HOUSTON – The ACU Wildcats, who are about to embark on a historic 2017 football season, have been picked to finish eighth in the Southland Conference pre-season poll, which was released Thursday by the league at the annual Media Day.
Sam Houston State – which won league titles in four of the previous six seasons – has been picked by both the coaches' and the sports information directors from the Southland Conference to win the league championship again in 2017.
This year's single pre-season poll was a combination of votes by the league's head coaches and SIDs, and Sam Houston State came out as the overwhelming favorite to win the Southland championship. The Bearkats captured 20 of 22 possible first-place votes and 200 points. Central Arkansas – which finished second in the league last year – has been picked to finish second again in 2017, capturing two first-place votes and 177 total points.
The Wildcats – who finished 2-9 last season — finished just behind Lamar in the pre-season poll with 66 points to Lamar's 68 points. ACU begins the 2017 season with a new head coach in
Adam Dorrel and in their first year of full membership at the NCAA Division I level. ACU has been serving a four-year transition period as it made the move from NCAA Division II affiliation, but that transition period ended at the end of May and now the Wildcats are eligible for Southland Conference and NCAA post-season play in each sport this year, pending approval in August by the NCAA.
ACU will also open Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium this fall, the program's first on-campus football home since 1942. The Wildcats will open the season on Sept. 16 when they host Houston Baptist in the first on-campus game since ACU hosted Howard Payne in 1958 at old Elmer Gray Stadium, which is the site where Wildcat Stadium now sits.
"I haven't been in this league, but I'm a good enough coach that I can look at film and know this is a good league from top to bottom," Dorrel said. "I don't talk a lot about winning and losing; instead we're going to talk about the process that goes into winning and losing. To be real honest, being picked eighth is about what I thought would happen."
The Bearkats won last year's regular-season title with a 9-0 record and its closest games during the regular season were a pair of 13-point wins in conference play (over Lamar and Mcneese). Sam Houston State finished 12-1 on the season and reached the NCAA Division I FCS quarterfinals before falling to eventual national champion, James Madison, 65-7.
The Bearkats are led by the league's best set of skill-position players in quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe, running back Corey Avery and receivers Yedidiah Louis, Davion Davis and Nathan Stewart. Defensively, Sam Houston State is led by defensive end P.J. Hall and linebacker Justin Johnson.
Briscoe is the reigning Walter Payton Award winner, which signifies the top player in FCS football. He threw for 4,602 yards and 57 touchdowns against just 10 interceptions en route to one of the great individual seasons in Southland Conference history. Avery ran for 755 yards and 10 touchdowns, while Louis, Davis and Stewart combined for 184 receptions for 3,116 yards and 36 touchdowns.
Hall, meanwhile, led the Southland Conference in sacks (11.0) and tackles for loss (24.5) while registering 56 total tackles. Johnson led the Bearkats in tackles with 97. Each of those players were voted to the pre-season all-conference first team, along with other Sam Houston State players in offensive lineman Tyler Tazeno and kick returner Jaylen Harris giving the Bearkats eight players on the league's pre-season first team all-conference squad.
Following Sam Houston State and Central Arkansas in the pre-season poll are McNeese (163 points), Southeastern Louisiana (136 points) and surprising Nicholls (133 points) rounding out the top five. The rest of the poll starts with Stephen F. Austin (114 points) in sixth, followed by Lamar (68), Abilene Christian (66), Houston Baptist (56), Northwestern State (49) and Incarnate Word (48).
ACU has two players on the league's first team all-conference: senior linebacker
Sam Denmark and senior placekicker
Nik Grau. Both were voted first team all-conference at the conclusion of the 2016 season and were automatically placed on the league's pre-season all-conference team in 2017.
Denmark – a two-time first team all-Southland Conference selection –enters the 2017 season needing just 63 tackles to become ACU's all-time leader in tackles. He begins the 2017 season with 326 career stops (Ryan Boozer is the all-time leader with 388 from 1998-2001).
Grau returns for his senior season with a chance to finish as ACU's all-time leader in field goals made and second in career PATs made and attempted and in career kicking points. He enters the season fourth in ACU history with 37 field goals (Morgan Lineberry is the all-time leader with 50), and he's third in PATs (124) and attempted (130) behind Matt Adams (213 for 222) and Lineberry (140 for 154). He's third in career kicking points with 235 (Adams with 339 and Lineberry with 290 are first and second, respectively), and he's sixth in all-time scoring with those 235 points.
WILDCAT QUOTES
ACU HEAD FOOTBALL COACH ADAM DORREL
On Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium:
"The stadium has been a blessing for our university and our program. It's going to be a game-changer for the short term and the long term."
On Being Picked 8th in Pre-Season Poll:
"I haven't been in this league, but I'm a good enough coach that I can look at film and know this is a good league from top to bottom. I don't talk a lot about winning and losing; instead we're going to talk about the process that goes into winning and losing. To be real honest, being picked eighth is about what I thought would happen."
On The Difference in Coaching at the NCAA Division II level and now at the Division I level:
"There are so many different rules on recruiting, practicing and scholarship that I feel like I'm learning something new every day from our recruiting coordinator and our APR coordinator. Recruiting a new state is a challenge, but it's been a fun one to tackle."
On the Depth of the Wildcats Going Into 2017
"That's a big concern for me and our coaching staff. One of the things I was able to develop at my former institution (Northwest Missouri State) was a great walk-on program. I'm a former walk-on, and I'm very proud of that. We have to develop our walk-on program, and we're doing that. We're bringing in more than 40 walk-ons in this first class."
On the Decision to Make the Move to Division I Football:
"It's been a challenge, but it's one that I wanted for me and for my career. I've been taken out of my comfort zone and I'm looking forward to that happening even more."
ACU RUNNING BACK DE'ANDRE BROWN
On Playing in Wildcat Stadium in 2017
"Every morning we go out and work out and see the stadium and it's a great motivator for the season because that's really our home now and something we can protect."
On Being Picked to Finish Eighth in 2017:
"I believe we have a lot to prove after last year. There are so many good teams in this conference, we have to earn their respect."
On ACU Quarterback Dallas Sealey:
"Dallas is a great quarterback, and he's really good at what he does. I expect him to be even better, and I know he will. I've seen his drive working after hours, working on his footwork and getting his timing down with his receivers. I think he's going to have a great year."
ACU LINEBACKER SAM DENMARK
On The New Coaching Staff:
"Our coaching staff shows up every day excited to be there and ready to work. The workouts in the spring were much more intense and physical and the summer has been great. Our team — from coaches on down — is enthused and you see that every day. When your coach shows up ready to give his best and ready to go, it makes you want to do the same."
On Being 63 Tackles From Breaking ACU Career Tackles Record:
"You can't deny that something like that is in the back of your mind. But my drive is to win games and play hard every time I step on the field. Stats aren't a factor or motivator for me. I want to win."
