JONESBORO — Reaching Alcorn State football Coach Jay Hopson by phone can require tapping out a text message to discern whether he’s within range of a cell-phone tower.
Hopson, depending on his immediate location in the Mississippi Delta, has a pretty good idea of whether a call will go uninterrupted.
“I know this area like the back of my hand,” Hopson said.
Hopson, 43, also knows he faces an extreme challenge as the first-year coach of an underfunded Football Championship Subdivision team based in Lorman, Miss., almost two decades after a quarterback named Steve McNair drew national attention there.
Hopson, from Vicksburg, Miss., is the fourth coach in four years for the Braves (1-2), who face Arkansas State (1-2) at 6 p.m. today at ASU’s newly renamed Liberty Bank Stadium. It’s been six years since Alcorn State, which has a $1.1 million football budget, lowest in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, has had a winning season.
Oh, and one more thing: Hopson is the SWAC’s first white head football coach, a fact that spawned national media coverage and an endless series of questions directed toward Hopson.
“You’d get the questionabout 8,000 times and in every different way,” Hopson said. “To me, it’s a real natural fit. The people in this area are the ones I’ve known for most of my life. It’s never been a big deal to me.”
Three games into his tenure, Hopson delivers the same message he did in early June: Alcorn State is home, and he wanted the job. During his introductory news conference, Hopson tugged on an Alcorn State hat and said black and white mattered little as long as supporters rallied around purple and gold.
That doesn’t make it any easier for Alcorn State against an Arkansas State team gearing up for Sun Belt Conference play.
“They’re the best team we’re going to see this year,” Hopson said.
ASU can look at the game in much the same way it viewed last year’s matchup with FCS-member Central Arkansas before going on an undefeated run through theSun Belt Conference
“We’re not where we want recordwise,” ASU quarterback Ryan Aplin said. “We’ve got to come ... from the first quarter to final quarter and get this done.”
ASU Coach Gus Malzahn said the Red Wolves have concentrated this week on tackling in space, improving blocking in the passing game and getting healthy.
“I really don’t see us look ahead for anything, from a coaches standpoint or a player standpoint,” Malzahn said. “We need to play well at home. We need to get a victory, and that’s our concentration. Nothing else.”
Linebacker Nathan Herrold said ASU is “lucky to have four nonconference games to get guys a feel for the systemat full speed.” “Unlike some teams, we didn’t open up the season with a conference game early,” Herrold said. “We’ve had times to get guys reps against good teams, more practice time, and get them in film to clean things up.”
Hopson is making his second trip to Jonesboro in two seasons. He was Memphis’ defensive coordinator when ASU won 49-3 last season.
The anniversary doesn’t strike a chord with Hopson.
“Hell, I’ve done this so long it’s just another week,” he said. “For us, it’s a superbig challenge because they’ve got a great football team.”
Alcorn State beat Grambling State 22-21 to open the season, but is coming off back-to-back losses at James Madison (42-3) and at home against Arkansas-Pine Bluff 24-6.
This week’s game is part of the process of building a program, Hopson said, but victory is not essential.
“People that are on top of the program know where this program is, are realistic about it and have a vision for where it can go,” Hopson said. “I don’t really concern myself about the immediate future. You’re not going to see many emotional changes from me at this point.”
Hopson said the long-term hope is Alcorn State won’t be so difficult to find.
“All I know is that this is home,” Hopson said. “This is where I’m from, and it’s always good to come back.”FRIDAY’S GAME Baylor 47, La.-Monroe 42 TODAY’S GAMES All times Central Florida Atlantic at Alabama, 3 p.m.
Alcorn State at Arkansas State, 6 p.m.
Louisville at Fla. International, 6 p.m.
Southern Miss. at W. Kentucky, 6 p.m.
South Alabama at Mississippi State, 6 p.m.
Troy at North Texas, 6 p.m.
At a glance ARKANSAS STATE VS. ALCORN STATE WHEN 6 p.m. today WHERE Liberty Bank Stadium, Jonesboro RECORDS ASU 1-2; Alcorn State 1-2 COACHES Gus Malzahn (1-2 in first season at ASU and overall); Jay Hopson (1-2 in first season at Alcorn State and overall) RADIO KFIN-FM, 107.9, in Jonesboro;
KKSP-FM, 93.3, in Bryant/Little Rock INTERNET astateredwolves.com, alcornsports.com, ESPN3.com
Sports, Pages 17 on 09/22/2012