Morgan Beard
Staff Writer
Jackson State University will kickoff its football season on Thursday, Sept. 1 against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Rebels at Sam Boyd Stadium.
This will be a game of firsts for head coach Tony Hughes. The first game as a Tiger and Hughes’ first game as a college head coach.
Hughes, a Mississippi native, brings over 31 years of experience to JSU to become the university’s 19th head football coach. Most recently, he served as an assistant coach for at Mississippi State University.
UNLV will meet the Tigers on the gridiron coming off a record of (3-9) last year under their second year head coach, Tony Sanchez. This will be the second time that these two schools have ever met. The first time was in 1975 where UNLV beat JSU 39-2.
The Tigers return nine starters on offense including four year starting senior QB LaMontiez Ivy from East. St. Louis, Ill., and his number two favorite targets first team All-SWAC senior WR Daniel Williams from East. St. Louis, Ill., and senior WR Desean Mckenzie from Covington, Ga. McKenzie was out for the season last year because of a season ending shoulder injury.
Ivy will be protected by a beast mode of offensive lineman which is led by four year starter and second team All- SWAC senior Center Markus Cook from Prichard, Ala., and Second team All-SWAC junior guard Frank “The Tank” Carter from Tampa Bay, Fla.
The Tiger offense will also have a young talented group of WR to dominate the SWAC this year led by junior WR Romello Shunake from Lithonia, Ga., sophomore WR Benjy Parrish from Ellenwood, Ga., and sophomore WR Carl Ollie from Jackson, Miss.
In the backfield there will be a duo of running backs fighting for yards on the ground featuring senior RB Joshua Bates from Jackson, Miss., and junior RB Robert Johnson IV from Terry, Miss. Senior TE Tevin Garrett from Talladega, Ala. will have a big year catching balls down the middle of the field.
The dark side defense returns nine starters on defense with a group of seniors led by first team All-SWAC and first team all FCS senior DE/OLB Javancy Jones from Macon, Miss., and Second team All-SWAC DT Cornelius “Champ” Henderson from Duncanville, Texas.
The Tigers defense has a lot of experience across the board featuring three year starters senior LB Stacy Noble from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., senior FS Justin Jemison from Baton Rouge, La. and senior SS Preston Hughes from Daphne, Ala. A key player to watch is Shutdown Senior CB Zavian Bingham from Terry, Miss.
According to Campus Insiders, the Mountain West Network (MWN) will stream the game exclusively online. The stream will be available to fans for free on each institution’s official athletics websites as well as on CampusInsiders.com.
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