Cole Leaves TSU Football

Coach Johnnie Cole has resigned as Head Coach of the TSU Tiger Football team.
Cole stepped down after meeting with the Athletic Administration. After the meeting, the two decided to part ways in the best interests of Cole and TSU.

Cole met with the players on Wednesday where he broke the news to the surprised players. He gave them some of his final words of encouragement and wished them the best of luck next season with their new head coach.

Cole expressed that this was not something that he wanted, but might be in the best interests of all parties involved.

“I would love to stay, but the administration and I decided that it is best that we go our separate ways,” Cole said.

Cole led the Tigers to the first outright SWAC Championship in school history in
the 2010 season. Despite rumors being spread on the campus about why the head coach has resigned, no formal statements will be made until the press conference on Friday.

“I’ve done what I set out to do and that is come back to my school and lead a team to a championship,” Cole said.

There have been no announcements made as to which direction Athletic Director, Charles McClelland, will go to get the new head coach for the Tiger football team.

The Assistant Head Coach Darryl Williams and Defensive Coordinator Kevin Ramsey will take over as interim coaches for the remainder of spring practice, but there have been no official decisions as to who will be leading the Tiger football team next season.

Despite the coaching change Spring Football will continue for the defending SWAC champion Tigers as scheduled. There have been no rumored or official changes made to the events leading all the way through the ring ceremony on April 17th.

The Legs of a Legacy

She has been racing against the SWAC and leaving every opponent behind since she first arrived. But now Francesca Okwara is trying to run as fast as she can while another opponent is catching up. She is running against the clock.
For the last three years the Lady Flying Tiger track team has been anchored by sprinter Francesca Okwara. She has been the leading sprinter on the Women’s track team since she started her career at TSU, but now that she is a senior, there are other goals that come to her mind on the track.

Okwara gave a surge to the Track team at the TSU Relays, by capturing a silver performance in the 100 meter dash. She place 2nd overall but was still 1st among all SWAC participants, keeping her a step ahead of her conference opponents.

The senior sprinter also participates in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays, already attained the SWAC indoor titles in the 60 meter dash and the 200 meter dash this season.
Okwara has been a major threat in the SWAC for the last few years and plans to go out with a bang in her final season as a Flying Tiger.

“Of course there is a lot of pressure and excitement [to perform in your last season] said Okwara. There is always a lot of pressure since I have won SWAC every year.

Okwara has had her share of adversities throughout her college career. Like many other athletes she has dealt with injuries that caused her to miss time in her career, but she is healthy and ready to go out with a bang.

“This was also my first outdoor meet in a year since I hurt my hamstring last tsu relays so I am very excited and anxious to see what this outdoor season brings,” Okwara said.

Her success began as soon as she stepped foot on the track as a Flying Tiger sprinter at Durley Stadium.She can still remember her first taste of success in the SWAC and the feeling of representing for her school on a national level.

“One of my favorite memories was in 2007 when I won the 100 in SWAC as a freshman and was the only female or male to go to the NCAA regional from TSU,” said Okwara.

Okwara hopes for her last memories as a Flying Tiger to be the most memorable of her entire collegiate career at TSU and to savor the success that she has brought to TSU Track and Field. She is trying to make sure that her legs help her cement her legacy in the hearts of tiger fans.

“I hope to leave a legacy of winning consecutive years in conference and also pride and humility and my dedication as a Flying Tiger,” Okwara said.

The Lady Flying Tigers’ next meet is at the Humble ISD Highschool and College meet this Friday on April 1.

Nelson Clears the Air

The TSU football team’s road to glory was a long one that began with many adversities. Many of these spawned a three game losing streak to begin the year. The Tigers overcame this obstacle and many more but the toughest task was saved for the finale of their season. They would have to play without starting senior quarterback Arvell Nelson.

There were many questions surrounding Nelson and the Tiger football team when news dropped that he would not play in the SWAC championship game.
There was an NCAA investigation was looming over the TSU athletic program during the Tigers’ historic run and caused the coaching staff and the Athletic Director, Charles McClelland to pull Nelson for the championship.

The investigation dated back to 2007 long before Nelson arrived on campus, but centered around him and others when the Tigers began to go on their improbable run.

“The story is that we as a program were being investigated for NCAA violations. Certain players were questioned about things that happened in the past and to be safe coach felt it would be the right thing to do,” said Nelson.

The night before the big game, Nelson and the team were notified that he would not be able to compete in the championship. The Tiger offense would have to make a major adjustment in order to come up with a game plan that did not include their starter. Nelson had somewhat of a rough start to the season, but would later become part of a major turnaround that led the tigers to seven straight victories and a SWAC championship bid. However, the Tigers would have to survive without their battle tested quarterback.

“At the end of the day what’s done is done, but it really hurt cause I worked so hard for that moment and for it to be taken away hours before waws heart breaking.”

Coach Cole rallied the Tigers behind Nelson, asking that they give it all they had for the guy that helped them make it this far. Nelson could not even stomach not being able to play in the game with his teammates and stayed behind at the hotel in Birmingham, Alabama.

The Tigers ended up winning the championship behind backup quarterback Riko Smalls and claimed the first outright title in school history.

“But at the same time I had no doubt that we would win the game. As a team we dealt with adversity all year and me being held out of the game was just fuel to our fire.”

Nelson will receive his championship ring with his teammates on April 17 after their annual Maroon and White Spring Game. Nelson is set to graduate in December, but will also take a shot at playing at the next level.

“The next thing for me to do is to graduate and make it to the NFL. If that don’t work out I am going to go into personal training and possibly coaching,” said Nelson.

Nelson’s plan is to put his full effort towards the NFL, but if that doesn’t work he will have a degree and still plans to be a part of the game in some kind of way.

“The game of football has my heart and I feel it’s my calling to teach young men how to be men using this game, the way the game helped me,” said Nelson.

The TSU Pro Day will be held on Monday March 28 and Nelson will be one of several talented young men trying to show off the same maturity, talent, and passion that led them into the first SWAC football title in school history.

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.”