Remembering: Grambling's first game at Northwestern State

Historic first meeting between Grambling, Northwestern was defensive slugfest
September 11, 2008

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
The stands, that night, were separated by color.

Fans sporting black and gold filled one set of bleachers, while purple and white populated the other.

But there was something else that divided them, as Grambling played its first-ever game against Northwestern State on Sept. 14, 1974.

"What was unique was not just the color of the shirts; you had all white people on one side and all black on the other," said Jack Brittain, an NSU special teams player in '74. "That was not something I was used to seeing. It was a different point of view."

The newly expanded State Fair Stadium — now Shreveport's Independence Stadium — was packed to the lid, as 30,000 fans joined together despite their differences for a night of stirring football action.

"We knew it was big, especially playing a school of different race from Louisiana," said Sammy White, then a junior wingback for the historically black Grambling college. "We knew the level of competition would be a step up for our program, and we wanted to give it everything we had to pull it out."

At the time, the late legendary GSU sports information director Collie J. Nicholson said this "could become a regular series for the two clubs."

But the Tigers wouldn't play another Southland Conference-affiliated program until falling to Arkansas State in the 1985 lower-division playoffs. Grambling, despite more recent efforts going back at least five seasons, hasn't played Northwestern since.

That changes Saturday at GSU travels to Natchitoches for a long-awaited Louisiana rivalry game that's stirred powerful memories of their first meeting more than 30 years back.

"It was actually a barrier breaker, as far as those things go," said Brittain, now Northwestern's sideline reporter. "As a freshman, it was my first football game, so my knees were shaking before we went out for the kickoff. Then, we were facing Grambling, who had such a great reputation for sending players to the professional leagues. We figured it was going to be an epic battle."

Was it ever.

'TIGHT, TIGHT, TIGHT'

Senior Grambling quarterback Joe Comeaux, a Westlake native, opened the scoring with a four-yard TD scramble. He'd hit Dwight Scales on a 43-yard pass to the NSU 7 on the second play from scrimmage.

Rodney Zeno, a senior GSU defensive back, added the extra point, but the 7-0 lead wouldn't stand for long.

A White fumble on the Grambling 13 gave the ball back to Northwestern's Butch Ballard, who answered with his lone touchdown pass of the night — hitting Gene Knecht on an eight-yard strike.

That followed a series of stuffs on off-tackle runs by Mario Cage, who couldn't get past Grambling seniors Gary "Big Hands" Johnson and Robert Barber.

In a harbinger of kicking problems to come, NSU's extra-point attempt then failed.

NSU's Cage — coming off a 1,000-yard, all-Gulf South season in 1973 — then made a dramatic second-quarter touchdown run on a pitch back from Ballard. (There are lingering discrepancies on the exact length of his run: Monroe's Morning World had it at 57 yards, The Times of Shreveport reported 61 and NSU's yearbook said 52.) Danny Foret's point-after attempt was true this time, giving Northwestern a 13-7 lead at the half.

Neither team, however, could gather itself for a knock out on offense. It was all body blows.

"That game," said White, "was tight, tight, tight."

Nicholson once marveled over NSU's 1974 defense, saying "they make up for a lack of size with speed, aggressiveness and a desire to hit."

Grambling's unit, meanwhile, featured James "Hound" Hunter as a secondary anchor along with the All-American Johnson, who late Grambling coaching legend Eddie Robinson had taken to calling "the best lineman in college football."

Both teams would punt seven times over the course of the contest, with Grambling earning just four first downs and outgaining NSU by a total of only 74 yards. Northwestern fumbled seven times, losing three — while picking off GSU a total of four stunning times.

"I was deep protection on the punts," Brittain said, laughing, "and we punted a lot. I just remember 'Big Hands' running past our center, right behind the snap as it was coming back. He would come in low, about one foot off the ground. All I could do is dive at his shoelaces. He would just shove me to the ground and trample right over me."

Grambling returned to the field after halftime with a new quarterback, and Shreveport sophomore Terry Brown reeled off a dramatic 82-yard pass to White.

"They were blitzing us a lot, so we had a one-on-one match up," said White, now an assistant coach at Grambling. "Terry threw a nice long ball on that one."

Zeno's kick gave the Tigers their final margin of victory, 14-13.

But not before a memorable NSU field goal attempt, blocked by Hunter, as time expired.

Hunter's playmaking through that junior season had already drawn raves from Robinson, who called the Texan "Mr. Clutch." A canny pass defender and zippy returner, Hunter was "generally spoken of with a reverence reserved exclusively for legendary Saturday heroes," the late Nicholson once said.

That legend was built on plays like the final one against Northwestern State.

NSU got the ball back after an interception by linebacker Dan Boddie, who dashed back to the Grambling 34 with 4:03 left in the game. Ballard then drove down to the GSU 3 as time grew short, setting up a 20-yard attempt by Foret. Demons coach George Doherty, in a gutsy move, had ordered the try on third down with just 39 seconds remaining.

Hunter got a finger on it, as perhaps did Johnson, and the attempt missed.

'WAY BEYOND FOOTBALL'

Cage, who went down to injury during that final push, rushed for 97 yards — though much of that was given back in the final team stats because of lost yardage by other players.

Ballard finished the day 11-of-16 for just 88 yards and a score for NSU. Comeaux and Brown, meanwhile, combined for a 7-of-21 performance — a lack of efficiency under center that eventually led to the now-famous insertion of a redshirt freshman named Doug Williams three games later against Prairie View A&M.

"We had our opportunities," Williams said. "We scored 14 points, but we were still largely ineffective. It wasn't one of those good old Grambling offensive days. You could give some of that to Northwestern, too. They had a good team."

Doherty, entering his last season in Natchitoches after winning the Gulf South in 1972, had brought A.L. Williams in as offensive coordinator — and installed his new assistant's more pass-oriented offense in anticipation of handing over the reigns.

NSU, which had already dropped its second straight game in 1974, was in the midst of consecutive 1-10 campaigns. Williams would coach at Northwestern for eight seasons, boasting ranked teams in 1980 and '82 when his teams finished 8-3 and 7-4 respectively.

Williams went on to pass for 1,150 yards (nearly 400 more yards than Comeaux and Brown combined) over the remainder of the 1974 season. Grambling finished 11-1, claiming the ninth of 17 total Southwestern Athletic Conference championships under Robinson. (Williams later returned to coach at his alma mater, and played host to the first Southland foe ever at Grambling's Robinson Stadium — McNeese State in 2003.)

Grambling's lone '74 stumble was a 19-14 loss to Alcorn, and they shared the SWAC crown. Robinson would finish the season at 236 career wins on the way to 408 total, a still-standing Division I record.

The Northwestern victory, thrilling in its playing and encouraging in its social significance, holds a special place among them.

"The perspective of this game is way beyond the football field," Brittain said. "In our lives, both at Grambling and at Northwestern, it had a big effect. What a great time to try something like that, to break through some of those unknowns."

Recruiting: South side of Monroe has been a Grambling talent pipeline

Grambling's great provider
South side of Monroe has been talent pipeline
February 6, 2006

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING - James Harris grew up right around the corner from Sammy White.

Who lived down the way from Lane Howell. Who lived near a street that would eventually produce a flinty talent named Brandon Landers.

Who shares a zip code with Desmond Lenard.

The south side of Monroe sent them all to Grambling State, in an unbroken storyline that continued through last week's National Signing Day.

"I grew up in that neighborhood," said Sammy White, a Richwood product who played and now coaches at GSU as offensive coordinator. "It gives me great joy to see where these guys progress and how they move along."

In 1965, a Carroll High product was quarterback at Grambling. Forty years later, Landers is likely to follow Harris into the role.

White was a star wingback for former GSU coach Eddie Robinson - after winning both football and basketball titles at Richwood in the early 1970s. Lenard, Carroll's wingback last season, committed to Grambling after earning All-Northeast honors as a kick returner.

Derrick Wilhite, a 2006 signee out of Wossman, contributes to a legacy that includes ex-Wildcats assistant Lee Fobbs, a former player under Robinson, and current defensive back Bakari Guice.

"There's no question that the south side of Monroe has added to that Grambling mystique," said GSU coach Melvin Spears. "From the Howells to James Harris to Goldie Sellers and on down to Brandon Landers - our freshman sensation in '04."

Landers shot to conference freshman of the year honors in relief of injured quarterback Bruce Eugene, then redshirted last year when Eugene returned for a final season of eligibility.

"I think this is a good place for finding highly skilled athletes - and that's true at many inner-city schools," said Carroll coach Jesse Smith Sr., who is also a Grambling product.

"There is a lot of talent in this area. I think that through the years, we've proven that."

Carroll's connection to GSU goes deeper than the head coach.

Back in 2001, current Bulldogs assistant Levi Washington Jr. led all receivers in yards as Grambling won the second of three straight SWAC titles. The team uses an offense patterned on GSU's, as well.

So, it's perhaps no surprise that Carroll split end Jesse Smith Jr. joined Lenard in signing with Grambling last week - along with teammates Derrick Johnson and Xavier Lee, both of whom play linebacker.

In the end, though, all three of the southside schools - notably Richwood and, more recently, Wossman - have been an important thread through the tapestry of Grambling's football legacy.

"It's great coming from that tradition," said Landers. "I'd like to have that same impact - not only as a player, but as an individual."

Harris, perhaps the south side's most legendary product, led Grambling to 31-9-1 record between 1965-68, winning a conference title every single year. He was voted the team's most valuable player his final two seasons.

But Landers reminds, Harris' most important contribution came after he left Grambling.

Harris would become the first black athlete to be drafted as a quarterback. His NFL career - which included stops in Buffalo, Los Angeles and San Diego - was capped by an MVP performance in the 1974 Pro Bowl.

Harris later moved into even more rarified air, working in the front offices of Baltimore and currently Jacksonville as one of the NFL's highest ranking black executives.

Smith said Grambling provided a platform in that journey, and for the scores of southside youths who followed him.

"Anytime you've got a kid who goes on and does well, that's an example that you can stir these kids with," said Smith. "It makes them understand that you can dream and it can happen."

Carroll's Lane Howell, a two-way lineman for Robinson, was the first of three brothers to star at Grambling, beginning in 1960. Michael, a cornerback nicknamed "Trackdown," followed two seasons later. Delles, another defensive back, would arrive seven seasons later - but by then the family had moved to California.

Grambling won its first Southwestern Athletic Conference title with Lane up front, establishing a 23-5-2 mark between 1960-62. Michael's 1964 squad went 9-3, winning the Sugar Cup over Bishop before falling in the Orange Blossom Classic.

One of Michael's teammates that season was cornerback Goldie "Spider" Sellers, a Winnsboro native who eventually moved to the south side and played for Richwood.

In 2004, White joined Harris in the SWAC Hall of Fame, recognition for a career that included three conference championships and co-offensive player of the year honors in 1975 at Grambling.

"It was passed down to me," said White, later an NFL rookie of the year at Minnesota. "James Harris and Delles took me to a Grambling basketball game when I was in junior high. I was always around it. There were other places I could have played, but this was the only place I was ever going."

Quarterback Matthew Reed, born in Winnfield, would prove so dominant at Richwood that he once threw nine touchdowns in a single game. Later, he was named Grambling's MVP as a junior, then made All-America as a senior in the early 1970s.

White grew up idolizing Amos Augustine and Charlie "Tank" Smith at Richwood, then played after them at Grambling. Between 1968-71, former Carroll guard Solomon Freelon Jr. protected Harris, Reed and Frank Holmes.

White says many of those greats called a neighborhood known as Bryant's Addition home. He still scouts for talent there, giving another generation the Grambling road map out of one of the area's most impoverished communities.

"The thing about it is, we thought we were pretty good - and these guys could be that too," said White. "It's all about hard work."

Landers, for his part, says he can't account for the staggering impact such a small geographic area has had on Grambling. But, when he's home, he sees the next group working to get there.

"If you ride around, you see little kids out playing in empty lots and at the rec centers - and that's year-round," said Landers. "They're playing everything too, just like we did. Football, basketball, baseball. With small schools, you've got guys going both ways, playing all sports. That makes you better. Who knows? One of those kids could follow me someday."

Remembering: Coach Rob's best

EDDIE ROB: Coach’s best
Six decades of Grambling talent are hard to narrow down
April 9, 2007

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
BATON ROUGE — They’ll gather, some of Eddie Robinson’s most noted pupils, to say goodbye today.

Former Grambling State players have been invited to a private ceremony, to be held at 9:30 a.m. in the State Capitol Memorial Hall, before Robinson’s public viewing.

“This is an opportunity for us to show our appreciation, a last hurrah for Coach,” said ex-GSU player and coach Doug Williams, who helped organize the event. “A viewing at the capitol is major credence to everything Coach accomplished. He deserves it.”

The bells of St. Joseph Cathedral will toll as the fallen coach’s body is carried up the capitol steps this morning at 9. Public viewing will then follow from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and then from 6-7 p.m., after a memorial ceremony in the House Chamber.

Still, most of today’s attention will fall on the athletes who come to pay their respects.

That got us to thinking about the best of the best. So, we compiled our own top five players from each of the six decades of Grambling football under Robinson.

Here are our suggestions, listed by decade and alphabetically:

1940s
1. Fred Hobdy: A guard on Grambling’s renowned “un” team in 1942 — which went unbeaten, untied and unscored upon — Hobdy returned from the war and coached young men for most of the next five decades. He worked first as an ends coach on the football team (he was an assistant on 1955’s undefeated squad), and then as Louisiana’s most successful college hoops coach ever. He was a member of the GSU Hall of Fame’s second class, along with Robinson, in 1981.

2. Willie “Automatic” Joseph: His name says it all: Joseph, over the 1947-49 seasons, established a 48-point school record for career points by a kicker that still stands. Grambling wouldn’t lose more than three games in a season over that span.

3. Legolian “Boots” Moore: Helped Grambling to its seminal 21-6 win over Southern University in 1947, a first-time-ever moment that Robinson always said put the program on the map. Later toured with the Harlem Globetrotters.

4. Dan H. Washington: A member of Robinson’s first squad, as well as its subsequent “un” team in 1942, Washington then touched thousands of lives as team trainer for 45 years before his death in 1996 at age 74.

5. Paul “Tank” Younger: Despite playing from 1945-48, still holds GSU record for career points with 369. His 86-yard blast against Morgan State in 1946 also remains the school’s longest non-scoring run.

In all, Younger scored 60 touchdowns — at the time a collegiate record, and still tops at Grambling — during his storied career under Robinson. Named black college player of the year in 1949, he was the first Grambling player inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame, in 1973. Induction into the GSU hall followed in 1982.

Significantly, Younger went on to become one of the highest-ranking early black pro executives ever. He entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000, but died just days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

1950s
1. Willie Davis: A two-time black college All-America defensive tackle in 1954-55, Davis anchored Grambling’s first national black college championship team — the 10-0 squad from 1955.

“Willie had hitting power,” Robinson once recalled. “He was our captain, an outstanding leader.”

Davis, after a Hall of Fame pro career, became one of black America’s most important business leaders. He was GSU’s second SWAC Hall of Famer in 1977, and was inducted into GSU hall in ’82.

2. Willie Brown: So deep was Grambling’s roster in the late 1950s, the only NFL player to intercept a least one pass in 16 consecutive seasons never played cornerback. Still he lettered all four years at split end and outside linebacker, and GSU won a title in 1960. A 1983 GSU Hall of Fame inductee, Brown has shepherded countless NFL careers as an assistant with the Oakland Raiders.

3. Ernie “Big Cat” Ladd: At 6-9 and 315 pounds, Ladd arrived in the late 1950s as arguably the biggest GSU star ever. A first-team all-league defensive lineman in his final season at Grambling in 1960, he helped Grambling to its first-ever SWAC championship. Inducted into the GSU hall in 1989, Ladd was an activist for players’ rights as a pro player and, later, an prison evangelist before passing last month after a long bout with cancer.

4. Melvin Lee: As quarterback of the offensive line at center on Grambling’s undefeated 1955 championship squad, Lee had an astonishing impact on generations of men at his alma mater. He would work for the next 40 seasons as a Robinson assistant, tinkering and perfecting Robinson’s fabled Wing-T offense.

5. Edward “Bo” Murray: A critical piece of Grambling’s 1955 undefeated team, the then-redshirt sophomore won the Orange Blossom Classic on scoring runs of 75 and 8 yards. He also kicked the extra point on his winning TD, beating Florida A&M 28-21. A 1995 GSU Hall of Fame inductee.

1960s
1. Junious “Buck” Buchanan: From his sophomore season onward, this tackle earned a trio of All-America and all-conference honors while helping Grambling to a 23-5-2 record.

Robinson would often gush about Buchanan’s dominance, even in practice: “If we went to the right, he would tackle us. If we went to the left, he would tackle us. If we went right at him, he would tackle us. Boy, he was really tough.”

Buchanan, a 1987 GSU Hall of Fame inductee, passed away in 1992 after a long bout with lung cancer. He was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.

2. James “Shack” Harris: Harris passed for 4,128 yards and 43 touchdowns as Grambling went 24-5-1 between 1965-68, winning three straight SWAC titles.

“Coach Robinson had the utmost confidence in me that I could play, and that meant a lot, knowing how he felt,” Harris said. “Eddie Robinson is perhaps the greatest person that I’ve ever been around.”

In his senior season alone, Harris passed for 1,972 yards and 21 touchdowns on only 225 attempts. He was first-team All-SWAC in 1967-68, and also earned SWAC and GSU hall of fame honors.

Just as importantly, he broke barriers as an early starting NFL quarterback, and now serves as one of the league’s top-ranking pro personnel executives.

3. Charlie Joiner: Led all Grambling receivers from 1966-68, gaining 2,066 yards, on the way to a trio of conference titles. An amazing 78 of quarterback Harris’ 289 career completions at Grambling were hauled in by the steady Joiner, who led the team in touchdowns in 1966-67.

“Charlie goes all out,” Robinson once noted. “Beating the man, that’s where he excelled.”

He was named first-team All-SWAC three times, then joined the GSU Hall of Fame in 1986 and the SWAC hall in 1996. He has worked for years as a pro football assistant coach.

4. Frank Lewis: A do-it-all player who led Grambling in receiving in 1969-70 and in rushing in 1969, as well. He scored 28 touchdowns in his junior and senior seasons, averaging 18.65 yards per catch.

“I played with Frank and I don’t know if I have ever seen a better athlete than Frank,” Harris said. “I don’t know of anything that Frank couldn’t do.”

Lewis was named first-team all-conference as a junior and senior, and was second team as a sophomore when Grambling won the SWAC in 1968. He is a community leader in his hometown of Houma, working with the disadvantaged.

5. Jerry “Ghost” Robinson: A two-time first-team All-SWAC halfback from 1960-61, a stint that included Grambling’s first-ever league title in 1960. Led all Grambling rushers over those two seasons, running for 1,300 yards.

1970s
1. James “Hound” Hunter: A first-team All-SWAC honoree in 1974-75, he helped Grambling to the ’74 SWAC title. Hunter was the team leader in picks for two years, pulling down 16 passes in 1973-74. His eight in 1974 ranks fourth all-time at GSU; still shares school mark for most career returns for a touchdown.

2. Gary “Big Hands” Johnson: Holds the school record for most tackles in a career, with 367 between 1971-74 as GSU won four straight SWAC titles.

In his senior season of 1974 alone, Johnson had 134 tackles, 89 unassisted, and was named the team’s Most Valuable Player. That led to coveted invites to both the East-West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl — and Johnson was named Most Valuable Player in both.

Johnson earned first-team All-SWAC in 1972-74, followed by 1996 induction into the GSU Hall of Fame, and then 1997 honors in both the College Football and SWAC halls of fame.

3. Robert Parham: Grambling’s leading rusher from 1978-80, he amassed 2,700 yards over that span as GSU won three consecutive SWAC titles. He was a first-team all-conference running back in each of those seasons.

4. Sammy White: Inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame in 2005 in recognition of a collegiate career that included two school-leading years for receptions in 1973 and 1975 — and a co-offensive player of the year award as a senior. White was also first-team All-SWAC in ’73. He has shaped youngsters as an assistant football coach at his alma mater now for nine seasons.

5. Doug Williams: Williams, who established school passing marks that stood for nearly 25 years, started quickly — winning a SWAC title as a redshirt freshman in 1974.

“I was blessed to have some veterans around me and Coach Robinson ran a conservative offense that didn’t put too much pressure on me,” Williams said.

He would win another SWAC championship as a senior in 1977, earning second-team All-SWAC honors in 1975 and then offensive player of the year honors in his final collegiate campaign. He was inducted into the GSU hall in 1985 and the SWAC and College halls in 2001.

A groundbreaker as a Heisman Trophy finalist and a Super Bowl MVP, Williams is now a part of a second revolution as an NFL executive.

1980s
1. Trumaine Johnson: The 1980 and ’82 SWAC offensive player of the year (when he had 1,000 yards and averaged 14 yards a catch), Johnson was also first-team All-SWAC in 1981. Grambling won the conference championship in ’80. His 16 scores that season is still tied for fifth best in school history.

2. Fred Jones: GSU’s best receiver during the 1987-89 seasons, collecting a total of 2,000 yards as well as a SWAC title in his senior campaign. He also led Grambling in scoring in ’88 with 10 touchdowns, and earned first-team All-SWAC honors in ’88-89.

3. Albert “Snow” Lewis: Was first-team All-SWAC at cornerback in 1981-82, after leading the team in interceptions in 1981 with seven. A stellar performance earned him a starting position by popular vote in 2002 on the 50th anniversary all-time Senior Bowl team. Has worked as an assistant coach with the San Diego Chargers, in NFL Europe and at his alma mater.
4. Everson “Cubby” Walls: Still holds the school record for most interceptions in a season, 11 set in 1980. Was All-SWAC that season. Made national headlines recently for an act that said much about his character, donating a kidney to a former NFL teammate.

5. Mike Williams: Williams, brother and successor at quarterback to Doug, won SWAC titles in 1978-80 and was named first-team all-conference as both a junior and senior. He threw for 3,700 yards and 46 touchdowns at Grambling, and remains active in support of Grambling.

1990s
1. Curtis Caesar: Led all Grambling receivers in 1993-94, averaging 868 yards per season. A second-team 1994 All-SWAC honoree, his numbers for his final two years are still in Grambling’s all-time Top 20. Grambling shared its last co-championship in the SWAC under Robinson in 1994.

2. Walter Dean: The first SWAC player to win the Walter Payton Award, Dean was also the conference’s offensive player of the year in 1990. No senior has ever run for more than his 1,401 yards. Dean was also first-team all-conference in 1989, when GSU won the SWAC.

3. Eric Gant: A two-time All-SWAC first-teamer beginning in 1991, Gant is one of only 17 Grambling players ever invited to the Senior Bowl. Still holds school records for yards in season (1,417 in 1992) and yards in a career (3,795), as well those for rushing yards by sophomore and junior.

4. Gilad Landau: His 188 career total in PATs was a state record. An All-SWAC first-team kicker in 1992-93, Landau earned All-America honors in 1993 from The Sports Network — becoming a significant figure in the history of Jewish sports in America.

5. Kendrick Nord: Passed for 6,600 yards in 1993-95, beating Alcorn in an epic Robinson Stadium battle and also winning a SWAC title as a senior. Those career yards, not to mention his marks for completions and touchdowns, have only been bested twice ever at Grambling.

Grambling greats: Tramon Douglas

Douglas brings East West glory on home
July 12, 2003

By NICK DERISO
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
Grambling State wide receiver Tramon Douglas' selection to the 2004 East West Shrine Football Classic roster means two distinct things to his coach.

· Douglas' credentials, even before his senior season gets under way, are in order.

· We're back, baby.

"He's been selected before the end of the year," says GSU's Doug Williams, who's quick to note that the game won't be played in San Francisco until January 2004. "That speaks volumes for what he's accomplished. They watched his work - and they liked him."

But Williams, as expected, brings the conversation back around to the big picture for his alma mater.

"He's got a chance to move us back where we used to be," says Williams, who was the MVP of the East West Shrine Game in 1977.

Amazingly, Douglas is the first GSU player selected for the game since fullback Eric Gant a decade ago.

You have to go back to Williams' glory days to find other Tigers who achieved the honor: Wide receiver Carlos Pennywell and defensive back Mike Harris were also invited in 1977; defensive back James Hunter and wide receiver Sammie White (GSU's current receivers coach) in 1976; and defensive tackle Gary "Big Hands" Johnson in 1974.

Douglas is aware of this rarefied company in the Grambling State family.

"I've seen a big difference in him since he's been selected," Williams says. "We've never had problem with Tramon's work habits - but he has stepped it up a notch."

Douglas earns this newest honor after an amazing junior season, where he broke the Southwestern Athletic Conference single-season receiving yards record with 1,704 yards on 92 catches - including 18 touchdowns.

The previous record holder, at 1,682 yards, was a certain Jerry Rice - the future Hall of Famer at San Francisco and Oakland who played collegiately at Mississippi Valley State.

Douglas was a consensus first team All-America selection - named to the Associated Press, the Sports Network and the Sheridan Broadcasting Network teams. He was also a first team All-SWAC selection.

"The East West game is one of the bigger games, along the lines of the Senior Bowl," Williams said. "A lot of the kids who get a chance to play there go on to play on Sundays. The rest of it will be left up to Tramon."

In fact, 86 of last year's roster were named to the NFL Draft or were signed as free agents. At least one East West Shrine Game player was signed by each of the 32 NFL teams.

"What I tried to let him understand is, if you can get this kind of shot, it's a different ballgame," Williams said. "He has to concentrate a little more. He might have to cut back on his fun a little bit."

That shouldn't be hard for the Douglas, a dedicated student who - even while leading Division 1-AA in average receiving yards per game - carried a 3.0 grade-point average. Douglas is also Grambling State's single-season receiving record holder in receptions, yards and touchdowns.

The adjustment comes in a season where every opposing defense is sure to make him the primary focus.

"Here's a kid that had 92 catches last year," Williams says. "But with the quality of guys we have coming back, if he got 65 or 70, he still has done his job. Going into a football game, people now know Tramon. But if the others stand up and do their jobs, he will be just as effective."

LSU's Nick Saban will be the head coach for the East team, while Oklahoma's Bob Stoops will direct the West squad.

All proceeds from the East West Shrine Game support children who receive medical care, at no cost, from the 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children throughout North America. To date, the game has raised more than $14 million for Shriners Hospitals.

g g g
GSU's Eugene, Douglas preseason picks
July 17, 2003

By NICK DERISO
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
The preseason football recognition is stacking up like cordwood at Grambling State University.

Quarterback Bruce Eugene and wide receiver Tramon Douglas - both seniors - have been named as first-team selections to the Sports Network's Division I-AA 2003 preseason All-America team. Douglas was named to the roster of January's East West Shrine Game recently, as well.

"If you look back over the past five years, and what we've done, the guys who are getting this recognition have earned it," says Grambling coach Doug Williams. "Bruce and Tramon deserve all the accolades."

Eugene was third overall in balloting for the first team. In all, 77 players from 12 different conferences were selected to the team, along with one player from an independent program.

Eugene, a 6-1, 245-pound junior, was a consensus offensive player of the year selection by the Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C., Sheridan Sports Network Black College and the SWAC - as well as being named a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, given to the top NCAA Division I-AA offensive player by the Sports Network.

Douglas, meanwhile, led the nation in receiving yards for I-AA, by averaging 142 yards per game. He is also the only person in SWAC history to record more than 1,700 receiving yards in a single season.

Together, they highlighted an explosive Grambling State offense that helped the Tigers to an unprecedented third straight National Black College and Southwestern Athletic Conference championships, with an 11-2 overall record.

Now, it's Williams' job to make sure they don't get weighted down with the awards.

"As coach, I have to protect against them becoming complacent," he says. "It's the same thing I was going through when I was getting them, and Coach Rob told me: `You've got to keep your feet on the ground.' We are fortunate that with people like Bruce and Tramon, they are going to keep their feet firmly planted."

Eugene, a New Orleans native, completed 269-of-543 passes for 4,455 yards including 43 touchdowns while rushing for 535 yards on 137 carries including nine touchdowns.

He also set a pair of SWAC single-season records in both total offensive plays (680) and passing attempts.

Meanwhile, Baton Rouge's Douglas is now also single-season receiving record holder in receptions, yards and touchdowns at GSU.

Williams thinks performances like those from players with another year of eligibility will ensure a few sniffs from the National Football League. The preseason recognition helps, too.

"I think it's a credit to our program," Williams said, "and it's certainly a credit to them."

The Big Sky Conference leads all I-AA leagues by placing 14 players on the Sports Network's I-AA preseason team, including five selected to the first team. Big Sky co-champ and 2002 national quarterfinalist Montana placed two on the initial squad, while Idaho State, Montana State and Northern Arizona each garnered one selection.

Other players of Louisiana interest who made the first-team squad include cornerback Chris Thompson of Nicholls State; and offensive guard Dwight Hudler, linebacker Roderick Royal and defensive tackle John Paul Jones, all of McNeese State.
Linebacker Ryan Garrison of McNeese and safety Lenny Williams of Southern were honorable mention picks.

The Sports Network also administers two awards named for Grambling figures - the Buck Buchanan and Eddie Robinson awards, presented annually to the division's top defensive player and coach, respectively.

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Ball control
GSU's Tramon Douglas does it all again, finally
September 24, 2003

By NICK DERISO
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING - A record-breaking receiving day for Grambling State's Tramon Douglas, in the end, didn't mean that much to him.

"I would rather have one catch and we win, than have all those catches in a loss," the senior receiver said. GSU fell 31-20 to McNeese State on Saturday, while Douglas set a new school mark with 17 grabs.

What it meant to the team, however, is something else entirely: As goes Douglas, so goes Grambling State.

And, like the offense, Douglas started slowly.

"He's giving us everything he has. He's made some tough catches for us," says Tigers coach Doug Williams. "But that little bruise on his knee hasn't always let him be Tramon Douglas."

He's talking about the Tramon Douglas who averaged nearly eight catches a game in his All-American junior season at Grambling State - on his way to breaking Jerry Rice's Southwestern Athletic Conference single-season receiving yards record with 1,704 yards.

After an opening loss in 2002 against McNeese, when Douglas had only one catch, the Tigers reeled off 10 straight wins - on the way to a third-straight SWAC championship.

But Douglas didn't practice much during the summer, hobbled by that nagging knee problem. The week before GSU's season opener, he wasn't even in pads at practice.

Douglas, of course, started - but again wasn't a factor in Grambling State's second-straight season-opening thrashing, pulling in just two catches for 30 yards as the Tigers were blanked 29-0.

"He's working hard every day. He's not sitting down on it," Williams says. "It's not that anything is torn. It's just one of those bruises that you can't shake."
The loss underscored the complementary nature of Douglas' success and that of his quarterback.

The longer it took Douglas to get healthy, the longer it clearly would take for Bruce Eugene to get on track this year.

The Tigers' impressive showing in this year's rematch against McNeese, the nation's top-ranked Division I-AA school, is just the latest example.

Douglas's 17 catches - only two fewer than all of the other GSU receivers combined - served to keep the game whisker-close until the very end. He broke the previous school record of 16 set by former wideout Nate Singleton against Virginia Union on Sept. 14, 1991.

"I knew the team needed me this game," Douglas says. "I wanted to step up and show them that Grambling can play with the best of them."

He was rewarded with the most rare of honors: Douglas has been named one of The Sports Network's Division I-AA players of the week - the first from the SWAC to receive that designation this season. He also was named one of I-AA.org's All-Stars and the SWAC's co-offensive player of the week.

Something interesting happened, however, as Douglas slowly found his footing.

Grambling State discovered some of its other receivers: Eugene threw to an astounding nine different people in a win over Alabama A&M - including scoring passes to juniors Moses Harris and Chris Day.

"The good part about it is, Moses Harris made some good plays for us," Williams says. "Tim Abney is making tough catches. We're getting a lot of people involved. I was glad to see Chris Day score a TD; that helped his confidence level."

While Douglas was smashing records against McNeese State, Harris and breakout freshman star Abney piled up 125 yards receiving combined.

"We knew coming into this, after Tramon had a breakout season last year, that he wasn't going to be able to get as many passes," Eugene says. "Our focus has been to get other people open, then come to Tramon. So far this year, that's what's been happening."

Still, without his go-to guy, Eugene sometimes looked tentative in the first two games - like he was thinking too much.

"You can't depend on just one guy," Williams says he told Eugene. "He was feeling it. You can't just look Tramon's way, especially when he's not there."

Then that first touchdown finally came - with nine seconds left in the half in Week 2 at Lorman, Miss. The 20-yarder was hauled in, of course, by Douglas.

Grambling State has played better every successive quarter since.

"The fact that Tramon is still not 100 percent has hampered us in certain situations," says Tigers offensive coordinator Melvin Spears. "Overall, though, we've got some guys who can come along. It's just that Bruce has to be a little more patient. Mechanically, he still was not always in a good throwing position. A lot of his pre-snap routine wasn't as good as it has been."

After having scored just that one touchdown in the previous game and a half, Eugene and the Tigers then exploded for 12 scores in the next eight quarters of play.
Eugene-to-Douglas accounts for five of them. Eugene has run in four more by himself.

And so it goes.

"It slowed him down, but one thing about Tramon: He's a fighter. He'll never quit. He'll never give up," Eugene says, sounding ever more confident. "Although the knee isn't 100 percent, he's still going to be out there giving it his all. We're grateful for that."

Getting better
Tramon Douglas has gotten steadily more involved in the Grambling State offense this year, as he's recovered from a lingering knee problem:
· At San Jose State: Two catches, 30 yards, no TDs.
· At Alcorn State: Seven catches, 83 yards, two TDs.
· Vs. Alabama A&M: Six catches, 75 yards, one TD.
· Vs. McNeese State: 17 catches, 216 yards, three TDs.

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Douglas will sit out Prairie View game
October 1, 2003

By NICK DERISO
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING - Grambling State wide receiver Tramon Douglas - coming off minor surgery to torn meniscus cartilage in his knee - won't be starting against Prairie View on Saturday in Dallas.
Not that he doesn't want to.

"I told him yesterday that he should be ready by (the Oct. 11 home game against) Mississippi Valley - and he said, `No, Prairie View,'" sixth-year GSU coach Doug Williams said at a Tuesday morning news conference.

"That's Tramon. He's a tough kid. The type of surgery that he had - on torn cartilage - is usually a two-week type thing with the way doctors go in now. It's not a major process. Basically, he can play - if we coaches let him."

The meniscus is a shock-absorbing cartilage in the middle of the knee.

Douglas leads the SWAC in receiving yards and receptions - with 32 catches for 404 yards and six scores in the first four games of the year. That includes a now-understandably quiet opening week, when he pulled down just two passes for 30 yards.

Douglas - who also leads the SWAC in scoring - says he woke up on Sept. 21, after his record-breaking 17-catch performance against McNeese State, and the pain was simply too great.

He's been playing with what he thought was a bruised knee for weeks. When Douglas went to the doctor that Monday, he found out he'd had the cartilage tear since two-a-days last summer.

"When you want to play - and you want to win - you don't think about it until after the game," Douglas says. "The injury was slowing me down, but I just wanted to help my team."

Douglas mingled with his teammates during Tuesday afternoon practices, taking a short break from rehabbing with laps at Robinson Stadium.

"He running and doing everything else," Williams says. "I still don't think we're going to play him."

That means Tigers quarterback Bruce Eugene will have to continue to spread it around. He has completed passes to eight, then seven receivers in the past two weeks.

"What makes Tramon such a good, clutch receiver is: When it's time to make a play, Tramon knows how to make a play," Williams said. "If we can get the other guys to play and think like Tramon, we'll be a lot further along."

Douglas, for his part, thinks the Tigers will be fine as he finishes healing up.

"Our offense is designed for anybody to make plays. I don't think they are going to miss a beat," Douglas says. "You've got Bruce back there at quarterback - and that's enough right there."

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GSU still in good hands
Young receivers continue making big impact
October 12, 2003

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING - Senior Tramon Douglas rejoined his team briefly Saturday for pregame warmups, under a dark and rolling sky at Robinson Stadium.

Not that Grambling State really needed him against still-winless Mississippi Valley State. GSU breezed to a 45-6 victory.

I've seen the future - though, with just 6,397 in attendance, I was one of the few - and it is Tiger receivers Moses Harris, Tim Abney and Chris Day.

Given an opportunity when Douglas missed a game after minor knee surgery, Abney and Day each caught two touchdowns against Prairie View. Harris answered the call Saturday with an 111-yard day and a touchdown.

"We have had a couple of soldiers down," GSU receivers coach Sammy White said. "But that is no excuse. Everybody in this group should want to be as good as Tramon Douglas."

Over the past two weeks, they have been.

Spreading it around is not only helping Grambling State win football games while their All-American heals up - and win big - it's helping ensure the team's future during quarterback Bruce Eugene's final season in 2004.

"We work together every day in practice, so it depends on my getting the ball there," Eugene said. "You're going to miss Tramon - he's an All-American receiver. He's going to make plays and get open. But this has been a chance for our young receivers to see what we can do without him."

Day, the Troy State transfer, scored on a touchdown pass of 35 yards in the second quarter against Valley. Catches by Day of 25 yards and Abney of 24 yards keyed a Tigers' drive that would make the final score 45-6.

That was the second time running back Ab Kuaan scored - one of five players to reach the end zone for Grambling State.

Not that it started that way.

In fact, it seemed as if Grambling State - loose and effective for the good teams, lazy and disorganized for the bad ones - had only just met in the inflatable Tiger during pre-game ceremonies. That trend was personified in Eugene, benched for not attending class this week.

But, once again, the Tigers shook themselves awake late in the game - primarily through the play of the defense, which held the Devils to negative yardage in the second half.

Even so, the plays that seemed the most important were those by Harris, Day and Abney, a sign of good things to come as the competition gets tougher - and as Douglas approaches the end of his college eligibility."

When somebody goes down, one of the other guys step up," said Harris, a smoking junior from Dallas. "You can't just key in on one person. With our depth, we can't be stopped."

Abney, a former Neville High standout who just turned 19, has became known as a go-to receiver for the tough yards. He was third in team yardage going into the Valley game, trailing only Douglas and Harris.

"There's more than Tramon on this football team," GSU coach Doug Williams said. "Tim has gotten better each week. You're talking about a freshman who has played big for us."

Williams chuckles: "I don't think he even knows what he's doing yet."

His coach is kidding, but a couple of key drops early in the season prove that Abney hasn't quite rounded the learning curve yet.

"He needs a little more patience," said White, a Richwood High alum who started for Minnesota in two NFL championship games, logging a touchdown pass in Super Bowl XI. "He gets in a hurry, once the ball gets to him. Trying to get upfield, he doesn't always secure the ball. That's cost him at least two touchdowns this year. That comes with time."

Harris said he was proud of his play on Saturday, but he's not finished.

"That's to be continued," said Harris, smiling broadly.

Day is clearly gaining confidence with every game, as well.

"When you've got four, five or six guys catching the ball," GSU offensive coordinator Melvin Spears said, "that says a lot about our receiving corps and the job that Coach White is doing. We'll be going to a lot of guys down the stetch."

Douglas, you see, is expected back next week.

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GSU's Douglas returns to take on next SWAC foe
October 18, 2003

By NICK DERISO
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING - The lethal combination of quarterback Bruce Eugene-to-receiver Tramon Douglas sparked a third consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference championship for Grambling State last season.

So, teams at the bottom of the conference standings might have thought they'd found an opening when Eugene's favorite receiver went down for three weeks in September after minor knee surgery.

Not only did GSU's junior signal-caller find new targets, but the Tigers discovered a rushing attack to help close off opponents. They haven't lost a SWAC game, even without their All-American receiver.

Re-enter Douglas - now all healed and, well, pumped.

"When I get back," he said, "it's going to make my job a lot easier. We've got a lot of people now who can step up. Bruce doesn't have to look for me every time now. He's got a lot of weapons to choose from. They won't be able to double team me now."

Pity Prairie View A&M and Mississippi Valley State - neither has a conference win - which nevertheless lost to a hobbled GSU by a combined 110-13 in the last two weeks.

Up next is the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, sitting just above PVAMU in the West standings with a 1-3 SWAC record.

Now, the Golden Lions not only have to worry about the return of the SWAC's best pitch-and-catch tandem, but also a cast-of-thousands receiving crew as a second option - then a dangerous new running game led by sophomore Ab Kuaan, who has 225 yards on the year.

"Working on rushing against some teams that aren't as good is going to help us in the long run, against the Jackson States, the Alabama States - and particularly in the Bayou Classic, where you've got to run the ball," said Melvin Spears, GSU's offensive coordinator and assistant head coach.

Standing in sharp contrast is Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which has managed just one score and a couple of field goals in two weeks.

"They lost a tough game this past week, 7-6 to Texas Southern," said Grambling State coach Doug Williams. "There wasn't a whole lot of offense."

That also doesn't bode well against a Grambling State team with a resurgent defense.

"Except for some spurts here or there - against McNeese, they missed some tackles - overall, I think they have played pretty well," Williams said. "If the offense can be as consistent as the defense, it makes for a pretty good game."

The return of both Eugene and Douglas for a full game suggests the offense will be.

Eugene sat out the first quarter against MVSU after missing too much class, allowing the Devils to keep the game within one point. He then threw four touchdown passes on the way to an easy 45-6 victory.

Douglas was named a Division I-AA player of the week by the Sports Network after a school-record number of receptions two weeks before against McNeese State, but hasn't played again after surgery to repair torn cartilage.

Still, even with Douglas and Eugene in and out of the lineup, Grambling State remains the No. 1 in SWAC passing offense, first downs, third-down conversions and total offense.

"We won't be able to control the game like we did last Saturday," UAPB coach Lee Hardman told The Pine Bluff (Ark.) Commercial. "But that is the whole goal. We want to control the ball - and keep Eugene off the field."

Good idea: Though he's also missed parts of two other quarters in blowout wins so far, Eugene is still the SWAC's top passer and total offense leader.

"Bruce has worked very hard this week," Spears said. "He's been coming in on his own time, doing some extra conditioning. He knows now that we are very serious about him going to school."

That offense squares off against another of the best defenses in the SWAC, the No. 3 ranked Golden Lions. GSU is the No. 4 defense in the conference.

"I think they have some talent," Spears said. "They mix their scheme up on defense. I'm sure they are expecting us to come in as a wide-open team, trying to adjust to some of the things we did last year. But we've got some wrinkles for them. One of the things that has made us tougher, week-in and week-out, is that there is always a different mix."

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JUST THE FACTS
GRAMBLING - Texas Southern tried to play keep away with Grambling State.

After a scoreless first quarter, however, all TSU could do was try to keep up.

GSU posted 28 unanswered points to finish the half, then another 20 to win 48-15. Both of Texas Southern's scores came when the game was already decided.

Junior Grambling State quarterback Bruce Eugene finished with an eye-popping five TD strikes - and no interceptions.

"It felt really good to get back on track," said Eugene, who had his worst day in more than a year last week against Jackson State.

Senior receiver Tramon Douglas' 29-yard reception to the TSU 15 set up the first of six touchdowns by Grambling State, which moved to 6-0 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference's West Division.

Two consecutive TSU mistakes led to 14 more GSU points in the next 10 minutes of play - first a botched snap on a punt, then a blocked punt.

"When they started making mistakes, we went up 21-0 - and that took them out of their ballgame, which was keep away," said GSU coach Doug Williams.

Eugene would also throw Grambling State touchdown passes to Henry Tolbert, Chris Day - and two to Moses Harris. Ab Kauuan added a score on the ground.

Brian Morgan missed a long field-goal attempt as the half ended, but finished Grambling State's first scoring drive of the second half with a 37-yarder to give GSU a 31-point lead. A 41-yard GSU field goal opened the fourth quarter.

Texas Southern added some mild late drama, as the gutsy scrambling of quarterback Gerred Lunnon led to TSU's first points of the day. Kicker Vincent Patrick turned a botched snap on the extra point into a two-point conversion when his pass was bobbled then caught, then fumbled and then recovered by Adam Penna - sending the crowd into a frenzy.

"I'm just sorry we didn't get to it any earlier than we did," said TSU coach Bill Thomas, whose team falls to 3-2 in the SWAC. "Who knows what might have happened?"

TSU briefly subbed Carlos Pierson for Lunnen in the fourth, and he threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Damarcus Jenkins - just Texas Southern's second scoring pass on the year.

Lunnon and Pierson had 139 yards passing combined.

Eighty-seven of Texas Southern's 127 yards on the ground came from scrambles by Lunnen.

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Back in really good hands
· A return to form by WR Tramon Douglas allowed GSU's homecoming fans to leave game happy.
November 2, 2003

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING - This was an afternoon of receiving redemption for senior Tramon Douglas, the day he finally looked like No. 5 again. Thanks to him, Texas Southern will almost surely lose its ranking as the SWAC's No. 1 pass defense.

"Tramon Douglas made two catches that I thought were outstanding," Grambling State coach Doug Williams enthused - still smiling broadly, after broadsiding Texas Southern 48-15.

There was Douglas, still recovering from minor knee surgery, pulling in a dramatic 29-yard catch that set up GSU's first score of the day, five minutes into the second quarter.

There was Douglas, making a heart-splashing, one-handed catch for a first down - then a di-i-i-i-i-iving catch on a 36-yard TD pass to put GSU up 38-0 late in the third quarter.

"I don't even know how he made that one," Williams said. "People were draped all over him."

He led all Grambling State receivers in every quarter of play - finishing with 135 yards, more than his last two games combined.

"He's not all the way back," said GSU quarterback Bruce Eugene, who threw five touchdowns to four receivers on this day. "But he's almost there."

Douglas' problems started in training camp, when the coaching staff thought he had a bruised knee. As the season wore on, the pain worsened - and after Grambling State's Sept. 20 home game, a doctor's visit revealed torn cartilage.

Since the team had a bye week, then two games against SWAC cellar-dwellers, Douglas decided to have the minor surgery four games into his senior year.

He thought he might miss two weeks. The truth is, he wasn't up to speed for more than a month.

"I have pain - Monday through Friday, in practice," Douglas admits. "In the game, though, I really don't feel it.

Yet, while he'd hauled in eight touchdown passes before facing TSU, Douglas had had only one since returning from the knee problem.

Injuries can change players, making them far too reflective. That seemed to be what was happening with Douglas.

"He was not being aggressive," said Melvin Spears, GSU's offensive coordinator and assistant head coach. "He was too tentative. It was like he was replaying it in his mind."

Douglas, you'll remember, set a new school mark for receptions in that Sept. 20 game - and on a bum knee - against McNeese State. Tentative is not his style.

Yet, in his first two return appearances, Douglas had just 111 combined yards in receiving - well under half of what he had gained in that record-breaking game alone.

"Tramon has not been giving us what we really need," Williams said. "I don't know whether he is still favoring his leg or not. He needed to play better."

Coaches brought him in - for film work, for long talks.

"There were battles he used to win 100 percent of the time - and now he wasn't," Spears said. "We told him: `You've got to make a determination on whether you are actually ready to participate.' "

The light came on, and he played lights out Saturday - averaging 17 yards per catch. Meaning, when you threw it to Douglas, he moved the chains. Just like the old days.

"I went to the sideline, after his TD catch," Williams said, "and I told him: Now, you look like Tramon Douglas."

These last few games couldn't be more critical for Douglas, as his senior year dwindles away. Several NFL scouts have passed through Grambling State's practices, many more are attending the games - and each expects to catch a glimpse of the SWAC's record holder for receiving yards in a single season. (He eclipsed a mark set in 1984 at Mississippi Valley State by future Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice.)

"I'm thinking - and hoping - that most of Tramon's situation has been in his head," Williams said. "When you have a knee injury, it's not something that you get over. You've got to believe that you're not going to hurt your knee again. I'm hoping he's there."

All through this week, it appeared that he was certainly on this way. Saturday's eight-catch afternoon proved it: Douglas made pinpoint cuts and seemed to have regained his burst off the line - one that looks like he's starting in third gear.

Compare that with his performances at Pine Bluff and JSU, where you saw a player using technique to get open. Nothing wrong with that. But it meant something was missing with GSU's No. 1 target.

"It's something," Douglas said, "that will get better with time. Playing the season, you'll have some injuries. I know I'm not going to be 100 percent. But I've got to play through it."

Grambling State's coaches have let Douglas do that - and it's paid dividends, finally. The talk he had with Williams clearly played a role, too.

Douglas said it was a pride thing.

"He said: `Coach, you called me out,' " Williams recalled. "We had a good heart-to-heart talk. The real Tramon Douglas showed up."

Nick Deriso is sports editor at The News-Star, 411 N. Fourth St., Monroe, La., 71201. Contact him at (318) 362-0234 or at nderiso@thenewsstar.com.

GAME RECAP
GOOD PLAY
A highlight-reel, finger-tip interception by senior Grambling State defensive back Octavius Bond in the end zone saved a score to open the game by Texas Southern. The drive was keyed on a 1-yard fourth-down dive by TSU quarterback Gerred Lunnon and a huge penalty in the red zone, when junior GSU linebacker John Petty was charged with a late hit - giving TSU first and goal.

BAD PLAY
TSU's Lunnon, on the first play of the third-quarter drive, took off on a quarterback draw - fooling the Grambling State defense into giving up 22 yards. Lunnon's scrambling play briefly envigorated Texas Southern, which was down by 38 points. Texas Southern ran the same play three more times on that drive - getting 14 yards on one try and, ultimately, a touchdown. A two-point conversion by TSU made it 38-8.

BIG HIT
Two minutes into the game, junior defensive tackle Jimmy Zachary exploded through the line to smack Timothy Boutte on Texas Southern's first drive of the day. Zachary's tackle sent Boutte back two yards, leaving TSU with second-and-two. Zachary later recovered a fumble on the TSU 13 to open the third quarter.

SOMETHING SPECIAL
TSU was still holding slim upset hopes before the half, as it was only down by a touchdown. Then disaster struck on successive drives: Punting from the TSU 40, the snap went wide on punter Adrian Vera. Senior GSU defensive back Travis Massey recovered the fumble at the Texas Southern 20. Then a blocked punt on the next series gave GSU the ball on the TSU 9. Both miscues led to touchdowns.

EXTRA POINT
GSU started slow - again. The difference? Texas Southern started slower. GSU's early inconsistency meant GSU's punters couldn't help the defense much in the first quarter. Texas Southern's second and third drives began at midfield. But TSU had its own problems on offense: Both possessions ended with punts. So, the first quarter was scoreless. But then GSU followed its usual script, piling up 38 points in the second and third periods - all before TSU got its first touchdown of the day.

Tiger bites: Legendary former GSU sports information director Collie J. Nicholson was an honorary captain for the game. ... In the last meeting between Grambling State and TSU, Corey Alexander returned three kickoffs for 186 yards - including a 98-yard touchdown. ... There was an overflow crowd for homecoming at "The Hole," as Robinson Stadium has been dubbed by some of the players. Announced crowd was 21,065.

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GSU seniors close out stellar careers
November 30, 2003

By NICK DERISO
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
NEW ORLEANS - The Grambling State seniors of 1999 were the last to see their season end in New Orleans.

Each group since has played two weeks after the Bayou Classic in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game.

Saturday's slim 44-41 loss to Southern changed that.

"When I look at these players who are in their last Bayou Classic or their last game at Grambling, and what they have contributed, you want to put your arms around them," GSU coach Doug Williams said. "There has been blood, and sweat, and tears."

Two of the hardest-hit seniors were wide reciever Tramon Douglas and linebacker Antoine Smith.

Douglas had his lowest total yards since playing UAPB on Oct. 18, Douglas' first game back after minor knee surgery caused him to miss a month of the season.

Smith was involved in a scary first-half collision that broke his shin.

"It's disappointing because I didn't even finish the second quarter - and it was the last game of my career at Grambling," Smith said. "I was in so much pain it was tough for me to focus on everything that was going on on the field."

Douglas leaves GSU as the school leader in receptions (for a year and in a game), receiving yards and touchdowns - and the SWAC leader for receiving yards in a single season, a record previously held by future Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice.

"I love him with all my heart," said GSU quarterback Bruce Eugene, who counted Douglas as his favorite target. "I'm hurting because we went out like this - for this to be his last game."

Douglas had a team-leading nine catches for 83 yards on Saturday.

"It's didn't hit me all week, and now it finally has - I'm losing my top receiver," said GSU receivers coach Sammie White. "We thought we were going to play another one."

Seniors this year include: DE Calvin Arnold; DB Octavius Bond; SS John Brantley; DB Earin Bridges; WR Corey Brownfield; DL Traveres Comegys; WR Calvin Colquitt; TE Gershone Jessie; DB Seneca Lee; and OL Warner Stewart, among others.

"It becomes emotional in that dressing room," Williams said. "I always go back to something my dad used to tell me. We'd sit around, when he was living, and he'd say: `Man, the best of friends must part sometimes.' "

Bond finished with 146 yards on kickoff returns. Colquitt had four catches for 47 yards.

"It hasn't hit them yet," Williams said. "But they will miss Grambling. When Randy Hymes first left, and he was in Baltimore that first year, he'd call me. He'd say: `Coach, I wish I was still at Grambling.' It's just something about it. You missed being there. You miss being a part of it. It takes some getting used to."

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Stopwatch can't measure heart
March 22, 2004

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
He averaged more yards per catch than celebrated Minnesota receivers like Cris Carter, Anthony Carter and Ahmad Rashad.

But Richwood High product Sammy White might never have become a three-time All Pro in today's NFL. He simply wasn't fast enough in a league that now values a player's score on the 40-yard dash more than any intangible.

"It's totally different now," said White, who has been named offensive coordinator at Grambling State, his alma mater. "I think speed is overrated. When it comes down to it, it is all about execution - fast, slow, big, small, you've got to execute."

White, even a step behind Rashad on what would be a Super Bowl team, succeeded because he was all heart.

"He was tougher than boot leather," former Vikings coach Bud Grant once said. "He practiced every week, played every game. He got beat up a little bit, but he was tough."

Certain Hall of Famer Jerry Rice - another former all-Southwestern Athletic Conference receiver - wouldn't have been chosen by these speed-obsessed modern teams. Prospects at positions like defensive tackle are even evaluated by their 40 times today.

That made the running portion of Friday's pro day for Grambling State players all the more important. There, Earin Bridges, Octavius Bond, Calvin Colquitt, Tavares Comegys, Chris Day, Tramon Douglas, Gershone Jessie and Seneca Lee were measured and tested for possible draftability.

They were weighed. They jumped. Some lifted weights.

But it all came down to those four 10-yard lengths to be run at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston.

Douglas, trying to recover from a knee injury in the off-season before his senior year, scored a disappointing 4.84 on his first try - but seemed to have wobbled a bit instead of running in a straight line, something that would have added to his time.

A second run a few minutes later was only slightly better, as Douglas finished at 4.83.

"I've been trying to get to where I was," said a disappointed Douglas, who added that he'd been timing at 4.5 on a track in Houston where he is rehabbing the injury. "A 4.8 kills me, though. It's hurts my pride."

Yet, despite that high number, Douglas is the same player who set a new school record for receptions in a single contest on Sept. 20 - just days before he was forced to have surgery to repair torn meniscus cartilage on his knee.

"In the McNeese game, I was dying out there," Douglas said. "It was like I was a wounded animal - and that's the worst animal you want to mess with. I didn't know if it was going to be my last game and I wanted to give everybody something to think about."

He leaves Grambling State holding every significant school record for receivers - and that's saying something in this pass-first offense.

"If you question his toughness, just look at last year," White said. "He played through pain. He showed he could come through time after time."

In the end, Douglas had the production - he averaged 92 yards a game, despite missing three in 2003 - to warrant a look in the NFL Draft. But he didn't display the speed for the pro scouts.

That 4.8 means Douglas will have to try to get on somewhere after the draft.

The team that takes a chance on Tramon Douglas will be happy it did.

"He's like a Sammy White," Spears said. "He'll make the team, at first, because he's an outstanding special-teams player. Then, they'll discover that he's elusive in the open field - and that he produces."

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HE'S GONE
Grambling passing attack will be minus Douglas
March 27, 2004

By NICK DERISO
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING - An injury to departed senior Tramon Douglas early last season taught Grambling State something about its young crew of receivers: There were other talents on the team.

"We showed that we have a great group of receivers," said interim GSU coach Melvin Spears. "It was a blessing, in a way, because they stepped up to the plate when Tramon Douglas wasn't in there."

Spears was promoted from offensive coordinator in February when sixth-year coach Doug Williams left for an NFL job. Spears then promoted receivers coach Sammy White to take over the offense.

They led the Grambling State offense through its first spring drills in an evening session on Friday. The players were so excited about getting started that they began workouts half an hour early. Spring practice continues at 10 a.m. today.

"We've got a really young group of receivers," Spears said. "But they are very talented."

The most experienced wideout - and perhaps speediest - that GSU will work with this spring is senior Moses Harris.

"Under the tutelage of Coach White, he's just going to get better," Spears said.

Harris was the team's second-leading receiver in 2003, with 50 catches for 713 yards and six scores.

Also returning this year: Neville High product Tim Abney, who led the team in average yards per catch among receivers with 10 or more receptions. His six TD grabs as a freshman tied him for second on the team in 2003.

But because of a lingering groin injury, Abney sat out Friday's practice and may miss a large portion of the spring.

One of the most intriguing new receivers is Frank Green, a transfer from East Tennessee State.

"He's another speed merchant," Spears said.

Green had 16 receptions for 242 yards and a touchdown, while also returning a kick for another score last season.

Junior running back Henry Tolbert will also play wide receiver this year, lining up in early spring sessions in the slot.

Look for Paul Hardiman, a redshirt last season, to become more involved in the passing game. A 6-0, 170-pound receiver out of Valley Christian High in Phoenix, Hardiman could have a breakout season based on impressive work in practice.

"He's going to catch the ball," Spears said. "He's a big-time pass catcher. He runs good routes. We're just trying to make sure right now that he knows a little bit more about playing football in the Southwestern Athletic Conference."

Tiger bites: San Jose State has invited Morgan State to play in the second Literary Classic. GSU was the original opponent, but couldn't get terms worked out to continue in 2004. ... Senior receiver Chris Day has been trying to get back a year of eligiblity lost when he sat out the 2002 season, but hasn't gotten an answer from the NCAA yet. Meanwhile, he had a private workout with the Green Bay Packers this week. ... A feature from The (Brandenton, Fla.) Herald on Devil Rays pitcher Dewon Brazelton highlighted his love for throwback jerseys. Included in his collection are three Doug Williams' pieces, one from Tampa Bay and two from Grambling State.

Departed Tramon Douglas
Had 77 catches for 917 yards and 10 TDs last season.
Returning Moses Harris
Had 50 catches for 713 yards and six TDs last season.
Injured Tim Abney
Had 38 catches for 637 yards and six TDs last season.

Bayou Classics That Mattered Most

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
More than three decades in, which Bayou Classic games mattered the most? I'm talking turning-point moments. Not just because that particular day was (or wasn't) a big win, but because it had a lasting impact. Leading up to Saturday's Bayou Classic, I'll make my six points:

1980 Bayou Classic
November 19, 2006

SIX: When Mike Williams walked off the Superdome carpet with the most valuable player award after the 1980 Bayou Classic, it marked the end of an era.

The Williams' era.

A quarterback named Williams, either Mike or older brother Doug, had started for Grambling in every Classic until that point - and had won four of the seven MVPs ever given.

GSU had also gone 6-1 against Southern with a Williams under center, falling only in 1979. Five of the Top 6 best-attended games, including Nos. 1-4, occurred during this span, as well.

Doug Williams remembered the very first game, played at Tulane in 1974 while construction of the Superdome was completed:

"I looked around and said: 'What am I doing here?'" he told The News-Star in 2003. "We had 75,000 at a historically black college football game. I was a redshirt freshman, and scared to death. I was blessed to have some veterans around me and Coach Robinson ran a conservative offense that didn't put too much pressure on me."

Doug Williams would, of course, be named MVP in that game, as well as the third Bayou Classic in 1976. Mike Williams took over in 1978, and won the Classic MVP that season and in 1980.

(Grambling wingback Sammy White, now the program's offensive coordinator, was MVP in 1975, followed by GSU wingback Robert Woods in 1977. Southern quarterback Wilfred Charles was the 1979 honoree.)

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1993 Bayou Classic
November 20, 2006

FIVE: In 1993, rookie Southern coach Pete Richardson stormed into the SWAC - beating his first six league opponents by an average of 30 points. In fact, he'd only stumble once coming into the season-ending Bayou Classic, and that was against out-of-conference foe Nicholls State.

"I voted for him for Coach of the Year," former GSU line coach Billy Manning told The News-Star in 1993. "It's hard to come in and turn a team around like that. ... It all boils down to execution, motivation, technique and preparation. The talent has been there."

Southern had already punched its ticket to the Heritage Bowl, after GSU fell to Alabama State three weeks before. Richardson then topped Eddie Robinson in the 1993 Bayou Classic 31-13 with sophomore quarterback Eric Randall as MVP.

A subsequent bowl win over South Carolina State meant the first-year coach had led Southern to the school's second 11-win season ever, its first SWAC title in 18 years and its first outright championship since 1959.

What followed was a stunning run of dominance for Southern, as Pete eventually took eight straight Classics -- six from Robinson and two from Doug Williams, Rob's eventual successor. He beat Grambling by an average of two touchdowns over that span.

Before Pete, Grambling actually held a 13-6 Classic series lead, and Southern had never won more than two in a row (1981-82 and 1987-88). By 2000, the Richardson had already won four SWAC titles (1993, then 1997-99) -- and pulled ahead in the Classic series, 14-13.

It all started with that 1993 victory.

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1990 Bayou Classic
November 21, 2006

FOUR: In many ways, the 1990 Bayou Classic was somewhat routine, as Grambling won 25-13 - Eddie Robinson's second in a row over Southern coach Gerald Kimble. GSU had, at that point, won 12 of the initial 17 editions.

Only this time, 200 million people had the opportunity to experience the game - not to mention the halftime pageantry - through a new partnership deal with NBC TV.

Former Grambling sports information director Collie J. Nicholson's dream - 12 years after his celebrated 30-year run at GSU ended - had finally been completely realized.

"When Eddie Robinson came to Grambling, people in Lincoln Parish didn't even know where Grambling was," Nicholson told The News-Star in 2003. "It took a long time to build name recognition for the school, during the time of segregation."

This was a guy who used to type up the game stories, then drive 70 miles to Shreveport to wire them all over the country. Now, Nicholson's game was being beamed into every home in America.

GSU quarterback Shawn Burras was the 1990 Classic's MVP, leading a unit that included SWAC offensive player of the year Walter Dean and future NFL receiver Jake Reed. Still, I think my favorite guy from this period is Raymond Smith, the 6-7, 435-pound offensive tackle who so richly earned the nickname: "World."

Oddly enough, despite the addition of television coverage, the 1990 edition turned out to be the highest attended Classic since Southern beat Grambling 22-17 in 1982. The announced crowd of 70,600 was then No. 7 all time.

Nicholson, who was recognized with the Bayou Classic Founder's Award two seasons later, passed earlier this year after experiencing a series of health problems. The press box at Robinson Stadium is named in his honor.

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1992 Bayou Classic
November 22, 2006

THREE: Coaching legends Eddie Robinson and Marino Casem - winners between them of 568 college contests - faced off again, producing another remarkable rivalry game.

And another razor-thin margin.

Three times, they roamed the sidelines at the Bayou Classic. The average margin of victory: 6 points.

This time, GSU won 30-27 before a sold-out crowd of 71,283, the year before Casem moved up to become Southern's athletics director. It was the last time these two Southwestern Athletic Conference legends met on the field.

The Classic's most valuable player was Grambling quarterback Alex Perkins, who would then help craft a 45-15 win over Florida A&M in the Heritage Bowl to win the '92 black college national championship - the final under Robinson. (Current GSU running backs coach Darius Matthews was also on that team.)

This would be the only time Robinson got the better of Casem in New Orleans. Southern beat Grambling by a touchdown in both 1987 and '88. (Southern's Daryl Garner and Chris Scott, respectively, were named MVPs.)

In all, 182,516 people saw these titanic struggles, which led to one of the most famous descriptions of this game from Casem - who called it "the biggest and best thing in all of blackdom."

Known as The Godfather of the SWAC, Casem served as coach and athletics director at both Southern, Alcorn and, for one season early in his coaching career, at Alabama State.

That run included seven football titles at Alcorn, where he set a school record for wins. (Though the two played to a virtual draw over Casem's first decade at Alcorn, Rob eventually established a 13-8 advantage). Casem oversaw another four SWAC championships as AD at Southern, then had another brief tenure in the same position at Alcorn before retiring.

Both Robinson and Casem, who finished with a coaching record of 160-91-8, are now members of the College Football Hall of Fame.

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1975 Bayou Classic
November 23, 2006

TWO: It's not just that this game was the first to be played in the Superdome, which is reason enough.

This one boasted more eventual NFL talent from Grambling than any Bayou Classic ever: Eight starters went on to play three or more years in the pros, and at least 15 were eventually invited to NFL camps.

"Grambling's football tradition is second to none," former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue told The News-Star in 1992. "Under Eddie Robinson's leadership, Grambling contributed an unusually large number of players to the NFL."

Wingback Sammy White (Vikings, 1976-86) took handoffs from quarterback Doug Williams (Buccaneers, 1978-83; and Redskins, 1986-89). Now GSU's offensive coordinator, White was named the game's most valuable player.

Williams also had Dwight Scales (Rams, 1976-79; Chargers, 1981-83; and Seahawks, 1984) as a top target. Big Ron Singleton (Chargers, 1976; and Niners, 1977-80) would play both tight end and offensive tackle. The group scored 33 points that year on Charlie Bates' Jaguars, thrilling a crowd of 73,214 at the Dome.

Defensive back James Hunter (Lions, 1976-82) and linebacker Robert Pennywell (Niners, 1976; and Falcons, 1977-80) led a unit that held Southern to 17 points. The defensive line was anchored by Robert Barber (Packers, 1976-80) and Michael St. Claire (Browns, 1976-79; and Bengals, 1980-82).

Others from this amazingly talented Tiger team who appeared on NFL rosters included offensive tackle Larry Favorite (Falcons); defensive end Arthur Gilliam (Broncos); defensive tackle Jessie O'Neal (Oilers, Seahawks and Redskins); offensive lineman Robert Simon (Oilers); defensive backs Eugene Williams (Jets) and Michael Harris (Eagles, Jets and Steelers); and center Billy Manning (Saints) -- who later became an assistant under Robinson.

The Bayou Classic would be played another 29 times at the Superdome before Hurricane Katrina rendered the facility unplayable in 2005. After a one-year hiatus at Houston's Reliant Stadium, the contest returns home this year.

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1997 Bayou Classic
November 24, 2006

ONE: There would be no stopping Southern's Pete Richardson, then in the midst of eight years of domination in New Orleans.

Nevertheless, Eddie Robinson's final game, after 57 seasons at Grambling, provided the proper send off to college football's winningest coach.

The NBC broadcast included several features chronicling his storied career. Tributes flowed in from then President Bill Clinton, fellow coaches like Penn State's Joe Paterno and a bevy of former players.

More than 300 media credentials were issued, and they quickly scattered out to interview the likes of Willie Davis, Charles "Tank" Smith, Elfrid Payton, Henry Dyer, Mike Williams, James Hunter, and others.

The build up threatened to subsume the Bayou Classic itself.

Of course, Robinson took it all in stride: "I'm really not trying to think of this game as my last," he told The News-Star in 1997. "It's there in the back of my mind, but I'm really just trying to take this as just the next game we have to try to win."

That didn't happen, as Southern dispatched GSU, 30-7.

Even so, there were other numbers threading through the four-hour broadcast, staggering numbers - 408 wins in 587 games, 17 SWAC titles and 210 players in the NFL. Hundreds, if not thousands of young men, with a road map to life in the form of a college degree.

In carrying the game, NBC shared the story of Eddie Robinson with the world one final time.

The 1997 Classic was one instance - this year, with the return to New Orleans, is another - when it seemed appropriate that the game turned into a sideshow. Robinson's towering achievements deserved no less.

Also considered: 2004 Bayou Classic, an upset win by Grambling that sent Richardson into a tailspin. Then the reigning SWAC champion, the Jaguars went on to lose in the '04 title match and haven't had a winning season since. ... 1974 Bayou Classic, the first ever held. This game was held at Tulane Stadium while construction of the Superdome continued. ... 2006 Bayou Classic, which is set to include an emotional homecoming in New Orleans, a year after Hurricane Katrina.

Grambling greats: Sammy White

MAKEUP CALL
GSU's White will finally land in SWAC Hall of Fame
December 6, 2004

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING - On first glance, interim Grambling State coach Melvin Spears had a common response: "Sammy White is not in the SWAC Hall of Fame?"

Doug Williams, who played with White at GSU, has been saying the same thing for years.

That changes on Friday, when this Richwood High product - now GSU's offensive coordinator - receives the Southwestern Athletic Conference's highest honor.

For the unassuming White, it's a dramatic moment.

"I guess you play these games, and you really play for the love of it," said White, a two-time all-SWAC first-team member in 1973 and '75. "Then, if you do pretty good and something special-like happens, it's an honor and blessing."

Induction ceremonies will be held during the SWAC Hall of Fame dinner at the Birmingham-Jefferson County Convention Center in Birmingham, Ala.

"When we discovered that he wasn't in the hall," said Spears, "we immediately nominated him. I went down the list and I could not believe Sammy's name wasn't there. Not just because of what he accomplished here, but he went on to great things."

White's best season at GSU was his last, when he was named the conference's co-offensive player of the year as a senior. He would eventually pull down 37 passes for 802 yards and 17 touchdowns from the young Williams.

"It was a comfortable environment to go into," White said of Grambling, just more than 30 miles down the road from where he played high school ball. "I got to play with Coach Williams in my third year. He came in throwing the ball so hard - 65, 70 yards on a line drive. We had to sit down and talk to him, to tell him: `You've got to give us a chance, throw something we could run under.' He came right in, though, and was a top-flight quarterback from day one."

That connection would be rekindled when Williams gave White a coaching job at GSU years later.

"There's no one who deserves it more," Williams said of the honor. "I don't think, coming into Grambling, that I could have been as productive without him. He had a quiet leadership on that team. And he made plays."

White was also able to reunite in Grambling with three older players from his youth in Richwood, south of Monroe - Matthew Reed, Charlie Smith and Amos Augustine.

"I never played with them in high school, but I got that chance there," said White. "I would watch them on Friday nights back at Richwood - just dreaming I could so some of those things."

He could: White's teams won three SWAC titles for former coach Eddie Robinson. He was then drafted in the second round by Minnesota - not that White was expecting it.

"A lot of people sit around watching television today," he said. "I said to myself: `It'll happen if it will happen.' They had to come out on campus to find me. I never thought of myself as The Guy. I always played just to be one of the best guys. If it didn't happen, I wasn't going to fall out about it."

White was a three-time All-Pro selection over 11 seasons in Minnesota. He set Vikings team records for receiving yards, touchdowns and yards in a game for a rookie that stood until Randy Moss broke through in 1998.

A career highlight was White's five-reception, 77-yard performance in the 1977 Super Bowl loss to Oakland, one that included an 8-yard score. Even as the 2004 season began, White - who earned a spot on the Vikings' 25th anniversary team - remained ranked No. 5 all-time for points scored in Minnesota.

Still, it's likely that White's very demeanor, his easy-going style and friendly way, have pushed him under the radar. Even he admits that.

"When I was playing," White said, "it was just for the love of the game."

In fact, the one time anybody can remember White celebrating, disaster struck.

A seven-catch, 210-yard performance with two scores in a 1976 win over the Detroit Lions was marred when he fumbled another potential score while celebrating too early.

"Over my whole career," White admitted and chuckled, "that was my biggest celebration, holding the ball up - and it was one that cost me a touchdown. It didn't pay off at all."

Williams hired White to coach receivers at GSU in 1998, and the team flourished - including a stellar 2002 season that saw this offense ranked first in the nation for passing and scoring offense in Division I-AA.

"Nobody was better with those players," Williams said. "He showed by example."

Spears promoted White to offensive coordinator during this past off-season, after Williams departed for the NFL and Spears took over as interim head coach.

"If you did not know who Sammy White was, you'd never think he played in the National Football League," Spears said. "He's just a down-home guy. But he does a great job as this team's offensive coordinator."

Awards like this one get White to reminiscing about his former coach at GSU, the legendary Robinson - a man who meant so much to the player as a young man.

"You have to think about Coach Robinson. I always said one of the great things about my career was that I had great coaches, all the way back to high school. Eddie Robinson just took us to another level, with his teaching. He talked about being a good football player but also about being a good person."

White's 102 points for the Tigers in 1975 wasn't bested until Walter Dean scored 110 in 1991. Only five players in GSU history have scored more points in a single season; two others have tied White.

"There was nothing flashy," said Spears. "He just executed, week in and week out."

In the past 45 seasons in Grambling, only six players - including Pro Football Hall of Famer Charlie Joiner - have bested White's senior-year average of 21.7 yards per reception. His 17 touchdowns in 1975 rank third all time, though White is tied with four others.

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Five Questions with Grambling's Sammy White
Sunday, July 23, 2006

Grambling State and Richwood product Sammy White made his mark at every level, winning titles in high school and college, then becoming a cornerstone of the Minnesota Vikings franchise. Recognition has come in the form of SWAC Hall of Fame induction last year and then a spot on the Vikings' All-1970s Team recently compiled by Eric Krupka of RealFootball365.com. Today, White has fashioned Division I-AA's most prolific passing attack as the offensive coordinator at GSU. But questions loom with the graduation of Bruce Eugene, a three-year starter. News-Star sports editor Nick Deriso asks them:

Give me your scouting report on Grambling's quarterback situation with Bruce gone.

Brandon (Landers, a Carroll product and former SWAC freshman of the year) has a strong arm and he's gotten better with the scheme, after a year behind Bruce. He's still lacking some film work, but the way I see it right now, he's the frontrunner. (Sophomore Houston product) Larry Kerlegan is very instinctive. He plays more with his legs than his arm right now, though. And with the receivers we've got, we need a big arm.

Talking about big arms, the buzz on the yard has been about Desmond Brentley, that Pittsburgh prep signee.

Brentley does have a really good arm. He looks to pick up on our scheme very quickly. But in our offense, it's just tough to start right out of high school. You have to do a whole lot of reads when it comes to the opposing defenses. They tell you where to go. All those years we had Bruce, and he still had his best year after sitting out (with a knee injury in 2004). He got to experience the game as a coach, and he became more patient. He became more of a student of the game. They all have to work on that.

Henry Tolbert and Clyde Edwards, your top receivers, both return. How do you fit in a talent like (Georgia Tech transfer) LeKeldrick Bridges?

You'll have to account for everybody, and that means guys like Bridges will get some numbers. But guys like Bridges will actually make it easier for Henry and Clyde to have big days. Even if other teams double-team them, they both have such a drive for the ball. They are going to try to make a play. Those two will still be productive, no matter what happens.

Your 10 seasons in Minnesota included rookie of the year honors and a Super Bowl appearance. What was it like to be named to the Vikings' All-1970s Team?

It really feels good, knowing that you were appreciated. It means so much when they still show you love after your playing days are over. I just got a card from a guy to sign that talked about old-time players, and how different things are. We played 100 percent every play, for the love of the game. There's a new breed today.

The Vikings let Daunte Culpepper go, and he ended up in Miami — with one of your former teammates (Mike Mularkey, once a Minnesota tight end) as his offensive coordinator. What do you make of that?

I pull for them to get in the playoffs every year, but letting Daunte get away? Not only is he an experienced, starting quarterback, but you put any kind of receivers around him, and that guy is a big plus for your team. These days, the passing game opens up the running game in the NFL. He'll be fine in Miami; they're putting together a good team down there. But it's unfortunate for the Vikings.

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GSU's great provider
South side of Monroe has been talent pipeline
February 6, 2006

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING - James Harris grew up right around the corner from Sammy White.

Who lived down the way from Lane Howell. Who lived near a street that would eventually produce a flinty talent named Brandon Landers.

Who shares a zip code with Desmond Lenard.

The south side of Monroe sent them all to Grambling State, in an unbroken storyline that continued through last week's National Signing Day.

"I grew up in that neighborhood," said Sammy White, a Richwood product who played and now coaches at GSU as offensive coordinator. "It gives me great joy to see where these guys progress and how they move along."

In 1965, a Carroll High product was quarterback at Grambling. Forty years later, Landers is likely to follow Harris into the role.

White was a star wingback for former GSU coach Eddie Robinson - after winning both football and basketball titles at Richwood in the early 1970s. Lenard, Carroll's wingback last season, committed to Grambling after earning All-Northeast honors as a kick returner.

Derrick Wilhite, a 2006 signee out of Wossman, contributes to a legacy that includes ex-Wildcats assistant Lee Fobbs, a former player under Robinson, and current defensive back Bakari Guice.

"There's no question that the south side of Monroe has added to that Grambling mystique," said GSU coach Melvin Spears. "From the Howells to James Harris to Goldie Sellers and on down to Brandon Landers - our freshman sensation in '04."

Landers shot to conference freshman of the year honors in relief of injured quarterback Bruce Eugene, then redshirted last year when Eugene returned for a final season of eligibility.

"I think this is a good place for finding highly skilled athletes - and that's true at many inner-city schools," said Carroll coach Jesse Smith Sr., who is also a Grambling product.

"There is a lot of talent in this area. I think that through the years, we've proven that."

Carroll's connection to GSU goes deeper than the head coach.

Back in 2001, current Bulldogs assistant Levi Washington Jr. led all receivers in yards as Grambling won the second of three straight SWAC titles. The team uses an offense patterned on GSU's, as well.

So, it's perhaps no surprise that Carroll split end Jesse Smith Jr. joined Lenard in signing with Grambling last week - along with teammates Derrick Johnson and Xavier Lee, both of whom play linebacker.

In the end, though, all three of the southside schools - notably Richwood and, more recently, Wossman - have been an important thread through the tapestry of Grambling's football legacy.

"It's great coming from that tradition," said Landers. "I'd like to have that same impact - not only as a player, but as an individual."

Harris, perhaps the south side's most legendary product, led Grambling to 31-9-1 record between 1965-68, winning a conference title every single year. He was voted the team's most valuable player his final two seasons.

But Landers reminds, Harris' most important contribution came after he left Grambling.

Harris would become the first black athlete to be drafted as a quarterback. His NFL career - which included stops in Buffalo, Los Angeles and San Diego - was capped by an MVP performance in the 1974 Pro Bowl.

Harris later moved into even more rarified air, working in the front offices of Baltimore and currently Jacksonville as one of the NFL's highest ranking black executives.

Smith said Grambling provided a platform in that journey, and for the scores of southside youths who followed him.

"Anytime you've got a kid who goes on and does well, that's an example that you can stir these kids with," said Smith. "It makes them understand that you can dream and it can happen."

Carroll's Lane Howell, a two-way lineman for Robinson, was the first of three brothers to star at Grambling, beginning in 1960. Michael, a cornerback nicknamed "Trackdown," followed two seasons later. Delles, another defensive back, would arrive seven seasons later - but by then the family had moved to California.

Grambling won its first Southwestern Athletic Conference title with Lane up front, establishing a 23-5-2 mark between 1960-62. Michael's 1964 squad went 9-3, winning the Sugar Cup over Bishop before falling in the Orange Blossom Classic.

One of Michael's teammates that season was cornerback Goldie "Spider" Sellers, a Winnsboro native who eventually moved to the south side and played for Richwood.

In 2004, White joined Harris in the SWAC Hall of Fame, recognition for a career that included three conference championships and co-offensive player of the year honors in 1975 at Grambling.

"It was passed down to me," said White, later an NFL rookie of the year at Minnesota. "James Harris and Delles took me to a Grambling basketball game when I was in junior high. I was always around it. There were other places I could have played, but this was the only place I was ever going."

Quarterback Matthew Reed, born in Winnfield, would prove so dominant at Richwood that he once threw nine touchdowns in a single game. Later, he was named Grambling's MVP as a junior, then made All-America as a senior in the early 1970s.

White grew up idolizing Amos Augustine and Charlie "Tank" Smith at Richwood, then played after them at Grambling. Between 1968-71, former Carroll guard Solomon Freelon Jr. protected Harris, Reed and Frank Holmes.

White says many of those greats called a neighborhood known as Bryant's Addition home. He still scouts for talent there, giving another generation the Grambling road map out of one of the area's most impoverished communities.

"The thing about it is, we thought we were pretty good - and these guys could be that too," said White. "It's all about hard work."

Landers, for his part, says he can't account for the staggering impact such a small geographic area has had on Grambling. But, when he's home, he sees the next group working to get there.

"If you ride around, you see little kids out playing in empty lots and at the rec centers - and that's year-round," said Landers. "They're playing everything too, just like we did. Football, basketball, baseball. With small schools, you've got guys going both ways, playing all sports. That makes you better. Who knows? One of those kids could follow me someday."

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White makes nice move up
Dedication to GSU earns receivers coach promotion to offensive coordinator.
March 22, 2004

By NICK DERISO
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING - Sammy White, one of Richwood High's greatest products, has been named offensive coordinator at Grambling State by interim coach Melvin Spears.

To think, White - who was later all-conference at GSU then a three-time All-Pro with the Minnesota Vikings - wasn't even in football a few years ago. He was selling cars at a local dealership.

But then former GSU coach Doug Williams - who had thrown so many of the touchdown passes that White caught in college - called.

"It's a big fairy tale," White said. "When I quit professional football (in 1985), I thought I was done competing. Coach Williams, Coach Spears and I, we've been able to revitalize this program. It was quite an accomplishment. But to be named offensive coordinator? It's just a dream come true."

White was promoted from receivers coach, where he has shepherded the record-breaking Grambling State careers of current Detroit Lions wideout Scotty Anderson and Tramon Douglas - the SWAC's career leader in receiving yards.

"He's a guy I've always admired," Spears said. "For him to be here, from the standpoint of the legends he's worked with - Coach Robinson, Coach Williams, Bud Grant, Ahmad Rashad, Fran Tarkenton - it's going to be a blessing for our players."

An assistant as Williams added three SWAC titles to the 17 that former GSU coach Eddie Robinson won while a head coach at GSU, White was also part of three Black College National and SWAC championships as the wingback in Robinson's classic run-oriented Wing T formation.

That doesn't mean the basic offensive philosophy will change, White said.

"Our running backs have good size and strength - and to shorten the game is always a good idea," he said. "But Coach Spears is the head coach, so we'll still take our shots."

Grambling State's offense broke more than a dozen school records last season, finishing at No. 1 among every Division I-AA school in passing and scoring.

A first choice among Grambling greats

White was one of Williams' first hires when taking over in 1998 as the first new coach at GSU since Robinson came on board in 1941.

"I've got a lot of respect for Sammy," said Williams, who was a teammate of White's at Grambling State from 1974-75. Williams resigned in February after six seasons at GSU to take an executive position in personnel with Tampa Bay, the club that drafted him in the first round of the 1978 NFL Draft.

"He's come a long way from when we first started coaching together," Williams said. "Over the past two or three years, Sammie has been a vital part of our success. One thing is, you've got to listen to Sammie. He's been there. His input has been crucial. He's been creative and important. The kids like him. He's more of a teacher. He shows them how it's to be done."

GSU receiver Moses Harris said White's personal touch has been of vital importance to the SWAC's most dangerous passing attack.

"With that hands-on approach, people pick it up more quickly," said Harris, who will be one of GSU quarterback Bruce Eugene's top targets this season. "I think promoting Coach White is a great decision. Knowing that everybody is comfortable with each other gives me a lot of confidence for this year."

Upholding the Robinson legacy

White was a two-sport star at Richwood, helping to lead the Rams to a Class 3A state hoops title, alongside current Grambling State basketball coach Larry Wright.

But he found his greatest successes on the gridiron.

White, a first-team All-SWAC selection in 1973 and '75, was named the SWAC's co-offensive player of the year as a senior. He caught 37 passes for 802 yards and 17 touchdowns, all from Williams, that year.

He went on to become an integral part of a Vikings team that reached the Super Bowl after the 1976 season, the 1977 NFC championship - and then the divisional playoff round both a year later and in 1982.

A highlight for White was his 8-yard scoring reception against Oakland in Super Bowl XI in Pasadena, Calif. A lowlight came the same day, when the Raiders' Jack Tatum knocked off White's helmet in a crushing blow that has been included on countless highlight reels.

White's 906 yards as a rookie in 1976 stood as a Minnesota team record until Randy Moss eclipsed it in 1998. His all-time team mark for touchdowns and yards-in-a-game by a rookie were also finally bested by Moss during the same year.

This promotion for White means that Spears - a graduate of Alcorn State - has two Grambling State graduates and former assistants as his top advisors. Defensive coordinator Tom Lavigne also played for Robinson and was an assistant at GSU in the early 1980s.

"Sammy falls into line with a whole list of greats who've been through here," Spears said. "He upholds the Robinson legacy - meaning Coach Rob will still have a significant part in this program."

White and the former Penny Fortner have two children, Sammie III and Samantha.

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ONE ON ONE WITH ... SAMMY WHITE
Sunday, August 1, 2004

As a three-time All-Southwestern Athletic Conference honoree, Sammy White's legacy at Grambling State was secure, long before he was named offensive coordinator this past spring. White was selected in the second round of the NFL draft, and was named NFL rookie of the year in 1976 after gaining more yards and scoring more touchdowns than any other NFC receiver. But he's not one for laurel resting. White and the rest of the Grambling State football staff are at the Tennessee Titans' training camp today, where they will learn new techniques in coaching - and get a look at how one of White's greatest students, Tramon Douglas, is doing. Douglas, who now holds most of the meaningful receiving records at GSU, signed an undrafted rookie contract with the Titans in April. White talks with News-Star sports editor Nick Deriso about losing Douglas - and getting started on his first season at the helm of the Grambling State offense:

Do you miss Tramon already?

Sure. But he's moved on - hopefully to bigger and better things. With (sophomore receiver) Tim Abney's groin injury, that's two of the bullets in our offensive gun now missing. Aaron Johnson, who returned kicks last year, has had a tough time coming back - breaking his leg two years ago seemed to really get into his head. But he has come out and really had a good spring. Aaron can fill in for Tim, along with (converted junior running back) Henry Tolbert.

Who else is coming on among your receivers?

Paul Hardiman - the redshirt freshman. He catches the ball well. Last year, he just had to get a little stronger, a little more physical. Then there's Tolbert: He's a utility guy; you can put him on the line or in the backfield. Looking at Henry's body now, it looks like he's ready to do anything. He's got good speed, and good knowledge of the game.

You guys are loving Clyde Edwards, the freshman from Westbury High in Houston.

He has shown that he knows what he's doing. If he can come in with this kind of knowledge and ability, it says a lot about his coaching in high school.

Most fans figure a one-time halfback in Eddie Robinson's legendary Wing-T will bring more balance to this offense.

Balance is a goal. As a coordinator, I know balance is what keeps a defense guessing. If you can keep them guessing, then nine times out of 10, you come out ahead. They are off balance. Hopefully, with the size of the offensive linemen (who average, White says, more than 300 pounds) that we have, our running game should be easy to establish. If they take a few steps forward, you ought to be able to get some yardage! (Laughs.)

Is (junior running back) Ab Kuuan your ace in the hole then? Am I revealing trade secrets?

He's an every-down back. But we are also hoping to get him into the five-receiver sets. If we get him into that, then it's a nice trick. We can shift around, and that would be another big plus for our offense. Make no mistake, though, I would love to establish the run. I'm a fan of the play-action pass. If you can run the ball, you can do that. If you can't run the ball, then that's called a straight drop! (Laughs.)

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Williams, White share in GSU family history
October 30, 2003

By NICK DERISO
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
Though they are sideline partners now - and were, of course, former college teammates - Grambling State's Doug Williams and receivers coach Sammy White played for bitter rivals in the NFL.

Williams was drafted in the first round of the 1978 draft by Tampa Bay, while White was picked in the second round in 1976 and played for Minnesota.

"He was a couple of years ahead of me," Williams says of their time playing for Eddie Robinson in the 1970s at GSU. "But we ended up in the same division, so we played twice a year."

White was a Vikings receiver from 1976-85, while Williams played for division foe Tampa Bay from 1978-82. That meant 10 meetings between them in all - with Williams holding the slight career edge at 5-4.

"You don't always want to rehash it - because he was in a situation with a team that wasn't always as good," White says. "My situation was totally different: I came onto a team that had a bunch of Hall of Famers."

While Fran Tarkenton was leading Minnesota to the Super Bowl, the Buccaneers started 0-26 as an expansion franchise - before Williams arrived.

Even so, "my first win came against them - at Tampa," Williams says. Score: 16-10, in 1978. "We always had some good battles, the five years I was there."

Williams' best showing against White's Vikings was 1979, when the two teams split the wins by a total of just three points. The Bucs went on to the NFC championship game before falling to the Los Angeles Rams.

Current Tampa Bay coach Jon "Gruden used to catch balls with me on Sunday - along with (current Bucs general manager) Rich McKay," Williams says. "I still pull for them."

The truth is, though, that the best of White's Vikings teams were from the period just before Williams came out of Grambling State.

With White leading all receivers as a rookie, Minnesota advanced to the Super Bowl in 1976 - falling to Oakland. The Vikings also played through to the NFC championship the next year, losing to Dallas.

"I kind of felt bad for him, because he didn't come into a situation like that," White says.

They reminisce, Williams says, about players from back then, but rarely about their team's contests against one another. Not that they don't remember: "One game, I had 486 yards on them - and still lost," Williams says, laughing.

The 2003 version of both teams appear to be headed to the playoffs, with Minnesota becoming the last unbeaten team to fall just last Sunday. Tampa Bay - Super Bowl champs in 2002 - beat Dallas to remain in second place in the NFC South.

White still keeps up, too. "You're always going to watch a team that you went to war with," White says. "There was a family atmosphere up there. It is now and it always has been."