Tigers Are Bound To Roar

Tigers are Bound to Roar

By: Aniyah Foley

There are seventy-two more days until the black and gold Tigers make their 2015 football season debut.  Grambling State University will be representing the SWAC (Southwestern Athletic Conference) on September 5th in an away game as they take on the University of California at Berkeley. Personally, a weekend rendezvous to the Golden State in effort to support the revered Tigers that Saturday sounds incredibly enticing yet astoundingly out of the realms of my current tax bracket. Luckily, their first home game will be that following Saturday, September 12th, against Bethune-Cookman University, so let’s get those season tickets ready. It’s been noted that Grambling’s motto is: “Where Everybody is Somebody” and it’s evident that not just anybody is their Head Coach. After coming away with a 7-2 final conference record and a 7-5 overall record during their 2014 season, we know that the Tigers and Coach Broderick Fobbs are more than ready to bring on a season of prosperity in the name of Grambling State Athletics this upcoming season. Entering into his sophomore year as GSU’s Head Coach, there is definitely no place like home, i.e. Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium, for Coach Fobbs. Once, a four-year running back for Grambling State during the years 1992-96, Coach Broderick Fobbs has shifted gears on the Tiger’s gridiron and is now the spearhead of his Alma mater team whom he will lead on a promising journey of diligence, dedication and perseverance.

Stats have made it blatantly clear that this past season Grambling State University had not only dominated their full conference in sacks, but also the entire nation with an unfathomable 45 sacks in total. Facts like that do more than make a statement, with that revelation it’s an understatement that GSU has more than mastered the artistry of sacking so you better believe that they are now focused on recalibrating and fine-tuning both equally important and minute aspects of their game. Grambling’s Offensive Coordinator Eric Dooley stated some key commentary during a post match interview, which took place after the Tiger’s Annual Black and Gold game that players participated in during March of this year. After analyzing his players going helmet-to-helmet with one another during the rainy day scrimmage, he relayed his judgment that it would beneficial to his offensive line if they would continue to develop their running game during the off-season in order to counteract any efforts by their opponents in the fall. Embracing the truth that football is a game that constantly changes, it is important to bring awareness to both current and developing skilled players like Senior QB, No. 17 Johnathan Williams, recipient of the 2014 Eddie G. Robinson Most Valuable Player Award, and as well as Sophomore FB, No.49 Dre’ Fusiler whom exerts promising potential.  The Tiger’s exceedingly raging preparation for this upcoming season only continues to build toward the anticipation that’s growing in wake of their highlighted matchups, which are scheduled against SWAC rivals such as Texas Southern and Southern University.