SAVANNAH, Ga. - Savannah State University head football coach Aaron Kelton has released the Tigers' 2023 preseason practice schedule.
 
SSU has scheduled 25 practices prior to the team's first game, including two scrimmages at Theodore A. Wright Stadium.
 
The players report to campus on August 3rd with the first official practice scheduled for August 5th at 9 a.m. and the first full gear practice on August ^9th at 9 a.m.
 
The first day of classes for all Savannah State students is August ^14th.
 
The Tigers have scrimmages August 19^th and 26^th both at  8 a.m. and Kelton states that the team may also have some mid-week scrimmages.
 
Kelton said that practices are open to the public and fans are always welcome to attend.
 
Savannah State opens the 2023 season September 2 at Southeastern University at 7 p.m.

STABILITY & DIRECTION
Savannah State Football Slides Comfortably Into New Era                                                                                2023 FOOTBALL MEDIA GUIDE
 
Last year, the 120th year of football at Savannah State, Aaron Kelton took over a program on the rise. The 5-5 record in 2022 was not shiny and the drop from the previous 7-3 and 8-2 seasons was palpable.
 
Since returning to NCAA Division II and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) in 2019, Savannah State has showed a level of dominance that hasn't been seen on the campus since Shannon Sharpe was dancing in the end­zone at Theodore A. Wright Stadium.
 
Coaching changes have long plagued the Savannah State football program Over the last 23 years since legendary coach Bill Davis passed, there have been 10 shifts in the head coaching position with no coach lasting more than three seasons.
 
But last year, a new era began. One of stability and direction.
 
Last season wasn't a losing year. In fact, the Tigers finished the season with two major wins over conference oppo­nents that most gamblers would have bet against.
 
Kelton found his groove by the end with a team he inherited from a winning coach who absconded for the big lights of NCAA Division I.
 
And now, Kelton has his crew in place. He's had over a year to install his pro­gram, his philosophy, and his direction.
 
Returning to the gridiron this season are a slew of veterans. Nearly every po­sition will have a someone in it who saw action last season. And on the sidelines, over 30 new recruits will be donning the blue and orange for the first time.
 
As college football goes, some of the the players lost to graduation or the portal will hurt, but there is always a young gun hungry and waiting for their chance.
 
Savannah State football had a good off-season. A solid spring, according to Kelton. The big Tigers are ready to eat, again. And they have a tall order ahead of them—another tough schedule handed down from the almighty conference gods.
 
The addition of new schools to the SIAC (Allen and Edward Waters) and the unwillingness of schools in the 470 area code to shift to a west division, forced the conference to eliminate divisions all together.
 
This year, teams are playing for the top two spots, period. No divisional winners. Just your conference record with murky rules for tie-breakers.
 
The Tigers will strap up for a tough run with a host of veteran juniors and seniors. Kelton wants to see a balanced offense this year. Helping to guide that offense will be Nick Trist.
 
Last year, Trist ran the quarterbacks and played backup to John Roberts. Roberts left in the off-season for a job in his native California—the only coaching change for the Tigers this year. Trist will be entrusted with a solid group ready for the challenge of 2023.
 
Leading that pack will be returning quarterback Jadon Adams. Last year, Adams began the season on the bench, as the third string play-caller. But in the opening game of the season, he made his debut and it was noticeable.
 
 
Adams scored the only touchdown against Southeastern and solidified his role as the starter. By the end of the sea­son, he led the rushing and passing stats, securing his job as the quarterback into his redshirt-sophomore season.
 
Helping to establish the balance on offense will be running back Shamarcus Poole, who topped the stats last year and returns for what will probably be a stand­out junior year. A stellar receiving core of Da'Shun Mitchell, Randy Scott, DaMar­ion Colbert, and Brent Carr will be prime targets for Adams this year as well as the Tigers look to toss up more passes than they have in the run-heavy offense of the last three years.
 
The Tiger offense will get a boost from NCAA Division I running back AJ Brown, who transferred to Savannah State this season as a graduate student after finishing his undergrad at Georgia Southern last year.
 
Player losses on the SSU defense will hurt the most this year. Gone is top defensive back Makenly Newbill, who both graduated and transferred out, and top defender Jordan Clark. The Tigers lost several offensive lineman to graduation. But they also picked up 12 new lineman to fill those gaps.
Key returners on defense are Tavare Brewton (LB), Deon Bell (CB), Elijah Norwood (CB) and Nathanial Chisholm (DL), all of whom had standout years in 2022.
 
Special teams will get a boost with the return of kicker/punter Kenneth Lockhart, who missed last year due to injury.
 
In 2021, Lockhart was the No. 1 kicker/ punter in the SIAC. The Tigers struggled on special teams last year. Lockhart's return will undoubtedly be a positive impact.
 
Savannah State opens the season with back-to-back road trips to Flori­da against tough opponents. They face Southeastern University to open the season—who handed Kelton a tough loss in his first game last year—and then travel to play old NCAA Division I rivals Bethune-Cookman.
 
SSU and Cookman faced off for years as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and for years before that as NCAA Division II and III mem­bers. They have met on the field of battle 50 times before, dating back to 1925.
 
Savannah State plays their first home game on Sept. 16 against SIAC foe Clark Atlanta. After two years of dominating the Panthers, the Atlanta team got their revenge last year, handing SSU a tough loss.
 
In late September, Savannah State takes on Albany State in the inaugural Coastal City HBCU Classic in Brunswick, Geor­gia. Albany State has become a perennial power in the SIAC and a thorn in SSU's side the last two seasons.
 
The Albany State game opens a run of tough conference dates against Edward Waters, and Fort Valley State.
 
Then comes a long trip to Wilberforce, Ohio in mid-October to face Central State before returning home for back-to-back games against last year's top two teams, Tuskegee and Benedict—both of which finished 7-0 in conference last year.
 
SSU closes out the year on the road against Lane College in early November.
It's going to be a tall order to reach the 2023 SIAC Football Championship Game this season, with new rules and a tough schedule in place.
 
But it's a ride the 2023 Tigers are primed to make now that they have stabil­ity in the coaching position and a host of solid returners ready to battle.