HUNTSVILLE, Texas — The Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine hit the shelves in stores last week and football fans everywhere had reason to rejoice. Following the strangest year in college football history, fans and sportswriters are both ready for a return to some form of normality.
Thus, it is time to reveal the Small College Preseason Team.
Texas is the best state for football in the world. Need proof? With Sam Houston claiming the FCS national championship in May, the Lone Star State became the only state to win a national title at every level of college football.
Texas has truly reigned supreme in the small college ranks over the last five years with Mary Hardin-Baylor (2016, 2018), Texas A&M-Commerce (2017), and the Bearkats (2020) securing a national title. One could argue Cisco would have been favored to win an NJCAA title last spring but finished the regular season ranked third in the country despite being undefeated. Note, the NJCAA does not have a playoff system to determine its champion.
This year’s preseason team features an amazing array of talent with 16 of the 26 players on this list having won All-American honors in previous years. Sam Houston leads the way with seven selections while Mary Hardin-Baylor has three players represented. Fourteen of the players hail from the FCS ranks while Division II and Division III combine for 12 members.
Offense
Position Name School Class Hometown
QB Eric Schmid Sam Houston Jr. The Woodlands
RB Kevin Brown UIW Sr. Mount Pleasant, S.C.
RB Antonio Leali'ie'e Texas A&M-Commerce Sr. Copperas Cove
WR Jequez Ezzard Sam Houston Sr. College Park, Ga.
WR Xavier Gipson Stephen F. Austin So. Dallas
WR Jake Parker Howard Payne Sr. Whitehouse
OL Colby Thomas Sam Houston Sr. Manvel
OL Justice Guillory Stephen F. Austin Fr. Katy
OL Amon Simon Texas A&M-Commerce Sr. Humble
OL Parker Hanna West Texas A&M Jr. Stratford
OL Boomer Warren Hardin-Simmons Jr. Haslet
PK Adrian Guzman Tarleton Fr. Temple
KR Ce'Cori Tolds UIW Sr. Houston
Defense
Position Name School Class Hometown
DL Jahari Kay Sam Houston Sr. Berkeley, Calif.
DL Joseph Wallace Sam Houston Sr. Dallas
DL Melik Owens Midwestern State Sr. Houston
DL G'Karri McCoy Angelo State Jr. Dallas
LB Storey Jackson* Prairie View A&M Sr. Kansas City, Kan.
LB Michael Jewett Trinity Jr. Houston
LB Akeem Jackson Mary Hardin-Baylor Sr. Fairfield
DB Zyon McCollum Sam Houston Sr. Galveston
DB Devin Hafford Tarleton Sr. Humble
DB Jefferson Fritz Mary Hardin-Baylor Sr. Kaufman
DB KJ Kelley East Texas Baptist Sr. Abilene
P Matt McRobert Sam Houston Sr. Berowra, Australia
PR K.J. Miller Mary Hardin-Baylor Jr. Orange
