CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The University of Charleston Golden Eagles will enter the 2015 season selected to finish third in the Mountain East Conference after a vote by the league's coaches announced at the MEC Football Media Day Thursday afternoon in Bridgeport, W.Va.
Charleston
(8-3, 7-3) will try to move up in the standings after finishing third in the league in each of the last two seasons. The Golden Eagles will rely on running back Marvin Elam who rushed for 1,031 yards and a league-best 16 touchdowns last season. All three quarterbacks that saw action last year return in 2015 and will try to utilize wideout Joey Augustin who had 43 catches and eight TDs last year. UC will have to re-load on defense returning just two starters, but can build around corner and special teams standout Torie Wagner (4 interceptions, 2 punt returns for TDs).
The Concord Mountain Lions have been picked to repeat as Mountain East Conference football champions after collecting 100 points in the poll and was picked to finish first on 10 ballots. Shepherd was picked second with 90 points and had the remaining first-place vote. Charleston was chosen third with 81 points, followed by Glenville State in fourth (69), West Liberty in fifth (60) and Notre Dame in sixth (56). West Virginia Wesleyan was predicted to finish seventh with 42 points, and Fairmont State (36), West Virginia State (30), UVa-Wise (20) and Urbana (18) rounded out the poll. Concord (13-1, 10-0) returns eight starters on offense and seven on defense from a team that captured the MEC Championship and advanced to the NCAA Semifinals. Calvinaugh Jones, the 2014 MEC Offensive Player of the Year, returns after rushing for 1,734 yards and 12 touchdowns, along with quarterback Brian Novak who threw for 3,739 yards and 33 touchdowns. On defense, CU brings back defensive back Derrick Johnson (79 tackles, 7 interceptions) and linebacker Austin Dotson (64 tackles). First-team All-MEC kicker Andy Ellington (19 field goals) helps solidify the special teams unit. Shepherd brings back seven starters on offense and six on defense from a team that came within one game of earning a share of the MEC title and finished 8-2 overall (8-2 MEC). The Rams have their running back tandem of Jabre Lolley (767 yards, 12 touchdowns) and Allen Cross (601 yards, 8 touchdowns) intact, as well returning starter quarterback Jeff Ziemba who threw for 2,248 yards and 18 touchdowns and just two interceptions a season ago. The Rams were second in the country in total defense last year and return key members James Gupton (team-best 69 tackles), Myles Humphrey (team-best 13 TFL, 8.5 sacks) and C.J. Davis (5 interceptions). Behind the versatile Rahmann Lee and 10 offensive starters, Glenville State will look to improve on its 5-6 overall record (5-5 MEC) from last season. Lee is third among all active Division II players with 3,884 career rushing yards and last year added 37 catches for 510 yards to complement his skill set. Junior quarterback Sean Steele battled injuries but connected on 60 percent of his passes and threw for 19 touchdowns had just five interceptions last season, and Dante Absher hauled in 57 balls for 854 yards in 2014. The Pioneers have just four returning starters on defense, but three of those were among the team's top tacklers last season in James Johnson (84 tackles), Zach Mayes (65 tackles) and Spencer Steele (61 tackles).West Liberty (6-5, 6-4) has 15 starters returning to the hilltop in 2015. The offense will be led by quarterback Dakota Conwell, who threw for 1,965 yards and 23 touchdowns while rushing for 386 yards with three more TDs last fall. On defense, all four starters return up front, led by vets Quentin Sifford (8.5 TFL) and Darnell Vickers (8.0 TFL), while linebackers Marcus Schumacher (79 tackles) and D'Andre Muhammad (49 tackles, 2 interceptions) are back to solidify that unit.Notre Dame (7-4, 7-3) is coming off its most wins in program history, but enters 2015 with a new head coach and will need to replace All-MEC quarterback Ray Russ. Malik Grove and Ryan Fallon will compete for the starting spot under center and will try and take advantage of All-MEC wideout Mitchell Shegos who hauled in a league-best 103 passes last season. NDC has 10 starters coming back on defense including sophomore Jalon Avent (60 tackles, 15 TFL, 7.0 sacks) and Derrick Bavol (47 tackles, 9.0 TFL, 6.5 sacks), and defensive back Onslow Williams (55 tackles, 7 pass breakups). West Virginia Wesleyan (4-6, 4-6) has nine starters returning on offense and nine more on defense in head coach George Shehl's third season at the helm. The Bobcats will need to replace quarterback Jeremy Musselman, but Tyler Bolen saw action last season (55-for-119, 596 yards, 7 TDs) as Musselman battled injuries. Michael Anderson has over 1,100 career rushing yards and Zach Schademan is a reliable receiver who led the team with 668 yards last season. On defense, the Bobcats return leading tackler Mike Savage (87 tackles, 6.5 TFL) and welcomes back Antonio Harris who had 57 tackles in 2013 before missing last year.Fairmont State (3-7, 3-7) will feature one of the more explosive combinations in the league in quarterback Cooper Hibbs and wideout Fabian Guerra. Hibbs played in just six games last year due to injuries, but threw for over 300 yards in four of those contests, and Guerra was a first-team All-MEC wideout after catching 63 passes for 822 yards. The Falcons will be led on defense by its leading tackler from last year, Marcus Porter (69 tackles) and defensive back Jacob Jean-Charles (51 tackles, 2 interceptions).West Virginia State (2-9, 1-9) returns several key pieces on both offense and defense as it looks to improve on last year's win total. Sophomore Matt Kinnick threw for 2,213 yards last season and running back Tevin Brown averaged 5.3 yards per carry in the seven games he played and will be counted on to lead the offense in 2015. On defense, WVSU returns nine starters including linebacker Mitch Rowell, who led the team in tackles last season (79), and defensive back Kevin Coffie, who was among the league leaders in passes defended (21).UVa-Wise (2-9, 2-8) has 15 starters back from last year's squad, including nine on the defensive side of the ball. The Cavs will be led by linebacker Zack Blair who racked up a league-best 26.5 tackles for a loss and finished with 96 total tackles. UVa-Wise will rely on running back Carlton Griffith (617 yards) and Terrence Younger (50 receptions, 710 yards) to make plays on offense. Urbana (3-8, 2-8) went through a coaching change over the summer as Tyler Haines takes over the reigns of the Blue Knights program. Haines, who was most recently the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Indiana (Pa.), has just four starters returning on offense to work with. Urbana, though, features two of the top defensive players in the league in D'Gary Wallace, a two-time first team All-MEC selection, and Kevin Chapple, who has been among the league leaders in sacks and tackles for a loss in each of his first two seasons. The 2015 season begins on Thursday, Sept. 3 with Fairmont State playing host to West Virginia State and Charleston at home against Notre Dame. The rest of the MEC teams get underway on Saturday, Sept. 5. | 2015 MEC Preseason Poll |
| 1. | Concord (10) | 100 |
| 2. | Shepherd (1) | 90 |
| 3. | Charleston | 81 |
| 4. | Glenville State | 69 |
| 5. | West Liberty | 63 |
| 6. | Notre Dame | 56 |
| 7. | West Virginia Wesleyan | 42 |
| 8. | Fairmont State | 36 |
| 9. | West Virginia State | 30 |
| 10. | UVa-Wise | 20 |
| 11. | Urbana | 18 |
() Indicates first place votes
* Coaches not able to vote for own team |
