Football | 9/12/2019 7:17:00 PM

GAME CENTRAL

Savannah State Tigers I Game Notes: Click Here
(0-1)
vs.
Virginia University of Lynchburg I Game Notes: Click Here
(0-2)

September 14, 2019
Theodore A. Wright Stadium
(Savannah, Ga. 6 p.m.)

Savannah, Ga. -- SSU will face Virginia University of Lynchburg on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. in Theodore A. Wright Stadium.

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The Series:  First Meeting

Tiger Bites

THE QUINN FILE- SSU head coach Shawn Quinn is in his first year as head coach of the Tigers, but the Chicago native has made his rounds on the collegiate level having coached at nine other programs in addition to SSU. Those programs include The Citadel, Tennessee Tech, Western Carolina, Charleston Southern, Northwestern State, Georgia Southern, Louisiana Lafayette, Tennessee and Louisiana State.
 
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION-The SSU roster is made up of players from nine states (Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, New York, Texas, Ohio, Alabama and Nevada) as well as the Bahamas
 
WE'RE BACK- After spending the past 19 years in Division I, the Tiger athletic program is now back in Division II and the Southern Intercollegiate Conference.
 
WELCOME TO THE MARSH- The SSU football staff welcomes seven new coaches including former Tiger standout defensive end Marquis Smith who will coach the linebackers. Other new coaches include Nate Baker (co-offensive coordinator/tackles & tight end coach), Manrey Saint-Amour (offensive line coach), B.J. Johnson (wide receivers coach), Joseph "Zach" Johnson (safeties coach), Trey Morgan (cornerback coach) and Aaron Pridemore (tight end coach)
 
NEW VOICE- Shawn Christopher, also known as J. Chris,  is the new voice of the Tigers, serving as the SSU public address announcer.
 
TRANSFER U- SSU has 12 players on the roster that have transferred from other schools. The programs, which range from FBS to junior college, include Georgia, UMASS, Appalachian State, Tennessee State, Bluefield, Valdosta State, Stetson, South West Oklahoma, The Citadel, Georgia Military, Tennessee Tech and Culver-Stockton.
 
SURVIVOR- SSU signee Kyle Frazier is a cancer survivor. Frazier was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in April 2019 but after chemotherapy treatments, he was declared cancer free in August 2019. Frazier will enrolled at SSU in January 2020 and plans to join the football team.

FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE- SSU fans who can't make some of the games will still be able to see the Tigers, thanks to ESPN and FloSports. The Savannah State football team will make at least six appearances via livestream this season between ESPN and FloSports. The October 5 road game at Charleston Southern will be shown on ESPN+ as part of the Big South Football Television Package and the Tigers home contest with Fort Valley State on November 2 will be aired on ESPN3 as part of the SIAC Football ESPN agreement. SSU's appearances on FloSports includes games with Benedict (September 21), Morehouse (Sept. 28), Clark Atlanta (Oct. 19) and Albany State (Oct. 26).

PRO TIES- Defensive coordinator/defensive line coach Thomas Sims and linebacker coach Marquis Smith both played professional football. Sims, a sixth round draft pick in the 1990 NFL draft played with the Kansas City Chiefs, Indianapolis Colts and the Minnesota Vikings. Smith played a year in the Indoor Football League with the Bismark Bucks and one year in the National Arena League with the Jacksonville Sharks.
 
HOME GROWN- SSU has eight players in its roster from six different of the local high schools (Islands, Savannah Christian, Johnson, Windsor Forest, Memorial and Jenkins.
 
THE SIZE OF IT- Offensive linemen Michael Johnson and Bryan Manuel-Mots are both the tallest players on the team at 6-foot-7 but Manuel-Mots is the biggest at 330-pounds. Wide receiver Dorian Metts is the shortest player on the roster at 5-foot-7 while fellow wide receiver James Kicklighter is the lightest at 150 pounds.
 
FAN FRIENDLY- The 2019 SSU football schedule is fan friendly. Other than the trip to Alcorn State, the remaining road games are within an four hour driving distance.
 
NEW LOOK- The football team will break away from wearing the traditional orange helmets and instead will wear royal blue helmets which contains the SSU athletic logo.
 
IN MEMORY- Former SSU assistant football coach Paul Russell, Jr. passed away on August 8 at age 87. Russell joined the staff in 1989 as a defensive back coach, helping the Tigers to a 8-1 record.
 
THINKING ABOUT HOME- SSU wide receiver Czar Beneby has home on his mind.The senior mass communications major attended high school in Florida but he is a native of the Bahamas, which had some parts that was recently devastated by Hurricane Dorian.  None of Beneby's relatives were injured but several family members lost their homes and other belongings.
 
DID YOU KNOW- SSU offensive lineman Michael Johnson is from Roanoke, Virginia which is just over 56 miles from Lynchburg. After high school, Johnson attended Fort Union Military Academy which is a little over 68 miles from Lynchurg.