

Allen Trieu of Football.com lists Tolbert as the No. 21 small-school draft sleeper, with GSU offensive lineman Andre Bennett at No. 27 and Kuuan at No. 35. Cornerback Greg Fassitt, linebacker David Hicks and fullback Ruben Mayes may also have performed well enough for scouts to warrant some attention.

In fact, Fassitt’s 4.36 40-time was ranked as the 11th fastest in the nation by NFLDraftScout.com.

“I’m hoping to get drafted,” said Mayes, a former Tennessee transfer who ranked No. 42 among available fullbacks on NFLDraftNews.com. “If not, then I’ll get into someone’s camp.”