By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports

OXFORD, Ms. – LSU’s 62-point beatdown of Grambling on Sept. 9 was in the books, Tigers’ coach Brian Kelly had finished his post-game media conference.

The press gathered three-deep around a lectern waiting for player interviews. Suddenly, the crowd parted as junior running back Logan Diggs stepped in front of the battery of TV cameras and bright lights.

Since this was Diggs’ first time to talk to the media covering LSU after he transferred from Notre Dame on May 3, it was a bit of a shock when a smallish, pleasant-faced, bespectacled and polished young man thoughtfully and intelligently answered questions about his Tigers’ debut of 115 yards rushing and one TD on 15 carries.

This is the first thing you learn about the 6-foot, 221-pound Diggs, a former New Orleans Rummel High star. He speaks softly but runs loud.

Heading into Saturday’s SEC West Division showdown between No. 12 LSU (3-1, 2-0 SEC West) at No. 20 Ole Miss (3-1, 0-1 SEC West) here today at 5:30 p.m. in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Diggs is the SEC’s third-leading rusher averaging 84.33 yards per game with 253 yards on 33 carries for a healthy 6.66 yards per carry.

After missing the season-opening loss vs. Florida State because of a hamstring injury that had been nagging him since last spring at Notre Dame before he transferred, Diggs has started the last three games for the Tigers and stabilized the team’s running attack that’s ranked third in the SEC averaging 191.75 yards per game.

“I really needed my burst back,” Diggs said of why LSU head coach Brian Kelly decided to rest Diggs vs. Florida State. “That was the only thing that was missing. I’m very grateful to the coaches and training staff for making sure.”

Kelly had no problem starting Diggs as soon as he was healthy. After all, Diggs was signed by then-Notre Dame head coach Kelly in December 2020 and played his freshman season in 2021 under Kelly before he jumped to LSU to replace the fired Ed Orgeron.

“We were looking for somebody that could change the dynamics of our (Notre Dame) running back room and we liked just liked the way he played the game,” Kelly said of his original recruitment of Diggs.

“He was somebody that that had an edge to him. He had the skills to play at the highest level. And he was a really good student.”

Even with LSU finally offering Diggs a scholarship a few days before the December 2020 early signing period, Diggs stuck to his earlier commitment. A Notre Dame education and a legitimate chance of being able to crack the running back rotation were too much for Diggs to turn down.

All in all, he had two solid seasons for the Fighting Irish despite battling flu that sidelined him for half of his freshman season and then undergoing post-spring practice 2022 surgery for a torn labrum that slowed the start to his sophomore season.

As a freshman in 2021, he ran for 230 yards and three TDs on 52 carries and had 6 catches for 56 yards and one TD. Diggs led the team in carries with 165 as a sophomore in 2022 and was the team’s second-leading rusher with 820 yards and four TDs.

When he began battling a hamstring injury last spring, Diggs surmised he may need a fresh start.

“I felt like I kind of hit like a plateau,” Diggs said. “I wasn’t excelling or getting any better. I felt like I wanted a new challenge. I wanted that new challenge and there was no other place to go but to the SEC and be able to play the best of the best competition every single week.”

So, when Diggs put his name in the transfer portal last April 27 five days after Notre Dame’s spring, Kelly hopped on him immediately.

Diggs wanted to play the last years of his college career in a locale convenient for his family members and friends to see him play in person.

Though she made many trips to South Bend, no one is happier to have Diggs back home than his mother AJ who has been his guiding light and inspiration every step of his journey.

As a single mother raising her two boys, AJ Diggs earned a degree from Nichols State in 2010 while working.

For almost 7½ years, she worked as a registered medical assistant for the Ochsner Health System. Then, she worked just more than four years as a Disability Analyst for the state of Louisiana.

She not only provided for her sons, but she set the bar for them on how to attack life no matter the circumstances.

“My mom is my backbone,” Diggs said. “She sacrificed so much for me and my brother. She made sure that we had a roof over our heads and had food on the table every night. She just taught me to never quit and just to keep going no matter how hard times may get. Rely on your faith in God and continue to push through it.”

About a year ago, with her kids fully raised, AJ Diggs did something that thrilled her sons. She became a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines.

“My mom can really sing and had dreams of being on Broadway,” Diggs said. “She also always wanted to be a flight attendant. She had the confidence, the strength and the faith to do something different and she went to chase one of her dreams. That gave me the confidence to do the same thing (deciding to transfer to LSU).” 

GO FIGURE 

6 Tackles for loss for Ole Miss in each of its four games this season 

12 is the number of players on LSU’s current roster who’ve played a game at Ole Miss 

22 Consecutive games with a pass reception for LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers 

22.4: Seconds per play for Ole Miss, the 5th fastest in the FBS 

400: Yards or more total offense for LSU QB Jayden Daniels in three games in his career, second behind Joe Burrow’s school record of six games.

Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com

JOURNAL SPORTS

NATCHITOCHES — The Northwestern State football team may not have fully hit the reset button during its open week, but it did some soul searching.

The results of those discoveries will be put on display today at 6 p.m. when the Demons (0-3) return to action by hosting Eastern Illinois (3-1) at Turpin Stadium in the second of back-to-back home games.

“I don’t know if we necessarily reset, but there was a lot more time to reflect on the things we’re doing well and the things we’ve got to improve on,” sixth-year head coach Brad Laird said. “You get to dive into it a little deeper. To me, getting guys healthy is No. 1 (during a bye week). Number two, schematically and personnel-wise, you get to see where you are.”

The matchup between the Panthers and Demons is the back end of a home-and-home series that began in 2022 as part of the Southland-Ohio Valley scheduling alliance.

A season ago, it was Northwestern State who was the road team, brimming with confidence and riding a two-game win streak. This time, the Panthers hit the road, brimming with confidence and riding a two-game winning streak.

Eastern Illinois has won its past two games with late-game rallies to edge then-No. 25 Illinois State (14-13) on Sept. 16 and McNeese (31-28) this past Saturday on Stone Galloway’s 56-yard field goal with 20 seconds remaining.

Still, the Demons’ focus remains inward.

“We don’t look back at what we’ve done in the past,” said junior guard Jordan Cooper, who has started the first three games of the season. “We focus on what we do moving forward.”

Northwestern State’s emphasis on family remains – even if the weekend off allowed players and coaches to go their separate ways for a couple of days.

“It let everybody refresh and got us away from each other,” said sophomore cornerback Anthony Richard Jr., who ranks second on the team with three pass breakups. “Sometimes, too much time spent together can be detrimental to a team, but we all love each other. It’s good to be back.”

After playing incredibly familiar opponents in the first three weeks – Northwestern State has faced UL Lafayette, Louisiana Tech and Stephen F. Austin a combined 233 times – the Demons’ second straight home game brings forth a decidedly less common foe.

While the Demons and Eastern Illinois met a season ago, it was just the fourth time the teams had met – the first in 29 years. However, Laird sees value in the matchup – one that ends the Demons’ four-game non-conference schedule and serves as a final tune-up for Southland Conference play, which begins Oct. 7 at Lamar.

“It’s great for our conference when you have a non-conference game to stay FCS vs. FCS and play against a different conference,” Laird said. “They’ve played not only us but other teams in our conference. This is a good return trip and a good opportunity outside of our conference to showcase what we have.”

The game will air on ESPN+ with Shreveport’s Patrick Netherton doing play-by-play, three-time All-American and two-time Super Bowl champion Gary Reasons, a three-time All-American for the Demons, as analyst with Shreveporter Tyler Moody on the sidelines coverage.

By T. SCOTT BOATRIGHT, Lincoln Parish Journal

DALLAS — One popular belief in football is that teams can’t be rivals if only one is winning year in and out.

If so, that means Grambling State University will be fighting to reignite a rivalry with Prairie View as the Tigers and Panthers clash in the Texas State Fair Classic at the Cotton Bowl in a game set for a 6 p.m. kickoff tonight.

Grambling has lost five straight to Prairie View going back to 2018. GSU leads the all-time series between the two teams 51-22-1. Since the teams moved their rivalry to the State Fair Classic in 1985, the Tigers have gone 27-10 vs. the Panthers.

On a two-game winning streak since getting understandably routed at LSU, Grambling State (2-2 overall, 1-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference) is looking for its first victory over Prairie View A&M (2-2, 2-0) since the Tigers won 34-21 in the annual Dallas matchup.

Last season, the Panthers came out on top 34-14.

Head G-Man Hue Jackson understands the meaning and intensity behind this contest, especially with 20 of his players coming from the Dallas area.

“Rivalries are great things,” Jackson said during press conferences held in Dallas on Monday. “I was at USC and playing LSU was always big. It’s awesome being part of those kinds of rivalries. But this thing is a little different, because of the schools, the culture, and all the food they bring to these particular events. It’s outstanding and it’s great football.”

Jackson admits to feeling better heading into the game against Prairie View than he did this time last year.  

“I don’t feel pressure this year,” Jackson said. “I felt it last year because I really didn’t know my football team. I didn’t know my staff. I didn’t know this event (State Fair Classic). I didn’t know anything.

“But this year I’m ready for this. My team is ready for this. And I’m excited about playing.”

Jackson said he also feels more comfortable this go round.

 “I’m more comfortable,” Jackson said. “I understand the HBCU space better. I understand what my players have to deal with every day. And to me, that’s the most important thing — understanding what the players have to deal with on a daily basis. If you understand that, it makes you a better coach and you can coach a better game.”

Jackson has his offense rolling after defeating Texas Southern 35-23 last Saturday. The G-Men rushed for 282 yards led by Chance Williams’ 174-yard effort with a touchdown on 19 carries.

Those kinds of numbers have helped Grambling become the SWAC’s best scoring offense (33.5 ppg) and the best total offense (397.5 ypg). 

GSU also has the second-best run offense in the conference, putting up 179.0 yards per game. 

The key for Grambling’s defense will be holding Prairie View quarterback Tarzan Connley in check. Connley has averaged 175.8 pass yards per game with season totals of three touchdowns and three interceptions thus far this season.

Jackson said execution will play an important part in the outcome against the Panthers.

“What we’re trying to do now is take care of the little things,” Jackson said. “Prairie View is a great football team. They’re well coached. I understand that and my team does, too, so we’ve got to go do everything we can to try and win this football game.”

Contact Scott at tscottboatright@gmail.com

The rest of the country despises the Southeastern Conference.

They can’t stand the league marketing slogan “It Just Means More.”

Yeah, more revenue generated than any other league to spend on more recruiting, more facilities and more marketing to build more programs in all men’s and women’s sports designed to steamroll everything in its way year after year.

Five league schools – Alabama, Auburn, Florida Georgia and LSU – have combined to have won the last 13 of 17 national football championships, including a current streak of four straight.

“The College Football Playoff selection is rigged,” SEC haters scream.

Five conference members have won the last 6 of 9 College World Series, including LSU in 2023, Ole Miss in 2022, Mississippi State in 2021 and Vanderbilt in 2019 after the COVID outbreak cancelled most of the 2020 baseball season.

“That’s easy to do when the SEC gets at three to four teams in the CWS every year because they get home field advantage in the regionals and Super Regionals,” seething SEC detractors complain.

If you think there’s now a sensory overload doomsday feeling the SEC wins just about everything now – more than 200 national championships since the first league expansion to 12 teams in 1991-92, then consider this next piece of information.

Five SEC schools won eight national championships in the 2022-23 academic year – Georgia (football), LSU (baseball and women’s basketball), Florida (men’s golf and men’s outdoor track), Arkansas (men’s and women’s indoor track) and Vanderbilt (women’s bowling).

Add the national titles won by Texas (women’s outdoor track and volleyball) and by Oklahoma (gymnastics and softball), which join the SEC a year from now, and the number jumps to 12 NCAA national team titles won this past school year by the future SEC family.

Which makes SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey extremely happy.

“If you look at the history of college football, we added two of the top five programs with (the best) winning percentage,” said Sankey, who attended the Arkansas at LSU game last weekend and met with the media prior to kickoff. “The crowds that they’ll attract when they play make me excited for the future.

“We have to prepare with the intensity of the competition. That’s not only in football, though. You look at the national championships this past spring that our future configuration won.

“It’s going to a remarkable level of competition in every sport.”

In the last 15 years, every SEC member except for Missouri has won a national championship in one of the 20 sports (9 men, 11 women) that the league sponsors. Thirteen league schools have captured national titles in multiple sports.

The SEC wheels of expansion have always turned slowly yet with deliberate purpose.

It took the league 35 years to grow from 10 teams to 12 teams with the addition of Arkansas and South Carolina starting in the 1991-92 school year.

Twenty-one years would pass before the SEC added Texas A&M and Missouri in 2012 as the 13th and 14th schools. And now, we are in the final season in every sport before Oklahoma and Texas become the 15th and 16th SEC members starting in the 2024-25 school year.

Except for the 1992 expansion when the SEC actively sought Florida State and Texas, the league hasn’t had to shop for schools. As decades passed with the league gaining steam with TV contracts that provided unprecedented revenue and exposure that led to the birth of ESPN’s 24-hour-a-day SEC Network in August 2014, schools approached the SEC about joining the league.

There are a couple of things the SEC has always known when adding new members. The schools are usually the flagship universities in their respective states or they must be in a state connecting to a state or states that already have current SEC members.

Unlike the Big Ten which will add next year two new members (USC and UCLA) located three time zones away from the majority of the league, or the ACC will add three schools including Stanford and Cal, which are more than 2,700 miles from most current ACC numbers, all 16 teams in the new SEC reside in 12 states that somehow border each other.

“Being geographically sensible was very much on our mind,” Sankey said. “You want young student-athletes in class preparing themselves academically and preparing competitively and not on airplanes.

“We had a clarifying conversation (with SEC member presidents and chancellors) in June 2022. It was one of our chancellors who said, `We really know who we are. We have a sense of identity that fans and teams and people want to be a part of it. So, let’s just focus on our identity.’

“What happened this summer (which the Big Ten and ACC leap-frogging time zones to steal Pac 12 schools as new members) validates our decision to move the way we did when there was an opportunity with Oklahoma and Texas.

“We still should be thinking from a geographic standpoint. Interestingly enough, we don’t stretch schools further. Some of our teams will have reduced mileage in travel, and that’s pretty unique.”

The league is still hashing a conference football schedule beyond next season’s eight-game league slate, which includes Texas and Oklahoma each playing seven current SEC schools each besides playing themselves. LSU, after playing Oklahoma just three times in the history of both programs (all in the postseason), will host the Sooners for the first time in the regular season.

Sankey still would like a nine-game SEC schedule in the future with three permanent opponents and six rotating opponents. LSU’s likely three permanent opponents would be Alabama, Texas A&M and Ole Miss.

“Are things going to change?” Sankey said. “Yes. How much change? We’re working through that. The conference controls the schedule and there are a variety of ways we’ve scheduled over time. Now, we’re at 16 teams, there are a lot of pieces.”

Just makes the chess match in every SEC sport more intriguing than any time in its 91-year history.

And the rest of the country can’t take much more of “It Just Means More.”

Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com

By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports

BATON ROUGE – – Prior to taking over as LSU’s women’s head basketball coach two seasons ago, Kim Mulkey already had six national championships on her Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame resume.

There were back-to-back titles in 1981 and 1982 as a spunky ponytailed Louisiana Tech point guard, one in 1988 as a Tech assistant coach under Leon Barmore and three as Baylor’s head coach in 2005, 2012 and 2019.

As a player, Mulkey nearly won a third straight title in 1983 but lost to USC 69-67 when she missed a game-tying shot at the buzzer that would have forced overtime. As an assistant coach, Tech returned to the Final Four in 1989 and lost 76-71 in the semifinals.

As Baylor’s head coach, two of her defending national championship teams were eliminated in the Sweet 16 and the third never got a chance to play in the postseason when the COVID outbreak canceled the 2020 NCAA tournament.

The common thread of all those experiences is something her 2023-24 Lady Tigers squad is about to discover after winning the school’s first NCAA basketball title (men’s or women’s) last April.

“If you’re the underdog (as LSU was last season) and you win a national championship, you didn’t probably get everybody’s best shot,” Mulkey said Monday afternoon before her uber-talented team opened practice before an estimated Pete Maravich Assembly crowd of 2,500. “If you’re the favorite, you’re going to get everybody’s best shot.”

It’s what Mulkey expects with a team returning first-team All-America junior forward Angel Reese and sophomore guard Flau’jae Johnson, who was last year’s SEC Freshman of the Year.

There’s also the infusion of Louisville graduate student guard Hailey Van Lith and DePaul junior forward Aneesah Morrow, college basketball two highest-rated transfers. The icing on the recruiting cake is having the nation’s No. 1 ranked signing class led by Parkway High School guard Mikaylah Williams (the No. 2 nationally ranked recruit) and Nashville (Tn.) Webb School center Aalyah Del Rosario (the No. 7 nationally ranked recruit).

Mulkey often said last season she didn’t mind coaching big personalities such as Reese and Johnson. But in the almost seven months since LSU scored the most points ever in a national title game when the Lady Tigers destroyed Iowa 102-85, Reese has become one of the most recognizable women’s athletes in the world.

Besides winning a silver medal playing for Team USA in the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup, she was photographed for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue as well for a cover story of the magazine’s issue about college athletics legally earning income through name, image and likeness.

Reese also appeared in a Cardi B music video. She made an Amazon commercial with teammate Johnson and also appeared with several NBA stars in a commercial for Starry Soda. She was featured in Time Magazine’s Time100 Next issue.

In the On3 website listing the current top 100 men’s and women’s athletes NIL evaluations, Reese is No. 8 at $1.7 million, Johnson No. 19 at $1.1 million and Van Lith No. 79 at $550,000.

At this time last season, Reese was just a non-descript transfer from Maryland hoping a change of scenery and a new head coach could make her a pro prospect. But her expansive fame seemingly overnight has given Mulkey something to ponder that she never faced before as she starts her 24th season as a college head coach.

How do you motivate a star player who is a millionaire according to her NIL evaluation?

“Is Angel Reese hungry?” Mulkey wondered out loud. “She’s making money like crazy. Is she going to be hungry for another ring?

“You get a feel for that in your first individual meeting (before the start of the fall semester). I sat down with Angel, talked about her summer, and then we talked about her being here.

“She said something I won’t ever forget,” Mulkey said. She said `Coach, I’m tired. I’m so glad to be back. I’m ready to play basketball.’ I was looking to hear that and not have to pull it out of her.

“She understands she doesn’t have all of the things she has if she doesn’t have success on the court. She understands that she just had the most unbelievable year of her college career and it was fun. And you’re not entitled to that again unless you work.

“She gets motivated by things that most athletes do. Last week, they put a projection out that she’d be the eighth pick in the (2024 WNBA) draft. Well, that was an insult to her. She wanted to know what she had to work on. We told her and it motivates her to get in the gym. She gets motivated by somebody in practice going head-to-head with her and blocking her shot or talking trash back at her. She’s a competitor.”

So are transfers Van Lith and Morrow. After averaging 19.7 points and 25.7 points respectively last season, that duo provides the Lady Tigers with proven, experienced scorers.

“Morrow and Van Lith bring experience and it matters,” said Mulkey, who’s 60-8 overall and 28-4 in the SEC after her two LSU seasons. “When you take a freshman and then you take a transfer that’s got three years of college experience and you just put them out there, you just obviously can see the difference. And it has nothing to do with talent.”

Yet the freshman that could crash the playing rotation is Williams, the 2023 Morgan Wooten National Player of the Year and two-time reigning Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year who led Parkway to a 2023 state title.

“Mikaylah brings a physical body that’s ready for college,” Mulkey said. “The first thing you’ll notice is she’s pretty physical and can play any position on the perimeter. That may not be fair to her. Because one day I may have her playing point guard and the next day off-guard. That’s tough, particularly if you’re having to learn the point guard position.”

LSU plays home exhibition games vs. East Texas Baptist on Oct. 26 and Loyola of New Orleans on Nov. 1. The Lady Tigers face Colorado on Nov. 6 in Las Vegas to open the regular season.

The NCAA national championship banner will be raised to the PMAC rafters in pregame of the Nov. 9 home opener vs. Queens.

“This season is going to be different in a lot of ways,” said the 61-year-old Mulkey, who had two stents surgically inserted into a blocked heart artery in June. “We’re just about to sell out the P-Mac (in home season tickets). The (LSU) brand is bigger, the NIL stuff is bigger, our schedule is a little harder, and our depth and our talent are much more.

“All of that is a good thing. And we’ll just have to stay away from injuries and see what happens.”

Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com

JOURNAL SPORTS

GRAMBLING — Two legendary figures in the rich history of Grambling State football, trailblazing quarterbacks and NFL executives James ‘Shack” Harris and Doug Williams, will be forever immortalized inside Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium.

The GSU Athletic Department announced Tuesday the field at Robinson Stadium will be named after Harris and Williams during the Tigers’ homecoming game on Oct. 14. It will officially become James “Shack” Harris and Doug Williams Field at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium.

“It is our pleasure to honor two of the greatest members of the Grambling State football family,” said Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Trayvean Scott. “These two men have long represented what it means to be a G-Man and have achieved so much while breaking down barriers that few thought were attainable during their playing days. We can’t wait to add another brick to castle of greatness they’ve built.”

“Honoring these two Grambling Legends will be the highlight of our 2023 Homecoming festivities,” said President Richard “Rick” Gallot. “James ’Shack’ Harris and Doug Williams epitomize greatness at the highest level of football competition. They both deserve to be honored by Grambling State University in this way.”

During his time playing under Robinson from 1965-68, Harris helped GSU to four Southwestern Athletic Conference championships.  As a three-year starter, Harris led the Tigers to a 24-5-1 record.

Harris entered the NFL chosen by the Buffalo Bills in the eighth round of the 1969 NFL Draft. He became the first African-American player to start a season at quarterback in the history of professional football.

In 1974, he led the Los Angeles Rams to an NFC West Division title and their first playoff victory since 1951. Harris then became the first African American quarterback to start a conference championship game. He also earned a spot in that year’s Pro Bowl and was the game’s MVP.

He has served in multiple executive roles in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the New York Jets and the Detroit Lions.

“This is an outstanding honor for me, my family, coaches and all my teammates,” said Harris. “Sharing it with Doug Williams makes it even more special. I am very fortunate to have played for the great coach Eddie Robinson. I am forever grateful to Grambling for providing me an education and tremendous HBCU experience. I hope my career represented Grambling well and made you proud.”

As a four-year starter, Williams led Robinson’s Tigers to 36-7 record, winning three SWAC championships from 1974-1977. He was also named the Black College Football Player of the Year twice.  His stellar play helped him become a Heisman Trophy candidate, and he was fourth in the voting following the 1977 campaign.

Williams was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 17th pick of the first round of the 1978 NFL Draft, becoming the first African American quarterback to be drafted in the opening round. He led the Buccaneers to the playoffs three times in the first five seasons, including a trip to the 1979 NFC Championship Game.

The Zachary native reached the zenith of his career when he led Washington to a 42-10 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII, becoming the first Black quarterback to be named Super Bowl MVP.

In 1998, upon the retirement of Robinson as the head coach of GSU, Williams was named the new leader of Grambling State football. He won his first SWAC title as head coach in 2000, with a 10-2 overall record. The following year he led the Tigers to Black College Football National Title with a 10-1 record. He completed a SWAC championship three-peat in 2002, leading the G-Men to an 11-2 mark.

Following the 2003 season, which saw GSU claim a SWAC Western Division crown, he returned to the NFL to serve as an executive with Tampa Bay. After serving as general manager of the Virginia Destroyers in the United Football League during the 2010 season, Williams returned as head coach of Grambling State, immediately winning his fourth SWAC title as head coach in 2011.

Since 2014, he’s served as an executive for the Washington Commanders.

“This is so surreal for me. This is such a humbling honor to have James ‘Shack’ Harris and my name plastered on a field in Eddie Robinson Stadium,” said Williams. “This is something that will stand for my kids and grandkids to see.”