LORMAN &045; No one on the Alcorn State football roster is buying the whole rebuilding-year term this fall.

Because they’re adamant this is no such season.

Even despite the fact that only four seniors are on the roster this fall &045; lineman Jonathan Lowe, defensive backs Brandon Brown and Quentin Sullivan and punter Shane Phillips &045;this is no rebuilding season. Yet the Braves and their stumbling 1-2 start has some indications of it being a building season for things to come.

It puts the pressure on the Braves today in their first SWAC game at home against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Win today, or the remainder of the season may be a rebuilding one &045; whether they like it or not.

&uot;That’s always what I tell Q (Sullivan) after he comes off the field &045; I appreciate him,&uot; Lowe said. &uot;I look up to that guy and B Brown. With us on the team, we’re trying to make a difference. Coach said this is the best leadership since he’s been here.

&uot;We had a lot of freshmen play last year, and we went 7-4. All of those guys are back. We’re young, but we’re young with experience. The year we went 6-5 in Coach Thomas’ first winning season, there were a lot of sophomores and juniors on that team.&uot;

If it’s not the lack of experience, it’s the injuries that have plagued the Braves early this season. The offense is still feeling the effects of losing standout receiver Nate Hughes for the season with a shoulder injury, and the secondary lost Preseason All-SWAC cornerback Taurian Parks for six to eight weeks with an ankle injury.

Those were two of only a handful of truly experienced starters on both sides of the ball for the Braves.

&uot;This is very strange and unusual,&uot; Alcorn head coach Johnny Thomas said. &uot;We haven’t had any season-ending injuries (early) since the second or third year here, but that’s the way it goes. We’re not making excuses. We’re putting people in their places and coaching them up. They have to pick it up and make plays.&uot;

It puts the responsibility on sophomores and freshmen to make plays today against the Golden Lions and the remainder of the season. Tony Hobson will get first start at quarterback at Jack Spinks with Oliver Bozeman moving to receiver, but everyone counts on a group of sophomores and juniors who were thrown into the fire last year to step up.

Guys like Tabari Lott at tight end, freshman Cory McLaurin at cornerback and an offensive line that despite having one starter with more than a year of experience is blossoming into one of the best in recent seasons.

&uot;As far as being young, they came in during two-a-days, and we can’t call them freshmen anymore,&uot; Sullivan said. &uot;It’s not so much them being young. They just need a little time to settle in. I think this week is going to show that. We started this week off saying we had a new attitude. I got in the huddle and said we’re going to have a new attitude this week. We really want this game like it’s the biggest.&uot;

The Braves will have to get it done today possibly without their steadiest contributer on offense in Jeremy McCoy. The junior who started out solid came up with a pulled hamstring last week at Alabama State and may not play.

With Hobson at the controls on offense, coaches are hoping everyone needs time to get settled before big things happen.

&uot;The only way we’ll get any confidence is by beating people,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;We give them an opportunity to play. They’re making mistakes at this particular point, and that’s to be expected. We’ll have to stay with them, keep working with them and keep putting them through drills. They’ve got talent. I know they’ll come around.&uot;

Today’s game is the first meeting of the two teams since second-year head coach Mo Forte took over at UAPB. The Lions were the surprise of the conference last year by going 6-3, but results so far have been anything but with an 0-4 start to the season.

The Lions, 41-10 losers two weeks ago to Alabama State, are trying to get the ground game established as they did last season. They are third-worst in the conference in rushing yards per game.

&uot;We’re not getting the type of push up front that we need to get,&uot; Forte said. &uot;It’s been on, and it ‘s been off. It’s average, and we’re not used to being that. We were one of the conference leaders last year. Our goal is to continue to get up there and be among the upper echelon.&uot;