By T. Scott Boatright
GRAMBLING — After a bye week following a frustrating 28-13 loss to Prairie View two weeks ago at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Grambling State returns to gridiron action as the Tigers play host to Texas Southern and celebrate Homecoming at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium in a game kicking off at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Grambling stands at 3-2 overall and 0-1 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s West Division while Texas Southern is 2-3 overall and 2-1 in the division after defeating Arkansas-Pine Bluff 51-7 last week in Houston.
GSU coach Mickey Joseph approached the bye week as a way to both rest his team while also getting a look at younger players who might be needed as the season progresses.
“During the bye week we wanted to focus on ourselves — Grambling vs. Grambling,” Joseph said. “I told the kids it was you vs. you trying to get better at the aspects — try to get better at third downs on the offensive side of the ball, and try to get more gap integrity on the defensive side of the ball.
“Also, to try and get some young players that we’re going to need down the stretch some reps — to get them in the game and give them solid reps. We also tried to rest some of the players that needed to be rested. But I thought it was a successful off week. We gave them a couple of days off just to go see family because sometimes, even as coaches, we put family behind the university. But you can always go get another job, but you can’t go get another family. So I thought it was a success for both coaches and players.”
Texas Southern chalked up 557 yards last week while holding UAPB to 227.
“Texas Southern is really good — that’s why they call it the wild, wild west,” Joseph said, referring to the SWAC West Division the two teams play in. They look bad one week and the next week they look like superstars. That’s why you’ve got to try to stay consistent because you never know what you’re going to get. So we’ve got to stay consistent as a team to be able to play teams like that.”
Joseph said keeping quarterback C’zavian Teasett calm and in the pocket will be crucial against a TSU squad that has picked off five passes this year.
“”We’ve got to get C’za comfortable in the pocket and trust that he’s protected,” Joseph said. “Instead of running out of the pocket, stepping up in the pocket and delivering the football and getting on time with it. And C’za understands that. We also have to do a good job running the football and identifying the box.I think if we can run the football, we can help him.
“He’s not a kid you want to drop back 40 to 50 times a game and I think we threw it 40 against (Prairie View), and that’s too much for him. We’ve got to establish a run game for him, but also we’ve got to get him comfortable in the pocket. We worked with the offensive line this week and said (to Teasett), ‘Hey, this is where you’re at. You need to be at eight yards (dropping back), if you’re at 10 yards, you’re on your own.’ So it was just working on his fundamentals. You have to understand, C’za’s young. He’s just a sophomore, so he’s still learning.”
Joseph knows Teasett will be challenged by a strong Texas Southern defense that has held opponents to an average of 13.5 points per game the past two weeks.
“That’s an NFL scheme,” Joseph said. “It doesn’t look complicated, but it is. They have good linebackers. They have Joe back there. Joe played for us but now he’s there because of the transfer portal. And the D-line is solid, too. But it’s an NFL scheme. What you see is what you get with these guys. They don’t do much, but they do it well, and that’s what makes them complicated.
“We’ve got to figure out what to do against them. We know where they’re going to be, we just have to execute. It’s a solid defense and they had a good outing last week. We’ve got to make sure we cross our T’s and dot our I’s this week.”
Joseph also expects more accountability out of his defense.
“We’ve got to do what we’re coached to do,” Joseph said. “As a player, you’ve got to take accountability. If you did it right on Tuesday, did it right on Wednesday and Thursday but you don’t do it right on Saturday, then maybe you’re not the right guy for the position. That’s why we repped young guys last week. To see if they’ll take the coaching and believe in the coach and not do their own thing.
“So many times kids come out and just want to get stats. I tell them, ‘Stats aren’t going to get you to the NFL, ability is going to get you to the NFL. I know a lot of kids who had stats but are still working at Wendy’s. But we also have to do a better job as coaches as making them understand gap integrity with the linebackers. The cornerbacks are some of the most talented players on our team, but they’ve got to stop taking chances and do what we say. We all had a ‘Come to Jesus’ meeting this week and I think we’re going to rectify this problem and work it out.”
And he expects his G-Men to do so while working past all of the hoopla surrounding Homecoming.
“They’ve got to block out the noise,” Joseph said. “They’ve got to be selfish with family and everybody else. … I told them they’ve got to take charge and block out the noise, because there’s a lot going on. Two weeks ago (in their last game, the loss to Prairie View), we didn’t do a good job of blocking out the noise. I tell them, ‘The Homecoming activities aren’t for you guys. They’re for alumni and y’all aren’t alums yet.’ Hopefully they’ll listen.”
