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Boxtorow.com
SIAC Predictions
Previews by Roscoe Nance for HBCSports Press Association
Interviews arranged in HBCSports Press Association predicted order of
finish
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Albany State |
Albany State (7-4, 6-3)
Key returning player: DT Joshua Ingram
(preseason All-SIAC) DB Mario Fuller (All-SIAC).
Outlook: Coach Mike White enters his 10th
season looking to extend the Rams’ streak of NCAA
Division II playoff appearances to seven in a row. However,
the Rams, whose last SIAC title came in 2006 when they shared
the crown with Tuskegee, don’t want to run their streak
of seasons without winning the conference championship to
three straight seasons. Defense traditionally has been the
Rams’ strong suit during White’s tenure. That
trend is likely to continue in 2009 with Ingram and senior
DB Mario Fuller as the anchors. In order to unseat Tuskegee
at the top of the conference, the Rams will have to replace
QB Kisan Flakes and RB LiRonnie Davis who has been lost
due to a broken leg during summer workouts. Look for A.J.
Mckenna to emerge as the starting QB. Once he learns the
system, ASU's offense will prosper. The Rams had 1,565 total
yards; Flakes produced 1,198 of them.
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Mike White
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Tuskegee |
Tuskegee (10-1, 9-0)
Key returning players: WR Antoine Mitchell (37 catches, 720 yards, 4 TDs); LB Jonathan Hall (All-SIAC).
Outlook: With 10 starters graduated, including QB Jacary Atkinson – the two-time Black College Offensive Player of the Year – don’t look for the Golden Tigers to be as dominant as in previous years. However, Coach Willie Slater’s cupboard isn’t bare. He has 49 lettermen returning, including 20 who have started at least one game and 13 regular starters. Still the Tigers – ranked as high as 14th in some Division II national polls – are more than capable of winning their fourth consecutive conference crown. The major concern is at quarterback. Highly touted redshirt freshman Jeremy Williams took most of the snaps during the spring. Left-hander Joshua Harris completed eight of 10 passes for 102 yards in limited action as Atkinson’s backup in 2008. Sophomore Wayne Williams, who moved to wideout last season, is also in the picture. Whoever starts will have a bevy of experienced receivers to throw to, led by Mitchell and Jonathan Lessa, and a stable full of talented running backs -- headed by Tony Forney and John Pascley -- to call on. Also on hand is a line that gained valuable experience in 2008 with All-American C Michael Stevens as its anchor. The defense is in good shape with seven starters returning. The schedule poses a challenge with only three home games. |
Willie Slater
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Morehouse |
Morehouse (6-4, 6-3)
Key returning players: QB William Brack (preseason All-SIAC); DB Justin Murray.
Outlook: The Maroon Tigers have high expectations following a 2008 second-place finish, their best since the 2001 season. Coach Rich Freeman enters his third season with a solid core of veterans on both sides of the ball. Running back Christian Green and wide receiver Achille Hendje, another preseason All-SIAC pick, are potent offensively, along with Brack. Brandon Cunning is counted on to fill defensive void created by the graduation of All-American LB Jeffrey Cargile. DT D.J. Nettles, 6-3, 315 anchors the line, which figures to be strong against the run. Special teams should be a strength. Jamar Rodriguez led the conference in kickoff returns and all-purpose yards. Ian Mullen, a 2008 All-NorCal conference kicker/punter transfer from Santa Rosa (Calif.) Community College, should compensate for the loss of 2009 All-SIAC kicker Micah Streiff. |
Rich Freeman
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Clark Atlanta |
Clark Atlanta (6-5, 5-4)
Key returning players: RB Winston Thompson (1,134 yards, 5 TDs); DT Marcus Winston (All-SIAC).
Outlook: The Panthers are coming off their most successful season in 18 years, and primed to continue their ascent in the conference standings. Coach Ted Bahhur’s top priority on offense is replacing QB Cedric Johnson. Junior Mark Wright and JUCO transfers Justin Green and T.J. Smith are the leading candidates. They will have a topflight receiving corps to work with in 6-5, 221-pound TE Mortimer Lightburn, whose 7 TDs were second in the conference, and Miami (Fla.) transfer George Robinson as prime targets. Thompson gives the Panthers a solid running game after leading the conference in rushing in 2008. The Panthers were 12th in defense in Division II in 2008 and figure to be strong once again with veterans Winston, Tauveli Taumoefolau and Malcolm Keys returning. The Panthers’ fate for 2009 could well be determined by the end of September as they face Fort Valley, Stillman, Lane, Tuskegee and Miles in their first five games.
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Ted Bahhur
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Fort Valley State |
Fort Valley State (6-5, 6-3)
Key returning players: DT Robert Jackson (preseason All-SIAC); LB Trent Newton (preseason All-SIAC).
Outlook: There was a time when Fort Valley was a perennial contender for the conference championship and a berth in the Division II playoffs. The Wildcats have tabbed former Albany State offensive coordinator Donald Pittman as the 13th head coach in school history with hopes that he can recapture some of their past success. The first order of business for Pittman is to inject more punch in the Wildcats’ attack, which was ninth in the SIAC in total yards per game (275.5) and in the bottom third in points per game (21.8). Return man An’Thon Harris should keep the Wildcats in good field position, but if the offense will be able to take advantage of it is a question. The Wildcats should be better defensively. Newton, Jackson and DB Darnell Burks form a solid nucleus to build around.
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Donald Pittman
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Benedict |
Benedict (5-6, 4-5)
Key Returning Players: LB James Graham (preseason All-SIAC); PK Alper Keskin (9 of 15 FGs, 17 of 18 PATs).
Outlook: A lack of offensive production in 2008 prevented the Tigers from finishing in the upper half of the standings. They were ninth among 10 teams in scoring (17.3 points a game). Coach Stanley Conner hopes QB Robert Rowe, who came on in the final four games, replacing Robert Spence, is likely to be the starter. The running game has been by committee in recent years, and probably will be again this season. RBs Renando Rose and Max Martin are back after combining for 852 yards on the ground in 2008. Stan Rowe is expected to get plenty of carries too. Verna Nesmith and Jonathan Cunningham are also in the picture. The Tigers’ defense was in the middle of pack statistically last season, but should be much improved with LBs Graham and Michael Thompson as the anchors. |
Stanley Conner
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Lane |
Lane (4-7, 4-5)
Key returning players: TE Robert Smith (51 catches, 511 yards, 7 TDs) Shelton (12 catches, 232 yards, 4 TDs); CB Derrick Shelton (preseason All-SIAC)
Outlook: Optimism abounds for the Dragons, who ended 2008 by winning three of their last four games. Ten starters return, six on offense and four on defense. How well QB Dewayne Cross, who takes over as the starter, will go a long way toward determining how effective the Dragons will be on offense. Smith and WR Brandon Shelton, who averaged 19.3 yards a catch in 2008, are playmakers the Dragons are counting on in the passing game. Defensively, the Dragons will be undersized and rely on quickness. DT Timothy Bullock, solid against the run, anchors the defensive line which needs to find a way to put more pressure on opposing quarterbacks after producing a conference-low 13 sacks in 2008. The key to the Dragons’ season will be how well they perform on the road. They don’t play their first home game until Oct. 3 as their first four contests are all on the road. |
Dearrion Snead
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Stillman |
Stillman (3-8, 2-7)
Key returning players: RB Quinn Porter (740 yards rushing, 6 TDs); OL Chris Hymel (preseason All-SIAC).
Outlook: The Tigers enter their second decade of competition since reinstating football with a coach who is a proven winner in L.C. Cole and renewed hope of becoming a contender in the SIAC. Cole brings a reputation for turning around downtrodden programs – and running afoul of NCAA rules – after leading Tennessee State (Ohio Valley) and Alabama State (SWAC) to conference championships. However, the NCAA sanctioned both schools for violations that occurred on Cole’s watch. Cole is 48-31 in seven seasons as a head coach and has a reputation for fielding strong defensive teams. Stillman’s was in the bottom third of the conference statistically in 2008. With Cole on board, that should change immediately. If form holds, look for the Tigers to move up in the SIAC standings sooner rather than later.
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Henry
Frazier |
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Miles |
Miles (2-8, 2-7)
Key returning players: QB Chivas Jones (1,051 yards passing, 7 TDs); LB Corey Robinson (73 tackles).
Outlook: The 2008 season unraveled for the Bears before it began as 27 team members were declared ineligible on the eve of the season opener. The good news is that fiasco allowed several young players to gain valuable experience, and that bodes well for the Bears in Coach Billy Joe’s second season. The Bears’ top priority is juicing up the vaunted Gulf Coast that Joe brought with him from Florida A&M. The Bears were last in the SIAC in scoring (10.8 points) and total offense (199.2 yards a game) and ninth in rushing offense (64.4 yards) and passing offense (134.8 yards). Three returning starters along the offensive line -- Sem Louisma, Curtis Allen and Kenneth Peaks -- give the Bears reason to be optimistic about improving offensively. The Bears’ defense was as porous as the offense was anemic, finishing last against the run (216.0) and ninth in yards allowed (399.0) and points allowed (30.5). That unit while more experienced than a year ago will still be young as five of the seven returning starters are sophomores. That could make for some long Saturdays unless they grow up in a hurry. |
Billy Joe
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Kentucky State |
Kentucky State (3-8, 1-8)
Key returning players: WR Juwan Jones (58 catches, 794 yards 6 TDs); SS Derrick Adai (68 tackles, 3 fumble recoveries).
Outlook: The Thorobreds, already in rebuilding mode, find themselves in a real pickle with Coach Fred Farrier having been fired just days before the start of preseason practice. Farrier’s firing came on the heels of an off-field incident in which four Kentucky State players were allegedly involved in the theft of a tip jar at a restaurant in Lexington, Ky. It is unclear if the incident played a role in Farrier being fired. Wide receivers coach Wayne Dickens was named interim coach. Sophomore QB Jerrell Noland came out of spring practice as the starter. He will operate behind a virtually all new line that has just two starters returning. The defensive line is in pretty much the same situation. The secondary is in good shape with Adai and Joseph Welch leading the way.
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Wayne Dickens
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