FVSU not quite expected to be a contendar in SIAC (also, Central Ga. roster members for the Wildcats)

            The SIAC was really ready to talk football.

            The conference had perhaps the first media day of the 2019 season, on Tuesday at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

            Savannah State was welcomed back to the conference after departing in 2000 for an ill-fated and tumultuous venture into Division I, and not much is expected of the Tigers, picked for last in the Eastern Division.

            Expectations are highest for Albany State and Miles, the top picks in the Eastern and Western Division. Fort Valley State was picked fourth in the Eastern, behind the Rams, Benedict, and Morehouse, each of whom got first-place votes.

            Central Georgians made the preseason all-conference team, led not surprisingly by Dodge County alum Cameron Young of FVSU.

            Benedict’s Robert Cummings, another senior defensive back, is a Central grad who made the first team.

            FVSU also had junior offensive lineman Darrius Hicks and punt returner Lorenzo Smothers on the first team, and junior defensive back Zach Anderson on the second team.

            The Wildcats don’t open the season until Sept. 7, hosting Miles at 6 p.m. The non-conference schedule includes Florida A&M, Shorter, and Florida Tech.

            The roster hasn’t been updated for 2019, and the Wildcats return – based on the posted 2018 roster – several Central Georgians, in addition to Young: senior RB Willie Jordan, Northside; junior DB Brian Williams, Dublin; senior QB Garrel Quainton, West Laurens; junior WR Brandon Davis, Hancock Central; senior DB Octavius Hall, Peach County; sophomore RB Daryl Brazil, Taylor County; sophomore K/P Abisai Gutierrez, Macon County; sophomore K/P Eli Mashburn, Warner Robins;

            Also: sophomore LB Zaquan Baldwin, Southwest; sophomore OL Emanuel Boone, Westside; sophomore OL Dillon Braunstein, Warner Robins; junior OL Jeremiah Cotton, Mount de Sales; junior TE Jaylen Lowder, Veterans; sophomore DL Eric Williams, Warner Robins; junior WR Jhi’Marre Brown, Perry; sophomore DL Albert Sharpe, Southwest; sophomore DL Stacy Ivey Jr., Southwest; and junior DL Nathaniel Freeney, Twiggs County.

            In February, the Wildcats added Dodge County RB R.J. Carr and Howard WR Aidan Stewart as part of the freshman signing class, along with LB DeMarquez Carter of Upson-Lee and DB Delvin Webb of Dooly County as new transfers.