SAVANNAH, Ga. – Savannah State University head football coach Earnest Wilson III announced that Leon Prunty will start at quarterback when the Tigers face Howard University.

 It will be Prunty's first start this season. He replaces Arshon Spaulding, who started against NCCU. Prunty, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound junior from Ellenwood, Ga., will play in his third game this season.

"We had a situation where Arshon was not able to get straight, and Prunty has gotten most of the reps," Wilson said. "We just had a problem that we had to work out. (Arshon) had a problem that he had to get academically fixed so Leon has been taking most of the reps."

This season, SSU has started Tino Smith, David Handler and Spaulding at quarterback.

"I brought my quarterbacks coach (Russell DeMasi) and my offensive coordinator (Andy Siegal) into my office and I told them, 'Look, we want to find a leader. We want to find a guy that is going to lead, who isn't going to have any off-the-field problems. No academic problems. We want to find guys that are focused on our program and understand that they've got to be like the mailman. They've got to deliver. And they've got to make sure that everybody else is getting the mail. They've got to know their job.

"We're not going to win football games with a quarterback running around all the time in the option," Wilson continued. "Our program is a program where we run and we throw. We've got to have guys with discipline."

SSU (1-5 overall, 1-3 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) will play Howard University (0-7, 0-5) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Greene Stadium in Washington, D.C. The game will be radio-broadcast on WHCJ 90.3 FM.

SSU is 0-8 in the series against Howard. The Tigers lost, 51-21, last season in Savannah.

Howard is coming off a 65-14 loss at North Carolina A&T last Saturday. SSU is coming off a 39-22 Homecoming loss against North Carolina Central on Oct. 17. The Tigers led, 22-0, going into the second quarter.

"We got up 22-0 and there's a lot of things, a lot of factors that I can see," Wilson said. "A lot of people will say, 'Did you make halftime adjustments? Did you do this? Did you do that?' But you know, the bottom line is we're practicing, because of class schedules, at 5:30 in the morning. I got some complaints from professors that players were going to sleep in class so what I'm doing now is trying to have practice a little bit later, letting them sleep in 40 or 50 minutes later instead of having it early in the morning. That might help to combat the second half (meltdowns). A lot of people have said that (SSU players) look tired (in the second half of games). If I get up at 5 in the morning, 4:30 in the morning, to practice by the time 2 p.m. rolls around, my mind is telling me it's time to sleep.
Wilson spent SSU's bye week and this week having his players practice at 7 a.m. instead of at 5:30 a.m.

"What I'd like to do is get it to where we have practice in the afternoon so that our bodies get used to going in the afternoons," he said. "Our class schedules are really different so we tried to go in the mornings. I've done it three or four times. I did it at Benedict (College). I did it at New Mexico State. We had our practices from 7-11 a.m. But if you don't have supplements, if you don't have the weight room. … We go to study hall from 7-9 at night. By the time a kid gets back to his room and tries to settle in, it's going to be 10, 10:30. And you're up at 4:30 (to practice at 5:30). And you've got to watch your diet. I've talked to them about eating right and watching their diet. There's a lot of factors that we've got to look at as Savannah State in order to make this a successful program. There's things that can be corrected. The kids have got to be aware of what the situation is that they are in. But in the end, I think we will be successful."

ANOTHER LONG BUS TRIP
After riding approximately 15 hours on a bus to Baltimore, Md., SSU emerged with a 42-3 loss to Morgan State on Oct. 10. This week, the Tigers will take a 12-13-hour bus ride to Washington, D.C., to play Howard.

"Unfortunately, we're going to drive," Wilson said. "But what we did this time, and these are all learning things for me as a head coach, this is my first time having to experience this stuff. My first year, everything had already been planned. My second year, we didn't go to these places. My third year, we're going. I think what hurt me in the past was that I didn't understand but when we took that trip to Morgan (State), it was a 15-hour bus ride. I think that hurt us not only for one week but that hurt us for two weeks, in our Homecoming game.

"This time, we have enough money in the budget to leave on Thursday. We're going to go up there on Thursday and spend the night, relax on Friday and, hopefully, play a better game than we did the last two games; a better second half. It's going to take us 12 or 13 hours to D.C. on the bus."
Fortunately, the Tigers had a bye last week and have had two weeks to prepare for the Bison.

"I'm kind of worried just for the simple fact that we're doing as much as we can to coach but we weren't able to get into the weight room, and I've got a young group of guys and I'm not getting an opportunity like I want to develop them," Wilson said. "Some of them are trying to go to Benedictine (Military School) and lift weights. Stuff like that. It kind of worries me a little bit because we're trying to put our weight room together, to get a weight room, period. In order to get this program to go where I want it to go, we've got to be able to do stuff like that."

HOMECOMING WOES
Wilson said not having a game last Saturday made it especially difficult for his players because they have had two weeks to think about the Homecoming loss to NCCU.

"It's always tough as a coach to get a loss. But at the same time, this program lost for 20 years before I got here," he said. "I really think that we've gotten the recruits in and we've just got to stay focused. I look at a lot of coaches that have been around the block. Some of the big-time coaches, I've had an opportunity to coach with some of the biggest coaches in the game, and they just tell you to stay focused. Stay focused because you're doing the right things. You just have to make sure that you're getting that full turn to develop these young guys."

TIGERS NEED ALUMNI SUPPORT
Wilson said it is time for SSU's alumni to step up and provide financial support so the Tigers can have facilities like a weight room and meeting rooms built in order for the Tigers to be more competitive.

"I'm trying to get people to understand that we've got to get a weight room," Wilson said. "We've got to get meeting rooms. You've got to stop playing games because you're getting the athletes. What we need to do is get guys that are going to step up, alumni that are going to step up, and people to help us secure these facilities. A lot of these kids have taken this task on, signing with Savannah State, and we've got to give back to them."
 
HOWARD UNIVERSITY OUTLOOK
Quarterback Kalen Johnson, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound sophomore from Pearland, Texas, is 47-of-91 passing for 428 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions.
Wide receiver Matthew Colvin, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior from Greensboro, N.C., has made 15 catches for 140 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Jalen Avery, a 5-foot-9, 170-pound freshman from Oakland, Calif., has 12 receptions for 139 yards without a touchdown.

Running back Donnell Pleasant, a 5-foot-11, 205-pound freshman from San Diego, has run 50 times for 192 yards and a touchdown. Running back Aquanius Freeman, a 5-foot-10, 200-pound redshirt senior from New Orleans, has 34 carries for 157 yards and a touchdown.

Linebacker Jalen Day, a 6-foot, 220-pound redshirt junior from Winston-Salem, N.C., has registered a team-leading 48 tackles and two fumble recoveries.

"Most of their defense is juniors and seniors," Wilson said. "They play good defensive football. They have a great defensive coordinator (Rayford Petty). They have five juniors and four or five seniors. I think they've got one sophomore and one freshman starting. So they've got nine juniors and seniors starting. They're a strong defense.

"Offensively, their offensive line is juniors and seniors," Wilson continued. "They have the capability of making things happen. They're just getting better and better each week, and that's what worries me. Their quarterback is getting better, as well as their whole defense."