HBCU MEDIA DAYS: PREVIEWING THE 2016 SWAC FOOTBALL SEASON


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Kenn Rashad

Kenn Rashad

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By: Fred Batiste, July 12, 2016

Media days are filled with quips from coaches, snazzy suits worn by players and preseason picks that sometimes pan out in late November.

In HBCU football,the Southwestern Athletic Conference is first up with its 2016 preseason honorsas the league’s 10 coaches and 20 players — two from each school — gather in Birmingham, Ala., Friday for its annual media day.

http://hbcusports.com/2016/07/12/hbcu-media-days-previewing-the-2016-swac-football-season/
 
Who gets the nod as preseason offensive player of the year? Will it matter at season’s end?
There are several options this season. However, the four preseason frontrunners shape up as follows:
  • Texas Southern WR Derrick Griffin: The conference’s men’s basketball player of the year and Associated Press All-America honorable mention, caught 36 catches for 708 yards and a SWAC-high 11 scores in 2015. A definition of matchup problem, he posted those numbers while the Tigers played musical chairs at quarterback last season.
  • Southern RB Lenard Tillery: The SWAC’s 2015 rushing champion (197 carries, 1,192 yards, 14 rushing TDs) returns for his senior after posting back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. Believe it or not, he still has a lot to run for in 2016.
  • Prairie View QB Trey Green: Green impressed in his first season as a starter last season, completing nearly 59 percent of his passes for 2,614 yards and 21 scores against three interceptions. With Hebert gone, the Green becomes the focus for the explosive PV offense.
  • Alcorn QB Lenorris Footman: Footman supplanted John Gibbs Jr. as the focal point of the Braves offense, rushing for 1,023 yards and 11 scores while throwing for 1,106 yards and 14 more scores. Footman figures to be a calming influence as new coach Fred McNair leads the Braves out of the Hopson era.
http://hbcusports.com/2016/07/12/hbcu-media-days-previewing-the-2016-swac-football-season/

I like Tillery. I really like Trey Green, and Footman deserves to be mentioned in the conversation, but that dude Griffin...there is some space between him and the rest.
 



Darrell Griffin?

Who is going to get the ball to Darrell Griffin?
Griffin may arguably be the SWAC’s best athlete in decades. However, the Tigers’ chances of making noise in the SWAC Western Division race hinge on consistency at the quarterback position.
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PV_Sigma7 said:
I think Austin Howard gets the nod before Griffin.
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Personally, Howard and Green are 1A and 1B when it comes to the QBs in the conference.
However, knowing the conference, they'll see Footman returning and somewhat by default vault him over Howard.

Plus, using SWAC logic, Howard will get the pub in 2017, his senior season.
 
Journalist said:
Personally, Howard and Green are 1A and 1B when it comes to the QBs in the conference.
However, knowing the conference, they'll see Footman returning and somewhat by default vault him over Howard.

Plus, using SWAC logic, Howard will get the pub in 2017, his senior season.
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Not to mention, if Berry does what some think he will, it would be Tillery more than Howard boosting the Southern attack, but he should be in the conversation.
 
Tillery — the Jaguars’ all-time leading rusher — enters this season with 3,140 career rushing yards. Tillery’s career total is 910 yards shy of the league’s all-time top mark, the 4,050 yards racked up by Jackson State’s Destry Wright (1997-99).
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If this happens, you pretty much have to give the award to Tillery.
 
SU Jag 79 said:
Not to mention, if Berry does what some think he will, it would be Tillery more than Howard boosting the Southern attack, but he should be in the conversation.
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Howard kind of gets lost in the shuffle because of Tillery, Quinn and others on offense. However, Howard is quietly on pace to break Dray Joseph's yardage and TD records at Southern. You're right, if Berry does with the Southern offense what some thinks, Tillery is going get the lion's share of attention on offense.

@number1 If Tillery passes by Wright, you can make a case of Tillery being postseason POTY. He'd have his third-straight 1,000-yard season, possibly winning the rushing title in back-to-back years. However, SWAC voters love wins/losses more than numbers.

If Griffin has a 1,000-yard, 10-plus TD season and TSU goes 4-7 ... he won't get POTY
If Tillery breaks Wright's record and Southern goes 6-5 again ... he won't get POTY

J C said:
Kenn, I would add Hornet RB Khalid Thomas to the list of perspective POY
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I think Thomas is on that second rung with Martez Carter and Dan Williams. I do look for Thomas to have a breakout season, too. However, I feel Thomas is behind Tillery and Carter.
 
I think the Offensive Preseason POY will either be Tillery, Green, or Howard.

Kourtney Berry has the Defensive Preseason POY on lock.
 

Pretty decent

East

Bama state
Alcorn
Jackson state
Bama A&M
Valley

West

Grambling
P View
Southern
Texas S
UAPB
 



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