Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, October 4
Murfreesboro, TN
11:00 AM
Middle Tennessee
vs
Southern Miss
Photo by: Kaitlyn Hungerford/MT Athletic Communications
It's breakfast with the Raiders on Saturday
10/3/2014 7:49:00 AM | Football
Kickoff vs USM set for 11:04 AM
MURFREESBORO - All is well in Blue Raider Land. Coach Rick Stockstill's football team is sitting atop the Conference USA standings with a 2-0 record built on thrilling league wins over challengers Western Kentucky and Old Dominion, and will have a chance to add to their lead when a rapidly-improving Southern Miss team (2-3, 0-1 C-USA) comes to town on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 11 am on Horace Jones Field.
Also on the schedule for Saturday morning is the annual Blue Raider Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
In addition to maintaining their unbeaten conference slate, two Blue Raiders were recognized this past week for their stellar play in the huge road win at Old Dominion on Friday night. Safety Kevin Byard and quarterback Austin Grammer were honored for their performances in the 41-28 win over favored Old Dominion.
Byard, who returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown for the first score of the game in the second quarter, triggered a 24-0 explosion that propelled MT to a lead they would never relinquish. He also had an interception and forced a fumble. Grammer threw for 259 yards and four touchdowns, and ran for 67 yards and two more scores.
MT will host the Golden Eagles at 11:00 AM Saturday morning in a league game that will be televised live by American Sports Network (WNAB 58). Mike Gleason will handle the play-by-play, with Jim Donnan providing color commentary.
Stockstill had praise for both Southern Miss, as well as his own Blue Raiders.
"Southern Miss is a much-improved football team from a year ago. They are really good up front on defense. They are active, they are big and they can run. Their secondary is physical, and they can run, also. It will be a really good challenge for our offense competing against their defense.
"Offensively, they have their quarterback returning. He started last year as a true freshman. To me, it looks like he is making better decisions, he's playing better than he did last year, and it looks like they are giving him more to do"
In last year's game in Hattiesburg, Nick Mullens threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns, all three to different receivers. He was, however, intercepted twice, once by TT Barber and once by Byard, and both were returned for Blue Raider touchdowns in the first half. MT used the interceptions to build a 28-7 halftime lead, and never looked back in posting a 42-21 win.
This will be the third meeting between the two schools, with the Blue Raiders having won the first contest, a 42-32 victory in the 2009 New Orleans Bowl. Saturday's game will be the first visit by Southern Miss to Murfreesboro.
One member of the Blue Raider coaching staff may have some mixed emotions as he faces his alma mater across the playing field. MT Co-Defensive Coordinator Tyrone Nix was a stand-out, bone-crushing middle linebacker for the Golden Eagles during his collegiate playing career at Southern Miss, but has been on the staff at MT since 2012 … and Stockstill is glad to have him.
"Tyrone and I coached together at South Carolina for a year, and I have always respected him, both as a man and as a coach. He has brought some confidence to our defense, the guys believe in him, and he is just a special, special person.
"He is very knowledgeable, and can make in-game adjustments as well as anyone that I have been around. There is no doubt that he deserves to be a head coach, and I hope that he gets that opportunity soon. He has brought a vast amount of knowledge to our program and he is very team-oriented. He doesn't care about anything other than winning. He has great camaraderie with our defensive staff, and the players believe in him. Our defense plays hard, and I am proud of how our defense has played since he arrived.
"But it goes farther than that. Tyrone is a great person, a great family man, and we are glad that he is here at Middle Tennessee."
Two hours before kickoff on Saturday morning, at 9 AM, another event will take place in the Rose and Emmett Kennon Hall of Fame between the football stadium and the Greenland Drive parking lot. It will be the induction ceremony of the newest members of the Hall of Fame, and is free and open to the public.
Five former Blue Raider standouts, selected annually from all sports, will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame as the Class of 2014. The five inductees are:
JAMES GRIFFIN (Football): Four year starter at safety for Boots Donnelly's first teams at MT. Holds record for career interceptions with 17. All-OVC in both 1981 and 1982. Went on to play in the NFL for seven years with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Detroit Lions.
KERRY HAMMONDS, SR (Basketball): Hammonds is a member of the 1,000 Point Club, scoring 1,616 and also pulling down 955 career rebounds, ranking him second on the all-time list. Helped lead the Blue Raiders to post-season play in NCAA or NIT all four years.
LARRY JOE INMAN (Basketball Coach): Inman came to MT in 1979, and forged a seven year record of 161-73 coaching the Lady Raider basketball teams. His teams won five Ohio Valley Conference championships, four OVC tournament titles, and played in four NCAA tournaments. Selected four times as OVC Coach of the Year.
JENNIFER MARTINEZ (Softball): Starred for the Lady Raiders as a pitcher in both the Ohio Valley and Sun Belt Conferences. She was twice Pitcher of the Year in the OVC, and was named to the Sun Belt's all-time softball team. She is still ranked #1 in wins, shutouts, strikeouts and ERA. She had one perfect game, and struck out 15 batters in another game.
MICAH OTIS (Track & Field): Otis excelled in both track and field events, including the dashes, hurdles and jumps, winning six OVC championships. Earned All-American status in the long jump in 1994. He also anchored the Blue Raider 4x200-meter relay team that twice won the event at the prestigious Penn Relays, and was ranked #1 in the nation.
Also on the schedule for Saturday morning is the annual Blue Raider Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
In addition to maintaining their unbeaten conference slate, two Blue Raiders were recognized this past week for their stellar play in the huge road win at Old Dominion on Friday night. Safety Kevin Byard and quarterback Austin Grammer were honored for their performances in the 41-28 win over favored Old Dominion.
Byard, who returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown for the first score of the game in the second quarter, triggered a 24-0 explosion that propelled MT to a lead they would never relinquish. He also had an interception and forced a fumble. Grammer threw for 259 yards and four touchdowns, and ran for 67 yards and two more scores.
MT will host the Golden Eagles at 11:00 AM Saturday morning in a league game that will be televised live by American Sports Network (WNAB 58). Mike Gleason will handle the play-by-play, with Jim Donnan providing color commentary.
Stockstill had praise for both Southern Miss, as well as his own Blue Raiders.
"Southern Miss is a much-improved football team from a year ago. They are really good up front on defense. They are active, they are big and they can run. Their secondary is physical, and they can run, also. It will be a really good challenge for our offense competing against their defense.
"Offensively, they have their quarterback returning. He started last year as a true freshman. To me, it looks like he is making better decisions, he's playing better than he did last year, and it looks like they are giving him more to do"
In last year's game in Hattiesburg, Nick Mullens threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns, all three to different receivers. He was, however, intercepted twice, once by TT Barber and once by Byard, and both were returned for Blue Raider touchdowns in the first half. MT used the interceptions to build a 28-7 halftime lead, and never looked back in posting a 42-21 win.
This will be the third meeting between the two schools, with the Blue Raiders having won the first contest, a 42-32 victory in the 2009 New Orleans Bowl. Saturday's game will be the first visit by Southern Miss to Murfreesboro.
One member of the Blue Raider coaching staff may have some mixed emotions as he faces his alma mater across the playing field. MT Co-Defensive Coordinator Tyrone Nix was a stand-out, bone-crushing middle linebacker for the Golden Eagles during his collegiate playing career at Southern Miss, but has been on the staff at MT since 2012 … and Stockstill is glad to have him.
"Tyrone and I coached together at South Carolina for a year, and I have always respected him, both as a man and as a coach. He has brought some confidence to our defense, the guys believe in him, and he is just a special, special person.
"He is very knowledgeable, and can make in-game adjustments as well as anyone that I have been around. There is no doubt that he deserves to be a head coach, and I hope that he gets that opportunity soon. He has brought a vast amount of knowledge to our program and he is very team-oriented. He doesn't care about anything other than winning. He has great camaraderie with our defensive staff, and the players believe in him. Our defense plays hard, and I am proud of how our defense has played since he arrived.
"But it goes farther than that. Tyrone is a great person, a great family man, and we are glad that he is here at Middle Tennessee."
Two hours before kickoff on Saturday morning, at 9 AM, another event will take place in the Rose and Emmett Kennon Hall of Fame between the football stadium and the Greenland Drive parking lot. It will be the induction ceremony of the newest members of the Hall of Fame, and is free and open to the public.
Five former Blue Raider standouts, selected annually from all sports, will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame as the Class of 2014. The five inductees are:
JAMES GRIFFIN (Football): Four year starter at safety for Boots Donnelly's first teams at MT. Holds record for career interceptions with 17. All-OVC in both 1981 and 1982. Went on to play in the NFL for seven years with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Detroit Lions.
KERRY HAMMONDS, SR (Basketball): Hammonds is a member of the 1,000 Point Club, scoring 1,616 and also pulling down 955 career rebounds, ranking him second on the all-time list. Helped lead the Blue Raiders to post-season play in NCAA or NIT all four years.
LARRY JOE INMAN (Basketball Coach): Inman came to MT in 1979, and forged a seven year record of 161-73 coaching the Lady Raider basketball teams. His teams won five Ohio Valley Conference championships, four OVC tournament titles, and played in four NCAA tournaments. Selected four times as OVC Coach of the Year.
JENNIFER MARTINEZ (Softball): Starred for the Lady Raiders as a pitcher in both the Ohio Valley and Sun Belt Conferences. She was twice Pitcher of the Year in the OVC, and was named to the Sun Belt's all-time softball team. She is still ranked #1 in wins, shutouts, strikeouts and ERA. She had one perfect game, and struck out 15 batters in another game.
MICAH OTIS (Track & Field): Otis excelled in both track and field events, including the dashes, hurdles and jumps, winning six OVC championships. Earned All-American status in the long jump in 1994. He also anchored the Blue Raider 4x200-meter relay team that twice won the event at the prestigious Penn Relays, and was ranked #1 in the nation.
Players Mentioned
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