Coach McKinney Confident in 2022 Texas Southern Tigers

Texas Southern's head coach is confident his young Tigers will make noise in the SWAC for 2022.

The Texas Southern Tigers open the season on the road against Houston area  and SWAC Western Division rival Prairie View A&M Panthers on Sept. 3. HBCU Legends had an opportunity to speak to head coach Clarence McKinney about his 2022 Tigers team, quarterback Andrew Body, his defense, and players to watch this season.

Andrew Body
July 21, 2022; Texas Southern Tigers quarterback Andrew Body is interviewed by ESPN at the 2022 SWAC Football Media in Birmingham, Alabama at the Sheraton-Birmingham Hotel.  Credit: SWAC

ON ANDREW BODY

I feel really good about him. I think he's going to show a lot of improvement and a lot of growth from last season. He's got a year of experience within our system. He understanding what we're asking of him to do, and I think this is going to be an exciting year for him.

ON HIS 2022 DEFENSE

Yeah, we lost some key components. But defensively, we also return a lot of guys. We played over 50 freshmen last year; a lot of those guys were on the defensive side of the ball. They're just like Andrew. They've got a year of experience under their belt. They're hungry. They want to go out and play a lot better defense on this year than what we did on last season.

ON THE LABOR DAY CLASSIC

Bubba [McDowell] is a friend of mine. The whole Labor Day Classic, TSU versus Prairie View. This is the start of football season. It's a huge game you open with the conference game, and give you can give yourself an opportunity to be in first place in the conference on the west side. It's a very important game.

You gotta love those bragging rights. And it also gives you a leg up on recruiting in the Houston area. So it's a very important game to our success.

Demontario Anderson
July 21, 2022; Texas Southern Tigers defensive end Demontario Anderson is interviewed by ESPN at the 2022 SWAC Football Media in Birmingham, Alabama at the Sheraton-Birmingham Hotel

ON PLAYERS TO WATCH, NOT NAMED BODY

I think defensively, you got to look at a guy like DE Demontario Anderson, LB Tarik Cooper. A guy who set out on last year with an injury is returning in our d-line, Viramontes Pippins. I think any one of those three guys we're expecting to lead that defense and to be standouts.

What's going to be the score after the Labor Day Classic?

"1-0, TSU." ~ Coach Clarence McKinney

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Kyle T. Mosley
KYLE T. MOSLEY

I am Kyle T. Mosley, the Founder, Managing Editor, and Chief Reporter for the HBCU Legends, Saints News Network, and Pelicans Scoop on FanNation a Sports Illustrated team channel since October 2019.  Morehouse Alum, McDonogh #35 Roneagles (NOLA), Drum Major of the Tenacious Four.  My Father, Mother, Grandmother, Aunts and Uncles were HBCU graduates! Host of "Blow the Whistle" HBCU Legends, "The Quad" with Coach Steward, and "Bayou Blitz" Podcasts. Radio/Media Appearances:  WWL AM/FM Radio in New Orleans (Mike Detillier/Bobby Hebert),  KCOH AM 1230 in Houston (Ralph Cooper), WBOK AM in New Orleans (Reggie Flood/Ro Brown), and 103.7FM "The Game" (Jordy Hultberg/Clint Domingue), College Kickoff Unlimited (Emory Hunt), Jeff Lightsly Show, and Offscript TV on YouTube. Television Appearance: Fox26 in Houston on The Isiah Carey Factor, College Kickoff Unlimited (Emory Hunt). My Notable Interviews:  Byron Allen (Media Mogul), Deion Sanders (Jackson State University, Head Coach), Tomekia Reed (Jackson State Lady Tigers Basketball Coach), Taylor Rooks (NBA Reporter), Swin Cash (VP of Basketball - New Orlean Pelicans), Demario and Tamala Davis (NFL Player), Jerry Rice (Hall of Famer), Doug Williams (HBCU & NFL Legend), Emmitt Smith (Hall of Famer), James "Shack" Harris (HBCU & NFL Legend), Cris Carter (Hall of Famer), Solomon Wilcots (SiriusXM NFL Host), Steve Wyche (NFL Network), Jim Trotter (NFL Network), Travis Williams (Founder of HBCU All-Stars, LLC), Malcolm Jenkins (NFL Player), Cam Jordan (NFL), Demario Davis (NFL), Allan Houston (NBA All-Star), Drew Brees (Former NFL QB), Deuce McAllister (Former NFL RB), Willie Roaf (NFL Hall of Fame), Jim Everett (Former NFL Player), Quinn Early (Former NFL Player), Dr. Reef (NFL Players' Trainer Specialist), Nataria Holloway (VP of the NFL). I am building a new team of journalists, podcasters, videographers, and interns.  For media requests, interviews, or interest in joining HBCU Legends, please contact me at kmosley@hbcusi.com. Follow me: