Southern Prepares to Bounce Back in Upcoming Game Against Alabama A&M

After falling in conference play for the first time in 2024, Southern University has a lot to work on going into their next game. In his weekly press conference, Head Coach Terrence Graves discussed what practices are going to look like after the all-around disappointing performance in last week’s loss to FAMU.

I think it is going to be intense everywhere. We have to fix all three phases, because we didn’t play particularly well in all three phases, so it’s going to be intense all week.

Southern Head Coach Terrence Graves

The most concerning aspect of last week’s game was the lack of offensive production. Despite a solid showing from the defense, Southern fell out of the game because they couldn’t consistently put drives together on offense. They were able to move the ball and gain yards on the ground decently well, but when it came time to convert on 3rd down and continue the drive, the Jags kept coming up short.

We were getting 5 yards, 8 yards, 9 yards, 10 yards a carry. That’s what you want. If you are getting 4 or more running on offense, then that puts you in a position that you want to be in. We were in a lot of 3rd and 1s, 3rd and 2s, 3rd and 3s, and we just didn’t convert, that’s the frustrating part. When you look at 2/16 on 3rd downs, that’s the story.

Southern Head Coach Terrence Graves

The lack of 3rd down conversions can be largely attributed to inconsistency at the quarterback position. Noah Bodden started the game, but was benched in the 3rd quarter for Czavian Teasett. They combined for only 83 yards passing. For the first time this season, there is no clarity in terms of who will start at quarterback next week.

There’s always a quarterback competition. When you ride the rollercoaster, you got to continue to keep going. Hopefully somebody will solidify themselves and get this thing going.

Southern Head Coach Terrence Graves

Southern will have to come back next week with another road trip, this time to Huntsville, Alabama against Alabama A&M. They are led by Head Coach Connell Maynor, a coach that Coach Graves is quite familiar with, dating back to both being former players at Winston-Salem State University.

Coach Maynor is an offensive guy. He will throw the ball because he’s a former quarterback. They always have trick plays. He’s going to go for it on 4th down, have some fake punts, whether he’s on the plus side or minus side of the field. Defensively, they are going to bring pressure. He’s going to be aggressive, take chances, that’s what we expect.

Southern Head Coach Terrence Graves

As for the team, the Alabama A&M Bulldogs are another strong passing attack, led by quarterback Xavier Lankford. After taking over in their game against Jackson State, Lankford has been explosive, average 250 passing yards per game and leading the team with the #1 passing attack in the SWAC. After a big test for the secondary in the previous game, Lankford will provide an even bigger test this week.

He has some pretty good size. He’s a competitor – I’ve seen him take some hits on film, and he gets up pretty quick. He’s a good player – he can make some throws across the field in front of his face. He can pull the ball down and run when he needs to. So we just have to stop him for four quarters.

Southern Linebacker Derrick Williams

The Jags will be playing at Alabama A&M on Saturday at 2:00 PM, their first day game of the season. All of the games in the future will be day games as well. Check out all of the interviews during the weekly press conference, of HC Terrence Graves, WR Tyler Kirkwood, and LB Derrick Williams here!