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    Marshall Faulk to Become Head Football Coach At Southern U

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    U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue and retired football great and NFL Hall-of-Famer Marshall Faulk, talk about USDA’s role in the NFL’s Fuel Up to Play 60 program, and the importance of milk nutrition and physical fitness; the students talk about how they have encourage others to include physical activity in their lives, schools and community; all the while the Indianapolis Colts football players are training on the adjacent football fields, at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center, in Indianapolis, IN, on August 8, 2017. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue is on a five-state RV tour, featuring stops in five states: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana; titled the “Back to Our Roots” Tour, he is gathering input on the 2018 Farm Bill and increasing rural prosperity, Aug. 3-8, 2017. Along the way, Perdue will meet with farmers, ranchers, foresters, producers, students, governors, Members of Congress, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) employees, and other stakeholders. This is the first of two RV tours the secretary will undertake this summer. “The ‘Back to our Roots’ Farm Bill and rural prosperity RV listening tour will allow us to hear directly from people in agriculture across the country, as well as our consumers – they are the ones on the front lines of American agriculture and they know best what the current issues are,” Perdue said. “USDA will be intimately involved as Congress deliberates and formulates the 2018 Farm Bill. We are committed to making the resources and the research available so that Congress can make good facts-based, data-driven decisions. It’s important to look at past practices to see what has worked and what has not worked, so that we create a farm bill for the future that will be embraced by American agriculture in 2018.” For social media purposes, Secretary Perdue’s Twitter account (@SecretarySonny) will be using the hashtag #BackToOurRoots. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.

    Another NFL legend and Hall of Famer has joined the list of Black former NFL players taking the helm at HBCU programs, as Marshall Faulk has reportedly agreed to become the new head coach at Southern University.

    NFL Insider Jordan Shultz first reported the news about Faulk’s three-year deal.

    Faulk was on Deion Sanders’ coaching staff at Colorado as the Buffaloes’ running backs coach, a staff that includes Pro Football Hall of Famers Sanders and defensive pass rush coordinator Warren Sapp.

    A New Orleans native, Faulk returns to his home state and replaces Terrence Graves, who was fired after a 1-6 start to this season, bringing his legendary resume with him.

    Before being drafted by the Colts with the second overall pick in the 1994 NFL Draft, Faulk was a 2x All-American at San Diego State and was ultimately inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017.

    He spent his first five seasons with the Colts before being traded to the St. Louis Rams, where he teamed up with Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce and Kurt Warner to form “The Greatest Show on Turf”.

    Over his 12-year NFL career, Faulk rushed for 12,279 yards and 100 TDs and also had 6,875 yards receiving and 36 TDs. He was the 2000 NFL MVP, a 3x NFL Offensive Player of the Year, 7x Pro Bowler, 3x All-Pro, Super Bowl Champion, and Pro Football Hall of Famer (2011).

    After retiring, he moved into broadcasting as an analyst with the NFL Network, yet even after leaving the field, he never ventured into coaching until he got the call from Coach Prime.

    “I’ve been offered jobs,” Faulk said. “If it wasn’t for Coach Prime, I would not even try this. This wasn’t even on my list of things to do in the least way. I put crazy hours in when I played, like player and coach’s hours in, to become the student of the game that I was. And when I walked away from it, I couldn’t believe how much time I invested into the game.”

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    "First And Pen” was created to inform, inspire and connect through voices of color in sports, and is the sports media vertical of The Khanate Group. Our Mission: “We are first to the field and last to leave it, amplifying local sports stories from voices of color to the national conscience.”

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