Dr. Gregg Carr Elected to CFB Hall of Fame

The following biography for Dr. Gregg Carr was produced by the National Football Foundation. It was displayed, and copied from, the Auburn football website.

The heart of the Auburn defense in the early 1980s, Gregg Carr established himself as a hard-hitting and instinctive linebacker with game-changing playmaking abilities. The Birmingham, Alabama, native now becomes the ninth Auburn player to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.

A consensus First Team All-American in 1984, Carr was Auburn's leading tackler as a sophomore (125 tackles), junior (136) and the second leading tackler as a senior (139). A two-time First Team All-SEC selection and 1984 SEC Lineman of the Year, Carr amassed 453 career tackles, currently ranking him second in school history. His career totals include 289 solo tackles, which also rank second in the school record books, and nine sacks. His 139 total tackles as a senior rank eighth in school annals for a single season.

Playing for College Football Hall of Fame coach Pat Dye, Carr helped the Tigers to a 34-14 record, a SEC title and victories in the 1982 Tangerine Bowl, the 1984 Sugar Bowl and the 1984 Liberty Bowl. His sophomore season, the Tigers beat archrival Alabama for the first time in ten years, handing Hall of Fame Coach Bear Bryant the final loss of his career. His junior season, the Tigers claimed the 1983 SEC title, the school's first conference crown since 1957. Auburn finished ranked No. 14 in 1982, No. 3 in 1983 and No. 14 in 1984 during Carr's run with the Tigers.

Carr, the 1984 team captain, also excelled in the classroom, boasting a 3.22 GPA in civil engineering. His combined academic and athletic accomplishments earned an NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award and recognition as an Academic All-American and as one the NCAA's Top Five Student-Athletes.

Drafted in the sixth round (160th overall) of the 1985 NFL Draft by Pittsburgh, Carr played four seasons with the Steelers. He graduated from the University of Alabama-Birmingham School of Medicine in 1994, and he is currently an orthopedic surgeon in Birmingham.

Carr was inducted into the State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2010, he was selected as a recipient of the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award as well as being honored as an SEC Legend.

2024, Nov. 23rd: "HISTORY!: Golden Bears get first NCAA D2 playoff win!"

In light of Head Coach Sam Shade's departure from Miles for the same position at Alabama A&M, let's look back at his last victory at the helm of the Golden Bears, since it was a historic one. 

Hosting its first-ever NCAA Division II playoff game, the Golden Bears leaned on a stifling defense...in a 14-13 win over Carson-Newman (9-3) in the opening round of the NCAA Super Region Two playoffs Saturday at Sloan-Alumni Stadium. The win was the first in the postseason for No. 22 Miles (10-2), which set a school record for wins in a season and extended the single-season school mark with its 10th consecutive victory.

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Carson-Newman was out of timeouts and Miles was looking to run down the clock. The Golden Bears faced a third-and-7 at their own 45-yard line. Jonero Scott, who had already scored a touchdown and finished with a team-high 48 yards on the ground, was looking to get a first down to effectively end the game. Even if he didn't make the line to gain, Miles could have pinned the Eagles deep with less than 10 seconds to go, making a victory seem inevitable.

Unfortunately, Scott coughed up the ball and the Eagles recovered at the Miles 41 with 1:01 to go. The celebratory mood on the sideline quickly changed. The defense had to get another stop and had little margin for error as Carson-Newman had a kicker that had range from nearly 50 yards and had just missed from that distance in the third quarter, hitting the cross bar.

But Miles stepped up to the challenge. After an incomplete pass on first down, the Golden Bears got pressure on Eagles quarterback Zane Whitson, who lofted a pass into the wind against double coverage. That's trouble against any team, even more so against one that leads the nation in turnovers gained and second in interceptions. This time, Malachi Oglen got his first interception of the season, bringing a sense of relief to the Golden Bears sideline and reigniting the celebratory feelings that had temporarily been erased.

Miles never trailed in the contest. On their second drive, the Golden Bears used a methodical 13-play drive that chewed up more than six minutes off the clock. The team converted on four third down plays, one coming on a big pass interference penalty, the other coming when quarterback Kamren Ivory found Jaquel Fells in the end zone for an 11-yard scoring toss to give Miles a 7-0 lead.

Photo by Adrenaline Shots

...C-N finished with 179 yards on the ground, almost 100 yards below its season average. Still, they were able to even the score when Jayden Sullins punched one in from two yards out on the third play of the second quarter.

The Golden Bears were hardly able to get their offense on track, mustering season lows in rushing yards (69), total yards (153), total offensive plays (53), and first downs (10). But the defense continued to do its thing, which led to an opportunistic second score.

Carson-Newman quarterback Justin Johnson appeared to have converted a first down on a 12-yard run on third-and-8. But Jeremiah Hudson-Davis (game-high nine tackles) popped the Eagles starting quarterback and defensive lineman Keith Green (four tackles, 1/2 sack) recovered (a fumble) at the C-N 34. It was the Golden Bears' 11th fumble recovery of the season - second in Division II - and Green's third, which is tied for the national lead in Division II. He returned it to the Eagles 22 which set the Golden Bears up with a short field.

Miles leads Division II in turnover margin (plus-23) and that became the difference on the scoreboard.  Ivory hit Travaunta Abner (game-high four catches, 36 yards) - a Carson-Newman transfer - with a 19-yard pass before Scott finished the drive with a 5-yard run for a 14-7 advantage with 4:09 left before halftime. The Eagles got a field goal at the horn but the Golden Bears went into the break ahead 14-10, making it 10 straight games that they have held a halftime lead.

The 10 (games) is also the length of the streak in which Miles had not trailed in the second half. But the Eagles had a couple of opportunities to end that stretch of success. On the opening drive of the second half, Carson-Newman attempted a 50-yard field goal but kicker Bennett Smith hit the crossbar and the attempt fell short. On the final drive of the third quarter, the Eagles traversed deep into Miles territory, setting up first-and-goal at the 5. But William Hardy (eight tackles, two tackles for loss) got a tackle for loss on the first play before a sack by JaMichael Rogers - his team-high eighth of the season - forced the Eagles to settle for a 29-yard field goal to preserve the lead.

Photography Credit

Alabama A&M Formally Introduces Sam Shade as Head Football Coach

Wow, it appears it has been longer than I realized since I last looked in on the various Alabama-based schools. I was not aware of this hire. Good for Coach Shade, this will make A&M very interesting to watch this fall. 

What follows is an abbreviated version of the press release issued January 6th. 

Photo credit unavailable

Alabama A&M University President Dr. Daniel K. Wims and Director of Athletics Dr. Paul A. Bryant welcomed new AAMU head football coach Sam Shade during an introductory press conference on Monday morning at the AAMU Event Center. 

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Shade is a winner at every level, from high school to college, having led Pinson Valley High School to a State Championship in 2020 and Miles College to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) crown in 2024. 

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Over the past three seasons at Miles, Shade compiled an 18-15 overall record and a 15-7 mark inside the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). In addition, his 2024 team won the conference title and reached the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs, falling to top-ranked Valdosta State in the second round. 

In 2023, the Golden Bears finished 7-3 overall, 6-2 in the SIAC. The season included the program's first win over Division I FCS opponent Alabama State and a 9.2 average margin of victory. It was a marked improvement over his first season in Fairfield, where Miles went 1-9 overall, 1-5 in the SIAC Western Division.  

Shade came to Miles after spending two years as head football coach at Pinson Valley High School, where he won an Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 6A state championship in his first season in 2020.

Prior to coaching, Shade played eight years in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals (1995-98) and Washington Redskins (1999-02). He was the Bengals' leading tackler in 1997 while ranking second on the team in 1998, and then he led the Redskins in 1999. 

During his NFL career, his defensive coordinators included NFL Hall of Fame coach Dick LeBeau as well as Mike Nolan, Ray Rhodes and Marvin Lewis. In April 2000, Shade received the Redskins' Unsung Hero Award for commitment and community service involvement.

Shade played collegiately at Alabama, where he was a member of the Crimson Tide's 1992 national championship team and was named a team captain as a senior in 1994. He was selected by the Bengals in the fourth round of the 1995 NFL Draft.

Following his retirement from the NFL, Shade began his coaching career as a volunteer coach at Briarwood Christian School in Birmingham, Ala., from 2004-08 before spending eight years at Samford, coaching the secondary and special teams. He would then move to Georgia State, where he coached cornerback. His career would send him back to the NFL as an assistant special teams coach for the Cleveland Browns before returning home to coach at Pinson Valley.

Shade is a Birmingham native who attended Wenonah High School, where he was the recipient of the prestigious Bryant Jordan Scholar Athlete Award, given to the state's top student-athlete. He earned his bachelor's degree from Alabama in business administration and finance. 

2023, May 7th: Stallions 24 @ Maulers 20

Since I'm in recap mode, having done the BSC game below, we'll deliberately skip over the Birmingham Stallions' loss 2023 week 3 loss to New Orleans and instead revisit the team's week 4 win over Pittsburgh, played in Canton, Ohio.

The text below is from a rather literal play-by-play summary from the Fox Sports website. The photos are from social media, with the exception of the one, lifted from an al.com recap of the week that was in the USFL.

Josh Simmons ran the opening kickoff out to the Birmingham 45-yard line for Pittsburgh.

On the fourth play of the drive, quarterback Troy Williams hit wide receiver Isiah Hennie for a 25-yard pickup, getting Pittsburgh inside the Birmingham 10-yard line. With that said, the Maulers didn't get into the end zone, settling for a 20-yard field goal from Chris Blewitt.

Birmingham and Pittsburgh went three-and-out after the latter's opening score. Then disaster struck for Birmingham, as quarterback Alex McGough had his pass intercepted by cornerback Mark Gilbert. 

One play after the turnover, Williams hit wide receiver Bailey Gaither for a 35-yard completion, putting the ball on the Birmingham 2-yard line... The Maulers were unable to reach the end zone again, though, settling for a 22-yard Blewitt field goal.

McGough was intercepted again on the first play of the next possession. This pick came from cornerback Keith Gipson Jr. on a downfield pass.

ZaQuandre White

After the Maulers got to midfield, Williams took off for a 16-yard carry... On the next play, Williams hit tight end Matt Seybert for a 20-yard pickup. The drive ended with a third Blewitt field goal.

Brandon Aubrey connected on a 37-yard field goal with 1:45 remaining in the second quarter to get Birmingham on the board.

Pittsburgh went three-and-out after the Birmingham field goal, and then the latter took the lead on the next drive.

After methodically bringing the ball down the field through the air, McGough ran in a 5-yard score, which saw him reach for the pylon near the sideline as time expired in the first half. The Stallions led 10-9 at halftime.

Alex McGough

Backed up at their own 9-yard line, Maulers running back Garrett Groshek produced a powerful first-down run to get them out of harm's way.

Two plays after the Groshek's first-down run, Williams threw downfield to wide receiver Tre Walker, who pulled off a sensational diving catch. The pair of big plays sparked a Pittsburgh drive that ended with a 46-yard field goal from Blewitt. Pittsburgh led 12-10 after the third quarter.

Birmingham put together a 14-play touchdown drive that ended with an eventful scoring play.

On third-and-9, McGough couldn't find an open receiver, continued to buy time with his legs, evaded sack attempts and eventually found wide receiver Davion Davis for the touchdown (below).

Williams took the snap, ran up the middle and ran around Birmingham's defense for a 34-yard touchdown, Pittsburgh's first of the game. Hennie then converted the 2-point conversion, giving the Maulers a 20-17 lead with 6:52 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Stallions got seven of those points back on the ensuing kickoff, as Deon Cain ran it out 91 yards for the touchdown.

(Deion Cain Photo by Jason Miller/USFL/Getty Images for USFL)

Pittsburgh went three-and-out after the kickoff return, and Birmingham proceeded to run out the clock thereafter.

In all, McGough led the team in rushing with 48 yards on ten carries including his dramatic TD.  Davion Davis had eight receptions for 71 yards and the lone touchdown through the air. Linebacker Scooby Wright had six tackles including one for a loss.  

2012, Sept. 8th: "No. 24 Panthers hold off Huntingdon for 45-38 road win"

Continuing to record BSC's accomplishments while the info is available, today we look at the victory that took them to 2-0 for the 2012 season. The writer and photographer were not identified in the original.

MONTGOMERY, Ala.—No. 24 Birmingham-Southern held off a late-game surge by Huntingdon to clinch a 45-38 win on the road in the fourth-annual Wesley Cup Game.

The Panthers move to 2-0 on the season, while the Hawks fall to 1-1. Today's game was nearly a replay of the end of last year's Wesley Cup face-off, but reversed, with Huntingdon having a chance to tie things up as the clock wound down. BSC scored on the final play of the game last season to tie it up, and eventually won in the second overtime. Today mark's BSC's third-straight win against the Hawks in the last four seasons.

The Panthers scored first in today's game when sophomore Michael Cowan caught a 46-yard pass from senior quarterback Jimmy Stainback at the 9:53 mark of the first quarter. Junior kicker Ryan Laughlin's extra point was good to put BSC up 7-0.

Huntingdon got on the board early in the second quarter on a 31-yard field goal by David Ballard to cut it to 7-3, and then took the lead with 2:17 left in the half on a one-yard run by Trevor Manuel, going up 10-7.

BSC answered less than two minutes later with a six-yard run by senior tailback Shawn Morris with 20 seconds left. Laughlin's kick was on the mark again, putting the Panthers up 14-10 at the half.

The Hawks took back the lead two minutes into the third quarter on a four-yard Manuel run to go up 17-14, but the Panthers responded on the very next play with a 69-yard run by Morris to go back up 21-17 at the 12:41 mark.

Laughlin connected on a 26-yard field goal at the 9:03 mark of the third quarter to increase the lead to 24-17, and junior Joseph Moultrie made a four-yard dash into the end zone with 1:01 left in the quarter to put BSC up 31-17 after another Laughlin extra point.

Huntingdon cut it to 31-24 with 12:45 left in the game on another short run by Manuel. On the next play, BSC answered with a 67-yard pass from Stainback to sophomore Sam Vermilyea, putting the Panthers up 38-24 with 10:44 left to play.

The BSC defense came up huge on the next play, as the Hawks advanced to the Panther one-yard line and ended up turning the ball over on downs. On the second play of the ensuing drive, sophomore Joseph Moultrie made a 99-yard run - a new BSC record - to the Huntingdon end zone to put the Panthers up 45-24 with 7:14 left.

The Hawks were able to score on the next possession when Neal Posey connected on a six-yard pass to Ephraim Johnson, cutting it to 45-31 with 5:02 left. After a BSC turnover, a 13-yard pass from Posey to Johnson cut it to 45-38 with 2:59 left in the game.

The Panthers were unable to score on their possession and punted with 1:20 to go. The Hawks advanced steadily down the field to the BSC 35-yard line, where a pass from Posey to Johnson was knocked down by senior Jordan Culliver as time expired to clinch the Panther victory.

Stainback was 11-of-16 with one interception for 265 yards passing, while Morris led on the ground with 123 yards and Moultrie added 111. Senior Aaron Sherrill led with 97 yards on four catches.

Posey passed for 388 yards with 26 completions on 42 attempts and no interceptions. Manuel led with 154 yards rushing, and Johnson had 173 receiving yards.

Laughlin was key for the Panther win today, going 6-of-6 on extra points with a field goal on top of that for nine points.

Senior Andrew Shannon led the BSC defense with nine tackles (five solo, four assisted), including 1.5 for losses of nine yards. Seniors Jake Robertson and Zack Lambert each had a sack. Senior Nick Gordon also recovered one of Huntingdon's three fumbles.

Parker wins 6A Championship 28-17 over Saraland

I'm posting about Parker recruits while neglecting to make mention of the school's first-ever championship. 

The text below is from an al.com, I believe, but obtained from msn.com. The photography is from Vasha Hunt and there's plenty more of it here. 

Parker’s Na’eem Offord, Timothy Merritt and Jourdin Crawford will all be playing big-time college football on Saturdays next fall.

As it turns out, they had one more big-time Friday night left in them as well.

Offord and Merritt, future defensive backs on the next level, scored two touchdowns each and Jourdin Crawford and the Parker (defense) limited Saraland’s high-scoring offense to just 17 points as the Thundering Herd won the school’s first Class 6A state football title at Birmingham’s Protective Stadium.

Parker finished 14-1 and was undefeated against in-state teams. The Herd’s only loss came against Carrollton, Ga.

...6-foot-1, 330-pound...Auburn signee (Crawford) finished with six tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss and three sacks. Keshaun Johnson added six tackles and two sacks, and the Thundering Herd held Saraland to just 26 yards rushing on 26 carries.

Parker scored on its first two possessions of the game on runs by Merritt out of the Wildcat formation. He capped a 65-yard drive with a 14-yard run and a 62-yard drive with a 6-yard run, giving the Herd a 14-0 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

The two teams exchanged touchdowns early in the second quarter. (Saraland quarterback KJ) Lacey hit Deshawn Spencer with a 39-yard TD pass, while Offord scored his first TD on a 15-yard run. However, the Spartans took momentum into the half when Lacey and Spencer connected again on a 37-yard TD that Spencer caught between a pair of Parker defenders.

Parker put the game away with a 12-play, 43-yard drive that took 5:59 off the clock in the final quarter. Merritt converted a fourth-and-9 with a 15-yard run before Offord scored from the 2 with 1:37 left to clinch the win.

Offord finished with 98 yards and 2 TDs on 16 carries. Merritt had 78 yards and 2 TDs on 19 carries. He also had 4 tackles. Dylan Reese was 6-of-11 through the air for 74 yards.

Joseph Holt to Georgia State

Adding another player to watch in the college ranks in the near future.

According to Georgia State's website, Holt is 6'2" / 186 and totaled a combined 76 tackles in two seasons at Parker.

War BHAM Eagle

Among Auburn's 25 signees this week, this four-start, 6'2 / 325 pound load from Parker stands out. Look forward to watching his progress. 

The biographical info below is from Auburn's website. 

Productive defensive lineman with impressive strength … two-year all-state selection for Coach Frank Warren at Parker High with 155 career tackles, 38 sacks … team MVP, all-state, all-region … Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game … first team Class 6A all-state, AL.com A-List … 67 tackles, 17 sacks (most in region) as a junior … ranked No. 8 overall prospect in Alabama by 247 Sports, ESPN … top 15 at his position nationally by ESPN, On3, 247 Sports .. honor roll student … also a track and field letterman in shot put … son of Antonio Robinson and Patsy Crawford.