BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Southern University quarterback Harold Blood turned in perhaps his most complete performance yet as Southern’s starter this past weekend.
The Destrehan native threw for two touchdowns, over 200 yards, and completed 17 straight passes in a rout of the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff.
Yet, his toughest test so far is on the horizon with Florida A&M in town this weekend. The Rattlers boast the top spot in the SWAC East division and number two overall defense.
However, Blood’s best preparation is in practice, up against the number one defense in the conference, the Jaguars’ “Dog Day D.”
“I take that as a challenge. I like that. The top two defenses, we go against the top defense every day in practice,” said Southern head coach Eric Dooley.
A large part of the Jaguars’ success on defense comes from the play of Ckelby Givens. The Southern defensive end was named Defensive Player of the Week in the SWAC for the first time in his career.
Even as just a sophomore, Givens is atop the conference in tackles for loss, second in sacks and tied for the lead in forced fumbles.
“I told Ckelby he got a little bit more swag to him now. At first, when he came in as a little freshman, I wouldn’t say he was a little tight, but, you know, you could tell that he’s really relaxed with the game now,” said linebacker Derrick Williams.
“Just my knowledge of the game, knowing what was going to come will play to going to right. You know, getting in that film room a little bit more,” said Givens.
The film this week will feature plenty of FAMU quarterback Jeremy Moussa. The sixth-year signal caller leads the SWAC with 12 passing touchdowns and 1399 yards.
“I’m already motivated. But, you know, it adds a lot to the fire because you can’t let a good quarterback just sit back there with no pressure. You got to put some pressure on them and make them make mistakes and hopefully our defensive backs can get some interceptions,” Givens said.
