Tennessee State Football Notes: 2008


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tsutiger

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TSU has offense for title run
Healthy Heffner holds hopes for Tigers
By STEVE SILVER ? Staff Writer ? July 23, 2008

Tennessee State Coach James Webster drew laughter from the crowd and a bit of fear from opposing coaches while fielding questions at the Ohio Valley Conference Football Media Day at LP Field onTuesday.

Webster made a bold prediction when the subject turned toward the health of senior quarterback Antonio Heffner, who suffered a broken ankle against Eastern Kentucky in the seventh game of the season last year.


"A healthy Antonio?" Webster pondered. "Well, that's an OVC championship."

Webster might not be too far off about the potential of his talented dual threat quarterback.

Prior to his injury, Heffner led the conference in passing (212.3 yards per game) and total offense (260.4 yards per game). In his seven games in 2007, Heffner managed to complete 96 of 171 passes for 1,486 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also rushed for 337 yards and three touchdowns on just 94 carries.

"In order for us to have an opportunity to win the OVC championship, then (Heffner) has to be healthy, because he is our leader," said Webster who returns 17 starters from a 5-6 campaign in 2007. "When he is in there at quarterback, he gives us balance. Antonio can run the football, he can throw the football and I trust him to make smart decision."

Heffner, though, will not have to think too hard about what to do with the ball this season. He can hand off to The Sporting News' OVC Offensive Preseason Player of the Year, Javarris Williams, or he can throw to 2008 preseason All-OVC receiver Chris Johnson.

Williams, a senior running back with the potential to be a first day NFL Draft pick, rushed for 1,187 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2007. Averaging more than six yards per carry last season, Williams is now second on TSU's career rushing list with 3,292 yards.

One more 1,000-plus yard season would vault him into the Top-5 of the OVC's all-time career rushing list.

"I'd say he is the best running back in the league," Heffner said of his teammate. "Everyone is going to say they have the best players on their team, but just wait, you'll see once the season gets under way."

Heffner's favorite target, Johnson, hauled in a team-high 41 receptions for 740 yards and four touchdowns last season. Webster said he expects the 6-2 senior to improve the Tigers' already potent offense, which posted more than 400 yards per game last season.

TSU also returns four of five starting offensive linemen ? an unwelcome sight for opposing coaches.

"The biggest thing we'll have to do to stop these guys is proper alignment so we don't give up any cheap plays," said Eastern Kentucky linebackers coach Donn Landholm.

"(Heffner, Johnson and Williams) are going to make great plays. They are just too good not to. But what you have to try to do is keep those guys at their average or right below their average. But to think you are going to stop them, I don't think that is realistic. They are too good."
 
Spillman might transfer to Tennessee State
Tennessee State football coach James Webster said yesterday that former University of Louisville wide receiver JaJuan Spillman is interested in transferring to his program.

Spillman, whom U of L dismissed after his arrest on drug and gun charges this month, would be eligible to play immediately at Tennessee State -- an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) program in the Ohio Valley Conference. If he transfers to another Football Bowl Subdivision (I-A) team, he would have to sit out a year.

Spillman could not be reached for comment.

http://www.draftdaddy.com/blog/nfldraft.cfm
 



Has this dude ever had a winning record? and he is playing in the OVC, a conference ranked lower than the SWAC. The OVC just picked a team with a losing record last year to win the conference this year. WAKE UP!!!
 
DAHILL said:
Has this dude ever had a winning record? and he is playing in the OVC, a conference ranked lower than the SWAC. The OVC just picked a team with a losing record last year to win the conference this year. WAKE UP!!!
Click to expand...

Is this you playing stupid or are you really that stupid?
 
shawiggi said:
I was suprised you guys chose Jax State too. I mean Pelleroux is good but dang..

Also you guys need to find some defense asap. Offense alone will not win the conference.
Click to expand...

Y'all just need to beat them. :nod: :nod: I can't wait until the JMC!
 
DAHILL said:
tell me where I was wrong.
Click to expand...

I always thought if you won more games then you lost you had a winning record. But that's just me?


2007 Football Schedule and Results
DATE OPPONENT RESULT/TIME RECORD/TICKETS
September 1 at Alabama State L 24-19 0-1 (0-0)
September 8 Chattanooga W 33-19 1-1 (0-0)
September 15 at Memphis L 35-14 1-2 (0-0)
September 22 Eastern Kentucky L 31-20 1-3 (0-1)
September 29 at Murray State W 40-24 2-3 (1-1)
October 4 Tennessee-Martin W 27-24 3-3 (2-1)
October 11 at Austin Peay W 42-9 4-3 (3-1)
October 20 Tennessee Tech W 38-10 5-3 (4-1)
November 3 at Samford W 24-12 6-3 (5-1)
November 10 Eastern Illinois L 37-23 6-4 (5-2)
November 17 at Southeast Missouri State L 32-25 6-5 (5-3)
 
Calling Dahill to the carpet.

$50 that TSU beats AAMU.

$50 that JSU beats AAMU. Even though i want AAMU to win.

$50 the OVC is ranked higher then the SWAC at the end of the season.

Put your money where your mouth is.
 
tsutiger said:
Calling Dahill to the carpet.

$50 that TSU beats AAMU.

$50 that JSU beats AAMU. Even though i want AAMU to win.

$50 the OVC is ranked higher then the SWAC at the end of the season.

Put your money where your mouth is.
Click to expand...


double that then we got a bet.... I kind of think I know who this is (Is this Teeter lol)...but make youself be known at Crews, so I can collect my money..
 
tsutiger said:
I always thought if you won more games then you lost you had a winning record. But that's just me?


2007 Football Schedule and Results
DATE OPPONENT RESULT/TIME RECORD/TICKETS
September 1 at Alabama State L 24-19 0-1 (0-0)
September 8 Chattanooga W 33-19 1-1 (0-0)
September 15 at Memphis L 35-14 1-2 (0-0)
September 22 Eastern Kentucky L 31-20 1-3 (0-1)
September 29 at Murray State W 40-24 2-3 (1-1)
October 4 Tennessee-Martin W 27-24 3-3 (2-1)
October 11 at Austin Peay W 42-9 4-3 (3-1)
October 20 Tennessee Tech W 38-10 5-3 (4-1)
November 3 at Samford W 24-12 6-3 (5-1)
November 10 Eastern Illinois L 37-23 6-4 (5-2)
November 17 at Southeast Missouri State L 32-25 6-5 (5-3)
Click to expand...

and you picked THIS to be your conference champ?
 
DAHILL said:
double that then we got a bet.... I kind of think I know who this is (Is this Teeter lol)...but make youself be known at Crews, so I can collect my money..
Click to expand...

Don't know who Teeter is.

100 on TSU.
100 on JSU.
100 on OVC.

I'm good with this. U? We can go higher if you want.
 
tsutiger said:
Don't know who Teeter is.

100 on TSU.
100 on JSU.
100 on OVC.

I'm good with this. U? We can go higher if you want.
Click to expand...

Teeter is my boy who use to work in the ticket office at TSU..we go back and forth on TSU/AAMU all the time.
I can add some more

50 that Jackson State beat you
50 that SU beat you
50 that FAMU beat you
50 that your coach is fired at the end of the year
 
hey hill

you must be rich since you over here giving away money. can gr get in on this? I'm willing to bet that you think atkins is better than hefner too....
 



tsutiger said:
I always thought if you won more games then you lost you had a winning record. But that's just me?


2007 Football Schedule and Results
DATE OPPONENT RESULT/TIME RECORD/TICKETS
September 1 at Alabama State L 24-19 0-1 (0-0)
September 8 Chattanooga W 33-19 1-1 (0-0)
September 15 at Memphis L 35-14 1-2 (0-0)
September 22 Eastern Kentucky L 31-20 1-3 (0-1)
September 29 at Murray State W 40-24 2-3 (1-1)
October 4 Tennessee-Martin W 27-24 3-3 (2-1)
October 11 at Austin Peay W 42-9 4-3 (3-1)
October 20 Tennessee Tech W 38-10 5-3 (4-1)
November 3 at Samford W 24-12 6-3 (5-1)
November 10 Eastern Illinois L 37-23 6-4 (5-2)
November 17 at Southeast Missouri State L 32-25 6-5 5-3)
Click to expand...

where's the Southern game? yall lost that one too. would that make you 5-6 or at best 6-6
 
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080802/SPORTS060402/808020348/-1/SPORTS0604

TSU has lots of options at quarterback
Senior Heffner leads crowd of six
By MIKE ORGAN ? Staff Writer ? August 2, 2008

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James Webster is scrambling for answers after watching his quarterbacks get clobbered every year he's been the coach at Tennessee State.

In each of his three seasons with the Tigers, Webster's starting quarterbacks have been put out for the season because of injury.


That's why this year he's entering the season extra prepared, stockpiling six quarterbacks, including three ? senior Antonio Heffner, sophomore Calvin McNairl and Missouri transfer Dominic Grooms ? who he believes are all capable of being starters.

"My backup quarterbacks have started more games than my starting quarterbacks,'' Webster said. "And we're talking about the most important position on the field."

He said the other three players ? Michael Becker, a freshman from Ravenwood High, freshman Zach Motley, who redshirted last year, and Jeremy Perry, a transfer from Middle Tennessee State ? can be quality backups.

The Tigers, with quarterbacks galore, report to camp Saturday, have picture day Sunday and their first practice Monday night.

Heffner, a transfer from South Carolina who began the past two seasons as the starter, will be back in the No. 1 role, after making a full recovery from a broken leg that sidelined him in the seventh game last season at Eastern Kentucky.

McNairl started the last four games, while Grooms approached Webster in the offseason and told him he was unhappy with the lack of playing time he was getting at Missouri behind Heisman Trophy finalist Chase Daniel.

Quarterback curse?
The string of injuries to TSU's quarterbacks has been downright eerie.

In 2005, Webster's first season, returning starter Bryson Rosser was lost for the year in the second game because of a foot injury.

In 2006, it was a shoulder injury that sidelined Heffner midway through the year. When Heffner hurt his leg and missed time again in 2007, it was as if the program were snakebit.

But Webster didn't bring the quarterback curse with him. The year before his arrival, Rosser missed two games of the 2004 season with the same foot injury.

With Heffner on crutches during the latter part of last season, TSU went 2-2 to finish with a 5-6 record. That made Webster's career record 14-20 with the Tigers.

He is convinced there is a direct parallel between his team's inability to consistently win and the quarterbacks' health woes.

"That's been one of our main problems,'' Webster said. "We haven't been able to keep a quarterback healthy for the year. That's a bad thing to happen to you. With that in mind, you can't have enough good quarterbacks here."

That's why Webster spent a lot of time and effort recruiting McNairl two seasons ago and Becker last season, even though Heffner still had eligibility.

It's also why he welcomed the transfers of Grooms and Perry.

Any could start
Webster is very confident in each of his top three quarterbacks, he said, and would be comfortable calling on either of them to start.

"They're all good athletes. They all can run. They all can throw,'' Webster said. "If you can't run and throw, you can't play in this system."

Heffner is expected to report to camp in top shape after sitting out the spring while rehabilitating his leg.

"He's great. He's ready to go,'' Webster said. "We're very excited about where he is right now."

As for the other quarterbacks, offensive coordinator Fred Kaiss said any of them could find themselves in the mix before the season is over.

"We're excited about Michael Becker, a smart, sharp kid who has been here all summer doing his workouts. He stops in and sees me,'' Kaiss said.

"Zach Motley had a really good spring practice. He's a highly intelligent young man who's been in the system a year and got a lot of looks last fall because he was really our No. 3 guy. Jeremy Perry was a true freshman out of Memphis playing for MTSU last year and they moved him to (safety and wide receiver). We liked him a lot and thought he was going to come here out of high school."
 
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080804/SPORTS060402/808040331/-1/SPORTS0604

TSU back: Conditioning test is no sweat
Williams included more cardio in summer workouts By MIKE ORGAN
Staff Writer ? August 4, 2008

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Javarris Williams hits defenders like a Mack truck but his only concern Sunday night was hitting the sack early.

The annual conditioning test for Tennessee State's senior football players is at 6:30 a.m. today and Williams wanted to be rested and ready.


While he has finished each of the past two seasons with more than 1,000 rushing yards, he has not started well. He has had trouble meeting the conditioning test standards.

And though by any measure Williams is an NFL prospect, his poor conditioning cost him his starting job for last year's opener.

This year will be different, Williams promised during Sunday's team photo session at Hale Stadium.

"As soon as we get done eating dinner I'm going straight to the room,'' he said. "No TV, just music and bed, that's it."

Pound for pound, the muscular 220-pound senior tailback is one of the strongest players on the roster. Strength never has been a problem.

So considering his past trouble with the conditioning test, Williams switched the emphasis of his summer training program from weightlifting to cardiovascular exercises.

"I've been running this whole summer," said Williams, a native of Richmond, Texas. "I kind of put the weights back and did more running."

The conditioning test consists of 16 wind sprints over and back across the width of the field (100 total yards) with 45 seconds rest between each.

"I hope I'm ready. I feel like I am,'' Williams said. "During the summer I ran a combination of sprints and distance. I started the summer with distance and then toward the end I did more quick stuff."

Coach James Webster is eager to see if Williams is in the type of shape he claims to be.

"I expect him to be in great shape,'' Webster said. "He should be in the best shape of his life. This is his senior year, so it's an awfully big year for him. He has always had a great attitude."

Williams is a preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference first team pick and, despite his past early season trouble, has managed to climb to second on TSU's all-time rushing list, with 3,292 career yards. He ranks third nationally among all active Football Championship Subdivision running backs.

Strength and conditioning coach Chuck Losey, like Webster, won't know until after the conditioning test what kind of shape Williams is in. But he has talked with Williams about his summer workout routine and liked what he heard.

"He concentrated on his conditioning and that absolutely is going make a big difference," Losey said.

Williams said he's no longer intimidated by the conditioning test.

"It's more of a mental thing than physical," he said, "and since I feel like I am in better shape, that shouldn't be as much of a problem for me this year."
 
DAHILL said:
Teeter is my boy who use to work in the ticket office at TSU..we go back and forth on TSU/AAMU all the time.
I can add some more

50 that Jackson State beat you
50 that SU beat you
50 that FAMU beat you
50 that your coach is fired at the end of the year
Click to expand...

DAHILL, Please count me on that one
 
DAHILL said:
Teeter is my boy who use to work in the ticket office at TSU..we go back and forth on TSU/AAMU all the time.
I can add some more

50 that Jackson State beat you
50 that SU beat you
50 that FAMU beat you
50 that your coach is fired at the end of the year
Click to expand...

CHALLENGE !!
 
328865616.jpg

CHALLEEEEEEEEENGE!!!!!!!
 
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