Fort Valley State shooting for conference championship
With two games remaining last season, Fort Valley State had its sights set on an SIAC championship. In good shape at 6-2, the Wildcats traveled to Atlanta to face Morehouse, but despite a near-miracle comeback, FVSU fell 24-21 to the Maroon Tigers.
“That just put a damper on everything,” FVSU head coach Donald Pittman said. “We lost motivation. The next game against Albany State, we always get up for that game; if we would have won, we would have had something to play for. But we did not win against Morehouse, so we weren’t playing for the conference championship. Dropping those two really dampered the whole season, really.”
FVSU finished the season with a 6-4 record. Boasting five players who earned preseason All-SIAC honors, the Wildcats expect more this year. As voted on by the conference’s head coaches, the preseason All-conference team features wide receiver Drelon Freeman, defensive back Brian Walker and place-kicker/punter Juan Serna on the first team, along with quarterback Otis Brown, who earned the recognition as a running back, and offensive lineman Michael Brown on the second team.
Freeman and Serna head into their sophomore seasons after strong freshman showings. Freeman led the team in receiving as a freshman, catching 33 passes for 720 yards and 11 touchdowns, while Serna made 7-of-12 on field goals with a long of 49 yards.
Otis Brown, a junior, accounted for 1,095 yards and 12 total touchdowns as a sophomore. Michael Brown and Walker approach their senior years, and both lead their respective position groups. Walker, responsible for five interceptions last year, headlines a secondary Pittman calls “one of the most talented in the nation” after recording 18 interceptions in 2014.
The Wildcats must replace defensive tackle Bernard Little, linebacker LeRon Furr, who had 108 tackles in 2014, and safety Michael Lee.
“I think we have some safeties that’s gonna step up behind him and do a very good job,” Pittman said. “The hardest to replace will be Bernard Little, but we do have some new defensive tackles coming in, but he’ll be sorely missed because he’s a great player.”
Despite losing Furr, Lee and Little, defense will still be the calling card for the Wildcats in 2015. With most of the secondary still intact, and the return of Tracy White after not playing last year, Pittman’s concerns are on offense, especially at quarterback and on the offensive line.
“We hope to enhance both positions with competition in preseason,” Pittman said. “If we can do that and improve offensively where we can maintain drives and score points and control the clock, then I think we can be a great team.”
Otis Brown and Malcolm Eady manned the quarterback position last year, and the two will compete for the starting position this year, along with Deion Perry, who transferred from Savannah State. Both Eady and Otis Brown rushed for more than 300 yards last year, but neither threw for more than 1,000. Eady threw for 885 yards, four touchdowns and seven interceptions, while Otis Brown threw for 714 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions.
Pittman sees untapped potential in Eady, but at the same time, he noted Otis Brown’s running aspect because of the team’s run-first mentality. With Freeman out wide and White in the backfield, the quarterback will have weapons at his disposal.
“They’re all pretty equal right now,” Pittman said.
FVSU kicks off its season Sept. 3 at Delta State, which beat FVSU 56-13 last year.
“Our goal is to win a conference championship,” Pittman said. “We want to win, and we want to win conference. And we want to do it this year. We’re not looking for anything for the future. We want to win now.”
THE SCHEDULE
Sept. 3 at Delta State
Sept. 12 Lane
Sept. 19 at Clark Atlanta
Sept. 26 Benedict
Oct. 3 Alderson Broaddus
Oct. 10 at Kentucky State
Oct. 17 Florida Tech
Oct. 31 Morehouse
Nov. 7 vs. Albany State in Columbus
This story was originally published August 29, 2015 at 11:11 AM with the headline "Fort Valley State shooting for conference championship ."