Alcorn Notes


MACHIAVELLI

MACHIAVELLI

Chairman/C.E.O.
Everyone's talking about Hobson as freshman battles Bozeman to be Alcorn's starting QB

By ADAM DAIGLE


It never fails. Start talking about quarterbacks and their potential, and one name always comes up.

Steve McNair.


Now, at least, Donald Carrie's name is sprinkled in on occasion with the greatest one ever to play at Alcorn State. Carrie ended his career last fall as the second-best passer in school history right behind the great one with more than 10,000 career yards.

But Carrie's gone, and now the Braves are looking for the someone who could be as dynamic as McNair - or Carrie, for that matter - with the position wide open and the Braves entering their first full week of fall workouts Monday.



It'll be either Oliver Bozeman or true freshman Tony Hobson.

The spot is up for grabs, but Hobson entered fall camp as quite possibly the most talked-about recruit in several years.

"Everywhere I've been, we've always played our best people whether they were freshmen or seniors," Alcorn offensive coordinator John McKenzie said. "We'll try to take our bumps and bruises. We're in this for the long haul. We still think we'll have a good offense, but I don't think we'll be up to par as we were last year.

"We'll go through a learning process, but we'll still be competitive and play hard every weekend."

And that includes the coaches. The Braves haven't been this unsettled at quarterback since the 2000 season when Surhaver Fair beat out Damion Ford for the job in fall camp.......



Narchez Democrat
 
Picked third in SWAC East, Alcorn State hopes to surprise doubters

JOEDY McCREARY

Associated Press


LORMAN, Miss. - Alcorn State coach Johnny Thomas has some very good reasons why he's pleased the other Southwestern Athletic Conference coaches think his Braves will be only mediocre.

Last year, Alcorn State was picked to win the Eastern Division, but wound up third with a 7-4 record. None of the previous four East champions were selected in the preseason to win the division.

"I'm somewhat happy they picked us to finish third because we have a framework from which to work and build on," Thomas said. "I think we're in a good position picked third. That doesn't mean anything."

Two years ago, the Braves shared the East with Alabama State after being picked to finish tied for second with Jackson State.

If they're going to challenge again, they'll have to find someone to get the ball to their two talented receivers, juniors Charlie Spiller and Nate Hughes.

That's because, for the first time in four years, Thomas has a decision to make at quarterback.

Four-year starter Donald Carrie graduated as the best quarterback in school history not named Steve McNair, and the front-runners to replace him are sophomore Oliver Bozeman and highly regarded freshman Tony Hobson of Jackson Jim Hill.

"He's got all the attributes to be great," offensive coordinator John McKenzie said of Hobson.

If Hobson wins the job, the coaches say Bozeman could be switched to receiver, where he could complement the productive tandem of Spiller and Hughes.

Spiller, the team's deep threat, caught 50 passes for 1,111 yards and nine touchdowns last season, while Hughes had 48 catches for 791 yards and four TDs.

"You're going to have to double both of them. I just don't believe that a defensive unit can have consistent success covering them one-on-one," Thomas said. "We have to have one or two more receivers to emerge and catch the football, and focus some attention on them."

Sun Herald
 



ALCORN'S QB

I just heard Coach Johnnie Thomas on a radio show this moring and he said Bozeman would be the starting QB for the Grambling game not Hobson. He said Bozeman looked pretty good but it was really by default. Hobson hasn't practice much since hurting his back in the MS All-Star game. I'm still not sold on Bozeman, he has an arkward throwing motion but maybe its better than throwing a freshman in there against Grambling.
 
Re: ALCORN'S QB

I must say the only reason Bozeman is starting is that Hobson has been out and not able to fully practice with the team. This is Bozeman's time to shine if he wants to keep his position.
 
Freshman pair competing for kicking duties with Braves

LORMAN - A year ago neither Jonathan Beard nor Jeremy Shea thought they'd be in this situation competing for a spot on the collegiate level.

And quite frankly, neither did anyone on the Alcorn coaching staff.

When kicker David McConnell told coaches he was leaving despite having one year of eligibility remaining, it created another hole the Braves had to fill heading into the 2005 season. So they found two freshmen candidates for the job - Beard, a product of small-school football powerhouse Weir; and Shea, a newcomer to football and native of Hawaii.

Let the strongest and most accurate foot win.

http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/articles/2005/08/23/sports/sports26.txt
 
Re: ALCORN'S QB

THAT FREAKING ALL-STAR GAME NEED TO BE CANCELED. KIDS GETTING HURT IN THE GAME HAVE ALREADY GOTTEN SCHOLARSHIP FOR COLLEGE. THIS IS A SHAME SO I GUESS THE G-MEN CAN NOW FOCUS ON BOZEMAN. I HEARD THE INTERVIEW ALSO AND HE DID SAY IF WE PLAYED GSU TODAY BOZEMAN WILL BE NAME STARTER, BUT HOBSON WILL RETURN TOMORROW. HE HAD HIGH PRAISE FOR BOZEMAN AND HE EVEN COMPARED HIM TO VICK. LEFT HAND AND CAN RUN. HOBSON SHOULD BE FINE BY SEASON START AND IF YOU KNOW THE DR, IF BOZEMAN START SCREWING UP YOU WILL SEE HOBSON. BUT GET RID OF THE ALL-STAR GAME.
 
From what I saw in the All-Star game Hobson didn't look good at all but that was an All-star with just a week of practice and he could have gotten hurt early in the game also. With Bozeman throwing motion I don't know if he can throw over 40 yards. Are they still having the live scrimmage Saturday? If they are I will be there to see for myself and give you all a report.
 
folkdog said:
From what I saw in the All-Star game Hobson didn't look good at all but that was an All-star with just a week of practice and he could have gotten hurt early in the game also. With Bozeman throwing motion I don't know if he can throw over 40 yards. Are they still having the live scrimmage Saturday? If they are I will be there to see for myself and give you all a report.
Click to expand...

Yes they still suppose to. I drove by yesterday but was in a hurry to get to class. I didn't get to see much.
 
Don't teams normally have they a scrimmage 2 weeks before the first instead of one then work on healing up and game planning the last two weeks. I know most schools take this approach.
 
Alcorn offensive line big in size, thin in depth
By ADAM DAIGLE


LORMAN - Already unsettled about how the team's starting offensive line would shake out this season, Alcorn offensive coordinator John McKenzie really didn't like what he saw.

That was the end of spring, and the start of fall camp didn't do anything to ease the tension. The front has little depth. A returning starter wasn't welcomed back. Two key players from last season came in overweight.

Rashaud Cole, pegged to start at right guard, came in at 418 pounds after arriving last fall as a freshman at 350 pounds.

"He went home over the summer, and that was the first mistake," McKenzie said. "We tried to talk to him about eating right, but he's a freshman going back home for the first time. His mom tried to load up the kitchen for him, and he tried to eat it."


ND
 
Loss to Hornets still stings Braves


Alcorn to start Hobson at QB in conference opener against defending champ Alabama State

Compiled by Mark Alexander

Alcorn State got scalped in its season opener at Southeastern Louisiana and then disposed of NAIA Langston University this past Saturday in Lorman.
With the non-conference portion of their schedule behind them, it's SWAC time for the Braves.

Alcorn, 1-1, opens conference play Saturday at Alabama State, 2-1 overall and 2-0 in the SWAC with wins over Texas Southern and Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

The Hornets punked the Braves 41-8 a year ago in Lorman en route to winning the SWAC championship. The Hornets scored 20 unanswered points in the third quarter and outscored the Braves 27-2 in the second half.

"They beat our butt last year," Alcorn coach Johnny Thomas said. "We're going to have to play well to beat them."

cl
 
A strong finish, plus a little help from Valley, could land Braves in SWAC championship game



Alabama A&M and Alcorn State each remain in the hunt for the Southwestern Athletic Conference Eastern Division championship with a couple of weeks to go in the regular season.

One would've been hard pressed to find anybody who would've thought that to be the case on Oct. 1.

Alabama A&M was 3-2 at the time but lost at home to previously winless Texas Southern 17-7 that day. A few weeks earlier, the Bulldogs were blown out 44-0 by Grambling State.

Alcorn was 1-3 and had just suffered a 17-7 home loss to previously winless Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Braves also were playing with a freshman quarterback.

Yet, here we are five weeks and a pair of unexpected four-game winning streaks later, and both teams are still talking title. One won't be after Saturday.
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