ESPN College Football

Alabama A&M head coach Anthony Jones knows his Bulldogs will have their hands full against Division II powerhouse Tuskegee on Saturday in the 25th annual Circle City Classic at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The Golden Tigers (4-0 overall, 4-0 in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) are on a 20-game winning streak, which is the country's longest in all NCAA divisions.

Furthermore, Alabama A&M (2-3 overall, 1-0 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference) will have to contend with senior All-American quarterback Jacary Atkinson, who is one of the best signal-callers in college football. Atkinson is a leading candidate for the Harlon Hill Trophy, which is presented annually to the top Division II player.

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Atkinson has completed 60 of 108 passes for 1,157 yards and eight touchdowns. He has rushed 36 times for 272 yards and five scores. He has already received the SIAC co-offensive and offensive players of the week recognition and was named D2Football.com's national player of the week this season.

He did come down to earth a little bit in Tuskegee's 20-16 victory over Fort Valley State last week. He completed just eight of 20 passes for 125 yards with one TD and three interceptions and had 12 carries for only 30 yards. He did manage to produce a two-yard TD run and a seven-yard scoring strike.

Nevertheless, he is one of the most explosive players in the nation.

"He's an exceptional football player," Jones said. "He's a kid that we were interested in when he came out of high school. My understanding is he wanted to stay close to home. Obviously, he's made an excellent choice. He's an exceptional thrower. He's not afraid to throw the deep ball. He's not afraid to step up and throw the ball. He's not afraid to do any of those things. If he can't beat you with his arm, he can beat you with his feet. He's an excellent runner. They have runs that are designed for him that take advantage of his ability to run the football."

Alabama A&M is coming off a 23-17 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Defensively, the Bulldogs will rely on defensive end Jeremy Maddox (16 total tackles, nine solo, 4.5 sacks), defensive tackle Whitney Garrett (15 total tackles, eight solo, three sacks) and linebackers Alfred Williams (24 total tackles, 15 solo, five sacks) and Quinton Holmes (23 total tackles, 13 solo) to get some pressure on Atkinson.

The Bulldogs want to force Atkinson into making some turnovers, but he has plenty of experience to go along with his talent. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound senior led the Golden Tigers to a 12-0 record, an SIAC title and the Black College National Championship last season. He was the 2007 conference offensive Player of the Year. He completed 165 of 279 passes (60 percent) for 2,979 yards with 34 TDs and nine interceptions. He rushed for 584 yards on 120 carries and scored seven touchdowns.

Tuskegee head coach Willie Slater thinks Atkinson is on his way to having another big season.

"Jacary has been making great decisions," Slater said. "He's making all the throws. He's having one of those years. He's a great quarterback. He did extremely well last year. He's very athletic. He could probably play basketball for our school team. He has a lot of talent."

Atkinson should be a name to remember in the postseason. In addition, NFL scouts should take a long look at him. It would be interesting to see how he would measure up against the best players in the nation in one of the collegiate all-star games. He's already demonstrated what he can do against FCS competition. A year ago, Atkinson ran wild in a 64-58 overtime win over archrival Alabama State from the SWAC in the Turkey Day Classic. He passed for 279 yards and four touchdowns. He also tallied 159 yards rushing and two TDs in that contest.

Although Atkinson has led Tuskegee to the No. 1 ranking in the Sheridan Broadcast Network Black College Poll and No. 11 in the American Football Coaches Association Poll, he credits his teammates for much of the school's success.

"I have a great supporting cast," said Atkinson, who is 16-0 as a starting quarterback. "I have some good receivers [Jason English and Antoine Mitchell]. These guys know how to make plays. I have a good offensive line and a running game. We've won a lot of games. I just hope we can keep it going."

HBCU notes

• Alabama State quarterback Reid Herchenbach was named the SWAC offensive Player of the Week. Herchenbach led the Hornets to a 47-7 win over Mississippi Valley State. He was 26-of-34 for 248 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed eight times for 27 yards and one TD.

• Prairie View A&M cornerback Anthony Beck was named the SWAC defensive Player of the Week. Beck had six tackles as well as two interceptions in the Panthers' 28-17 victory over Morehouse. Beck's first interception was returned for a 60-yard TD.

• Howard quarterback Floyd Haigler and Florida A&M QB Curtis Pulley were chosen as the MEAC offensive players of the week. Haigler connected on 23 of 33 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns in Howard's 49-21 win over Savannah State. Pulley completed 9 of 13 passes for 100 yards and one touchdown in the Rattlers' win over Tennessee State. He had 98 yards rushing and two TDs on 10 carries.

• South Carolina State defensive end Jason Ayers was selected as the MEAC defensive Player of the Week. Ayers had seven tackles, five solo and three for a loss of nine yards in the Bulldogs' 43-17 victory over Winston-Salem State. He also recovered a fumble and returned it 26 yards for a score.

• Prairie View A&M (4-0) is off to its best start since 1964 -- the last time the school won both the SWAC and Black College National Championships. The Panthers are strong on both sides of the football, ranking in the top five in the country in scoring offense (fourth at 41 points per game) and scoring defense (second at 11.8 ppg) and leading the nation in total defense (193.3 yards per game). They will face Grambling State at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, the site of the State Fair Classic. In 2007, Prairie View A&M finished 7-3 and posted its first winning season since 1976.

• NFL great Jerry Rice, who earned Most Valuable Player honors at the inaugural Circle City Classic in 1984, will receive the Chase Major Taylor Award in Indianapolis as a part of the weekend festivities. The award, named in honor of prominent Indianapolis cyclist Marshall "Magic" Taylor, is a tribute to African-American athletes, coaches, athletic administrators and officials who made significant local and national contributions to youth while encouraging excellence in future generations. Rice earned MVP honors in the Circle City Classic when he led Mississippi Valley State to a 48-36 win over Grambling State. He had eight receptions for 174 yards and two touchdowns.

• Bethune-Cookman freshman quarterback Maurice Francois received his second consecutive MEAC Rookie of the Week honors. Francois rushed for 179 yards on 16 carries with one touchdown in the team's 33-17 victory over Norfolk State.

Donald Hunt is a columnist for The Philadelphia Tribune. You can reach him at dhunt37261@aol.com.