Houston, TX– Texas Southern is set to begin their journey toward a 2010 SWAC Football Championship. Summer practices start on Monday, August 9th. The Tigers return 15 starters including All-American wide receiver and return specialist William Osborne who missed the 2009 season because of an injury. All-SWAC quarterback Arvell Nelson is back for his senior year after completing 212 passes for 2392 yards and 12 touchdowns. Joseph Anderson was his favorite target in 2009. Anderson caught 51 passes from 554 yards and seven touchdowns including the TD pass that beat Southern in the closing seconds of that game. Martin Gilbert, Marcus Wright and Joseph Warren will be in the backfield. All-American and All-SWAC offensive lineman Charles Smith will anchor the O-line with Skylar Trimple.
The Tiger’s #1 ranked defense will be led by All-SWAC linebacker Dejuan Fulghum who had 88 tackles, 20 TFL for 83 yards and eight sacks for 50 yards. Fulghum will be joined by veterans Shomari Clemons at linebacker, Kydarian Wilkings and DeMarkus Washington at corner, Daryl Glasper at free safety and Curtis Thomas at strong safety. Thomas had six interceptions for 101 yards and two touchdowns last season. The defensive line will be anchored by Rolando Melancon and Tim Benford.
Summer football practices will be held on campus and are open to the public.
How is TSU the #1 ranked defense when they were 3rd in Total Defense, 9th in Scoring Defense, 4th in rushing defense, 2nd in passing defense3rd in pass defense efficiency and 10th in red zone defense.