SIAC Announces 2016 Preseason Football All-Conference Awards

MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Albany State running back Jarvis Small was named the 2016 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Preseason Offensive Player of the Year while Tuskegee defensive lineman Julian Morgan was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year, announced by the league on Wednesday.

All votes are submitted by SIAC head football coaches and sports information directors.

Small, who was the 2015 SIAC Offensive Player of the Year, led the SIAC in rushing averaging 103.7 yards per game. Small recorded 1,037 yards in 2015 and scored a conference-high 11 touchdowns. He recorded six games last year where he rushed for over 100 yards, including a season-best 173 yards against Morehouse.

Morgan recorded 54 tackles in 2015 and led the Golden Tigers in sacks (9.5). He tallied nine quarterback hurries and forced three fumbles. Morgan also finished the 2015 campaign with 15.5 tackles for loss.

In addition to the individual awards, the league also announced the predicted order of finish for the 2016 season. Albany State garnered 14 first place votes and 78 points to lead the east division. Morehouse was second (52) followed by Fort Valley State (49), Clark Atlanta (29), and Benedict (22).

In the west division, Miles was picked to finish first with eight first place votes and 72 points. Tuskegee was voted second with seven first place votes and 69 points. Central State followed in third (34), ahead of Lane (27) and Kentucky State (25).

2016 SIAC Football Preseason Predicted Order of Finish
 (First Place Votes in Parenthesis)
 
East Division                                   Points
 Albany State (14)                 78

1. Morehouse (2)                     52
2. Fort Valley State (1)             49
3. Clark Atlanta                        29
4. Benedict                               22

 
West Division                                  Points
 Miles (8)                                72

1. Tuskegee (7)                         69
2. Central State                         34
3. Lane (1)                                 27
4. Kentucky State                      25

Offensive Player of the Year: Jarvis Small, Albany State
Defensive Player of the Year: Julian Morgan, Tuskegee
 
2016 SIAC Preseason Football First Team

QB	David Whipple		Miles	Senior	Gordon, Ga.
TE	Leo Gilbert		Tuskegee	Senior	Miami, Fla.
WR	Desmond Reece		Tuskegee	R-Senior	Valley, Ala.
WR	Quadrey Simmons		Albany State	Junior	Cope, S.C.
RB	Jamarcus Nance		Miles	Senior	Muscle Shoals, Ala.
RB	Jarvis Small		Albany State	Senior	Brunswick, Ga.
OL	Chris Ruffin		Miles	Junior	Bessemer, Ala.
OL	Leeward Brown		Tuskegee	Junior	Miami, Fla.
OL	Javoris Wilburn		Albany State	Senior	Warrenton, Ga.
OL	Marcus Campbell		Kentucky St.	Sophomore	Radcliff, Ky.
OL	Tedrick Cofield		Albany State	Junior	Atlanta, Ga.
DL	Grover Stewart		Albany State	Senior	Camillia, Ga.
DL	Julian Morgan		Tuskegee	Senior	Lithia Springs, Ga.
DL	Daryl George		Tuskegee	Senior	Douglasville, Ga.
DL	Bretton Ervin		Kentucky St.	Sophomore	Louisville, Ky.
LB	Deonate Gary		Central State	Senior	Lakeland, Fla.
LB	Javonte Kelly		Lane	Senior	Memphis, Tenn.
LB	Osband Thompson		Tuskegee	Junior	Miami, Fla.
DB	Clim Robbins		Central State	Senior	West Orlando, Fla.
DB	Jonah McCutcheon		Tuskegee	R-Junior	Mobile, Ala.
DB		Nick Scott	Albany State	Senior	Ellabell,Ga.
DB		Nehemiah Coward	Central State	Senior	Clermont, Fla.
K	Nick Christiansen		Miles	Junior	Clayton, N.C.
P	Juan Serna		Fort Valley	Junior	Douglasville, Ga.
KR	Amyr Smith		Morehouse	Sophomore	Atlanta, Ga.
PR	Amyr Smith		Morehouse	Sophomore	Atlanta, Ga.

 
2016 SIAC Preseason Football Second Team

QB	Caleb Edmonds	Albany State	Senior	Smyrna, Ga.
TE	Ryan Edwards	Morehouse	Senior	Atlanta, Ga.
WR	Charles Johnson	Kentucky St.	Junior	Erlanger, Ky.
WR	Brenton Martin	Clark Atlanta	Sophomore	Marietta, Ga.
RB	Reginal Harris	Kentucky St.	Sophomore	Miami, Fla.
RB	Jaha McCray	Clark Atlanta	Junior	Jacksonville, Fla.
OL	Trey Wilson	Morehouse	Sophomore	Lawrenceville, Ga.
OL	Howard Bush	Lane	Junior	Mobile, Ala.
OL	Michael Moaga	Kentucky St.	Senior	Lexington, Ky.
OL	Aliou Diouf	Central State	Junior	Cincinnati, Ohio
OL	Darryl Carr	Lane	Junior	Sauk Village, Ill.
DL	Devonta Ramseur	Tuskegee	Junior	Shelby, N.C.
DL	Ray Taylor	Lane	Sophomore	Memphis, Tenn.
DL	Voris Bryant	Morehouse	Junior	Gray, Ga.
DL	Darion Hall	Tuskegee	Senior	Wetumpka, Ala.
LB	Trevon Spencer	Kentucky St.	Senior	Louisville, Ky.
LB	Stephen Williams	Benedict	Senior	Williamston, S.C.
LB	Zavondric Shingleton	Albany State	Senior	Millen, Ga.
DB	Darius Holmes	Tuskegee	R-Sophomore	Warner Robins, Ga.
DB	Cedric Poole	Miles	Senior	Birmingham, Ala.
DB	Jaquatin Victrum	Clark Atlanta	Junior	Miami, Fla.
DB	Emmauel Parks	Morehouse	Senior	Atlanta, Ga.
K	Bill Rose	Kentucky St.	Senior	Lawrenceburg, Ky.
P	Terry Wiley	Albany State	Junior	Douglas, Ga.
KR	George Myers, Jr.	Benedict	Junior	Hephzibah, Ga.
PR	Clim Robbins	Central State	Senior	West Orlando, Fla.

 
 COURTESY SIAC MEDIA RELATIONS

FAMU President Mangum provides performance bonuses for successful coaches

FAMU President Elmira Mangum. Ph.D.

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Florida A&M Athletic Director Milton Overton Jr. isn’t the only one making quality-of-life changes in the university’s athletic department.

FAMU President Elmira Mangum, using a discretionary fund from the FAMU Foundation, is doing what she can to ensure FAMU’s coaches are motivated to win and eager to stay with the Rattlers.

During a recent reception for the school’s coaches, Mangum honored track and field coach Darlene Moore, cheerleading coach Brandi Tatum and softball coach Veronica Wiggins. The coaches were given performances bonus of $2,000 for their conference titles, plus an extra $1,000 if they earned Most Outstanding Coach honors.

Moore and Wiggins were both named Most Outstanding Coach in their conference tournaments. The three coaches' assistants were also given performance bonuses.

Moore, who last week was named director of FAMU’s track and field program, won conference titles in both cross country and women’s outdoor track and field. Wiggins won her third-straight conference title in softball. Tatum's co-ed squad won its second conference championship in a row.

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Former PVAMU Lady Panther signs professional contract with Romanian club

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Former Prairie View A&M basketball player Jeanette Jackson has signed a professional contract with Phoenix Galati in Romania, the JP Sports Agency reported Tuesday.

Jackson, a four-year letterwinner with the Lady Panthers, concluded her collegiate career in 2015, and was part of three Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament teams. She scored 1,689 points during her PVAMU career, good for an average of 13.1 points per game over 129 career contests.

During her final two seasons with the Lady Panthers, Jackson averaged 17.8 points and 3.7 assists per game. She started in all 64 of the team's games during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.

A 5-7 guard out from Las Vegas, Nev., Jackson concluded her collegiate career by being named the SWAC's Player of the Year in 2015.

CS Phoenix Galati has competed in Liga Nationala, the top-flight women's basketball league in Romania, for the past three seasons after being promoted from Liga I in 2013. The team's profile on EuroBasket.com lists three Americans on the roster; Jackson will be the fourth.

The city of Galati is the capital city of Romania's Galati County, and is the nation's largest port city on the Danube River. It is in the historic region of Moldavia, and situated on Romania's border with the nation of Moldova.

COURTESY PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

5 most intriguing SWAC games in 2016

GRAMBLING, Louisiana -- Grambling coach Broderick Fobbs was quick to promote parity in the Southwestern Athletic Conference at last week's media day.

Judging by the landscape of the league the past few years, that parity may be a parody.

While generally competitive, the SWAC has become a three- or four-team race of late with the likes of Alcorn State, Grambling and Southern battling it out for conference supremacy. This year, Prairie View A&M, the preseason favorite to upend Grambling as the SWAC West Division champs, joins the mix.

Fobbs said last Friday a league that was once top heavy now boasts competitive balance with the emergence of programs like Prairie View, the staying power of Alabama State and the potential emergence of schools like Texas Southern and the re-emergence of programs like Jackson State.

Still, some of the top games in the league this year revolve around the usual powers. Here are the five most intriguing SWAC games for 2016.

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Penn State Men’s Basketball To Host Morgan State On Dec. 21

STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania -- Penn State men’s basketball added another opponent to its non-conference schedule, and no, it’s not Kentucky.

The Lions will host Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference resident Morgan State on Dec. 21 at the Bryce Jordan Center just two weeks after trekking to Newark, N.J. to face Pitt. Morgan State’s 2015-16 campaign was less than stellar after the Bears compiled a lowly 9-22 record, finishing 6-10 in the MEAC. Their 2015-16 non-conference slate included trips to Virginia and Cincinnati — both of which resulted in double-digit losses.

The Lions last played Morgan State in 2014, where they won 61-48 behind 17 points from star guard D.J. Newbill and 14 from then-freshman Shep Garner.

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Playing 11 questions and 11 answers with Jarrett Payton, son of Walter Payton

CHICAGO, Illinois -- Jarrett Payton, who is now 35 and a sportscaster in Chicago, learned his father, Walter, was an extraordinary guy at the age of 4 when Walter broke Jim Brown’s all-time rushing record in 1984 at Soldier Field, the Chicago Bears’ home stadium.

And Payton was just 12 when he introduced his father, who went to Jackson State University, on the dais for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993. Walter Payton died in 1999 of bile duct cancer at age 45.

On Sept. 4, Bethune-Cookman University will play Alcorn State University in the 2016 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC)/Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Challenge in Daytona Beach, Florida. The game will be played at 1 p.m. EST at Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium and be televised on ESPN. There, the Walter Payton Achievement Award, which recognizes outstanding accomplishments in academics and football, will be given to one member from each of the two teams.

Voting for the 2016 Walter Payton Achievement Award has already begun and closes Aug. 19. The final two winners will be announced at the game’s welcome banquet on Sept. 2.

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NC Central Coach Jerry Mack and players eye Celebration Bowl

CARY, North Carolina -- North Carolina Central Coach Jerry Mack begins only his fourth season, but he has the Eagles seeking a third conference title in a row at the same time they enjoy the best of two national championship worlds.

That takes some clarification.

NC Central is a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference member that is playing first and foremost for a bid to the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl.

The Celebration Bowl in Atlanta made its debut last year, with the backing of ESPN money and exposure. The national championship game matches champions from the MEAC and Southwestern Athletic Conference, two long-standing leagues among Historically Black College and Universities

But Mack also tells his team if it comes up short of the Celebration Bowl, they need to compile a MEAC runner-up season worthy of earning one of the 16 bids into the Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

“We like that the MEAC and SWAC have a chance to play in a bowl game in Atlanta,” said Mack, “and our guys also have a chance to compete in the FBS playoffs.”

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