HOUSTON — HBCU football is revving up in Houston, Texas, as HBCU Legends and hundreds of TSU Tigers fans attended the 2023 Texas Southern Spring Game at 11:00 AM CT in Durley Stadium on Saturday, Apr. 15.
Starting quarterback Andrew Body was on the sidelines motivating and coaching his Maroon Team's teammates. Coach McKinney withheld Body from the 2023 Spring Game to prevent him from taking any unnecessary shots.
"I want to say after all the practice that we put in over the spring, all the installs we had. I think our offense did very well," Body noted about offense's performance in the Spring Game.
The one positive for TSU is that Andrew Body returns as the SWAC's longest-tenured starting quarterback after Jackson State's Shedeur Sanders followed his father, Coach Deion Sanders, to the University of Colorado.
The Tigers' leader has been rehabbing from his injury sustained during the season finale against Alabama A&M. On the slightly humid day, offensive coordinator David Marsh signaled in plays to backup quarterbacks Tison Hill, Jace Wilson, Kamron Evans, Oscar Gordon, and Xavier Allen.
During the rotations, Jace Wilson and Tison Hill stood out. One concern would be the Tigers' offensive line which appeared porous in the scrimmage.
"One of the big things this year is we're a little thin and a couple of positions," Marsh told HBCU Legends. "So sometimes that group can get a little tired, causing some different issues. But we also got to give credit to that D-line. We have a couple of new faces over there and a couple other guys that are coming into their own. So the D line did a great job causing some havoc. And then Jace [Wilson] did a great job moving his feet."
The final score may have been something other than head coach Clarence McKinney's primary concern on the afternoon. I overheard him emphasizing several points with his team:
- Limiting repeated mistakes,
- Staying focused, and
- Playing smart football.
"I thought it was really good," Coach McKinney shared on the game action. "We got about 100 plays in. Defense, of course, is ahead of the offense at this point. We'd have an issue if it was the other way around. We got some things we got to work on, some timing things offensively. But overall, I was very pleased with the performance."
I noticed that kicker Curtis Falkenburg changed his number from 56 to 16. Most importantly, he nailed two long field goals for the Tigers' offense, a good sign for the special teams unit.
The defensive backfield was led by safety Charles George (36) who had a couple of nice plays and an interception went to linebacker Isaiah Bogerty (55).
Coaches McKinney and Marsh hope to have between 11 and 13 Saturdays of practices this summer before the 2023 Labor Day Classic against Prairie View A&M. The Tigers will host the Panthers at Shell Energy Stadium on Sept. 2. Each football program is a heavy favorite for winning the SWAC West Division crown in 2023.
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