Injuries are a part of sports that can hurt — excuse the pun — any athlete or team’s chances at victory.
That was the case in 2022 for the Shaw football team, which saw key guys go down during the season, and so did their record. It all led to the Bears going 4-6 overall and 2-3 in the CIAA Southern Division.
Thankfully for eighth-year head coach Adrian Jones, the Bears appear to be healthy and, in case of emergency, have the depth that should see them back in competition for a conference title in 2023.
“I’ve been here seven years, and this the best spring we’ve had,” Jones said. “We had some great practices, all of our top guys are back, and we made it out of the spring injury-free. So I’m expecting big things from our guys this year.”
Shaw finished second behind Fayetteville State in the South last season, and in a conference where there’s less than the usual six degrees of separation, Jones enjoys the atmosphere.
“All the coaches, we know each other, and we’re very competitive, so games are treated like rivalry games every week,” he says. “The good thing for us we’re the most veteran coaching staff and roster in the conference. We have the complete package to compete for a championship, but you can throw the records out. A 1-10 team in the CIAA is not going to play 1-10 football against you. You’re going to get everyone’s best shot.”
The Bears will return fire with several returning players, including the wide receiver duo of Ah’Saan Belcher and Jon Barnes. The offense gets All-CIAA running back Sidney Gibbs.
Defensively, All-American safety Jay Boyd returns, as well as cornerback Akeythio Carson.
The quarterback duel between redshirt sophomore Christian Peters and Patrick Blake illustrates the depth Jones has worked to build through recruiting.
“We changed our dynamics of how we recruit. For example, we want to go get a No. 1 linebacker to compete with our other linebackers,” he explains. “We focused on recruiting the same talent and not having any drop-off. When our first stringers went down last year, that hurt us, so, we had to do a better job in how we recruit.”
Jones is ready for the 2023 season, which Shaw opens at SIAC champion Benedict College on Sept. 2, with a renewed determination and motto.
“We like to say ‘Leave no doubt’ – we want to walk off the practice field and out of games feeling like we gave 100 percent every time,” he says. “I think if we go out there and take each and every day, we’ll be fine. I think we have the weapons and the seniority to make a run at a championship.”
