SPORTS SECTION E
Paradise Open
Golf, Page 2
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016
Alex Cooper released by the Cincinnati Bengals By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net ALEX Cooper’s run at the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals came to an end this weekend as the team made its final round of preseason roster cuts. Cooper was one of 21 players released by the Bengals Saturday as the team trimmed its roster to 53 players ahead of next Sunday’s regular season opener on the road against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Cooper appeared in four preseason games with the Bengals, including a 17-16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, 30-14 win over the Detroit Lions, 26-21 loss to the Detroit Lions and a 13-10 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. In each of the matchups, Coop-
er saw many snaps line and that characwith the second and teristic was on display third units on the inimmediately durterior of the offensive ing his first appearline at both guard and ance with the team. centre. He participated in Aside from startBengals rookie-mini ing guards Clint Bolcamp and immediateing and Kevin Zeitler, ly put that versatility the Bengals chose to on display. keep TJ Johnson who Popular Bengals serves as a reserve for blog, CincyJungle. both guard spots and com, said Cooper’s centre along with 2016 versatility gives him draft pick, Christian an opportunity to reWesterman. main in contention at Heading into camp, several spots throughALEX COOPER the Bengals fielded out training camp and 14 offensive linemen, the preseason. making for a competitive finish “Bengals’ offensive coach Paul for a final roster spot. Alexander loves tough players, Cooper was signed as an un- and Cooper fits that bill very well. drafted free agent in May because The team also loves picking up ofof his versatility on the offensive fensive linemen who are versatile
enough to play any position. “Cooper might not have any experience at centre, but he has enough experience at every other position on the offensive line that you probably wouldn’t have to take too long teaching him that position. Given his lack of athleticism, they will probably want to take full advantage of his skill set as he competes for a spot on the roster or practice squad.” Cooper was one of 15 players signed as an undrafted college free agent by the Bengals following the completion of the NFL Draft. Undrafted players made up 29 per cent of NFL rosters last season and within the Bengals organisation, six players were undrafted free agents including All-Pro linebacker Vontaze Burfict. Following his stellar senior sea-
son with the Houston Cougars, Cooper garnered the attention of several NFL teams, including the Houston Texans and the Oakland Raiders. In his senior season he was one of the anchors on an offensive line which powered the high-scoring Cougars’ attack. Cooper was named All-AAC and Phil Steele’s AAC Second Team selections. Cooper started 25 straight games on the Cougars line at various positions, including both tackle spots and right guard. Cooper and his line mates led a Houston team that is 14th nationally in rushing offence at 240.1 yards per game. Houston’s leader along the line with 892 snaps, Cooper did not allow a single sack last season and conceded just eight quarterback pressures.
‘Amazing’ Pedrya joins elite ranks By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
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he had a sensational year in her transformation from the 400 metre hurdles to the 100m hurdles. But for Pedrya Seymour, she’s just starting to scratch the surface. “The change in events was definitely not easy. It started from last season when I ran the 60m hurdles for the first time,” said Seymour as she reflected on her performance this year. “My times weren’t that fast but my coach saw stuff that I did right and if I got better at them I could be a special athlete and that’s exactly what happened.” Seymour, 21, said the endurance from the 400 and 400mh gave her the base to be able to sprint while staying coordinated during the entire race. After her stellar performance at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Seymour is back at the University of Illinois where she is preparing for another year to prove her worth at the collegiate level where she advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championship final, only to tumble and fall over the first hurdle. “The transition back to being a college student is definitely not easy,” said Seymour, who suffered the loss of her only brother Keron Dean during her indoor season, but didn’t allow the shooting tragedy to derail her goals for the outdoor season. “I’m still busy with interviews and photo shoots for TV shows, newspapers and radio stations over here, but I am grateful for the opportunity to share my experience with people because I know people want to know what Rio was like.” For Seymour, it was her first Olympic experience although she got introduced to the elite when she represented the Baha-
PEDRYA SEYMOUR, second from right, of the Bahamas, finished sixth overall in the 100 metre hurdles at the Rio Olympics. The Americans pulled off a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place sweep at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, last month. (AP) mas at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon, in March. She said she hasn’t had a chance to take a look at her races in Rio in detail, but she did watch snippets of it. “Schoolwork has already started so I’m trying to keep on top of that,” she stated. “I am very proud and pleased of my accomplishments in Rio. What can I say? I have had a mind-blowing season. I shocked myself.” Seymour gave a lot of credit to her coach, Ron Garner. “He is humbled because he has watched me bloom into an amazing, elite athlete. This year he and I have grown in faith,” Seymour pointed out. “He’s faced some difficulties health wise in the past year and we would always encourage each other whether it is sending inspirational text messages or daily scriptures.”
Garner, the head coach at Illinois, admitted that Seymour had an amazing year. “Our coaching staff is humbled by her story,” he said. “Coach Randy Gillon did an excellent job shaping her into an Olympic athlete. “She worked very, very hard and desired to represent the Bahamas and honour our family on the world stage. We are so proud of her success. We’re also very proud of coach George Cleare, who has believed in her since she was a child and prepared her for her college and international track and field career.” Garner, however, said her success would not have been possible without the tremendous support she received from her parents, Pedro and Cecily Seymour. “Drya’s family are to be commended for the outstanding values, work-ethic and spiritual
foundation that they have instilled in her for life,” he said. In Rio, Seymour said she felt right at home being around her fellow team-mates from the Bahamas. But she was even more delighted that her parents were in the stands. “They were in Rio from the 12th and I actually didn’t get a chance to see them until after my semi-finals,” said Seymour, of her best race of the three she participated in, lowering her national record to book her ticket to the final. “We were all so emotional after I ran 12.64. My mom said she couldn’t watch the race, her nerves almost suffocated her. Lol. But I’m happy that I made their trip to Rio worthwhile.” Cleare, who coached Seymour during her developmental stage as a junior athlete, said he was just as thrilled as everybody else about her performance, which
just fell short of upsetting the American trio when she made a rookie mistake as she clipped the final hurdle and, instead of getting on the podium, ended up in sixth place. “She had, in my opinion, probably the most impressive performance for Team Bahamas,” Cleare said. “Although we got the gold medal from Shaunae and the men’s 4 x 400m team came through with the bronze, I don’t think anybody expected Pedrya to do what she did. She lowered her national record and she made it to the final in her first Olympics. “I think she might have been overwhelmed by competing in the final at that level for the first time, but if it wasn’t for a mistake she made on the final hurdle, she could have easily been one of the medallists. I was really
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Bahamians take spotlight in NCAA Football By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net NCAA football across all divisions began last weekend and several Bahamian players were in action in week one. Linemen Chris Ferguson and Rondre Tener-Knowles notched wins while Mike Strachan’s team lost in his debut and Mavin Saunders is set to conclude the week one schedule tonight in prime time. Ferguson, the redshirt sophomore defensive tackle, and his Cincinnati Bengals opened the season with a 28-7 win Thursday over the University of Tennesse-Martin Skyhawks. “I don’t think that game was the type of game that people expected, but it was what I expected. We turned the ball over three times in the first half and put ourselves in a bind. I was proud of our defence, we adjusted. It’s hard knowing what they are going to do on offence. We
RONDRE TENER-KNOWLES
CHRIS FERGUSON
adjusted pretty good and made a couple third down throws. After that we didn’t give up any points. We got better as the game went on,” Bearcats head coach Tommy Tubberville said. “I didn’t know that. Finally, but we were still tied in that category 3-3 and we need to be plus. We want to be that type of team. We could’ve done a
few more things on defence and once our players started to settle down, we were able to do that. That’s good, when the players say coach ‘let’s just play’ that’s good. It was good to see us play in the red zone.” The Bearcats were tabbed to finish third in the American Athletic Conference’s East Division in the league’s 2016 pre-
season media poll. UC expects to be in contention once again with the return of 13 starters from last year’s 7-6 team. Ferguson came to UC as a three-star recruit, according to ESPN.com, and has a pair of stars from 247sports.com and Scout.com. As a defensive lineman in his senior season at Lake Nona High School in Orlando, Florida, he recorded 17 total tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Ferguson was named to the Orange County Senior Bowl and was ranked No.40 in the Sentinel’s 2014 Central Florida Super 60 and picked UC over offers from Illinois, Minnesota and Western Kentucky. He was the Bearcats first signee of the 2014 class as a defensive tackle. However, in training camp over the past few weeks, Bearcats head coach Tuberville and his staff decided to
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