SC State ready to get football season started

By NEIL WHITE PALMETTO CAPITAL CITY CLASSIC Who: Benedict vs. S.C. State Where: Charlie W. Johnson Stadium When: Saturday, 5 p.m. South Carolina State opens its football season Saturday with an eye on playing extra games. After posting a 9-4 record last season while winning a share of the MEAC championship and reaching the NCAA FCS playoffs, the Bulldogs are capable of making it to postseason play again. They’ll get things started against Benedict in the Palmetto Capital City Classic at Charlie W. Johnson Stadium at 5 p.m. S.C. State coach Buddy Pough, who enters his 13th season with a 97-43 mark, five MEAC titles, and four FCS playoff appearances, can’t wait to get going. “Anytime you’ve been working against each other for as long as we have, you’re excited about playing,” Pough said. “Our guys just want to get out and play somebody.” The Bulldogs were selected to finish second to defending co-champion Bethune-Cookman in the MEAC preseason picks by the conference’s coaches and sports information directors. Pough sees great strength on the offensive and defensive lines, as well as at the running back and receiver positions. And he’s confident the talent at linebacker and in the secondary can coalesce as the players get more experience. “Defensively, we’re really young, but we’ve got a lot of people. Anytime you’ve got depth that way, you can create competition,” he said. Pough admits much will depend on sophomore quarterback Adrian Kollock taking over the reins of the offense. There’s a belief that Kollock has the ability and the leadership skills to be very good, but he must prove that in live action, starting Saturday. “You never know what you’re going to get when a guy is coming out for the first time,” Pough said. “Adrian Kollock has had a good camp, and we’re excited about seeing just how he reacts to the crowd and the pressure.” He’ll have senior offensive linemen Domanic Wilson and Devin Flowers, a pair of preseason All-MEAC first-team picks, blocking for him. He’ll have sophomore running back Justin Taylor, who had 706 yards and six touchdowns last season, behind him. And he’ll have two solid targets in junior tight end Temarrick Hemingway, who caught 26 passes in 2013, and deep-threat senior wide receiver Dennis Rowe, who averaged 18.7 yards on 18 receptions a year ago. The defense is led by a pair of senior defensive ends and preseason first-team All-MEAC choices in Andrew Carter, who had 47 tackles and 11 sacks last season, and Alex Glover, who compiled 41 tackles and 9.5 sacks. Junior defensive lineman Javon Hargrave and senior linebacker Justin Hughes also are expected to solidify that side of the football. The Bulldogs manhandled Benedict 59-6 in Columbia last season, and they would like to get off to a fast start this time around. Pough looks warily at a non-conference schedule that includes national power Clemson and FCS playoff teams Coastal Carolina and Furman in the coming weeks. “It’s really important for us to go out and play well against Benedict,” he said. “From that point, we’ve got to continue to improve each day. Our schedule is tougher as it goes along. We better make sure we do the very best we can that game.”