BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Mississippi Valley State football team will start the 2006 season in unfamiliar territory - facing high expectations.
In the preseason Southwestern Athletic Conference poll released Thursday on the eve of the league's media day, MVSU is picked a close-second in the Eastern Division behind last year's champ Alabama A&M. The Bulldogs got 11 first-place votes for a total of 81 points, while the Delta Devils received six first-place votes for a total of 77 points.
Alcorn State was third, Jackson State fourth and Alabama State sixth.
"Not taking anything away from the other three schools in the East, but I figured A&M and Valley would be at the top of the poll. That's based on the fact that A&M won eight games last year and has the bulk of their team back. And then we have nearly every starter back from a 6-5 team," Totten said.
"This is a new position for us, but our guys have worked their butts off to get to this position. I think this shows how far the program has come in four years."
In the Western Division of the SWAC, Southern (eight-first place votes) edged out Grambling State (nine first-place votes) by one point for first place. After that, it was Prairie View A&M, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Texas Southern.
MVSU and Grambling each had a league-high nine players on the All-SWAC team, with the G-Men landing six on the first team and the Delta Devils five.
Valley senior quarterback Aries Nelson was tabbed the preseason offensive player of the year, while Valley senior linebacker Tyler Knight was picked to repeat as the defensive player of the year.
Knight, picked to two preseason Division I-AA All-America teams, was named SWAC defensive player of the year last season. He had 125 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss and nine sacks last season.
Nelson was the SWAC Newcomer of the Year in 2004. Last season, he passed for 2,942 yards and 17 touchdowns while guiding the Delta Devils to their first winning season in nine years.
"It wasn't a surprise to see those two guys picked as players of the year, but I have to say it was surprising to see us with nine on the All-SWAC team," said the fifth-year Valley head coach.
Besides Knight and Nelson, Valley had senior wide receiver Tyrone Timmons, junior offensive lineman Alter Foster and junior kick returner Clarence Cotton on the first team.
Timmons, a 2005 first-team All-SWAC pick, led the Delta Devils with 62 catches last year. His 1,059 receiving yards, second best in the SWAC, also marked the first time in 20 years that a Delta Devil receiver cracked the 1,000-yard mark.
Making the second team for Valley were senior wide receiver Shang Moore, senior offensive lineman Thaddeus Coleman, sophomore defensive lineman Ronald Green and senior
cornerback Chris Wilson.
