2 weeks Ago
Southern Lab’s Amariyan Asberry runs the ball against Madison Prep on Oct. 11 at A.W.
Mumford Stadium. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save The Southern football program signed one recruit Wednesday, the beginning of the early signing period, with more to follow before the window closes Friday, said coach Terrence Graves . Southern Lab running back Amariyan Asberry , son of Southern Lab coach Darrell Asberry , signed a letter of intent at a school ceremony at noon.
Asberry committed to Southern in July. “We are thrilled and excited to have Armariyan Asberry sign with us,” Graves said. “He’s a big-time talent and outstanding young man.
Anytime you can get a great hometown student-athlete on campus, it means we’re doing things the right way. “We are making the right impressions on the local talent. My coaching staff did a great job of making sure he stayed home.
I thank his parents as well for being very supportive of Amariyan’s decision. He will be a great asset to our program and community. We are fortunate to have him a part of the Jaguar family.
Asberry rushed for 1,004 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. As a junior, he was named Most Outstanding Player in the select Division IV state championship game, scoring two touchdowns in the Kittens’ 42-35 victory against Riverside Academy. Southern will also be able to sign players out of the transfer portal beginning Monday through Dec.
28. A second transfer portal window will open from April 16-25. “We don’t have many scholarships open for midyear,” Graves said.
“We will sign more before the (early) window closes. We are getting a lot of people reaching out to us.” The Jaguars will lose 16 seniors from the 2024 team, including two of its top three running backs in seniors Kendric Rhymes and CJ Russell .
Southern is set to play Jackson State at 1 p.m. Saturday for the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship in Jackson, Mississippi's, Memorial Stadium.
The game will be televised by ESPN2. Rematch Graves said his team is better by “leaps and bounds” than when it first played Jackson State on Sept. 14.
Jackson State won that game 33-15 after jumping to a 23-0 lead. But the Tigers (10-2, 8-0) are also seemingly better having won eight consecutive games. “They do a good job of running the football and their confidence level, those guys are playing with confidence on both sides of the ball and all three phases of the game,” Graves said at Tuesday’s news conference.
“The last game against Alcorn they played really well on the road. Coach ( T.C.
) Taylor and his staff are doing a good job with those guys, keeping them locked in and focused.” Missing Southern will be without safety Herman Brister for the first half of Saturday’s game. Brister was disqualified from the Bayou Classic for a targeting penalty in the second half and by rule must sit out the first half of the next game.
Graves said Jamarius Brown will start in Brister’s place. “It’s not a huge change we have to make,” Graves said. “We made it Saturday when (Brister) went out.
He’s a tremendous football player but we have some guys on the back end that played well all year and played together. It’s good we have the depth back there.” Brister is the team’s fourth-leading tackler with 60 and has one sack and four tackles for loss.
He has accounted for a team-high four turnovers with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Familiar setting Southern and JSU have played three times in the SWAC title game with Southern holding a 2-1 edge. The Jaguars beat the Tigers 31-30 in the inaugural SWAC title game in 1999 and again in 2013 by a 34-27 score.
JSU gained a measure of revenge by beating Southern 43-24 in the 2022 game in Deion Sanders' final season as coach. Jackson State has won the past five meetings. Bus trip The Blue and Gold Club is sponsoring a bus trip to Jackson, Mississippi, for the SWAC title game.
Contact Craig Pierre at 225-324-7234 for more information..
