BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Alabama State’s Eddie Robinson Jr. was hired at his alma mater without any coaching experience, and now he has raised the Hornets to division front-runner status.
The Hornets were picked to win the East Division by the Southwestern Athletic Conference head coaches and sports information directors on Tuesday, while Alcorn State is favored to win the West. The HBCU league released the preseason predictions and All-SWAC teams during media day.
Robinson mined the transfer portal for players like quarterback Andrew Body from league rival Texas Southern. The former NFL linebacker and TV analyst is 13-9 in two seasons at his alma mater but now faces higher expectations.
“We’re moving in the right direction,” Robinson said Tuesday. “We feel like we have a championship team. I’m sure there’s 11 other teams in the conference that feel the same way. We know that we’ve gotten better. We’ve improved. And I think I’ve improved as a coach.
“But now you just have to hope it’s enough to get to the championship level because you’re competing to see if we got better more than the other teams.”
Body predicted the Hornets are “going to live up to every expectation.”
Defending champion Florida A&M, which has won 11 straight games, is picked second in the East. James Colzie III was elevated to the head coaching job in January after Willie Simmons left to become a Duke assistant. The Rattlers ended Jackson State’s two-year reign over the league after Tigers coach Deion Sanders left for Colorado.
But FAMU must replace quarterback Jeremy Moussa and linebacker Isaiah Major, the league’s offensive and defensive players of the year.
Prairie View A&M won the West last season and is now picked to finish second, like FAMU.
“One thing I know about the SWAC … It’s crazy,” Prairie View A&M coach Bubba McDowell said. “The SWAC is one of those conferences where you just never know what’s going to happen.”
Grambling State quarterback Myles Crawley is the pick as preseason offensive player of the year while Southern’s Ckelby Givens was voted to win defensive player of the year honors.
Crawley became the first Grambling State quarterback to top 2,000 passing yards since Devante Kincade in 2017. Givens led the SWAC with 21 tackles for loss and tied for fourth with seven sacks last season. He had 61 tackles and eight quarterback hurries while forcing four fumbles.
Alabama State had five first-team picks: Offensive lineman Arelious Dunn, defensive lineman Treqwan Thomas, linebacker Demarkus Cunningham, defensive back James Burgess and return specialist Robert McMinn.
West favorite Alcorn State had only two first-teamers in tight end Tavarious Griffin and defensive lineman Malachi Bailey.
The predicted East division finish with total points and first-place votes in parentheses: Alabama State (114-11), Jackson State (87-2), Alabama A&M (76-4), Bethune-Cookman (47) and Mississippi Valley State (31-1).
In the West, Alcorn State (112-11) was followed by Prairie View A&M (104-8), Grambling State (72-4), Southern (70-1), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (61) and Texas Southern (40).
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