A disappointing 1-9 season in his first season, Mississippi Valley State’s Vincent Dancy is high on his team for 2019.
He has made much about the offseason upgrade in talent that includes 13 transfers who Dancy thinks will be impact players.
“This a different team,” he said. “Are we where we want to be or will be? No, but we are getting there.”
Dancy said the Delta Devils will play with a mountain-sized chip on their shoulders this season, mentioning that he sometimes “hits” on the point that MVSU is picked last.
“We don’t have last-place talent,” he said.
MVSU fans won’t have to wait long to see just how good this team is, a season-opening matchup with Tennessee State in Nashville at Nissan Stadium in the annual John Merritt Classic.
“It’s a great test right off the bat. It’s a game that will tell us exactly where we are in building up this program.
“They are a physical, fast team that is always well-coached. It should be fun.”
Senior John Derrick Smith will start at running back. The MVSU former walk-on came in from Mississippi Delta Community College via Greenwood High School.
“He has earned the right to start after the way he stepped up for us and finished the season on a high note,” said the Valley coach, “And John Derrick carried that over into fall camp.”
TSU, which is ranked No. 12 in the HBCU preseason poll, returns a good nucleus from last year’s 4-5 team that lost two games, winnable ones against Jackson State and Hampton, to weather cancellations.
“Tennessee State is always getting a lot of guys transfering down (to FCS), so they have talent,” Dancy said.
The TSU newcomer to watch this season is wide receiver Jatavious Harris (Louisville). But the bad news for the Tigers is Harris won’t have starting quarterback Demry Croft, who has indefinitely been suspended following his indictment on rape and sexual battery charges. He faces six counts of rape and two counts of sexual battery.
The indictment against Croft says he engaged in unlawful sexual conduct and sexual penetration on Dec. 1 without the woman’s consent. The indictment says force or coercion was used.
All eight counts involve the same woman.
Croft started Tennessee State’s first four games last year before an injury sidelined the Minnesota transfer for the remainder of the season. He completed 60.4 percent of his passes for 888 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions. He rushed for 146 yards on 38 carries. He started the final six games of Minnesota’s 2017 season before transferring.
