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SHC GAME PREVIEW: Tennessee State Tigers

By Terry Davis, Special to TSD Memphis.com

Tennessee State University has won the last five Southern Heritage Classics and 12 of the last 14 played. Head coach Rod Reed is focused on keeping that momentum going and he wants this year’s team to buy into to the mindset that has been working – that the annual game in Memphis is a business trip.

“It is a huge classic for us. It is a money game for us. It helps both schools financially,” Reed said. “Fred Jones does an outstanding job with the Southern Heritage Classic. We enjoy playing in it; the rivalry goes back. It is a great atmosphere. The city of Memphis is wonderful.”

This is Reed’s eighth season at the helm of TSU. Last year’s Tigers finished with a 7-4 record, going 4-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).

Treon Harris has stepped in at quarterback and will be measured against the big shoes left by Ronald Butler, who threw for 2,132 yards, 21 touchdowns and only had 9 interceptions. A transfer from the University of Florida, Harris has two years of eligibility left. He last played for the Gators during the 2014-15 season. In 21 games, he threw for 2,695 career yards and had 18 touchdowns.

In the 17-10 win over Georgia State at the Panthers’ new home (the old Turner Field in Atlanta), Harris led the Tigers in rushing with 91 yards and passed for 145 passing yards in his TSU debut.

“I was proud of the way we went down and competed against Georgia State,” Reed said. “I don’t care who you are you, if you are able to be plus four in the turnover margin, you give yourself a chance to win. It was great for our conference, HBCU football and for our university.”

Harris has a big-time receiving target in redshirt senior wide receiver Patrick Smith, who played at Whitehaven High School. Smith was named the OVC Offensive Player of the Year by the coaches and ranked seventh nationally with 13 receiving touchdowns. His numbers ranked him seventh in OVC single-season history. He had 61 receptions for 966 yards and averaged 15.8 yards per catch.

On the defensive side, senior Chris Collins was named STATS FCS Defensive National Player of the Week. The Tigers forced four turnovers, including a forced fumble by Collins on the Panthers’ opening drive of the game. TSU held GSU to 14 first downs, with Collins contributing mightily. With the Panthers threatening to score in the third quarter, Collins turned in a drive-killing tackle that left GSU inches short of a first down on a 4th down attempt at the Tigers’ four-yard line.

Collins finished with 12 tackles, including nine solos, with three tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble. The Fairburn, Ga. native also earned College Sports Madness Ohio Valley Conference and National Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Freshman safety Vincent Sellers was named to the Honorable Mention section of the STATS FCS Freshman Player of the Week. Sellers finished with 10 tackles – seven solos and a tackle for a loss.

Tennessee State pushed into the Top 25 in a pair of national polls after its victory over Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent Georgia State. The Tigers come into the Southern Heritage Classic ranked 23rd in the STATS Top 25 and 24th in the FCS Coaches Poll.

NOTE: The Tigers have 11 players that played high school football in Memphis. In addition to Smith, they are: Justin Brooks (Ridgeway), Thomas Burton (Whitehaven), Anthony Geter (Whitehaven), J. C. Goins (Germantown), Earl Harrison (Ridgeway), Camren Jones (Ridgeway), Christian Morris (Ridgeway), Michael Perry (Whitehaven), Dell Porter (Melrose) and Ahmad Richardson (Cordova).

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