Tigers gear up for Spring Football Game

The Grambling State football team will wrap up their first practices under new head coach Hue Jackson as the Tigers hold their annual Spring Football Game on Saturday. (The Gramblinite photo by REGGIE JACKSON)

For four quarters on Saturday, friends will become foes, teammates will be opponents, and  it will be Tiger against Tiger as the G-Men play their spring game bringing an end to the first practices under new head coach Hue Jackson.

Kickoff is set for 2 .p.m. at Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium.

The spring game will serve as an opportunity for  Grambling State football fans to see what Jackson and his team have been working on behind “closed doors” and what might await them in the fall. 

The 2022 spring game feels more important than previous ones because it will give a glimpse of what to expect in this new era of Grambling football, with a new coach and a record 37 recruits. 

For the first time in recent weeks for GSU athletics, the focus will be on football. After being shut out of practice. The media has been barred from the Grambling State football team’s practice sessions to prevent any “distractions” and allow the technical team to “focus” a Grambling spokesperson told the Monroe News Star last week, so this will be the first opportunity to see the new G-Men in action..

This game also will provide a chance for players, especially younger ones, to show the coaching staff that they can compete and perform in front of fans. Competition is competition, whether provided by teammates or opposition from other colleges, and it always provides palpable excitement for players. That is what this spring game is expected to provide.

Potential recruits are invited to the game to give them a taste of what it’s like to have the Gram Fam behind them with the stadium buzzing with excitement. 

The game will be preceded by a G-Men and Lady Tiger Alumni social event hosted for former student-athletes by the Department of Athletics at the Frederick C. Hobdy Assembly Center at 6 p.m. Friday.

At halftime of Saturday’s Spring Game, outgoing track and field coach Bertram Lovell will be honored. Lovell is set to retire at the end of the outdoor track and field season.