The Prairie View A&M football team had three players selected to the Southwestern Athletic Conference Preseason First Team and seven players selected overall as Preseason All-SWAC athletes. The Panthers were also predicted to finish third in the SWAC West in the voting conducted by conference coaches and sports information directors, tallying 82 points and three first place votes. Arkansas Pine Bluff was picked to finish first with 105 points and Southern finished just ahead of Prairie View A&M with 88 points and six first place votes.
Offensive linemen Dillon Bonnet and Tre Glover were named to the All-SWAC first team. Bonnet, a junior center, and Glover, a junior tackle, blocked for the No. 1 ranked offense in the SWAC (414.7 yards per game) and the 29th ranked offense in the NCAA. The Panthers were balanced in all aspects offensively, with the second-ranked rushing offense (187.7 yards per game) and the No. 2 ranked pass offense (228 yards per game).
Junior outside linebacker Jerome Howard was selected on the All-SWAC First Team Defense. Howard finished with 101 tackles, ranking fifth in the SWAC and 47th in the NCAA. He was also ranked sixth in the SWAC in tackles for loss with 15 and 47th nationally. At the linebacker position he was a threat in coverage too with eight passes defended (15th in the SWAC).
The Panthers had four players selected to the second-team offense in junior tight end Olatunde' Idowu, sophomore kicker Chris Barrick, junior punter Travis Jatzlau and sophomore return specialist Johnta' Hebert. Barrick ranked third in the SWAC with a 95 percent (38-of-40) PAT rate and finished second in the SWAC with nine field goals made. Jatzlau ranked fifth in the SWAC with an average of 39.6 yards per punt and placed 14 punts inside the 20-yard line with 6 punts over 50 yards.
Hebert returned 49 kicks for 926 yards (18.8 per kick). He ranked second in the SWAC with an 18.8 yards per kick average; he also returned one kickoff for a touchdown. As a freshman he led the SWAC with 121.7 all-purpose yards per game.
Prairie View A&M football preseason camp begins on Sunday Aug. 4 with the first practice scheduled for Monday, Aug. 5 at 7 p.m. The 2013 season opener will take place in Houston, Texas on Saturday, Aug. 31 versus longtime rival Texas Southern at BBVA Compass Stadium beginning at 7 p.m. Season tickets for this year's PV athletic contests are also available by clicking on the above link or here.
2013 Preseason All-SWAC Football Preseason - First Team
OFFENSE
QB
Ben Anderson
Arkansas - Pine Bluff
RB
Isaiah Crowell
Alabama State
RB
Justin Billings
Arkansas - Pine Bluff
WR
Lee Doss
Southern
WR
LaDarius Eckwood
Arkansas - Pine Bluff
TE
Dezmond Beverly
Arkansas - Pine Bluff
OL
Kenny Eagle
Arkansas - Pine Bluff
OL
Tre Glover
Prairie View A&M
OL
Damien Love
Alabama State
OL
Dillon Bonnet
Prairie View A&M
OL
Edmund Davis
Alabama State
PK
Bobby Wenzig
Alabama State
P
Bobby Wenzig
Alabama State
RS
Virgil Williams
Southern
DEFENSE
DL
Robert Simpson
Mississippi Valley State
DL
Damien Lee
Arkansas - Pine Bluff
DL
Tedderick Terrell
Jackson State
DL
DeMarcus Berry
Arkansas - Pine Bluff
LB
Jer-Ryan Harris
Arkansas - Pine Bluff
LB
Jerome Howard
Prairie View A&M
LB
Anthony Balancier
Southern
DB
Qua Cox
Jackson State
DB
Ryan Shaw
Arkansas - Pine Bluff
DB
Kevin Eugene
Mississippi Valley State
DB
Virgil Williams
Southern
2013 Preseason All-SWAC Football Preseason - Second Team
OFFENSE
QB
Dray Joseph
Southern
RB
Tommy Gooden
Jackson State
RB
Rakeem Sims
Jackson State
WR
Julian Stafford
Mississippi Valley State
WR
Montarius Smith
Alabama A&M
TE
Justin Robinson
Alabama State
TE
Olatunde' Idowu
Prairie View A&M
OL
Keathric Brown
Arkansas - Pine Bluff
OL
Jordan Arthur
Jackson State
OL
Clint Marsh
Grambling State
OL
Justin Goodrich
Alabama A&M
OL
Antonio Griggs
Mississippi Valley State
PK
Chris Barrick
Prairie View A&M
P
Travis Jatzlau
Prairie View A&M
RS
Johnta' Hebert
Prairie View A&M
DEFENSE
DL
Carlton Jones
Alabama State
DL
Reginald Bailey
Alabama A&M
DL
Arthur Miley
Southern
DL
Corey Johnson
Alabama A&M
LB
Xavier Lofton
Arkansas - Pine Bluff
LB
Todd Wilcher
Jackson State
LB
DeMarques Taylor
Alabama State
DB
Cameron Loeffler
Jackson State
DB
Jamison Knox
Alcorn State
DB
Le'Tevin Wilcox
Texas Southern
DB
Derrick Harris
Alabama A&M
2013 Predicted Order of Finish: (First-Place Votes)
WEST DIVISION
1. Arkansas - Pine Bluff 105 (14)
2. Southern 88 (6)
3. Prairie View A&M 82 (3)
4. Grambling State 51 (1)
5. Texas Southern 38
EAST DIVISION
1. Alabama State 108 (15)
2. Jackson State 102 (9)
3. Alabama A&M 60
4. Mississippi Valley State 51
5. Alcorn State 40
