Courtesy of Jackson State Athletics
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) released the 2024 Preseason Football Teams on Tuesday morning as part of Media Day activities and Jackson State placed five players on the two teams combined.
Evan Henry returns as a First Team selection after earning Second Team honors last season after helping the offense average 161.6 yards per game running 227.7 yards passing. He helped amass 389.4 yards per game offensively.
He was joined by Fabian McCray who hauled in 41 receptions for 584 yards and four touchdowns including a season-long 47-yard reception. He recorded a season-high eight receptions for 79 yards against Alabama State, and another seven against UAPB. McCray recorded a season-high 109 yards against Alcorn State with a pair of touchdowns.
The two were joined by Matt Noll after he was named Second Team last season. He finished the year after he recorded 34 punts for 1,507 yards. He averaged 44.3 yards per punt and recorded a season-high 65-yard punt. He finished the season with three touchbacks and a pair of fair catches.
The Tigers placed a pair of players on the Second Team including defensive lineman Jeremiah Williams who finished the season with 45 tackles including 20 solo stops. He also finished the season with 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks (against Southern, Mississippi Valley State, and UAPB). He recorded a tackle in all 11 games last season.
He was joined on the Second Team by defensive back Esaias Guthrie who finished the season with 52 tackles including 34 solo stops. He recorded a season-high 10 tackles against Texas Southern and eight against Texas State. Guthrie finished with multiple tackles in 10 of the 11 games last season.
The Tigers were picked to finish third in the East Division behind Alabama State and Florida A&M. Jackson State received 87 total points including a pair of first-place votes, while Alabama State was picked to win the division with 114 points (11 first-place votes) and Florida A&M was second with 104 points (six first-place votes).
The conference office also announced the SWAC Digital Network schedule for the upcoming season and the Lane contest on Sept. 7 will be aired on the network with a 6 pm kick.
