Tuskegee’s Clark-Atlanta season opener awaits Saturday
TUSKEGEE, Ala. (goldentigersports.com) — 273 days.
That is the number that has been talked about by the senior class on this year’s version of the Tuskegee University football team. That was the last time the team took the field just one year ago – December 5, 2015 against West Georgia.
It has been the fuel that has spurred on workouts, spurred on extra conditioning and elevated practice in preseason camp. The focus is not on what happened 273 days ago, but to use it as a driving force – not forgetting that feeling of walking off the field to end last season.
Tuskegee, ranked 17th (AFCA) and 19th (D2football.com), open the season Saturday night on the road in Atlanta as they take the field for the first time since last December. The Golden Tigers face Clark Atlanta, with kickoff set for 7:04 pm (est) at Panther Stadium, with the game being televised by the American Sports Network – check your local cable provider for channel listings.=
“We are getting excited about hopefully having a good year,” Tuskegee head coach Willie Slater said. “We have had a good preseason camp, and I know everyone is ready for it to be over. They are tired of hitting each other.”
Tuskegee returns 39 letter winners off of last year’s team, and of those 39 – 15 were starters from a team that reached the quarterfinals. The Golden Tigers return the core of their defense and several players on the offensive side of the ball.
“The front four on defense is back and in good shape,” Slater said. “They have been working hard and are being leaders on the field. We have three offensive linemen that are back, but we lost a couple we weren’t expecting to lose. However, we have another coming back who started for us two years ago. With this team, the coaches really are not having to say a lot, the players are being vocal and leading by example.”
The Golden Tigers return several key players, including 10 who were selected to the Preseason All-SIAC teams. Of those named, three defensive ends – Julian Morgan, Daryl George and Darion Hall – were each selected, with Morgan earning Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honors.
“Julian is a special guy,” Slater said. “He is a little undersized for his position, but boy does he play hard every down. Not only that, he is a leader. He is one of those guys that lead by example.
“He stayed here all summer, and didn’t have to. He got in better shape, got a little bigger and hopefully a little faster and quicker. We are looking for some great things from him.”
Tuskegee also returns several on offense, including a senior at quarterback in Kevin Lacey and a pair of all-conference performers at skill positions – Leo Gilbert (tight end) and Desmond Reece (receiver).
The Golden Tigers and Clark Atlanta have met 77 times in school history, with the first meeting taking place back in 1902. The Golden Tigers have won the last seven meetings, including taking last season’s contest 26-0. Tuskegee owns the overall series over Clark Atlanta 59-16-2.
The longest streak in the series is 10, held by the Golden Tigers from 1996 until 2005. Over the last four games, the Golden Tigers have yielded just 13 total points to Clark Atlanta, dating back to 2010.
Although the Golden Tigers have dominated the series recently, this year’s game features two of the better defenses in the conference a season ago. Tuskegee ranked statistically near the top in every defensive category in the conference and was ranked near the top in the nation.
The Golden Tigers finished the season ranked in the top 50 in six different categories in NCAA Division II, while Clark Atlanta finished ranked in five different defensive categories in the country.
However, all that is put aside when the two teams take the field on Saturday night, as it is “the next game on the schedule.” After 21 days of practice, Slater cannot wait until game day.
“Practice is the toughest part of the job,” he said. “I know that if we are going to be successful it is going to be on the practice field. We have to correct some things and understand some things, which are the things that make me nervous. I look forward to game day, I can relax a little bit.”
The game is also being carried by HSRN (SiriusXM 83) and online. It will also be carried (audio only) on the Tuskegee Digital Network, with airtime set for 6:45 pm (est).
