Area football players attend Tuskegee-Morehouse press conference
The 81st annual Tuskegee-Morehouse Classic week kicked off on Wednesday afternoon with a press conference at the Columbus Museum.
In addition to the head coaches and players from both teams in attendance, players from area high schools were at the event, accompanied by their respective coaches, to take a look at a possible landing spot for them in the future. Every Muscogee County public school was represented.
The two teams enter Saturday’s game headed in opposite directions. Tuskegee will bring a spotless 5-0 record and a No. 8 ranking in the latest American Football Coaches Association Division II poll into the game. Morehouse enters Saturday’s game at 2-3, dropping the last three straight after a 2-0 start, including a one-point loss to Clark-Atlanta Saturday where the Maroon Tigers blew a 22-point lead.
“I think it’s first class, and we’re excited about being here,” Tuskegee coach Willie Slater said of the event. “Morehouse brings a very good football team, and it’s going to be a tremendous challenge for us. Hopefully, our guys can recover from what has been five very tough weeks. This is not going to be anything different. Hopefully we’ll get our guys mentally and physically ready to play.”
“We did not come in here with the record we wanted to,” Morehouse coach Rich Freeman said. “Usually in September, we’re a 4-1, 3-2 football team. We’re pretty much fighting for our lives the rest of the season, and what more of a challenge than to face the No. 8 team in the country, a team filled with history and tradition.
“We’re very happy to be here again. We’re very excited about this weekend. It’s always an exciting environment.”
Freeman also touched on another aspect of the weekend as he looked upon the high school players seated in the crowd.
“Hopefully, we can inspire some recruits here,” he said. “Just playing in front of the coaches and prospects alike gets us ready to go. There’s some fine talent here that we’re seeing on a weekly basis as some of the top players in the NFL come from the city of Columbus.”
The two teams will face each other Saturday at 2 p.m. at A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium.
This story was originally published October 5, 2016 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Area football players attend Tuskegee-Morehouse press conference."