The newest head coach in the SWAC West Division has been loading up on transfers as he tries to take his team back to the top of the division.
Prairie View A&M, which will host the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff on Nov. 15 at Panther Stadium in Prairie View, Texas, hired former Valdosta State coach Tremaine Jackson as the Panthers’ new head coach this past winter.
Prairie View (5-7, 3-5 SWAC in 2024) made a coaching change after finishing fourth in the division in 2024, one year removed from winning the division for the second time in three seasons.
The previous two head coaches, Eric Dooley and Bubba McDowell, each won a division title: Dooley in 2021 and McDowell in 2023.
Jackson will likely be held to a high standard because of this, and he has hit the transfer portal hard to help fortify his first roster.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The Panthers have publicly announced 48 transfers from four-year schools, including 40 from Division I programs, with several others coming from junior colleges. Many of the incoming transfers are on defense.
Including junior college transfers, Prairie View has added 17 defensive backs from the portal after losing three of the top players from last year’s secondary.
Louisiana-Monroe transfer Travon Randle was the Warhawks’ third-leading tackler last season with 68 tackles, five for loss. He also broke up eight passes. Payton Tally was Princeton’s sixth-leading tackler with 49 and an interception. West Georgia transfer Malachi Williams made 64 tackles last year, third on his team, with four breakups and two forced fumbles.
Prairie View loses several key players on the defensive line, including tackles for loss leader Fred Stokes Jr. and sacks leader Chester Geffrard. To replace them, the Panthers signed eight transfers, four from Division I programs.
At linebacker, the Panthers lose leading tackler Ayden Jones but bring back Jayven Jackson and Jeremiah Harris II, who combined for eight tackles for loss and are the team’s top two returning tacklers.
Five Division I transfers and two Valdosta transfers will join them at the position. Kennedy Parker and Sterling Roberts are two of five former Valdosta players following Jackson to Prairie View.
On offense, Jackson must identify a starting quarterback with Jaden Johnson not returning. Cameron Peters and Lucas Coley return from last season. Peters threw for 925 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions. Coley appeared in two games.
Junior college transfer Blake Murphy, a former ULM quarterback who threw for 1,218 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions last year at Jones College (Ellisville, Miss.), will join the quarterback battle alongside two Division I transfers with limited playing experience.
The Panthers return just two of their top 10 receivers after losing players such as James Burns and Shemar Savage. This was another position Prairie View recruited hard, landing 11 transfers.
Lamar transfer Andre Dennis caught 10 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown last season, while Campbell transfer Chaney Fitzgerald caught nine passes for 127 yards. Prairie View also signed two Big 12 transfers: Cam Bonner from Baylor and Trae Davis from Kansas State.
Running back wasn’t as much of a priority with three of the Panthers’ top four rushers returning. Lamagea McDowell led the team with seven touchdowns and 482 yards, while Connor Wisham added 249 yards and two scores.
Prairie View added eight transfers on the offensive line, including Dylan Spencer, who played all 12 games last year at Central Arkansas.
UAPB (3-9, 2-6) defeated Prairie View 21-17 on national television last season in Pine Bluff.