Saturday, July 23, 2011

In the FCS Huddle: SWAC puts focus back on football

Birmingham, AL — Colorful jerseys hung prominently on all 10 of the team tables at the Southwestern Athletic Conference's football media day on Tuesday.

If all the optimistic talk of offenses, defenses and special teams weren't enough, the jerseys of some of the prominent programs in black college football history, and all of college football, reminded how the coaches and players will soon be back on the field preparing for the 2011 season.

And no FCS conference is looking forward to footballs flying, and putting the offseason behind it, more than the SWAC.



Head coaching defections, the firing of last year's SWAC championship-winning head coach and NCAA academic sanctions have rocked the conference since Texas Southern won the 2010 title over Alabama State just seven months ago in December.

They were talking football again - more so than declining national prominence or Academic Progress Rate (APR) penalties - when Jackson State and Grambling State were installed as the SWAC's preseason favorites in the East and West divisions, respectively, and Jackson State quarterback Casey Therriault was named the preseason offensive player of the year and Prairie View A&M senior cornerback Moses Ellis the preseason defensive player of the year.



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