NCCU aims to claim MEAC title of its own

NORFOLK, Virginia — As he prepared for the MEAC media luncheon Friday, N.C. Central junior Mike Jones put on a sharp gray suit and navy collared shirt.

He fastened his watch and tied his shoes.

Then, he picked up a flashy maroon and silver ring and slid it on his right ring finger for the first time since he got it.

Jones usually leaves it sitting in its original box on his desk, buried under papers and other trinkets that always seem to collect on dorm room desks.

Every member of last year’s 7-5 team has this ring, symbolizing the school’s conference championship. But, after a five-way tie for the title last season, four other teams also claimed shares of the championship and have rings celebrating their share of the MEAC.

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Norfolk State Spartan Football Picked 7th in MEAC Preseason Poll

MEAC Preseason Predictions

NORFOLK, Virginia – The Norfolk State football team was predicted to finish seventh in the preseason poll of MEAC head coaches and sports information directors, and seven Spartans were named to the preseason All-MEAC teams as the league held its annual media day and luncheon on Friday.

Senior linebacker Deon King and senior receiver Isaac White were both named to the preseason All-MEAC first team. Senior defensive lineman Shawn Fauntleroy Jr. was voted to the second team, while the quartet of senior defensive lineman Kevin Williams, senior linebacker Lamar Neal, junior safety Brandon Walker and junior kicker Cameron Marouf were all voted to the third team.

North Carolina A&T, one of last season's five MEAC co-champions, was narrowly voted as the favorite to win the conference. The Aggies were followed in the preseason poll by the other four co-champions from last year: South Carolina State was predicted second, Bethune-Cookman third, North Carolina Central fourth and Morgan State fifth. Hampton was tabbed sixth and NSU seventh.

Rounding out the poll in eighth through 11^th places were Florida A&M, Howard, Delaware State and Savannah State, respectively. FAMU, Howard and SSU are ineligible for the MEAC championship this year.

King added to his list of preseason accolades Friday. He has already been named to the STATS FCS Preseason All-America second team and is a member of the STATS Defensive Player of the Year Watch List. King tallied 106 tackles, 18 for loss, and 7.5 sacks as part of the nation's No. 2 ranked defense last season on his way to All-MEAC first-team honors. King also recovered three fumbles, forced two and intercepted a pass.

White was a second-team All-MEAC selection last year, when he led all conference players with 664 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. He made 48 receptions as a junior in 2014.

Fauntleroy has helped plug the middle of the NSU defense from his nose guard position the last three seasons. He is coming off a 2014 season in which he made 33 tackles, two for loss.

Williams started just twice in 12 games last season, but came on strong toward the end of the year. Williams had 19 tackles, 2.5 for loss, with one sack, two pass deflections and a forced fumble. He figures to move into an even larger role this season.

Neal ranked fourth on the team and tied for 16th in the MEAC in tackles, with 85. He made 3.5 tackles for loss and one sack while starting 11 of the Spartans' 12 games at inside linebacker.

Walker started 10 times last season at strong safety and enjoyed a breakout year. Walker made 43 tackles, 3.5 for loss, and broke up eight passes to help the Spartans finish second in the nation (FCS) in pass defense.

Marouf was a third-team All-MEAC selection after last year, when he made 10 of the 15 field goals he attempted. Marouf connected on seven field goals of at least 40 yards in length, including a 51-yarder against Delaware State.

N.C. A&T running back Tarik Cohen was named the MEAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, and South Carolina State defensive lineman Javon Hargrave was voted the MEAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

The Spartan players report for preseason training camp this Thursday before holding their first practice at 3 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 7. NSU's first two practices (Aug. 7-8) will be held at Norview High School in Norfolk due to the AAU Junior Olympics track and field meet being held on the NSU campus.



Matt Michalec, Asst. AD/Communications
COURTESY NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Ten SCSU Bulldogs Named To All-MEAC Preseason Team, SC State Picked Second

PHOTO COURTESY: SCSU ATHLETICS

NORFOLK, Virginia —Ten (10) SC State University Bulldogs were named to the preseason all-conference team, while SC State was picked to finish second behind, the defending Co-champion North Carolina A&T State in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) as voted by the league's head football coaches and sports information directors.

This is the third straight year the Bulldogs were picked second in the preseason conference poll. The announcements were made at the MEAC's Annual Football Press Luncheon held Friday afternoon at the Norfolk Marriott Waterside Hotel in Virginia.

South Carolina State, received four first-place votes, behind North Carolina A&T State with nine first-place votes to receive the first place ranking in the conference's preseason poll for 2015 MEAC Football Season. All five teams that earned a share of conference title last year rounded out the first five spots of this year's preseason predicted order of finish.

All-American defensive lineman and last year's MEAC Defensive Player of the Year Javon Hargrave was this year's favorite to win the award again, along with redshirt sophomore and the 2014 Rookie of the Year Darius Leonard earning First Team All-MEAC honors.

Hargrave also garnered postseason honors last year, leading the MEAC and ranking second in the nation in sacks with 16 for a loss of 199 yards and fourth in the FCS in tackles for loss with 23.5. He finished the season recording 55 total tackles, three forced fumbles, one recovered fumble (61 yards), eight quarterback hurries and two breakups. He was listed on the Sports Networks' Buck Buchanan Award List for much of last year and earned national and conference Defensive Player of the Week honors after tying a conference and FCS-best record of six (6) sacks in a single game in a win over ranked Bethune-Cookman. Hargrave is currently on the award list for The Sports Networks' STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Year honor.

Senior running back Jalen Simmons, tight end Temarrick Hemingway and redshirt junior offensive lineman Javarius Leamon, all earned All-MEAC Second Team honors on offense. On defense it was senior defensive end Reggie Owens, and defensive back/return specialist Antonio Hamilton.

Meanwhile, redshirt senior defensive lineman James Settles and senior defensive back Chris Pauling were named to the All-MEAC Third Team respectively.

The Bulldogs open the 2015 season on Sept. 6 in the 11th Annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge against SWAC foe Arkansas Pine-Bluff in Orlando, Fla. Kick-off is 3 p.m. and will be televised live on ESPNU/ESPN3. Season tickets to SC State's five home games are still available for more information go online to www.scsuathletics.com or contact the SC State Ticket Office at 803-536-8579 or 1-800-298-9157.

Listed below are the 2015 MEAC Preseason Predicted Order of Finish and Preseason All-MEAC teams:

2015 Predicted Order of Finish (First Place Votes in Parenthesis)
1. North Carolina A&T State University (9)
2. South Carolina State University (4)
3. Bethune-Cookman University (1)
4. North Carolina Central University (4)
5. Morgan State University
6. Hampton University (2)
7. Norfolk State University
8. Florida A&M University**
9. Howard University**
10. Delaware State University (1)
11. Savannah State University** (1)
** Florida A&M, Howard and Savannah State is not eligible
for post season competition**

BULLDOG ALL-MEAC HONORS
First Team All-Defense
Pos. Player
DL Javon Hargrave
LB Darius Leonard

Second Team All-Offense
Pos. Player
RB Jalen Simmons
TE Temarrick Hemingway
OL Javarius Leamon

Second Team All-Defense
Pos. Player
DL Reggie Owens
DB Antonio Hamilton
RS Antonio Hamilton

Third Team All-Defense
Pos. Player
DL James Settles
DB Chris Pauling

COURTESY SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION        

S.C. State picked second in MEAC behind N.C. A&T

NORFOLK, Virginia -- South Carolina State was picked to finish second Friday in the annual Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football poll of head coaches and sports information directors. North Carolina A&T was picked first.

S.C. State received four first-place votes with North Carolina A&T State getting nine. All five teams that earned a share of the MEAC title last year rounded were in the top five spots in the preseason poll, including No. 3 Bethune-Cookman, No. 4 N.C. Central and No. 5 Morgan State.

All-American senior defensive lineman Javon Hargrave of S.C. State was named preseason Defensive Player of the Year. He earned first-team All-MEAC honors, along with sophomore linebacker Darius Leonard.

Running back Jalen Simmons, tight end Temarrick Hemingway and offensive lineman Javarius Leamon, defensive end Reggie Owens and defensive back/return specialist Antonio Hamilton were picked to the All-MEAC second team.

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A&T Picked To Win MEAC, Cohen Named Preseason POTY

NORFOLK, Virginia – The North Carolina A&T football team went nine straight seasons (2004-12) without being predicted to finish in the top 5 of the MEAC standings.

On Friday at the annual MEAC Media Luncheon at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott, the Aggies were not only picked to win the league, but MEAC head coaches and sports information directors also selected A&T star junior running back Tarik Cohen (5-foot-6, 173, Bunn, N.C.) as the preseason offensive player of the year. Joining Cohen on the preseason first team are senior cornerback Tony McRae (5-9, 178, Laurinburg, N.C.), redshirt junior defensive tackle Marquis Ragland (6-3, 271, Fayetteville, N.C.) and junior place kicker Cody Jones (5-11, 141, Gastonia, N.C.).

Senior defensive tackle Michael Neal (5-11, 260, Greensboro, N.C.) , senior rover Landis Shoffner (6-0, 186, Greensboro, N.C.) and redshirt sophomore left tackle Brandon Parker (6-7, 279, Kannapolis, N.C.) were second-team selections, while junior offensive guard Wes Cole (6-6, 335, Norwood, N.C.) was selected to the third team.

A&T, who finished last season 9-3 overall and 6-2 in the MEAC, received nine out of 22 first-place votes and received 425 points, 17 more than S.C. State who was picked to finish second with four first-place votes. Bethune-Cookman (one first-place vote), N.C. Central (four first-place votes) and Morgan State, last season’s MEAC representative in the NCAA FCS playoffs, rounded out the top 5. The MEAC race finished in a five-way tie for first in 2014 with A&T, Morgan State, Bethune-Cookman, NCCU and S.C. State sharing the MEAC title.

“How about that?” said fifth-year head coach Rod Broadway about being picked to win the conference. Broadway is four wins shy of his 100th career victory.

“When we stated four years ago, no one thought we were in the position to compete for a championship after coming off 27 straight losses,” he continued. “Just getting to the point where we are expected to do well is a great accomplishment by our players and coaches.”

Cohen, the league’s co-offensive player of the year in 2014, is coming off of a season where he rushed for 1,340 yards and 15 touchdowns, the second most yards in a season in A&T history. Only Maurice Hicks (2,812) has rushed for more yards in a two-year period than Cohen (2,488) in program history. Cohen has led in the MEAC in rushing over his first two seasons at A&T, and also led the MEAC in scoring (96 points) and touchdowns (16).

Nationally, he ranked third in yards per carry (6.8), 11th in rushing yards per game (121.8) and 15th in rushing TDs.

“He’s just a special talent,” Broadway said. “I think what makes him special is his will to win and work ethic. He is one of our most talented players, and he has the heart of a champion. He has an excellent skill set with that work ethic, which makes him a great player.”

McRae serves two roles for the Aggies. He is their top corner and kickoff returner. He was a first-team defensive back and second-team kickoff returner in 2014 after making five interceptions, breaking up 11 more passes and earning 25.7 yards per kickoff return. He ranked 13th nationally in passes defended (1.3 per game) and 15th in INTs (0.4 per game) as the Aggies led the nation in turnovers gained and were second in INTs.

Ragland is coming off a career season in which he made 69 tackles (38 unassisted), 15.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks and he blocked three kicks. From his nose guard position, he was third in the MEAC in sacks and fifth in tackles for loss.

Jones was a first-team 2014 All-MEAC selection after connecting on 15 of 19 (.789) field goals and 45 of 47 (.957) extra points. His 90 points were second in the MEAC behind Cohen. He led the conference in field goal percentage and was second in extra point percentage. Jones also doubled as the Aggies punter last season, ranking seventh in the league in yards per punt.

A&T opens the season Sept. 5 at home against Shaw University at 6 p.m. The Aggies first conference game is Oct. 3 at Hampton at 1 p.m.

NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Morgan State has MEAC's attention

NORFOLK, Virginia -- (STATS) - Few, if any, foresaw Morgan State capturing a share of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title and its first-ever FCS playoff bid at the start of last season.

The Bears were getting acclimated to a first-year head coach, hadn't won the conference title in 35 years and were picked ninth in the conference's preseason poll.

They didn't touch first place in October and endured a 45-0 loss with two weeks left in the season (yeah, ouch).

Yet on the final Saturday of the regular season, everything that had to go right did, and Morgan State was one of five teams to earn a share of the title. The tie-breakers then fell the Bears' way in the form of the postseason bid.

It's all changed this year. Opponents aren't sleeping on these Bears, although on Friday at MEAC football media day in Norfolk, Virginia, they were selected ...

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Jackson City Council Honors Former Jackson State University Director of Bands, Dowell Taylor