FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 13 - 19, 2014

TENNESSEE STATE DUO IN NFL DRAFT,

19 FAs; SPRING SPORTS WINDING DOWN
AZEEZ Communications, Inc. Vol. XX, No. 41
A LEGEND PASSES: Bill
Nunn, a pioneer in black
college sports, journalism
and in the NFL, passed last
week. He was among the
frst to open doors to the NFL
for black college players.
GONE
BUT NOT
FORGOTTEN
BCSP Photo by Willie Tucker
Dearth of black college NFL draftees continues
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
Two offensive lineman who played side-
by-side for Tennessee State were the only black
college players selected through three days of
last week's NFL Draft.
Former TSU guard Kadeem Edwards
went off the boards to Tampa Bay early in the
ffth round while former TSU center Demetrius
Rhaney was taken by St. Louis late in the sev-
enth and fnal round.
Edwards (6-4, 313), the highest rated black
college player going into the draft, was the third
pick in the ffth round, 143rd overall. His strong
performance against top competition at the Re-
ese's Senior Bowl had him projected among
the top ten guards in the draft. He was the sixth
guard to go off the boards.
"It's a tremendous help," Tampa Bay Gener-
al Manager Jason Licht said of the Senior Bowl
performance by Edwards. "I'm not saying that
we wouldn't have drafted him if he wasn't [at the
Senior Bowl], but it's better than any workout
you can put him through. Coach Hop [offensive
line coach George Warhop] put him through a
good workout there, a private workout. George
went there and came back beaming ear-to-ear.
He's a happy guy today."
Licht also said he's not sure whether the
team will play Edwards at left or right guard.
"We'll have him swing at both, see where he
feels most comfortable. He's a big guy, strong,
powerful, athletic guy with an interesting back-
ground he's from Sanford, [Florida]. He's one
of those guys that is going to be successful at
anything he does. He's dealt with some adversity
in his life and he always keeps a smile on his
face. He's a very tough mentally individual,
as well as being a good football player."
"I'm very excited," said Edwards of return-
ing to his home state. "It's home, there's nothing
Spring Sports Round-Up
NEW LIVINGSTONE WOMENS HOOPS COACH:
SALISBURY, N.C. Livingstone Athletic Director
Andre Springs announced last week
the hiring of Anita Howard as the
new head women's basketball coach
for the Lady Blue Bears. Howard
replaces Angelyne Brown, who
resigned at the end of the 2013-14
season.
Howard spent the last two years as
the head women's basketball coach
at Salem College out of the Great
South Athletic Conference, where she built a winless pro-
gram into a conference championship team. Howard was
named the GSAC Coach of the Year in 2013.
Prior to coaching at Salem she spent a season as the
associate head coach at Saint Augustine's. Howard also
served as an assistant coach at Shaw and at Winston-Sa-
lem State. She played at Armstrong Atlantic State and at
Fort Valley State.
UNDER THE BANNER
WHAT'S GOING ON IN AND AROUND BLACK COLLEGE SPORTS
Texas Southern wins
SWAC softball title
DECATUR, Ala. - Texas Southern scored
four runs in the sixth inning to capture its frst
SWAC softball tournament championship, 6-3,
over defending champion Mississippi Valley
State at Wilson Morgan Park on Sunday.
TSU (32-18) was led by Thomasina Garza
who recorded three home runs, a double, and
nine RBI. She hit .538 in four games while scor-
ing fve runs.
After earning the SWAC's automatic bid to
the NCAA Div. I tournament, the Lady Tigers
will face No. 6 seed Louisiana Lafayette (44-8-
1) on May 16 in Lafayette, La. Texas (33-21)
and Miss. State (38-19) are also in the regional.
Florida A&M wins
MEAC softball tournament
ORMOND BEACH, Fla. Florida A&M
clinched the 2014 MEAC softball championship
with a 4-2 win over Bethune-Cookman. This is
the frst MEAC title for the Lady Rattlers since
2009 and 10th overall.
In beating the Wildcats, the Lady Rattlers
(24-27) won their eighth game in their last 10
tries. Kenya Pereira (9-8) pitched 26 1/3 in-
nings, allowing three runs, two earned, on 18
hits, with 17 strikeouts to earn Most Outstanding
Performer.
FAMU advances to the NCAA Div. I soft-
ball Tallahassee regional where the Lady Rat-
tlers will face No. 5 seed Florida (45-11) on May
16. Stetson (38-12) and Central Florida (41-16)
are the other teams in the regional.
Bethune-Cookman, Lincoln (Mo.)
prevail at PGA Minority Golf
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. For the second
consecutive year, both the men's and women's
teams from Bethune-Cookman claimed titles in
a thrilling fnal round Sunday at the 28th PGA
Minority Collegiate Golf Championship.
This marks the fourth time that the men and
women from Bethune-Cookman have won both
titles in the same year.
The Bethune-Cookman women's team,
which was tied with Chicago State heading into
the fnal round, used a 4-over-par 292 total to
win the division by six strokes.
In the Division I Men's competition, B-CU
withstood a fnal-round charge by Florida
A&M, which entered the round in fourth place,
to win the division by eight strokes.
The Wildcats were led by senior Rafael Abad,
who closed with a 1-under-par 71 for a 218 total.
Dominick Vennari of Florida A&M won
medalist honors in the Men's Division I compe-
tition, closing with a 69 for a 215 total.
In the Division II competition, Lincoln
(Mo.) University took home its sixth overall
title by a single stroke.
Tiana Jones of South Carolina State
chipped in for birdie on the 54th hole to win by a
stroke over teammate and 36-hole leader Cheryl
Chua in the Women's Individual Invitational.
Both MEAC champ Bethune-Cookman and
SWAC champ Alabama State will be competing
in NCAA Div. I regionals that will be held May
15-17.
ASU is seeded 14th in the regional being
played at the Auburn University Club while
B-CU is competing in the Raleigh, N. C. region-
al hosted by N.C. State at the Lonnie Poole Golf
Club.
MEAC Baseball Tournament set
NORFOLK, Va. The Mid-Eastern Ath-
letic Conference (MEAC) will host its 2014
Baseball Championship from Wednesday, May
14 through Sunday, May 18 at the Marty L. Mill-
er Field on the campus of Norfolk State Univer-
sity.
The Delaware State Hornets (Northern Di-
vision) and the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats )
(Southern Division) will enter tournament play
as the number one seeds.
SWAC Baseball Tournament set
The SWAC Baseball Tournament will be
help on May 14-18 at the New Orleans MLB Ur-
ban Youth Academy.
Alabama State (East) and Arkansas-Pine
Bluff (West) are the top seeds.
The championship game on the fnal day is
slated for broadcast on ESPNU.
ARIZONA
Kadeem Williams, OT, Albany State
ATLANTA
Kimario McFadden, SS, SC State
BALTIMORE
Dexter Moody, DB, Albany State
CLEVELAND
Isaiah Crowell, RB, Alabama State
GREEN BAY
Joe Thomas, OLB, SC State
INDIANAPOLIS
Qua Cox, DB, Jackson State
Greg Moore, WR, Lane
KANSAS CITY
David Van Dyke, DB, Tenn. State
Deron Furr, S, Fort Valley State
Bobby Wenzig, P, Alabama State
MINNESOTA
A. C. Leonard, TE, Tenn. State
NEW YORK JETS
Jermaine Jones, WR, St. Augustine's
OAKLAND
Carlos Fields, ILB, WSSU
Rob Smith, DT, Jackson State
PHILADELPHIA
Karim Barton, OG, Morgan State
TAMPA BAY
Keith Lewis, CB, Va.-Lynchburg
WASHINGTON
Justin Blake, FS, Hampton
Lee Doss, WR, Southern
Eddie Poole, WR, Bethune-Cookman
THE STAT CORNER
WHO ARE THE BEST PERFORMERS IN BLACK COLLEGE SPORTS
NFL BLACK COLLEGE UNDRAFTED
ROOKIE FREE AGENT SIGNINGS
Anita Howard
better."
Rhaney, a 6-2, 301-pound native of Ft.
Lauderdale, Fla. was the 250th overall selec-
tion, 35th in the seventh round, one pick after
the Rams selected Missouri defensive end Mi-
chael Sam.
He was one of the three selections of of-
fensive linemen by the Rams who also selected
Auburn guard Greg Robinson with the No. 2
overall pick. Rhaney is expected to compete
with 33-year-old starter Scott Wells, back-up
Tim Barnes and second-year pro Barrett Jones
at center, a position deemed a weak spot.
Edwards started the last three seasons, 13
games last season, while garnering a number of
black college and FCS all-American designa-
tions. Rhaney joined him as a starter at center
last season after spending his junior season pri-
marily at guard. They helped the Tigers post a
10-4 overall record and 6-2 OVC mark last sea-
son while earning a trip to the FCS playoffs.
This marks the second consecutive year,
the third time in fve years and the fourth time
since the 2004 Draft that only two black college
players were taken. Only the one selection in
Kadeem Edwards Demetrius Rhaney
2012 has been lower than those years.
It's also the second straight season that the
top black college selectee was an offensive line-
man. Former Arkansas-Pine Bluff offensive
tackle Terron Armstead was the frst off the
boards last year going to New Orleans in the
third round.
The 2014 draft also marks the frst time
since 2000 that two TSU players were selected
in the same draft. TSU offensive tackle Michael
Thompson was selected in the 4th round while
WR Avion Black was taken 21 picks later by
the Buffalo Bills.
The Tennessee State tandem also helped the
Ohio Valley Conference to the most selections
for an FCS conference, with four. Quarterback
Jimmy Garoppollo, Eastern Illinois, and wide
receiver Walter Powell, Murray State, were
picked by the New England Patriots and Ari-
zona Cardinals, respectively.
Among 19 undrafted rookies signed to free
agent contracts were Alabama State running
back Isaiah Crowell by Cleveland and TSU
tight end A. C. Leonard by Minnesota.

Black college, Steelers legend succumbs
Tennessee State
Two-Step
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
A true black college legend
and the man current Pittsburgh
Steelers' owner Art Rooney II re-
gards as one of only "four legends"
in the history of the storied NFL
franchise passed last week.
Bill Nunn succumbed last
Tuesday two weeks after suffering
a stroke at the Steelers' South Side
Pittsburgh training facility while
helping the Steelers prepare for last
weekend's NFL Draft. He was 89.
Nunn parlayed an extensive
knowledge of black college pros-
pects into a scouting position with
Pittsburgh in 1967 and later took a
full-time job in the Steelers front
offce in 1969. He was the frst
black executive at an NFL fran-
chise and was a major contributor
to putting together the great Steel-
ers teams under coach Chuck Noll.
Among the black college play-
ers scouted by Nunn who went on
to lead the Steelers to their 1970s
dynasty were Mel Blount, John
TAMPA BAY
KADEEM EDWARDS
6-4, 313, OG
Tennessee State
3rd pick - 5th Round
143rd overall
ST. LOUIS
DEMETRIUS RHANEY
6-2, 301, C
Tennessee State
35th pick - 7th Round
250th overall
BLACK COLLEGE PLAYERS
IN 2014 NFL DRAFT
Stallworth, L.C. Greenwood,
Donnie Shell and Ernie Holmes.
Blount and Stallworth are in the
Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Despite retiring in 1987, Nunn
continued to be a valued member
of the Steelers' scouting department
holding the position of senior assis-
tant in the player personnel offce
right up until his death.
"You cannot write the history
of the Pittsburgh Steelers without
Bill Nunn," Blount, a cornerback
from Southern who played 14 sea-
sons for the Steelers told the Pitts-
burgh Post-Gazette.
In 2010, Nunn became part
of the inaugural class of the Black
College Football Hall of Fame,
along with such NFL stars as Dea-
con Jones, Walter Payton, Willie
Lanier and Tank Younger.
"We have lost a great friend
and a great person who did so much
for the Steelers organization with
the passing of Bill Nunn," Steel-
ers owner Dan Rooney said of the
beloved super scout. "Bill was a
special person who did everything
in his career, from playing sports to
being an excellent journalist, all of
which led to his outstanding career
in scouting for the Steelers."
But his reach extended far be-
yond the NFL gridiron.
Born William Nunn Jr., he
played basketball at West Virginia
State with Earl Lloyd, who later
became the frst African-American
to play in the NBA. WVSU, then
in the CIAA, posted a 26-0 record
and won the league championship
with Nunn and Lloyd on the team.
He also attended Westinghouse
High School in Pittsburgh with,
and was a lifelong friend of, Chuck
Cooper, the frst African-American
drafted in the NBA.
Nunn was asked to help in-
tegrate the NBA after World War
II but entered journalism, frst as
a sports writer, then sports editor,
then managing editor of The Pitts-
burgh Courier, one of the most in-
fuential black publications in the
United States. He succeeded his
father at the newspaper in those
positions as well as in selecting
the Courier's black college all-
American football team that led to
his familiarity with black college
coaches and players.
STEELERS GIANTS:
Bill Nunn, bottom right,
poses with Steelers'
owner Dan Rooney
(l.) and current head
coach Mike
Tomlin (c.) at Steel-
ers Training Facility in
Pittsburgh. Nunn
appeared with
Steelers owners,
coaches and staff
at the 2009 Sheri-
dan Black College
All-American "Skull
Session" at Steelers
Headquarters.
"You cannot write the history of the Pittsburgh
Steelers without Bill Nunn."
Steelers' Hall of Fame CB, Mel Blount