A&T has had to endure almost ten years of sub-par football performance under three mediocre coaching choices, three entirely different philosophies, huge losing streaks, poor academic performance that went unchecked by three different administrations, and various failed attempts at quick fixes and gimmicks that only made a bad situation worse.
In 2010, Chancellor Harold C. Martin had decided enough was enough.
It was clear that it was going to be a long and sometimes painful process, which it always is when you tear apart the old and then rebuild every aspect from scratch, but was something that had to be done and done quickly. After years of neglect and looking the other way and more than its share bad choices, A&T football was in a single term – a hot mess.
Yes, A&T is currently taking its lumps for past poor academic performances under departed coaches. We had two years of huge reductions in scholarships, a new post-season ban this year and continued reduced practice time while still trying to remain competitive against programs not shackled by all these restrictions hanging over their heads with much bigger budgets even within their own conference.
He looked long and hard at the A&T football program and made some tough choices followed up by a huge commitment of resources behind individuals who he believed had the needed background and proven track record to succeed in overhauling a bad program into a winner from the ground up without taking shortcuts.
This investment was a huge gamble. If the right people were not put in place from the start, A&T would be staring into an abyss from which there would be no escape. First, there had to be some kind of real continuity established beginning with fresh leadership with a keen business sense.
Martin placed his faith in one of his most trusted subordinates and advisers in Earl Hilton to take the reigns of athletic department and to get it right with no room for error. Hilton’s first task? Clean house and find “the guy” to run the show. It was not going to be cheap and it would not be an easy sell.
If that hypothesis is true, then N.C. A&T should have a very memorable year with the resurgence of its football program under second year Head Coach Rod Broadway, one of the top football coaches anywhere who has won everywhere he has coached and won big.
Now with the unexpected off season development of regaining all its lost scholarships have given hope to Aggie fans for the first time n a long time to feel pretty good about their chances of moving back to its once traditional spot of being in the top echelon of the MEAC.
There are some pleasant signs that A&T may be beginning to take a few but major steps to regain its once proud position of once being one of the more visible programs in the country in the FCS in terms of winning percentages as it was for nearly two decades from the mid 1980’s into the early 2000’s.
The team has made great strides both on and off the field over the last year and half.
The fan base is now returning in force with renewed enthusiasm, with more alumni giving and increased season ticket sales, recruiting better student-athletes, and the APR, while still not where it should be is moving upward very quickly with a new full time academic advisor for student- athletes on the way.
A&T will now proudly sport its brand spanking new $4.6 million dollar six story, three level, 10,0000 square foot “Skybox” to the world in a couple of weeks and already has a waiting list for its luxury suites and newer and more lucrative corporate sponsorships are being forged as we speak.
There is still much work to done, many more financial obstacles in a tough economy and fewer investment dollars for entertainment to go around and plenty of NCAA academic benchmarks still to be met.
But where there is with real leadership, more alumni involvement, hard work, optimism, and a sound strategic plan for improvement now in place, there is real progress to be made and A&T is finally moving in that direction.
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A&T will kickoff its 2012 season this Saturday night in Conway, SC (Myrtle Beach) against the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina before an expected sell out crowd at 9,400, half of which will most likely be Aggie fans who will start invading the beach community sometime tomorrow afternoon.
Most everyone in Greensboro is aware that starting junior quarterback Lewis Kindell has been suspended for this game for a violation of team rules stemming from conduct two weeks. No question that losing an experienced quarterback and 2,000 yard passer will affect your offense in some manner however A&T has never been a quarterback first offense.
Offensively, the Chants will try their best to zero in on returner MEAC offensive MVP tailback Mike Mayhew (5-9,200) who stands 139 yards shy of becoming the school’s all time rushing leader. Besides Mayhew, the Aggies have three other equally talented and diverse runners and a huge physical offensive line in which to run behind featuring 6-6, 330 junior Nathan Isles and senior Armon White (6-5,300).
The receiving corps has added a lot of speed and size over last year and will be led by senior Larry Raper. As to who will get to step into the quarterback vacancy this one week? Don’t be too surprised to see all three backups in former N.C. Shrine Bowler Kwashaun Quick, multiple threat Dorian Belcher, and strong armed 6-5 Femi Bamiro from Washington, DC to all get some time under center.
Coach Rod Broadway will have the advantage of having a stellar defensive unit that was ranked eight nationally last year in the FCS and is returning ten starters on a A&T defense only gave up 94.7 yards per game on the ground and a paltry 198 yards total each week. The A&T defense is built upon placing speed at a premium and they will boast a secondary that may be one of the most talented in the MEAC.
Broadway will be looking for major contributions from linemen DE Tony Mashburn (All-MEAC), and tackles Brandon Young, and Chris Neal, linebackers D’Vonte Grant (all-MEAC) and Brandon Hover, and strong safety Travis Crosby (All-MEAC) and shut down cornerback D’Vonte Graham.
A&T’s kicking game has improved tremendously over last year and the Aggies might have a slight advantage if it comes down placekicking and punting if this becomes a game of field position.
With A&T you pretty know what you are going to get but for Coastal, gone is Dave Bennett, and enter New Head coach Joe Moglia and a new staff and a scheme.
A&T will need to keep their eyes and ears open early as Moglia last coaching stint since his days of building Ameritrade into a multi-million dollar corporation as a private businesss man was with the Arena football League. and that means seeing things you normally can’t prepare for.
Defense
Both teams will line up to stuff the run and force the other to throw the ball. Because with so many people are back on defense and with the experience the factor of being in the same system for two straight years give the edge to the Aggies. This is a brutally physical unit.
Advantage – A&T
Offense
The Chants have a solid quarterback in senior Amaris Hillary and four of their top five rushers. The question is how will they look in the no huddle fast paced offense they will seek to employ and will the timing be there in the first game. No one has a clue on what they may do. Having that special QB is the kicker.
Advantage – CCU
Special Teams
If the Chants are looking at last year’s film they probably are betting that A&T special teams and especially the kicking game will be the weak spot. This is where this game could turn because of the big uptick in the Aggie special teams in the offseason and return potential.
Advantage – Draw
Intangibles
Normally going on the road into hostile territory is rough in a season opener but A&T fans are not your average fans because they will be traveling really deep (5,000) for this game and may even outnumber the home team in their own place.
Then throw in the famous 250-member Blue and Gold Marching Machine and it’s now suddenly a total swing of 180 degrees from having a dominating home field advantage over A&T because you won’t be able to hear or think clearly. Besides no one wants to play a team with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Advantage – A&T
This will be an extremely close ball game and being it’s a firt game who ever turns the ball over on their side of the field is probably going to lose. Its all about turnovers and penalties with all things equalling out in a first game.
The betting man makes CCU a 10-point favorite. But I don’t bet. besides,when the always pessimistic Rod Broadway starts acknowledging tht he’s got a pretty good team in preseason you better start worrying if you are on the other side.
