August 1, 1997
Predicted Order of Finish | Preseason All-MEAC Team
Crystal City, VA - The head football coaches and sports information directors of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference have picked Howard University to dethrone two-year, defending champion Florida A&M University and win the league title in 1997. The prediction was announced at the MEAC Football Preview in Crystal City, VA.Last year, the Bison had a 6-1 conference record with the lone loss at FAMU, 21-20. Howard finished 10-2 overall after their 27-24 victory over Southern University in the McDonald's Heritage Bowl VI. Howard was declared Black College National Champion for 1996.
FAMU was a close second. The Rattlers posted a perfect 7-0 MEAC record and a 9-3 overall mark, after absorbing a tough 29-25 loss at Troy State in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.
North Carolina A&T State University (4-3, 8-3 overall last season) was picked third. Hampton University (3-4, 5-6) was the fourth choice and South Carolina State University (4-3, 4-6) was fifth. Morgan State University (2-5, 4-7) was picked sixth, while Bethune-Cookman College (0-7, 2-9) and Delaware State University (2-5, 3-8) tied for seventh.
Howard received eight of the 16 first place votes and accumulated 208 points of a maximum 224. Florida A&M received seven first place votes an totaled 200 points. Third place N.C. A&T had 140 points, Hampton 116, S.C. State 112 and Morgan 68 with one first place vote. Bethune-Cookman and Delaware State received 34 points each.
| Predicted Order of Finish (as selected by MEAC football coaches and SIDs) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School | Points | ||||
| 1. | Howard (8) | 208 | |||
| 2. | Florida A&M (7) | 200 | |||
| 3. | N.C. A&T | 140 | |||
| 4. | Hampton | 116 | |||
| 5 | S.C. State | 112 | |||
| 6 | Morgan State (1) | 68 | |||
| 7t | Bethune-Cookman. | 34 | |||
| 7t | Delaware State | 34 | |||
| (First place votes in parenthesis) | |||||
| 1997 Preseason All-MEAC Football Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | ||||||
| Position | Name | School | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | Hometown |
| Interior Line | Greg Cooley | NCAT | 6-7 | 320 | Sr. | Wilson, NC |
| Interior Line | Keith Echols | B-Cookman | 6-3 | 315 | Jr. | Palm Beach, FL |
| Interior Line | Lamont Turner | Hampton | 6-7 | 295 | Sr. | Richmond, VA |
| Interior Line | Raphael Garcia | FAMU | 6-4 | 273 | Sr. | Miami, FL |
| Interior Line | John Goolsby | NCAT | 6-4 | 295 | Sr. | Mocksville, NC |
| Center | Fred Ray | Howard | 6-3 | 275 | Jr. | Orlando, FL |
| Tight End | Tyrone Smith | Morgan | 6-4 | 215 | Sr. | Clarkesdale, MS |
| Wide Receiver | MacArthur Johnson | Howard | 6-0 | 190 | Jr. | Jacksonville, FL |
| Wide Receiver | James Adderly | B-Cookman | 6-2 | 200 | Jr. | Ft. Lauderdale, FL |
| Quarterback | Ted White | Howard | 6-4 | 215 | Jr. | Baton Rouge, LA |
| Runningback | Antoine Flowers | FAMU | 5-9 | 170 | So. | Detroit, MI |
| Runningback | Michael Basnight | NCAT | 6-2 | 223 | Jr. | Norfolk, VA |
| Runningback | Tyrone Mayer | Hampton | 6-2 | 235 | Sr. | Petersburg, VA |
| Placekicker | Juan Torro | FAMU | 5-7 | 160 | Jr. | Miami, FL |
| Kick Returner | Undre Williams | FAMU | 5-8 | 165 | Sr. | Gray, GA |
| Defense | ||||||
| Position | Name | School | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | Hometown |
| Lineman | Chartric Darby | SC State | 6-0 | 250 | Sr. | North, SC |
| Lineman | Marques Douglas | Howard | 6-3 | 260 | Jr. | Greensboro, NC |
| Lineman | Bobby Jones | Howard | 6-0 | 260 | Sr. | Durham, NC |
| Lineman | Charles Preston | Hampton | 6-6 | 275 | Jr. | Washington, DC |
| Linebacker | Maurice Johnson | FAMU | 6-3 | 235 | Sr. | Magee, MS |
| Linebacker | Curtis Allen | Howard | 6-2 | 225 | Sr. | Durham, NC |
| Linebacker | Marquis Bailey | NCAT | 6-0 | 200 | Sr. | Winston-Salem, NC |
| Linebacker | James Hall | Morgan | 6-3 | 220 | Sr. | Baltimore, MD |
| Linebacker | Michael Womack | B-Cookman | 6-1 | 220 | Sr. | Macon, GA |
| Deep Back | Willie Oglesby | B-Cookman | 6-5 | 195 | Sr. | Mayo, FL |
| Deep Back | Torri Costin | NCAT | 6-0 | 165 | Sr. | Durham, NC |
| Deep Back | Boris Jackson | FAMU | 5-9 | 175 | Jr. | Orlando, FL |
| Deep Back | Jason Williams | Del.State | 6-2 | 210 | Sr. | Clinton, MD |
| Punter | Darrin Ford | FAMU | 5-10 | 167 | Sr. | Tallahassee, FL |
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