Finally! A Cricket Celebration Bowl champion has risen from the ranks of the Southwestern Athletic Conference for the first time in seven years.
This past offseason, however, has not been kind to the Rattlers of Florida A&M as last year’s Black College Football champions have lost their Coach of the Year Willie Simmons to Duke and 10 All-Conference performers, including Offensive Player of the Year Jeremy Moussa and Defensive Player of the Year Isaiah Major.
Amidst a bevy of wholesale changes at FAMU, several questions loom over the SWAC in 2024.
Are the revamped Rattlers, with former assistant head coach James Colzie III at the reins, good enough to repeat as divisional champs, or will someone else take advantage of the overhaul in Tallahassee and potentially win the SWAC East Division title in 2024? Can Prairie View A&M win back-to-back divisional championships in what is known as “The Wild Wild West”?
As we close in on the start of the upcoming season, here’s a look at the top returning players and our predicted order of finish.
New Customer Offers at BetMGM
Bonus Bets Expire in 7 Days. One New Customer Offer Only. Add’l Terms
Returning All-Conference Players
From last season’s All-SWAC Team
Alabama State – 3: OL Arelious Dunn (2nd Team), RS Robert McMinn (2nd Team), DL Treqwan Thomas (2nd Team)
Florida A&M – 3: DB Kendall Bohler (1st Team), PK Cameron Gillis (1st Team), OL Ashton Grable (2nd Team)
Southern – 3: LS Braxton Blackwell (1st Team), DL Ckelby Givens (1st Team), PK Joshua Griffin (2nd Team)
Alabama A&M – 2: RB Donovan Eaglin (2nd Team), DB Emari Pait (2nd Team)
Alcorn State – 2: DL Malachi Bailey (1st Team), TE Tavarious Griffin (1st Team)
Jackson State – 2: OL Evan Henry (2nd Team), P Matt Noll (2nd Team)
Bethune-Cookman – 1: LS Clayton Thomas Jr. (2nd Team)
Texas Southern – 1: LB Jacob Williams (2nd Team)
Teams With the Most D1 Transfers
FBS-to-FCS Transfers & FCS-to-FCS Transfers
Florida A&M — 36 (30 FBS, 6 FCS)
Grambling State — 23 (17 FBS, 6 FCS)
Jackson State — 20 (13 FBS, 7 FCS)
Alabama A&M — 18 (12 FBS, 6 FCS)
Bethune-Cookman — 16 (12 FBS, 4 FCS)
Alabama State — 12 (4 FBS, 8 FCS)
Mississippi Valley State — 12 (2 FBS, 10 FCS)
Prairie View A&M — 9 (4 FBS, 5 FCS)
Texas Southern – 9 (6 FBS, 3 FCS)
Southern — 7 (4 FBS, 3 FCS)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff – 7 (3 FBS, 4 FCS)
Alcorn State – 6 (5 FBS, 1 FCS)
2024 Preseason Preview Central
Names To Know
TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYER: Myles Crawley, Grambling State QB — The preseason SWAC Offensive Player of the Year led the Tigers to the third-highest scoring offense in the SWAC with 28.7 points per game while throwing for 2,303 yards and 16 touchdowns and completing 60.1% of his passes in 2023.
Other players to watch: RB Donovan Eaglin (Alabama A&M), TE Tavarious Griffin (Alcorn State), WR Jacolby Hewitt (Alabama A&M), QB Jacobian Morgan (Jackson State), RB Irv Mulligan (Jackson State)
TOP DEFENSIVE PLAYER: Ckelby Givens, Southern DL — The Jaguar defensive lineman wreaked havoc in opposing backfields last season, finishing seventh in the nation in total tackles for loss (21), third in the FCS in tackles for loss per game (1.9), and racked up seven total sacks on his way to becoming a First Team All-SWAC performer.
Other players to watch: EDGE Malachi Bailey (Alcorn State), CB Kendall Bohler (Florida A&M), LB Rico Dozier (Alabama State), LB Jacob Williams (Texas Southern)
TOP NFL PROSPECT: Carson Vinson, Alabama A&M OL — At 6-6, 305 lbs., the Preseason Second Team All-SWAC selection helped the Bulldogs offense average 374.6 yards per game, including 221.1 yards per game in the air. Vinson, who is a projected fourth-round NFL draft pick, was recently selected to the 100th Annual East-West Shrine Bowl 1,000 Watchlist.
Other Players to Watch: EDGE Malachi Bailey (Alcorn State), CB Kendall Bohler (Florida A&M), CB James Burgess (Alabama State), CB Robert McDaniel (Jackson State), OG Mehdi Torrence (Texas Southern)
HERO Sports’ Predicted Order of Finish
SWAC East
1. Alabama State
2. Jackson State
3. Florida A&M
4. Alabama A&M
5. Bethune-Cookman
6. Mississippi Valley State
SWAC West
1. Prairie View A&M
2. Alcorn State
3. Grambling State
4. Southern
5. Arkansas-Pine Bluff
6. Texas Southern
Commissioner Dr. Charles McClelland proudly boasts that there are “no days off” in SWAC conference play, and the past few seasons have borne that out.
Over the last three years, the SWAC’s West Division has seen some wild finishes with the eventual champion being crowned in the final weekend of the season. In 2023, one game separated first from fourth place.
Four new head coaches in the West present new wrinkles as former Braves assistant Cedric Thoman returns to Alcorn as head coach, Mickey Joseph takes over the reins at Grambling, former all-pro cornerback Cris Dishman earned his first-ever head coaching job at Texas Southern, and interim tag was removed from Terrence Graves’ title making him Southern’s new head coach.
To make things wilder in the West, Graves has the distinction as the only coach to lead both Southern and Grambling while adding former Alcorn head coach Fred McNair to his staff. Not to be outdone, former Jags head coach Eric Dooley is the new offensive coordinator for the Bayou Bengals.
In the East, the burden of winning the Orange Blossom Classic has been relieved. Dating back to 2021, the OBC has served as the de facto SWAC East Title Game. This year’s Week One matchup in Miami will be an interconference contest and has the potential to be a Celebration Bowl preview as Alabama State and North Carolina Central face off.
Entering this season, all eyes will be on the coaches’ favorites Alabama State and Alcorn State. However, I have a few concerns about both.
The addition of Texas Southern transfer Andrew Body should boost a unit that averaged under 21 points and 300 yards per game offensively. Still, they will need to avoid their recent home struggles to earn a divisional title for the first time in a decade.
Even though Bama State has a favorable schedule, facing Florida A&M, Jackson State, and Prairie View at home, the Hornets have posted a record of 5-6 at The Gump over the past two seasons.
If Alcorn’s aspirations of winning their first-ever Western Division title are to come true, they’ll have to do it on the road. The Braves finished 2023 strong, winning six of their last seven games, three of which were away from Lorman. However, the Braves have compiled a 9-10 road record since 2021 and will face Grambling, Prairie View, and Southern away from Spinks-Casem.
Either way, I anticipate this year to be a competitive one in the SWAC with one game separating first from third place in both divisions. With all of the changes conference-wide, whichever team can come together quicker has the potential to represent the conference in Atlanta this December.
