Nothing like a little friendly trash talk before this weekend’s homecoming game between Alabama A&M coach Connell Maynor and Jackson State coach Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders.
The two SWAC teams play Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Louis Crews Stadium in Normal as A&M (3-1, 1-1 SWAC) plays host to Sanders and his Jackson State Tigers, who come in 3-1 overall and leading the East Division with their 1-0 record
A&M, which won the SWAC spring season title, could use a victory in the worst way to stay in the running for another league championship.
Two losses and Maynor’s Bulldogs will find themselves looking up at a two-game Jackson State cushion, a team A&M handled six months ago in Jackson 52-43.
A&M officials plan to milk Sanders’ notoriety and entertainment value with a “Maroon Out,” a take on Penn State’s “White Out” the school reserves for games that carry special significance. All AAMU fans — the first 2,000 through the gates receive free maroon pom-poms — are asked to wear maroon and to wear masks once on campus.
“It’s the biggest game of the season because it’s the next football game,” Maynor said on the Historically Black Colleges and Universities press conference this week. “Not because of Jackson, not because of homecoming, it’s the next football game. It’s always gonna be that way, this game sets up the next game. We got to take your business this week to make the next game, whoever we play next week, the biggest game of the season.”
There is a disclaimer to Maynor’s coachspeak.
To call this weekend’s meeting just another conference game would likely insult both coaches after the SWAC portion of their HBCU presser got a little heated, where Maynor, perhaps unintentionally, provided bulletin board reading for Sanders.
“Hey, Coach Sanders, I hurt my ankle getting off the bus the other day,” Maynor said unprompted. “You got an extra scooter for me? If you got an extra scooter, send me one down here.”
Sanders underwent foot surgery in September that required a mobile medical scooter to get around.
Sanders didn’t take the bait.
“It’s a little rivalry, it’s a little blood in between,” Sanders said. “You know, the coach says something about me, I don’t shoot back. Because I don’t do that because I’m really good at that. I’m on this high road right now. I take the high road, right? I’m a different dude. So I don’t do that. But you know, everybody is waiting for me to. We’re just going to have to sit and see. "
Maynor was asked Tuesday by a Huntsville television reporter if his comments were disrespectful, or just misinterpreted.
“I asked the man a question,” Mayor said. “I didn’t talk about the man.”
Maynor said he hurt his ankle too and wanted to know if Sanders would send him a scooter that had been provided to him by Aflac, which is airing a series of commercials starring Sanders and Alabama coach Nick Saban.
The comments seemed to take a viral life of their own and later pressed Sanders’ buttons. But he stressed he wasn’t getting into any back-and-forth with Maynor.
“(Maynor) said something about me but I won’t shoot back because I don’t do that,” said Sanders.
As for Maynor, he’s ready to move on and said he has no ill will toward Sanders.
“Take whatever road you want,” Maynor said. “Take the high road, low road, or back road. I don’t give a crap. I didn’t talk about the man. I asked him one question.”
Maynor called this year’s Jackson State team “much improved. Coach Sanders has done a good job of those guys in a short period of time, from the spring last year to the fall this year. The biggest improvement, of course, has been on defense.”
Sanders used the transfer portal to bring in several Power 5 players to plug in a defense that was a sieve in the spring. He is starting Tennessee transfer Nyles Gaddy, Southern Cal transfer Abdul Malik-McClain, South Carolina transfer Shilo Sanders, Auburn transfer Coynis Miller, Florida transfer James Houston IV and Georgia Tech transfer Antwan Owens.
The changes have changed Jackson State’s defensive attitude. Sanders now has the highest-rated defense in the SWAC through four games.
The Tigers are allowing 12.75 points a game, in stark contrast to A&M’s 35 a game.
Maynor couldn’t resist giving his critique of Sanders’ offense, especially the play of freshman quarterback Sheduer Sanders, the coach’s son.
“Offensively, they’re not as good as they were last year for whatever reason, but (rest) assured Deion Sanders’ son is playing well at quarterback.”
Through four games the Tigers rank ninth out of 12 SWAC teams in scoring offense. Coming off a bye, Jackson State has been limited to a touchdown in two of four games and averaging 19 points to A&M’s 36.2.
“For whatever reason, they’re just not putting up the points they did last year,” said Maynor. “They’ll get it worked out, hopefully not this week, but they got a good football team. We got to be ready to play, and we will.”
The Bulldogs have one of the top FCS quarterbacks in the nation in senior Aqeel Glass, who has thrown for 1,511 yards, 14 touchdowns and completing 61 percent of his passes. He has thrown six picks.
While they are picked as the team to beat in the league, the Bulldogs are coming off a 37-28 upset loss at Grambling. Glass threw for 446 yards, four scores but suffered four interceptions.
Charles Hollis has covered college football for Advance Publications, including The Birmingham News, since 1983. Reach him at budcoin@msn.com
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