HERO Sports welcomes you to "Three-a-Days" where we will preview every single one of the 126 FCS programs and all 13 conferences. Today, we present … the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
We'll leave no stone left unturned when it comes to giving the FCS diehards all they could ask for this offseason. Learn about every program in the country with HERO Sports.
[divider]MORE FCS FOOTBALL:
- FCS Home
- FCS Preview Schedule – Conference Links
- The HERO Sports Preseason Top 25 Poll
- Preseason All-American Teams
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MEAC
(NOTE: Team-by-team previews in this conference are below)
NAMES TO KNOW
THE NFL PROSPECT: Alex Taylor, OL, South Carolina State
Taylor is a 6-foot-8, 305-pound offensive tackle prospect who could become quite the discussion topic this year. (Some report 6-foot-9). The Appalachian State transfer was a 3-star prospect coming out of high school.
TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYER: Caylin Newton, QB, Howard
Newton completed his sophomore campaign as the MEAC's top passer with 2,629 yards and 22 touchdowns in 10 games
TOP DEFENSIVE PLAYER: Brian Cavicante, LB, Delaware State
Cavicante finished second in the league in total tackles with 89. He was third in the MEAC in tackles per game (8.1), second with 17 tackles for loss and tied for third with 50 unassisted tackles.
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OUR TAKE
SUM IT UP: North Carolina A&T may have been the Celebration Bowl winner, but the MEAC actually had some parity last year and it seems like that could happen again in 2019. Two close Aggie losses at home to Florida A&M and Morgan State proved that other programs could be in the mix. While the Aggies seem to be the front-runners (see paragraph below), it looks like the top half of the MEAC could be very competitive this fall. Oh, and don't forget that Bethune-Cookman enters the season on a three-game winning streak and knocked Florida A&M out of MEAC title contention last year. Here we go….
THE FAVORITE: North Carolina A&T – The Aggies have won three of the first four Celebration Bowls, and they qualified for the FCS Playoffs as an at-large team in the year they weren't in it (2016). They've beaten FBS teams (paging Kent State and East Carolina) and they've knocked off FCS powerhouses (Jacksonville State on line one). This has not only been the dominant MEAC program, it has been the dominant HBCU program. The Aggies might be missing some talent from last year's team, but this program is still going to be in good shape in the MEAC.
THE THREATS: We'll go with Florida A&M, even with the probationary situation, with Howard being another team to watch because of that explosive array of weapons on offense. The Rattlers impressed last year before falling to their bitter rivals at Bethune-Cookman — knocking them out of the Celebration Bowl.
THE DARK HORSES: Keep an eye on Morgan State this year. We have a feeling about the Bears, and the hiring of former Michigan standout Tyrone Wheatley as head coach was a headliner. Don't be surprised if the Bears are testing the usual front-runners (hey, they beat N.C. A&T last year, right?).
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FCS 2020 NFL PROSPECTS: The List
BEST FCS TRADITIONS: The List
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PREVIEWS: The MEAC
Bethune-Cookman | Delaware State | Florida A&M
Howard | Morgan State | Norfolk State
No. Carolina A&T | No. Carolina Central | So. Carolina State
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CONFERENCE PREVIEWS
Big Sky | Big South | CAA
Ivy | MEAC | MVFC
NEC | OVC | Patriot
Pioneer | SoCon | Southland | SWAC
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