THE GAME
After a two-game road swing, the Savannah State Tigers will return home this week as they take on Tuskegee in the university's annual Homecoming game. Both teams hope to bounce back in the win column after suffering losses last week. Savannah State has a 2-5 overall record and a 1-4 record in the SIAC while Tuskegee is the exact opposite with a 5-2 overall record and a 4-1 conference record. All the fun will take place at Theodore A. Wright Stadium with kickoff set for 3 p.m.
 
This will be the 21st match-up between the schools. Their first meeting took place in 1934. The Golden Tigers own a 13-7 advantage in the series and have a four-game win streak going against Savannah State.
 
LAST YEAR
The teams did not play each other in 2022. This will be the first meeting between the schools since November 11, 2000 when the Golden Tigers won 21-0. As a matter of fact, Tuskegee's quarterback in that game is their current head coach, Aaron James. That was also SSU's first year in Division I.  The last time SSU defeated Tuskegee was in 1996 when Savannah State won 10-6 under head coach Wendell Avery.
 
COACHES QUOTE
SSU head coach Aaron Kelton says "Its Homecoming!!! I expect us to play hard. This will be the biggest crowd we have had all season and it will be a fun environment. Its Homecoming!!"

LAST WEEK
Savannah State lost to Central State 21-10 in what would be their longest road trip of the season. Despite the score, Savannah State outplayed the Marauders. SSU out-gained Central State (267 to 256) and had more possession time (31:41 to 28:19), more first downs (16 to 13) and ran more offensive plays (65 to 55). Mistakes hurt the Tigers chances of winning the game with an interception, two fumbles and five penalties for 55 yards.
 
TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYERS
Quarterback Jadon Adams is the top offensive threat for Savannah State. So far, the junior signal caller has completed 51.2 percent (104 of 203) of his passes for 1,221 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. He has also ran for four touchdowns and 257 yards.
Tailback Shamarcus Poole leads the team in rushing with  265 yards and two touchdowns this season.
Wide receiver Da'Shun Mitchell is the top pass catcher with 26 receptions for 381 yards while Brent Carr has 21 catches for 393 yards and six touchdowns.
 
TOP DEFENSIVE PLAYERS
Savannah State's defense is led by linebackers Gary Davis who has 41 tackles and Tavare Brewton who has contributed 39 tackles. 
Defensive linemen Ameer Phillips and Nathaniel Chisholm leads the unit with five tackles for loss each. Phillips has two sacks while Chisholm has three.
Roaming the secondary is Kirk Smith and Deandre Creary. Both have two interceptions to their credit.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
After missing the 2022 season while recovering from an injury, Kenneth Lockhart is back. In seven games, he has punted 34 times and is averaging 39.4 yards per punt with a long of 59 yards. Eight have landed inside the opponents 20. He has made 7 of 9 field goal attempts and has a long of 37 yards.
Joseph Hampton has 17 kick returns and is averaging 21 yards a return and Randy Scott has four kick returns and is averaging 26 yards a return.
 
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN TIGERS
James is in his first season as the head coach at his alma mater. In the prior season, he was the Tuskegee offensive coordinator. He has also coached at Bethune-Cookman, Miles, Lane and Clark Atlanta.

The Golden Tigers have wins over Fort Valley State (37-31), Kentucky State (36-10), Central State (27-21), Lane (28-22 2OT) and Morehouse (40-28) and have come out on he losing end to Alabama A&M (58-3) and Edward Waters (41-38).

The Tuskegee offense is averaging 29.9 points and 344 yards a game. They are led by running back Johnny Morris (390 yards, 5 touchdowns), quarterback Christopher Roberson (425 yards, 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions) and wide receivers Antonio Meeks (22 catches, 485 yards, 4 touchdowns) and Corey Petty (21 catches, 410 yards, 2 touchdowns). The Golden Tigers defense yields 30.14 points and 393.7 yards a game. Stopping the opposition are Malik Moore (55 tackles, 3 sacks), Vincent Hill (49 tackles), Christian Ramsey (35 tackles, 3 interceptions) and Mikael King (32 tackles, 4 interceptions).
 
THE SKINNY
With a break here or there, Savannah State and Tuskegee could have entered this game undefeated in conference play. But instead, SSU only has one SIAC win and Tuskegee only has one conference loss. A large Homecoming crowd should give the home-standing Tigers a boost as they try to finish the remainder of the season on a high note. Tuskegee needs a win to keep their conference championship hopes alive as well as a post-season berth for the Division II playoffs or the Florida Beach Bowl.
 
SAVANNAH STATE/TUSKEGEE CONNECTION
Former NFL defensive back Roosevelt Williams started his collegiate career at Savannah State before transferring to Tuskegee. A All-SIAC player, Williams was part of the 1998 Savannah State defense which was ranked #1 in the nation and the 2000 Tuskegee University BSN Black College National Champions. During his two years at SSU, he had 51 tackles and two interceptions. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft.  During his NFL career, Williams played for the Bears, Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets.
 
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Wide receiver Brent Carr leads the SIAC in receiving touchdowns with six and is ranked #21 in Division II. Defensive back Dreshawn Dawkins leads the SIAC for the most forced fumbles with two and is ranked #11 in Div. II. Specialist Kenneth Lockhart is ranked #22 in Division II in field goal percentage with .778.
 
CATCHING ON
Wide receiver Da'Shun Mitchell has caught a pass in 17 consecutive games.
 
COMMON OPPONENTS
Savannah State and Tuskegee have five common opponents: Central State, Edward Waters, Fort Valley State,  Lane and Clark Atlanta.
 
HOMECOMING WINS
Since 2016, Savannah State has a SSU Homecoming record of 5-1 with victories in 2016 (Howard), 2018 (Norfolk  State), 2019 (Albany State), 2021 (Clark Atlanta) and 2022 (Virginia Lynchburg). In 2017, the Tigers lost their Homecoming game to Hampton.
 
SSU/ALABAMA CONNECTION
Richard Basil was one of the greatest players to put on a SSU uniform. A native of Demopolis, Alabama, Basil transferred to SSU from East Central Community College and played quarterback for the Tigers in 1988 and '89. In two years he passed for 3,645 yards and 44 touchdowns. He also rushed for 990 yards and 18 touchdowns. In 1988, Basil was the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Offensive Player of the Year and won the George Hobson Offensive Back of the Year Award. In 1989, he led Division II in passing percentage by completing 57 percent of his passes. He served as an assistant coach at SSU for nine seasons and was the head football coach for two and a half years. He was inducted into the SSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011.
 
WELCOME HOME
Former Savannah State linebacker Clevan Thompson was recently hired as an assistant men's basketball coach at SSU. Thompson played football for the Tigers for four years (1998-2001) and earned a bachelor's degree in computer information systems. He comes back to Savannah State after a successful stint as the boys basketball coach at Savannah's Bethesda Academy where he won two state championships. Thompson also won a track & field state title and served as an assistant football coach during his time at Bethesda.
 
BEAT THE CROWD
Savannah State Homecoming crowds are larger than the average SSU home game during the season. Last year's Homecoming game drew 8,748 fans. One of the largest Homecoming crowds in recent memory was back in 2011 when 10,375 fans were on campus to see the Tigers play Hampton.
 
CHASING 2000
Quarterback Jadon Adams has thrown for 1,221 yards so far. He needs 779 more to reach 2,000 for the season.
 
AARON VS. AARON
In a rare twist, the first names of the head coaches for Savannah State and Tuskegee is Aaron.

CLOSE TO HOME
Five SSU Tigers will be playing close to home when the team visits Fort Valley State. Running back Shamarcus Poole is from Sandersville, wide receiver Brent Carr is from Warner Robins, running back Jatavion Williams is from Macon, running back Evan Guyton is from Dublin and tight end Isaiah Austin is from Dublin.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
The SSU roster is made up of players from eight states (Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Connecticut, New York, California, Tennessee and Alabama) as well as the District of Columbia
 
THE LEGACY CONTINUES
SSU defensive back Dwayne Ruff is the son of Savannah State alum Dwayne Ruff. The younger Ruff played three seasons at East Tennessee State. He earned his degree at ETSU and decided to play his final season of eligibility at SSU as a grad transfer. The elder Ruff was a two-sport student-athlete at SSU, playing football and basketball from 1986-89. He was a member of the 1989 team that included NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe that posted a 8-1 record.
 
WELCOME TO THE MARSH
SSU head football coach Aaron Kelton welcomes two new coaches to his staff. Marking their first season at Savannah State are A.J. Walsh (offensive line) and Keon Cezar (defensive line).
 
IN MEMORY
SSU mourns  the loss of former Tigers head football coach Dr. Leo Richardson. He led the Tigers to a 6-2-1 record in 1967 which was good enough to win the Southeastern Athletic conference championship. That same year Richardson was named the SEAC Coach of the Year. In addition to coaching football at SSU, Richardson also served as the head men's basketball coach and a biology professor. He was inducted into the SSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010. Richardson died on July 23, 2023.
 
TRANSFER U
SSU has 15 players on the roster that have transferred from other schools. The programs, which range from FBS to junior college, include East Tennessee State, Bryant University, Pittsburgh, North Carolina Central, Glennville State, Point University, Georgia Southern, Lane College, Grambling State, Albany State, Louisburg College, Hobart College, American River College, Los Angeles Valley Community College and Hutchinson Community College.
 
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. The Augusta, Georgia native enrolled at SSU in January 2020 and joined the football team in 2021.He has made the all conference team his freshman and sophomore years.

FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE
Savannah State will appear on ESPN+ twice during the season.The Tigers will play Clark Atlanta on September 16 at Theodore A. Wright Stadium at 6 p.m. The 2023 SSU Homecoming match-up with Tuskegee University on October 21 will also appear on ESPN+ with a 3 p.m. kickoff.

HOME GROWN
SU has 14 players in its roster from ten different of the local high schools (Islands, Savannah High, Johnson, Windsor Forest, Memorial, Beach, Bethesda, New Hampstead, Calvary and Jenkins.
 
THE SIZE OF IT
Freshmen linemen Kamrem Bing and Derrick Clark are the biggest players on the team. Bing, a offensive lineman weighs 340-pounds while Clark, a defensive lineman stands 6-foot-5. Freshman wide receiver Jason Cobb is the smallest player on the roster at 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds.
 
GETTING THE MILES IN
SSU has six road games on the schedule with an average of 355 miles for each game. Tiger fans will travel to Lakeland, Florida (335 miles), Daytona Beach, Fla. (234 miles), Brunswick, Georgia (79 miles), Fort Valley, Ga. (175 miles), Wilberforce, Ohio (689 miles) and Jackson, Tennessee (620 miles).
 
PRESEASON HONORS
During the SIAC Football Media Day in July, four SSU football players were named to the preseason all conference team. Offensive linemen Kyle Frazier and Riyon Adams and running back Shamarcus Poole were named to the First Team while punter/kicker Kenneth Lockhart was picked for the Second Team.
 
WHAT'S IN A NAME
There are ten sets of players on the SSU roster that share the same last name. The team has three players with the last name of Williams, Brown and Johnson and seven sets with the last name of Roberts, Leonard, Adams, Bell, Davis, Hampton and Jones. Additionally there are players with the last name that is pronounced the same but spelled differently as in Brown/Browne and Clark/Clarke.