“You get to pick your athletes, you get to watch them grow from a skill set standpoint, you get to recruit and you get to interact with other college coaches. That’s a little more comfortable to me. I’m looking forward to the opportunity.”

Although VSU wouldn’t confirm that Barlow will be named its new coach, it did confirm a news conference has been scheduled for 11:30 a.m. today.

Barlow went 49-42 at Alabama State before being unexpectedly fired after signing a three-year contract, according to the Montgomery Advertiser. He played in the NFL from 1996 to 2003, suiting up for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Virginia State went 6-4 in 2015 — Thweatt’s first-and-only season in Ettrick. The Trojans went 4-3 in the CIAA and finished tied for third in the Northern Division.

At the conclusion of spring practice, which ended in early April, Harper said he was looking forward to next season.

“I anticipate a high-energy football team in the fall that loves to lace up the cleats,” Harper said in a story posted on the VSU athletics website April 9.