2 weeks Ago
Southern defensive end Darrius Harry, left, reacts to defensive end Ckelby Givens’ defensive play against Texas Southern on Oct. 12 at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save The Southern football team isn’t going into Saturday's Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game as a proud underdog to Jackson State, but the Jaguars will carry a chip on their shoulders.
After winning the SWAC West Division, the Jaguars had only one player on the All-SWAC team released Tuesday, co-Defensive Player of the Year Ckelby Givens. It definitely struck a nerve with Southern coach Terrence Graves and some members of the team. But the way Givens sees it, that’s been going on all season.
He doesn’t feel like an underdog, and he wants to prove it on Saturday. “I’m not really going to get into it because we have a game on Saturday,” Givens said of the All-SWAC snub of his teammates. “I’ll let that frustration show up on Saturday.
“(To win the game) would mean a lot because a lot of people didn’t think we could do it. Before the season, people didn’t think coach Graves should have got the job, that I shouldn’t be defensive player of the year, so it’s going to mean a lot. I like our chances.
” Givens' play is one of the main reasons the Jaguars are there. He led the FCS with 261⁄2 tackles for loss and was eighth in sacks with 11, the second-most among SWAC players. He had 67 tackles, which tied him for second on the team, but his contributions go beyond the stat sheet and field.
“I tell people this all the time and tell my team, if you want an example of reaping what you sow, look at Ckelby Givens,” Graves said. “By no means is he perfect, none of us are. He strives for perfection knowing he’ll never obtain it, but he lives and walks in excellence.
That’s what it’s all about. “Ckelby puts in the work every single day. Because of that, he’s been rewarded.
I’m not surprised. He’s a leader in the community, the campus and the university. A leader amongst the team.
Good things happen for you when you put others before yourself.” A 6-foot-2, 250-pound junior from Shreveport, Givens has been known for his maturity, carrying himself like a senior the day he stepped onto Southern’s campus. As a freshman, he had 101⁄2 tackles for loss and 51⁄2 sacks.
Last year, he led the SWAC with four forced fumbles and 21 tackles for loss, among them seven sacks, to give him career totals of 58 tackles for loss, 231⁄2 sacks, eight forced fumbles, three recoveries and 21 quarterback hurries with one game and another season to play. Last season, his scoop and score late in the fourth quarter of the Texas Southern game allowed Southern to rally and win in overtime. Linebacker Vincent Paige is Southern’s leading tackler this season, but there’s no doubt Givens is the team’s central force.
Paige would be the first one to agree. “He’s by far the best defensive end I’ve played with in my career,” said Paige, who is in his first season with Southern. “He makes my job a lot easier and our back end (secondary) a lot easier.
He’s a great leader, a great example to come in and follow.” Accounting for Givens is job one for the Jackson State offense. “Givens is a great football player, and their defense is playing at a high level,” Jackson State coach TC Taylor said.
Nothing would make Givens happier than to avenge the 33-15 loss to Jackson State in Week 3 of this season. The defense was still coming together with some new players but is playing its best ball after holding Grambling to 148 yards and 0 of 13 on third-down conversions in a 24-14 win. “We didn’t play our best game against Jackson the first time,” Givens said.
“They got out on us quick, and we weren’t ready. I feel like we’re going to be ready this time. A lot of people didn’t know the defense, we had a lot of new guys.
We’re not committing stupid penalties like we were then.”.
