Remembering Coach Candy

Former TSU Baseball Coach Candy Robinson died at the age of 70. Robinson was a two-time SWAC Coach of the Year in 2004 and 2008.

Robinson lost his extensive battle with cancer last Tuesday morning.
Robinson led the Tigers to their only two NCAA appearances and also their only pair SWAC championships. Robinson coached at TSU for 19 years and his teams qualified for 12 championship tournament appearances. Nine of those were consecutive. In their 2004appearance in the NCAA tournament his team defeated the defending College World Series champion Rice Owls.

Robinson’s funeral was held at Brentwood Baptist Church where many of his former players paid their last respects.

“He was one of those kinds of coaches that worked really hard so that was the expectations that he had for the players,” said former player Marcus Newsome.

Newsome played in the TSU outfield 1988-91 for Robinson and coached alongside Robinson when he first took over as head coach in 1992.

“He was also a fun coach with a very humorous side. He liked challenging players in practice. He had a great arm. He had some type of rubber arm,” Newsome said.

In 1965, Robinson stood out as the ace pitcher for Grambling State University. He was named as an All-American that year and was signed by the Boston Red Sox where he played for several years.

“He raised the bar pretty high because of his own success so he expected you to do it just as hard as he did,” said Newsome.

After stepping down in 2008, Robinson took over as the head of Baseball Operations at TSU. He is survived by his wife Sara and their two daughters Ariel and Candace. The family has asked that donations be made to the American Cancer Society in the name of Candy Robinson Jr.

Fulghum is 100% Right

The SWAC champion Tiger football team has enjoyed the fruits of their historic season with team and player recognition. Some of the players who stuck around during the rough days in the maroon and gray are reaping the benefits of being on a winning team again. Some of the players are even receiving national attention after the Tiger “212” Defense finished among the best in the country. Dejuan Fulghum, a senior linebacker and captain of “212”, has racked up some stats this past season and some awards that may propel him to the next level.

Fulghum was named SWAC Defensive Player of the year 100% Wrong Club Atlanta, Georgia. This award is called “100% Wrong” because the players that end up receiving the awards were ones that weren’t picked by experts to receive it at the beginning of the season

“It is a tremendous honor that I’ve dreamed of accomplishing since my freshman year here at Texas Southern,” said Fulghum.

Fulghum, who Coach Johnnie Cole once described as “The most underrated player in the country” is finally getting some of the recognition he missed out on when the team was known for having losing seasons. Fulghum finished his senior season with a total of tackles that didn’t even amount to his career high and managed to pull in the most awards he has ever received.

“My coach used to preach, during the season, that with team success the accolades will come.”

Coach proved to be right when Fulghum received the SWAC Defensive Player of the Year right before the Tigers played in the championship game. Fulghum’s additional awards include Pigskin Club SWAC Player of the Year for the best player in the conference, and perhaps the biggest award yet. Next Week, he will be awarded the “SBN Mel Blount Defensive Player of the Year Award” earned by the best defensive player in black college football. Fulghum will travel to Orlando, Florida to receive his award this weekend.

“It really shows the national attention that I received for my play this year. It’s a humbling experience to get this award because of the respect I received knowing that there was a lack of respect in prior years for my play.”

After his trip to Orlando, Fulghum will continue to steer his focus on his dream of making it to the NFL and play professional football.

“Im just closing out this chapter in my life and moving on to the nex one. Hopefully im blessed enough to continue playing football at the next level and if that doesn’t happen I always have my degree to fall back on,” said Fulghum.

Fulghum has been tagged as undersized at 6'1"and 224 pounds,while the average NFL linebacker weighs in at 6'2" and 240 pounds.However,people who have played with and against him will tell you that the ones that doubt his ability could be “100% Wrong.”