HBCU Football Preview 2014

FLORIDA A&M and NORFOLK STATE are a pair of programs that have fallen on hard times in recent years, and the prospects for them contending for the championship this season aren’t good. Norfolk State added former Morgan State head coach Donald Hill-Eley as offensive coordinator after ranking in the bottom third in the conference in passing yards and total yards while averaging a conference low 14.0 points a game. Florida A&M is pinning its hopes for returning to relevance on its underrated defense and a revitalized offense. The Rattlers were No. 1 in the MEAC against the pass (125.3 yards a game) but were inconsistent when it came to stopping the run.

HAMPTON, MORGAN STATE and NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL have reshuffled the deck and brought in new coaches. Connell Maynor has taken over at Hampton after guiding Winston-Salem State to a 45-6 record in four seasons, including a 29-2 mark in the CIAA. Maynor led the Rams to three conference titles and three appearances in the Division II playoffs, where they were national runners-up in 2012. He’s unlikely to have that kind of success immediately with the Pirates, who haven’t won more than seven games in a season since 2011 and have had winning records just three times since 2007.

MORGAN STATE hopes to build on its strong finish last season with former University of Maryland receivers coach Lee Hull at the helm. The Bears ended 2013 by winning five of their final seven games after going winless in their first five.

Thirty-three-year-old Jerry Mack, the third youngest head coach in Division I, is NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL’S third coach in the last 13 months. Mack replaces Dwayne Foster, who replaced Henry Frazier III on an interim basis after Frazier was fired just weeks before the 2013 season began.

It is shaping up as another long season for SAVANNAH STATE. The Tigers, who are ineligible for the conference championship because of APR issues, are shooting for their first winning record since 1999. They are 3-31 since joining the MEAC and have lost 23 consecutive conference games. One bright spot – The Tigers had the second-best passing attack in the conference last season. They will have a new triggerman this year, Leon Prunty, who split time with Anthony Bostick a year ago. The SWAC championship race appears to be wide open after a shakeup in the coaching ranks. Three of the conference’s most successful coaches – Anthony Jones at Alabama A&M, Doug Williams at Grambling State and Rick Comegy at Jackson State.—were replaced. Also gone is Karl Morgan at Mississippi Valley State.

The coaching change will have the greatest impact in the East Division, where Comgey led JACKSON STATE to back-to-back titles but didn’t have his contract renewed after failing to win the conference crown either time. Jackson State favorite son Harold Jackson, a former All-Pro wide receiver and one of the all-time greats in school history, replaced Comegy. The first order of business for Jackson is replacing two-year starting quarterback Clayton Moore. Redshirt sophomore LaMontiez Ivy is the frontrunner. Ivy started the 2013 season opener against Tulane because Moore was out due to injury, but Ivy suffered a season-ending leg injury himself. In addition to breaking in a new quarterback, the Tigers must to remake the secondary, with the graduation loss of cornerback Qua Cox and safety Cameron Loeffler. Expectations are high at Jackson State as usual, but the Tigers seem to have too many holes to fill to three-peat as division champs.

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