Tuskegee (9-2, 7-2)

Key returning players: WR Wayne Williams (24 catches, 398 yards receiving); LB Isaiah Person (78 tackles, second team All-SIAC).

Outlook: 2010 was a down season from a Golden Tigers prospective. After winning or sharing four consecutive SIAC titles, they tied Fort Valley State for third place behind Albany State and Morehouse. Despite having to replace 11 starters – six on defense and five on offense – the Golden Tigers should represent the West in the inaugural SIAC Championship Game. Inconsistency at quarterback hurt the Golden Tigers in 2010. Junior QB Jeremy Williams is the Golden Tigers’ most experienced signal caller, but he has failed to live up to expectations following a spectacular high school career. He completed eight of 20 attempts for 156 yards with two TDs and two INTs in eight games as the backup to Joshua Harris, who has graduated. The Golden Tigers’ running is also questionable as the top three ball-carriers graduated. An experienced offensive line should minimize the Golden Tigers’ overall lack of experience. C Michael Stevens is the only starter not returning. RG Darius Graham, who started at center when Stevens was injured, is slated to move into Stevens’ spot. In addition to replacing six defensive starters, the Golden Tigers must also replace defensive coordinator Reginald Ruffin, who left to become head coach at Miles. CB Kenneth Baker and S William Buford are expected to continue the Golden Tigers’ tradition of outstanding pass defenders.

Fast fact: The Golden Tigers, No. 1 on the Black College Football all-time victory list with 630 win, last season failed to win at least 10 games for the first time in six years.

Kentucky State (3-8, 2-7)

Key returning players: QB Jerrel Noland (1,734 yards passing, 15 TDs); RB Andrew Ramsey (365 yards rushing, 1 TD).

Outlook: The Thorobreds thought they had turned the corner when they posted a 6-5 record in 2009, their first winning mark in three seasons. However, they took a step backwards last season. The Thorobreds have a wealth of experience with 32 lettermen, 16 seniors and 14 starters returning. Coach Wayne Dickens’ top priority is rejuvenating the running game, which tailed off dramatically last season. Shannon Frieson and Anthony Boykins combined for 2,099 yards as each surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in 2009. Last season they totaled 1,159 yards. Ramsey is the top returning ball carrier and is counted on to shoulder the running game. Noland’s prime targets in the passing game will be TE Jovan Washington (23 receptions, 176 yards, 3 TDs) and WR Raphael Amey (23 receptions, 352 yards, 3 TDs). Returnees Jarred Garrett, Zach LaGrange and Jesse Mitchell form the nucleus of what could be a solid offensive line. The secondary with DBs Grandson Brown, Bernard Crawford and Keith Massey figures to be the strength of the Thorobreds’ defense. LBs Deshon Best and Gage Courtney are solid, and DT Stephen Scarborough and DT Carlos Ware add experience to the line. If Dickens can find a handful of young players to fill in around his veterans, the Thorobreds could surprise some folks.

Fast Fact: QB Joe Kendall is the only Kentucky State athlete in the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame. Kendall led the Thorobreds to the 1934 Black College National Championship with an 8-0 record and was a three-time Pittsburgh Courier All-
American from 1934-36

Miles (3-8, 3-6)

Key returning players: RB Jordan Lewis (84 carries, 307 yards, 4 TDs; preseason second-team All-SIAC); LB Reginald Verges (15.5 tackles for loss, 6 sacks).

Outlook: The Golden Bears imported Tuskegee defensive coordinator Reginald Ruffin in their latest effort to elbow their way into the SIAC upper crust. Ruffin has a nice group of skill position players to work with in RBs K.C. Logan and Jordan, and WRs Breanne Allen (37 receptions, 386 yards receiving), Brandon Johnson and Jeremy Madras (19 receptions, 140 yards receiving). The question is who will get them ball now that QB Carlton Hill has departed? A more pressing question is who for the Golden Bears will stop opposing offenses even though eight starters return on defense? Miles was in the bottom four in the conference in just about every statistical category.

Fast Fact: Albert J. Sloan Alumni Field, the Golden Bears’ home field, is getting a facelift. The grass playing is being replaced with an artificial surface, EnviroTurf. The project began June 1 and was scheduled to be completed in 45 days.

Stillman (3-8, 2-7)

Key returning players: WR Damian Ford (35 catches, 411 yards, 6 TDs); P Ronnie Partridge (averaged 45.5, No. 1 in NCAA Division II; Boxtorow All-American).

Outlook: With 12 starters returning – six on offense and six on defense – first-year coach Teddy Keaton is optimistic that the Tigers can produce their first winning season since 2007. The first order of business was to try and upgrade the talent level. To that end he signed 31 prospects and will rely on many of them to get the program on solid footing. The Tigers have a good complement of receivers in Ford, Desmond Holloway and TE Thomas Logan. However, Keaton needs to find a QB to get the ball to them. He also must settle on a No. 1 running back. T De’Andre Davis and C Charles Hopes give the Tigers a pair of solid blocks to build the offensive line around. CB Carlos Wilson and S Lakeevis Tabb are stalwarts on defense.

Fast Facts: Keaton, a Stillman alum, is the Tigers’ fourth coach since the program was reinstated in 1999. He was a member of Tigers’ first coaching staff under Theo Danzy Cole and spent six seasons at Stillman as an assistant.

Lane (0-10, 0-9)

Key returning players: DB Milton Meek (5.0 sacks).

Outlook: Second-year coach Derrick Burroughs has switched from the Triple Option offense to the Spread in hope of ending the Dragons’ 21-game losing streak. The Dragons return five starters from the defensive unit that was sixth in the SIAC in total yards allowed despite being on the field an inordinate amount of time because of the offense’s ineffectiveness. The Dragons were last in scoring (11.7 points), total offense (181.6 yards a game) and passing (60.8 yards a game).

Fast Fact: The Dragons’21-game losing streak is the third-longest in NCAA Division II. Only Lock Haven of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (32 straight losses) and Livingstone of the CIAA (25 defeats in a row) have longer streaks. Lane’s last victory was against Miles, 52-2, Nov. 1, 2008. Since then the Dragons have lost 19 straight conference games, nine straight on the road and 11 straight on the road.

Albany State (11-1, 9-0)

Key returning players: QB Stanley Jennings (2,392 yards passing, 26 TDs, first team All-SIAC); DL Justin Blash (8.0 tackles for loss, 3 sacks).

Outlook: With 40 lettermen and 15 starters returning – eight on offense, seven on defense – the Golden Rams look like they are loaded and ready to successfully defend their SIAC title. QB Stanley Jennings is the key for the Rams, who led the conference in total offense with 365.5 yards a game and averaged 28.5 points a contest. Jennings won’t have WR receiver Ronnie Childs, his favorite target around, nor Robert Welton, the Rams’ leading rusher. Boxtorow preseason All-American Octavius Staton (32 catches, 518 yards), Orion Ponder (28 catches, 380 yards) and newcomer Ronnie Tubbs are counted on to step up. Hakeem Hess (200 yards rushing) is the only returning running back. The Golden Rams took a big hit on the offensive line with preseason All-SIAC picks Norris Byrd and captain Mike Mavromichalis being declared academically ineligible for the season. Defensively, the Golden Rams are thin at linebacker with no returnees. But a strong line, led by Bash and Antonio Wells, and a ball hawking secondary, led by Jamarkus Gaskins should keep the heat off the linebacker corps.

Fast Fact: Tuskegee has been the dominant program in the SIAC this millennium, but the Golden Rams have not been far behind. They have won or shared the conference title five times since the turn of the century and appeared in the NCAA Division II playoffs seven straight years.