Word: merritts
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Somehow Tennessee State has managed to find enough footballs the past ten seasons to become a formidable small-college football power. Since John Merritt and his entire coaching staff moved from Jackson State a decade ago, the Tigers have won 90 games and lost only 13. Going into last weekend with the nation's longest winning streak (14 games), they seemed headed for a perfect season and a chance to win their first small-college national title...
...plant is so poor that the coaches discourage visits from prospective recruits. "We'll let 'em see our nice, pretty brochures," Merritt explains. "We can't even afford to call prospective players long-distance every evening to tell 'em nighty-night, and we don't have the affluent alumni to do the little extras in recruiting that a lot of colleges have." Big under-the-table incentives are unheard...
...Days. Yet year after year, despite the competition from bigger, richer, more glamorous schools, Merritt manages to field a fearsome team. Why? One reason is that many young black athletes, particularly from the South, feel more comfortable playing for a black coach at a black school than they would if they went north or west. Most of the Tennessee State players come from poor families, and to them, football is a way out of poverty. Merritt's record and the proven interest of professional scouts are powerful incentives. Says Raymond Bryant, a tough linebacker: "Coach Merritt kept saying...
...Merritt likes his raw material big. Seventeen of this year's T.S.U. players weigh in at 235 lbs. or better. Then Merritt works off the flab. "If a player wears bigger than a 34 pants size, he has to buy 'em himself," says the coach, who covers his own generous frame with flashy shirts and colorful wide ties. Overweight players are also required to follow a ritual called "tea day," consuming nothing but tea two days a week. Barking orders through a cloud of cigar smoke, Merritt teaches pro-style football -tough defense coupled with a grind...
...fusion of naturally talented manpower with Merritt's coaching has produced a characteristic flock of Tiger stars this year. Of Bryant (6 ft. 3 in., 236 Ibs.), Merritt says: "He'll hit you just coming out of the huddle." Edward ("Too-Tall") Jones, a 6-ft. 9-in., 268-lb. defensive tackle, is a likely first-round draft choice for the pros. "Jones will go hard at you every play," Merritt says, "like he's killing snakes." Wide Receiver John Holland, according to the coach, is "quick as a hiccup...