Coleman, Talley top MEAC standouts
Hampton's Alonzo Coleman, fresh off his rookie-of-the-year debut last season, has been named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference preseason offensive player of the year and Norfolk State linebacker Kevin Talley earned defensive preseason player of the year honors, as voted by the leagues' head football coaches and sports information directors.
Coleman led the MEAC with 18 touchdowns and 1,137 rushing
yards (239 carries) in 2003, on his way to earning top rookie and All-MEAC
first team honors. He finished second in the league in rushing yards per game,
gaining 103 yards per contest, while averaging 4.8 yards per carry.
Talley, a first team All-MEAC selection in 2003, set
a new NCAA record, regardless of division, for tackles in
a single season with 195. The Sports Network I-AA
and Sheridan Broadcast Network All-American averaged
16.2 tackles per game, racking up at least 10 tackles in every game played
in 2003.
The MEAC also released the preseason All-MEAC first and second teams. Hampton led all teams will 11 total all-conference selections with six of the 11 on the first team. Bethune-Cookman is second with nine (six on first team), followed by South Carolina State with seven total and three on first team. North Carolina A&T, picked to win the MEAC in 2004 by the MEAC coaches, media and sports information directors, was tied with Norfolk State with five players on the preseason all-conference team.
A total of 12 players (seven offensive, five defensive) selected to the preseason All-MEAC teams were on the 2003 All-MEAC first team. They include runningbacks Alonzo Coleman (Hampton) and Antoine Rutherford (Howard); receivers Jerome Mathis (Hampton) and Tavarus Morgan (S.C. State); offensive lineman Brandon Torrey and Jelani Clement (Hampton); tight end Chris Cash (Morgan State); Linebackers Kevin Talley (Norfolk State) and Jamal Muhammad (Bethune-Cookman); defensive backs Antoine Bethea (Howard) and Johnnie Williams (S.C. State); and punter Cameron Muro (Hampton).
© 2004 Azeez Communications, Inc.