Norfolk, VA.– Bethune-Cookman landed Fifteen (15) student athletes on the MEAC’s

Preseason All-Conference team and were predicted to finish second at the league’s Annual Press Luncheon earlier this week.

Seven Wildcats were named to the conference’s first team including: Michael Jones (RB; Sr) Jawill Davis (WR; r-Jr), Ja-Quan Lumas (TE; r-Jr), Trevin Huff (OL; r-Sr); Kevin Thompson (DL; Jr), Diquan Richardson (DB, Jr),and  Jonathan Cagle (P, Sr).

North Carolina A&T star running back Tarik Cohen was named the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and South Carolina State linebacker Darius Leonard was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year.

BCU, who has won at least a share of the league crown in each of the past four seasons, received the 2^nd most votes in the predicted order of finish.

The Wildcats shared the 2015 MEAC crown with North Carolina A&T (NCA&T) and North Carolina Central (NCCU). The same three squads landed the top three positions in this year’s preseason predictions with NCA&T leading the way with 13 first place votes.

2016 MEAC FOOTBALL PRESEASON PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

Rank	School	Points
1.	North Carolina A&T State (13)	489
2.	Bethune-Cookman (3)	447
3.	North Carolina Central (4)	388
4.	South Carolina State	351
5.	Hampton (1)	265
6.	Norfolk State	239
7.	Morgan State	192
8.	Florida A&M	164
9.	Delaware State (1)	121
10.	Howard	90
11.	Savannah State	48

 

2016 MEAC Football All-Conference Preseason Teams

First Team Offense First Team Defense Second Team Offense Second Team Defense Third Team Offense Third Team Defense Offensive Player of the Year: Tarik Cohen, North Carolina A&T State Defensive Player of the Year: Darius Leonard, South Carolina State

First-Team Offense

Pos.	Name	Cl.	School	Hometown
QB	Malcolm Bell	r-Sr.	North Carolina Central	Richmond, Va.
RB	Tarik Cohen	Sr.	North Carolina A&T State	Bunn, N.C.
RB	Michael Jones	Sr.	Bethune-Cookman	Sarasota, Fla.
WR	Twarn Mixson	r-Sr.	Hampton	Charlotte, N.C.
WR	Jawill Davis	r-Jr.	Bethune-Cookman	Miami, Fla.
TE	Ja-Quan Lumas	r-Jr.	Bethune-Cookman	Orlando, Fla.
C	Carl Jones	r-Sr.	North Carolina Central	Nashville, Tenn.
OL	Brandon Parker	r-Jr.	North Carolina A&T State	Kannapolis, N.C.
OL*	Javarius Leamon	r-Sr.	South Carolina State	Woodruff, S.C.
OL*	Trevin Huff	r-Sr.	Bethune-Cookman	Tallahassee, Fla.
OL	Desmond Cooper	r-Sr.	North Carolina Central	Stafford, Va.

First-Team Defense

Pos.	Name	Cl.	School	Hometown
DL	Marquis Ragland	r-Sr.	North Carolina A&T State	Fayetteville, N.C.
DL	Angelo Keyes	r-Sr.	North Carolina A&T State	Kinston, N.C.
DL	Curtis Alexander	Sr.	Florida A&M	Quincy, Fla.
DL	Kevin Thompson	Jr.	Bethune-Cookman	Baltimore, Md.
LB	Darius Leonard	r-Jr.	South Carolina State	Lake View, S.C.
LB	Dayshawn Taylor	r-Jr.	South Carolina State	Lincolnton, Ga.
LB	Jeremy Miles (Thompson)	r-Sr.	North Carolina Central	Durham, N.C.
DB	Jacques Bryant	Sr.	Florida A&M	Tallahassee, Fla.
DB	Diquan Richardson	Jr.	Bethune-Cookman	Alvin, S.C.
DB	Phillip Henry	r-Sr.	South Carolina State	Manning, S.C.
DB	Delonta Hall	r-Sr.	Morgan State	Fort Washington, Md.
PK	Cody Jones	Sr.	North Carolina A&T State	Gastonia, N.C.
P*	Jonathan Cagle	Sr.	Bethune-Cookman	Pensacola, Fla.
P*	Christian Faber-Kinney	r-Sr.	Hampton	Williamsburg, Va.
RS	Khris Gardin	Jr.	North Carolina A&T State	Morganton, N.C.

Second-Team Offense

Pos.	Name	Cl.	School	Hometown
QB	Greg Hankerson	Sr.	Norfolk State	Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.
RB	Dorrel McClain	r-So.	North Carolina Central	Cary, N.C.
RB	Orlando Johnson	Sr.	Morgan State	Memphis, Tenn.
WR	Denzel Keyes	Sr.	North Carolina A&T State	Kinston, N.C.
WR	Montavious Williams	r-So.	Florida A&M	Tallahassee, Fla.
TE	Justin Chaney	Jr.	Howard	Hammond, La.
C	Phillip Norman	r-Jr.	Bethune-Cookman	Sebastian, Fla.
OL	Toree Boyd	Sr.	Howard	Miami, Fla.
OL	Marcus Pettiford	So.	North Carolina A&T State	Durham, N.C.
OL*	Tarrance Wells	Sr.	North Carolina Central	Oxon Hill, Md.
OL*	Keonte Cash	So.	Florida A&M	Miami, Fla.

Second-Team Defense

Pos.	Name	Cl.	School	Hometown
DL	Antonio Brown	r-Jr.	North Carolina Central	Jacksonville, Fla.
DL	Gregtavious Newell	r-Jr.	South Carolina State	Columbia, S.C.
DL	Chris Lee	Jr.	Norfolk State	Woodbridge, Va.
DL*	Todney Evans	r-So.	Bethune-Cookman	Delray Beach, Fla.
DL*	DeMarcus Womack	Sr.	Bethune-Cookman	Orlando, Fla.
LB*	Jalen Day	r-Sr.	Howard	Winston Salem, N.C.
LB*	Marcus Albert	r-Jr.	North Carolina A&T State	College Park, Ga.
LB	Malik Harris	Jr.	Delaware State	Washington, D.C.
DB*	William Burton	Sr.	Delaware State	Washington Township, N.J.
DB*	Zerius Lockhart	r-Jr.	North Carolina A&T State	Auburn, Ala.
DB	Craig Johnson	Sr.	Howard	Brooklyn, N.Y.
DB*	Davanta Reynolds	r-So.	North Carolina Central	Tucker, Ga.
DB*	Sandy Chapman	Sr.	Norfolk State	Raleigh, N.C.
PK	Cameron Marouf	Sr.	Norfolk State	Woodbridge, Va.
P*	Jerome Pettiway	Jr.	South Carolina State	York, S.C.
P*	Colby Blanton	r-So.	Florida A&M	Jacksonville, Fla.
RS	LaVontis Smith	Sr.	North Carolina Central	Maben, Miss.

Third-Team Offense

Pos.	Name	Cl.	School	Hometown
QB	Larry Brihm, Jr.	r-Jr.	Bethune-Cookman	Delray Beach, Fla.
RB	Dondre Brown	Jr.	South Carolina State	Varnville, S.C.
RB*	Gerard Johnson	Sr.	Norfolk State	Richmond, Va.
RB*	Dwayne Garrett	r-Sr.	Hampton	Phoenix, Ariz.
WR	Frank Brown	r-Jr.	Bethune-Cookman	Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
WR	Aris Scott	Sr.	Delaware State	Harrisburg, Pa.
TE	Willie Gillus	r-Jr.	Morgan State	Suffolk, Va.
C	Darriel Mack	r-Jr.	North Carolina A&T State	Cilo, S.C.
OL	Donovan Johnson	Sr.	Hampton	Clifton, Md.
OL	Joshua Miles	Jr.	Morgan State	Baltimore, Md.
OL	Ryan Gould	Jr.	Hampton	Clemmons, S.C.
OL	Chuka Ezeuzoh	So.	Delaware State	Wilmington, Del.

 Third-Team Defense

Pos.	Name	Cl.	School	Hometown
DL	Malik Hampton-Prioleau	Sr.	North Carolina A&T State	Bossier City, La.
DL	Jai Franklin	Jr.	Morgan State	Clinton, Md.
DL*	Walter Brantley	So.	Norfolk State	Hampton, Va.
DL*	Ja’Quan Smith	r-Jr.	North Carolina Central	Miramar, Fla.
LB	Marquis Smith	Sr.	Savannah State	Prince Georges County, Md.
LB*	Rashawn Barrett	Sr.	Delaware State	Montclair, N.J.
LB*	Trenton Bridges	r-So.	Bethune-Cookman	Deland, Fla.
DB	Tard McCoy	r-Jr.	North Carolina A&T State	Delray Beach, Fla.
DB	Myles Morris	r-Sr.	Hampton	Greensboro, N.C.
DB	Arthur Williams	Jr.	Bethune-Cookman	Sebring, Fla.
DB	Devondre Powell	Jr.	South Carolina State	Miami, Fla.
PK*	Uriel Hernandez	So.	Bethune-Cookman	Homestead, Fla.
PK*	Tyler Scandrett	Jr.	South Carolina State	Barnesville, Ga.
P	John Barron	Sr.	Savannah State	Marietta, Ga.
RS	Marcus Taylor	So.	Norfolk State	Highland Springs, Va.

 *denotes tie