CHARLESTON, SC NEWS - LIVE 5 WCSC Breaking News, Weather, SportsSC State Leads MEAC 2010 Preseason Poll

SC State Leads MEAC 2010 Preseason Poll

NORFOLK, VA – Two-time defending champion South Carolina State has been picked to win the 2010 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title by a poll of league coaches and sports Information directors, the league announced Friday at its annual press luncheon at the downtown Marriott. SC State head football coach emeritus Willie Jeffries served as Em Cee for the event.

Friday's predictions marked the fourth consecutive time Coach Buddy Pough's team has been picked to win the coveted crown which the Bulldogs have captured each of the last two seasons. The only season SC State did not live up to its previous preseason billing was the 2008 campaign when Pough's team finished second.

The Bulldogs received 15 of 18 first-place votes and 315 points. Florida A&M, runner-up to SC State the last two seasons, got two of the three remaining first-place votes and 268 points to finish second.

The Rattlers were followed by Norfolk State, 190 points; Hampton, one first-place vote and 167 points; Morgan State, 166; North Carolina A&T, 150, Delaware State, 120; Bethune-Cookman, 68; and Howard, 32.

Pough, who has to find replacements for 10 starters -- including All-America running back Will Ford, who ended his career as the all-time leading rusher in SC State and MEAC history – said the selection of his team as this year's preseason favorite, demonstrates the respect the conference has for the Bulldog program.

"It's a tremendous tribute to our program to be selected to win our league again," Pough said. "It shows the respect the coaches and SIDs around the league has for our program, our players, and our staff and also for what we have managed to do the last two years.

"We lost a lot of good players," he continued.  "How to you replace a Will Ford (RB), a Tre' Young (WR), or a Phillip Adams (DB) or Rafael Bush (DB). I guarantee you we have our work cut out for us, but we hope that we can keep up our winning tradition."

SC State, which returns 42 lettermen, among them 14 starters,  also led the way on the 2010 MEAC preseason team with 13 selections, including seven on the first unit.

The league also announced its 40^th Anniversary squad during the event and, once more, SC State showed the way with 10 players on the 39-player squad. A 40^th player will be chosen by on-line voting by MEAC fans.

Heading the SC State preseason team picks was senior quarterback Malcolm Long, who was chosen as Offensive Player of the Year. Joining him on the first-team offense were four Bulldog offensive linemen – seniors Johnny Culbreath, Josh Harrison and Sam Timothy and junior Juahvahr Nathan. Bulldogs on the first-team defense were defensive lineman Jayson Ayers and linebacker David Erby, both seniors.

Bulldog second team selections included wide receiver Richard Christie, defensive lineman Ronell Ferguson, linebacker Julius Wilkerson, defensive backs Devonne Quattlebaum and Semaj Moody and placekicker Blake Erickson.

The 10 SC State players selected to the MEAC's 40^th anniversary team were Ford and two other running backs, Rickey Anderson and Michael Hicks, offensive linemen Edwin Bailey and Raleigh Roundtree, defensive linemen Robert Porcher, Barney Chavous and Harry Carson and defensive back Donnie Shell and Barney Bussey.

SC State, 10-2 and 8-0 in the MEAC last season, opens the 2010 campaign Sept. 4 at Georgia Tech (1p. m.) in Atlanta, and kickoff its home schedule Sept. 11 (6 p.m.) against Mississippi Valley State in the Hall of Fame game.

Courtesy: SC State