WSSU Football Notebook: Blount still searching for answers at quarterback

By: JournalNow Staff | COMPILED BY JOHN DELL
Published: September 23, 2009

■ Coach Kermit Blount of Winston-Salem State tried to mix it up Saturday, changing quarterbacks in a 16-10 overtime loss to Morgan State. Senior Jarrett Dunston, although bothered by an ankle sprain, and redshirt freshman Branden Williams both saw action.

"We started Branden, but he got a little hurried, and we wanted to slow it down a little, so we put Jarrett back in there," Blount said. "I thought Jarrett played OK, but at the same time, we need to do a better job of moving the football."

WSSU (0-3) will play S.C. State, the defending MEAC champion, at 6 p.m. Saturday in Orangeburg, S.C.

■ Coach Buddy Pough of S.C. State calls Saturday's game a "trap game" for his team.

The Bulldogs will play at South Carolina on Oct. 3, and there will be the temptation for players to look ahead.

"They have seemed to have had a lot of opportunities but haven't quite got it done," Pough said of the Rams, who average just 10 points a game. "Eventually they are going to get it together, and I'm hoping it's not against us."

■ Blount, a former assistant at S.C. State, said that Saturday will not be the time to be sentimental.

"This will be a huge game for us if we can sneak up there and get a win," he said. "We aren't going to back down and we want to compete, so I think we'll be ready."

The Bulldogs have had an easy time with the Rams, winning the last four games by a combined score of 150-42. S.C. State won 43-17 at Bowman Gray Stadium last season, and with WSSU staying in Division II, this could be the last game between the programs.

■ William Hayes, the only WSSU player in the NFL, has done well through two games with the Tennessee Titans and has been in on seven tackles while playing as a reserve defensive end. A fourth-round draft pick in 2008, Hayes played in eight games as a rookie in 2008.