BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Southern University is the team to beat in the SWAC West Division this fall.
The Jaguars won the division last year, their second title in the past three seasons, and were named the preseason favorites to win it again this fall.
Second-year Southern Coach Terrance Graves said nothing changes for his team despite now being the team everyone in the division will be hunting.
“We appreciate the respect from being picked first, but at the end of the day, you’ve gotta place us somewhere, and the games gotta be played,” Graves said. “So, to think that all of a sudden now that we’re the preseason No. 1 people are just gonna lay down and not play Southern University, well, that’s a mistake. So, we definitely take that as a sign of respect, but we gotta be locked in and focus and do what we need to do.”
The Jaguars leaned on their defense, which ranked third in the SWAC in both points and yards per game, to earn their trip to the SWAC Championship. That unit will again be tough to beat with three preseason first team All-SWAC selections on that unit, led by defensive player of the year Ckelby Givens, a defensive end.
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Alcorn State was picked second in the preseason poll and will be one of Southern’s chief challengers for the west crown. The Braves finished second last year and were tied for first in 2023, though Prairie View A&M won the tiebreaker to play in the championship game.
The Braves have been close but haven’t reached the title game since winning the SWAC in 2018 and 2019 as a member of the East Division. Coach Cedric Thomas said the Braves must execute better throughout the season to win their first West Division title.
“When you look at some of the upper echelon teams, they roster heavy,” Thomas said. “They got a lot of guys that can play the kicking game and take the pressure off some of the guys that’s playing a lot, but they also, they finish. So, that’s what we gotta do. We think our roster will be just as good. So, that’s the mindset. We’ve been close, but now it’s just time to get there and kick it in, and I think we have the roster to do it.”
Preseason first team All-SWAC running back Jacorian Sewell, who was third in the SWAC with 807 rushing yards last year, will be a big key to the Braves hopes.
Prairie View is the only team other than Southern to have represented the West Division in the SWAC championship since the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff did so during the Spring 2021 season. The Panthers reached the title game in Fall 2021 before beating out Alcorn for the spot in 2023.
The Panthers are the only squad in the division with a new head coach, Tremaine Jackson. The former Valdosta State coach said his goals go beyond winning the West. He has been vocal about his intentions to get the Panthers to the Celebration Bowl as SWAC champions.
Jackson has brought in over 40 Division I transfers as he aims to keep Prairie View, which finished fourth last year but was picked third in the preseason poll this year, at the top of this division.
“You get to playing with them 18-year-olds, it’s going to be a while for you,” Jackson said. “Not saying it can’t get done, but we weren’t at a point where we were established enough to be able to do that. So, we needed to get some immediate talent in there, but also, as long as I am a head coach, I’m always dealing in the transfer game, because I am a transfer myself.”
Jackson said it is hard to know who the top guys will be for his team until the season starts and they make plays. Running back Lamagea McDowell was Prairie View’s lone preseason All-SWAC selection as a second teamer.
Those three may well be the favorites, but the West Division has a reputation for being competitive.
Texas Southern and Grambling State each have second-year head coaches, while UAPB’s Alonzo Hampton is now the longest-tenured coach in the division. GSU defensive lineman Bryce Cage and punter Johnny Schifano were the only preseason first team selections from any of those three teams, though all three had second team selections.
Graves, the only current head coach in the West who has won the division at his current school, said winning it comes down to execution.
“We call it the Wild, Wild West, because nobody on that side is a gimme,” Graves said. “So, you gonna get a fight week in and week out, so you can’t afford to have any slip ups. Because if you do, it’s hard to win that West with one loss, and it’s almost impossible with two. That speaks to the level of competition and how guys are really playing and competing to win that title.”