NORFOLK, Va. ( July 29) - The Florida A&M University Football Team
was picked to finish third and had seven players to be named to the 2011
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Preseason All-Conference Team announced today
by the MEAC, voted on by the conference
Sports Information Directors and Head Football Coaches.
FAMU tallied
420 points and five first place votes, while South Carolina State was picked to
win the 2011 MEAC Crown with 468 points
and six first place votes.
Bethune-Cookman received 454 points and eight first
place votes as they were picked to finish second. Hampton garnered the fourth place spot with
321 points and one first place vote.
Norfolk State captured the fifth place spot with 274 points and one
first place vote. Behind the Spartans is
Morgan State in sixth place with 250 points for a sixth place finish.
North Carolina Central in their return to the MEAC
was predicted to finish seventh with 162 points, followed by Delaware State with
158 points for a eight place finish.
North Carolina A&T holds the ninth position with 128 points, while
Howard was predicted to finish tenth with 96 points.
In their first season in the MEAC, Savannah State
was predicted to finish 11th with 63 points and one first place
vote.
FAMU had two Rattlers to earned First Team Preseason
All-Conference Honors in Robert Hartley and Brandon Holdren.
Hartley, a 6-7 red shirt junior from Lake City,
Fla., started in 11 games at right guard for the Rattlers, who graded out at 90
percent for the season.
Holdren, a 6-2 junior punter from Jacksonville,
Fla., finished last season averaging 40.1 yards per punt on 68 boots.
Leading the
Second Team Preseason All-Conference Honors
is Branden Curry and Shelley
Anthony.
Both Curry, a
6-6 red shirt senior offensive tackle from Hollywood, Fla., and Anthony, a red
shirt senior center from Atlanta, Ga., was a part of an offense that finished
fourth in scoring offense (21.9 ppg) and sixth in total offense (294.6 total offense per game).
Joining Curry
and Anthony on the second team is Jerry Willis,
John Ojo and Trevor Scott.
Willis, a 6-4 red shirt senior defensive tackle from
Chicago, Ill., finished last season with
31 (18 UA, 13 Asst) total
takedowns, six tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
Ojo, a -3 redshirt junior from Tallahassee, Fla.,
finished last season as the team's third
leading tackler with 57 tackles (36 UA, 21 Asst), 6.5 tackles for loss, two
interception and four break ups.
Scott, a 6-3 red shirt senior place kicker from Jacksonville,
Fla., finished the season 25-of 28 in PATs and finished 10-of-14 in
field goals.
FAMU will hold their Fan Appreciation Day on Saturday,
Aug. 13 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Alfred Lawson Multipurpose Center and
Teaching Gymnasium .
The Rattlers will open their 2011 campaign as they
will host Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference member Fort Valley State
at Bragg Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept 3 in a 6 p.m. kick.
