For the Southwestern Athletic Conference football teams, and its fans coming out of SWAC Media Day on Tuesday. All of the 12 teams are undefeated with the hope of hoisting the 2024 SWAC championship trophy when the season begins Aug. 29.
On Tuesday, the SWAC announced its preseason All-SWAC Teams and put a bull’s-eye on the teams picked to win the East and West Divisions based on the voting poll of SWAC head coaches and sports information directors.
Jackson State had five players chosen to the preseason all-conference teams, and the Tigers were selected to finish third in the East Division. What the Tigers need to remember is the games are played on the field and not in polls. The scoreboard is the only thing that matters.
Preseason polls are nothing more than speculation until they are backed up with results on the field.
As ESPN’s Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast, my friend.”
Take a look at the 2023 preseason polling. Five players selected to the first team offense on the preseason All-SWAC team in July didn’t make the end-of-season All-SWAC team, and three more made only the second team. The coaches and SIDs picked Southern to win the West; the Jaguars finished third. Prairie View A&M was predicted to finish fifth in the division; the Panthers shared the West’s best record (6-2) with Alcorn State.
Heading into the 2024 season, here are three of the prognosticators’ predictions that may be proved off target.
A healthy Irv Mulligan could mean huge rushing numbers for Jackson State
Jackson State running back Irv Mulligan was left off the preseason All-SWAC teams. If healthy, look for Mulligan to have a chance to rush for 1,500 yards.
In 2023, Mulligan led the SWAC in rushing with more than 600 yards through six games. He was injured in the seventh game against Alabama State. Mulligan missed the next three games and played only briefly in the last game of the season against Alcorn State. He finished second in the SWAC in rushing with 674 yards and five touchdowns in only eight games.
Jackson State quarterback JaCobian Morgan may emerge as the SWAC’s best
Jackson State quarterback JaCobian Morgan was not selected to the preseason team as one of its best two quarterbacks. And here is why Morgan may emerge as the best quarterback in the SWAC.
Morgan, a 2023 transfer from Syracuse, has a chance to be special. After missing the early season in 2023 because of injury, Morgan played in six games, completing 83 of 123 passes for 842 yards with 10 touchdowns and one interception. Morgan is a dual-threat quarterback who had a 107-yard rushing game against Mississippi Valley State.
Jackson State coach T.C. Taylor, believes so much in the talent of Morgan, that he did not recruit Andrew Body, the Texas Southern quarterback who was named to the SWAC preseason second team in 2023 but missed the season because of injury and then entered the transfer portal. Body will play for Alabama State in 2024.
JSU IS PICKED TO FINISH THIRD IN SWAC Where Jackson State football is picked to finish in 2024 SWAC preseason poll
Jackson State should bury its third-place prediction
Jackson State was picked to finish third in the East Division of the SWAC. The SWAC voters may have underrated the Tigers. Taylor will be entering his second season and looking to build off of a promising 7-4 season. He said at SWAC Media Day that his team can get better if it plays special teams better.
“If we can get better on special teams alone, that would equate to some more wins,” Taylor said. “Special teams was a thorn in our side last year. We did not do well in the return game, and we did not tackle people on kickoffs. That’s the emphasis — we have to get better on special teams this year — and we have a new special teams coordinator in Javancy Jones, a former JSU player, who was a great player and an All-American. He is going to come in and lead special teams.”
Jackson State opens its 2024 football season against the University of Louisiana-Monroe on Aug. 29 (ESPN+, 6 p.m.).
J.T. Keith is the HBCU sports editor for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at JKeith@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @JTKEITH1.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Why Jackson State football can smash the SWAC’s preseason predictions
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