By: Curtis Ford, Associate AD for Athletic Communications
GRAMBLING, La. | The Grambling State University football team looks to get back on the winning track, as the Tigers welcome Kentucky State of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) to town for the home opener. Saturday's game is set for a 6 p.m. kickoff and will be streamed live on SWAC TV.
GAME PREVIEW
Grambling State returns to Louisiana for its home opener versus Kentucky State on Saturday, Sept. 13. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on the newly created SWAC TV streaming platform.
GSU is coming off a 70-0 road loss to the No. 1 ranked and defending College Football National Champions, Ohio State.
GSU gained 166 yards of offense in the loss. Grambling State's defense registered two sacks against the Buckeyes while the GSU offensive line did a solid job of protecting its quarterbacks and refusing to allow a sack.
Saturday's game versus KSU will be the third all-time meeting between the two programs. Grambling State won both games, defeating the Thorobreds 14-13 in 1952 and 13-0 in 1953.
GSU has won five straight games against non-Division I FCS or FBS programs. The Tigers' most recent loss to a non-Division I program came in 2013 when GSU fell 47-34 to Lincoln (Mo.)
Grambling State defensive back
Tyrell Raby has emerged as a playmaker for the TIgers. Raby leads the SWAC with two interceptions.
Kentucky State enters Saturday's game after dropping its SIAC opener to Albany State 49-21.
The Thorobred's head coach Felton Huggins is in his third season and sports a 9-14 overall record. Huggins is a former member of the Grambling State football team (2002) and is a Zachary, La. native.
RABY COMES TO PLAY
Grambling State defensive back
Tyrell Raby has burst onto the scene in his first season starting for the Tigers.
Raby currently leads the SWAC in interceptions (2). He's made interceptions against Langston and the top ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.
He's also GSU's leading tackler with 7.0 total tackles (5 solo).
Against Ohio State, he made 6.0 tackles with five solo stops and an INT. He was named the Jim Thorpe HBCU Defenisve Back of the Week.
Raby is a graduate student from Baton Rouge, La.
TRENCH WORK
Grambling State has perfromed well in the trenches on both sides of the football.
The GSU offensive line currently ranks second in the SWAC in sacks allowed, giving up a pair of sacks over its first two games. The TIgers didn't allow a sack versus Ohio State.
Defensively, GSU leads the SWAC in rushing defense, surredering 121.0 yards per game.
BALANCED RUN GAME
Grambling State features a five running back rotation in the offensive backfield.
Byron Eaton Jr., Tre Bradford, Andre Crews, Tony Phillips Jr. and
Clyde McCelendon Jr. have all been used extensively in the offfense.
Crews leads the ground game for the Tigers, rushing for 85 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
Bradford is the second leading rusher with 76 yards and a touchdown on 13 atempts.
NEW QUARTERBACKS
Replacing two-starter
Myles Crawley is
C'zavian Teasett and
Ashton Frye.
Both QBs had solid performances in the first game in the 2025 season
Teasett, a transfer from Southern Univeristy, completed 20-of-25 passes for 210 yards and three TDs in his Grambling State debut. Against Ohio State, he completed 9-of-13 passes for 55 yards and an INT
Frye tossed a touchdown while throwing for 44 yards on 6-of-8 passing.
C'Zavian Teasett played in 10 games at Southern, throwing for 941 yards, 6 TDs and two INTs while completing 71-of-129 passes (55.04%). He shared starting duties with two other quarterbacks while at SU. Teasett earned SWAc Player of the Week honors in after throwing 316 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-10 victory over Savannah State on Sept. 7.
NEW FACES ON COACHING STAFF
Grambling State fans can expect to see a plethora of new coaches roaming the sidelines for the Tigers this season.
GSU welcomes
Erik Losey (Offensive Line),
WIllie Mack-Garza (Safeties),
Reggie Moore (Wide Recievers),
Aaron Tiller (Defensive Line),
Wyatt Anderson (Tight Ends) and
Alan Ricard (Special Teams) to the staff this season.
All of the new coaches bring Division I FCS experience to Grambling State this season.
SOLID DEFENSE
Grambling State returns what's expected to be one of the most stout defensive units in the SWAC . The Tigers return a welth of experience to that side of the ball
Defensive back
Blake Davis, an preseason ALL-SWAC selection, brings experience and playmaking ability to the secondary this season. Davis made 41 total tackles with 3.5 TFLs, three interceptions, two sacks, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick. Also roaming the secondary is
Quintin Talley, who is entering his fourth season at Grambling
Defensive End
Bryce Cage brings a menacing presence to the defensive line. Cage, who was named the Bayou Classic MVP for GSU last season, registered 49.0 tackles in 2024, with 11.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks.
Isaac Washington moves from defensive end to defensive tackle this season.
Last year, he was a force at a defenisve end, making 28.0 tottal tackles with 6.0 TFLs and 2.0 sacks.
The Linebacking corps features experience with
Jamal Jordan,
Marcellius Johnson,
Josh Darling and
Brenden Barley bring game experience into 2025.
Jamal Jordan, a sophomore from Shreveport, La., broke out of his shell near the end of the 2024 campaign. He earned SWAC Freshman of the Week honors, while Barley showcased his big play ability with 39.0 total tackles and tying for a team-high three interceptions.
PRESEASON RECOGNITION
Grambling State football players racked up preseason honors during the offseason.
The Tigers had four players earn spots of the Preseason All-SWAC Teams. Defensive end
Bryce Cage and punter
Johnny Schifano earned spots on the first team, while defensive back
Blake Davis and offensive lineman
Tahj Martin garnered second team recognition
Cage, Davis and Schifano also landed on national preseason watch lists.
Cage earned a spot on the Stats Perform FCS National HBCU Player of the Year watch list.
Davis was named to the Aeneas Williams award watch list, which is awarded to the nation's best HBCU defensive back.
Schifano was named to the FCS.
Punter of the Year watch list.
REPRESENTING "THE BOOT"
Grambling State roster features 50 players from the state of Louisiana.
THE TRANSFER PORTAL
GSU roster features 33 players who've transferred or had previous Division I FBS and FCS experience.
SWAC PREDICTIONS
Grambling State was picked to finish fifth in the SWAC West Division in the preseason projections. Southern was predicted to come in first and we followed by Alcorn State, Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern. Behind GSU was Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
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