Keeping the McNair legacy alive
Alcorn State is the alma mater of civil-rights activist Medgar Evers, but most sports fans link the Mississippi school with the late Steve McNair, a four-time Pro Bowl quarterback who nearly led the Tennessee Titans to a Super Bowl victory in the Georgia Dome in 2000.
McNair’s legacy at the school is held up in part by his older brother, Fred, who is the Braves’ assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach. Fred McNair also played quarterback at Alcorn State and was the original “Air McNair.”
“Steve, he took it and ran wild with it,” Fred McNair said this week.
The coach is now trying to pour the lessons he learned and once imparted to his younger brother into quarterback John Gibbs Jr., a senior who is attracting NFL attention. He was the SWAC offensive player of the year last season, completing 58.3 percent of his passes and averaging 77.4 rushing yards per game.
“It’s the same thing I tell John about being a legacy and being a quarterback here at the university, to go out and play well and play smart,” McNair said. “They will find you, no matter what school you’re at.”
» Preview: Thomas has Tech believing
New season, new sod
The Grant Field turf will get its first stern test Thursday night. The Bermuda grass field was torn up and replaced in late June following the Rolling Stones concert at Bobby Dodd Stadium on June 9. Most of the $90,000 cost of the installation was picked up by the concert production company AEG Live.
Right tackle Errin Joe said that patches of turf came up when the team first scrimmaged on it in early August and that the footing was sandy. He was looking forward to the field, among the best kept in the country, regaining its familiar form for the opener.
“I can tell the difference now,” he said. “It’s getting better since we had our scrimmage last week. It’s actually a lot better.”
The field has been under the supervision of facilities and turf assistant director Jon DeWitt and his staff, which has been aerating, watering and fertilizing the Tifway 419 turf in preparation for the season. The last time Tech replaced the turf, in 2011, DeWitt and his staff worked under a similar timeline.
New face at B-back
Perhaps the most intriguing element of Thursday night’s game will be the debut of graduate transfer B-back Patrick Skov, who played fullback for three years at Stanford before graduating and transferring to Tech. Skov, enrolled in Tech’s MBA program after earning an international degree at Stanford, won the starting job in the preseason.
“He’s going to look like a big, physical running back running the ball, I think,” coach Paul Johnson said of the 6-foot-1, 235-pound Skov.
Skov is different from previous B-backs at Tech in that they have usually fit the profile of a tailback more than a hole-clearing fullback, which was Skov’s role at Stanford. Skov’s strengths are size and power and less so speed. Johnson has said that backups Marcus Marshall, a freshman, and Marcus Allen both will also play.
“He’s understanding the offense,” right tackle Errin Joe said. “Because there’s a difference between knowing the plays and being able to execute it. He’s doing a great job.”
Making their starting debuts
Presuming that the Tech defense will start out in its nickel defense, the Yellow Jackets could have five players making their first career starts — right guard Shamire Devine, wide receiver Ricky Jeune, B-back Patrick Skov, A-back Isiah Willis and, if he starts at nickel back, Lynn Griffin.
“I’ve been preparing so hard for this moment, so I’m just pretty excited and ready to go,” said Jeune, a sophomore.
Jeune said he dropped his weight from 225 pounds last season to 214 to help with speed and movement. Over the summer, he caught passes from quarterback Justin Thomas three times a week with other receivers to sync their timing and learn each other’s tendencies. After the graduation of DeAndre Smelter and Darren Waller following last season, Jeune has emerged out of a pack of inexperienced receivers to win the job.
Jeune’s parents and two brothers were scheduled to make the trip from the New York area for the opener to watch him play. Hopefully they can pick him out. After wearing No. 81 last season and in camp, he switched to No. 2, which became available over the summer.
Tech’s utility player
Special-teams coordinator Ray Rychleski has one player he’ll use on all four of the main kicking-game units (kickoff, kickoff return, punt and punt return) — linebacker Chase Alford.
Alford, from Conyers, isn’t the biggest or fastest, which is how he came to walk on at Tech. But he plays smart and hard, which is how he came to be put on scholarship at the start of the semester along with A-back Isiah Willis.
“Chase is just a value guy,” Rychleski said. “He’s one of those guys that you’re always trying to replace, but you’re scared to death to do it. … I’m high on Chase Alford. I’m happy that he got a scholarship.”
Alford, a mechanical-engineering major with a 2.8 GPA, said it was a dream to play major-college football. He made it his goal to earn a scholarship.
“It’s just a real big accomplishment, and it doesn’t end there, either,” he said.
Ready from the start
Several members of Tech’s signing class of 2015 will make their career debuts Thursday night. Among them — linebackers Victor Alexander and Brant Mitchell, B-back Marcus Marshall, A-back TaQuon Marshall (no relation) and wide receiver Brad Stewart. Others will likely also play.
“There will be several guys who will play a lot out of that class (this year), but we were pleased with that group overall,” coach Paul Johnson said.
Alexander and Mitchell will be featured on special teams. TaQuon Marshall could see time on offense and also possibly at punt returner. Stewart, who was a possibility to start at wide receiver before Micheal Summers returned from injury on Sunday, will likely be in the receiver rotation. Marcus Marshall will play on offense as a backup to Patrick Skov and may also return kickoffs.
“We’re going to play some freshmen, and they’re going to make mistakes,” Johnson said. “You just hope they don’t make enough of them to really cost you and that they learn from it.”
Johnson has said he may dress some freshmen but not play them, keeping them as emergency options or monitoring their development to see if they can help the team later in the season.
FIRST-GAME STRENGTHS
How Tech has fared in coach Paul Johnson’s seven season openers:
2008 Jacksonville State W, 41-14
2009 Jacksonville State W, 37-17
2010 South Carolina State W, 41-10
2011 Western Carolina W, 63-21
2012 at Virginia Tech L, 20-17 (OT)
2013 Elon W, 70-0
2014 Wofford W, 38-19
FBS BLUES
Alcorn State’s past five games against FBS opponents:
2014 Southern Mississippi L, 26-20
2013 Mississippi State L, 51-7
2012 Arkansas State L, 56-0
2010 Mississippi State L, 49-16
2009 Central Michigan L, 48-0
BY THE NUMBERS
$375,000 The guarantee that Tech is paying to Alcorn State for the game.
71.4 Percentage of opening drives that Tech scored on last season, highest in FBS.
This is the first meeting between Tech and Alcorn State. In its history, Tech has played two historically black colleges and universities — South Carolina State in 2010 and Alabama A&M in 2013. Tech won both games handily.
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