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(STATS) - It almost doesn't seem fair the newest coach in the Southern Conference - Chattanooga's Rusty Wright - is being thrown into the gauntlet so quickly. The Mocs face Eastern Illinois, Jacksonville State, Tennessee and James Madison before they can even think about the SoCon schedule. After gulping, rest assured most SoCon teams play a similar schedule out of conference because it's the only way to prepare for each other. Wofford was installed as the preseason favorite at media day Monday, but most people are expecting a repeat of last season, when conference games always seemed to be decided in the final minutes. Wofford, ETSU and Furman shared the title with Samford only one game back in the standings, and Chattanooga, Mercer and The Citadel only two back. One week, a SoCon team will face an opponent such as Wofford or The Citadel with a triple option attack, the next week it could be a passing attack at Samford or VMI. If it's something in between like Western Carolina and quarterback Tyrie Adams, good luck with that. "One thing in our league, you're going to see everything," Furman coach Clay Hendrix said. Wofford led all teams with nine preseason all-conference selections, Mercer was second with eight, and Furman and ETSU had seven each. ---= SOUTHERN CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLLS Head Coaches Poll 1. Wofford (7 first-place votes), 63 points 2. Furman (1), 55 3. ETSU (1), 44 4. Chattanooga, 40 5. Mercer, 34 6. Samford, 33 7. The Citadel, 22 8. Western Carolina, 21 9. VMI, 12 Media Poll 1. Wofford (21 first-place votes), 253 points 2. Furman (6), 229 3. ETSU (2), 187 4. Mercer, 146 5. Chattanooga, 134 6. Samford, 125 7. The Citadel, 111 8. Western Carolina, 88 9. VMI, 32 SOUTHERN CONFERENCE PRESEASON TEAM Offensive Player of the Year: Tyrie Adams, QB, Western Carolina Defensive Player of the Year: Nasir Player, DL, ETSU First-Team Offense QB - Tyrie Adams, R-Sr., Western Carolina RB - Quay Holmes, R-So., ETSU RB - Tyray Devezin, Jr., Mercer OL - Bo Layton, R-Jr., Furman OL - Austin Sanders, R-Sr., Mercer OL - Nick Nixon, Sr., Samford OL - Justus Basinger, Sr., Wofford OL - Michael Ralph, Sr., Wofford TE - Owen Cosenke, Jr., Western Carolina WR - Bryce Nunnelly, Jr., Chattanooga WR - Javeon Lara, Sr., VMI First-Team Defense DL - Joseph Randolph II, Sr., The Citadel DL - Jason Maduafokwa, R-Sr., ETSU DL - Nasir Player, R-Sr., ETSU DL - Thad Mangum, Sr., Wofford LB - Willie Eubanks III, Jr., The Citadel LB - Adrian Hope, R-So., Furman LB - Marshall Cooper, Sr., Chattanooga DB - Tyree Robinson, Jr., ETSU DB - Brandon Dowdell, Jr., Chattanooga DB - Jerrell Lawson, R-Jr., Chattanooga DB - A.J. Smith, Jr., VMI DB - Ronald Kent Jr., So., Western Carolina First-Team Specialists PK - Grayson Atkins, Jr., Furman PK - Mitchell Fineran, So., Samford P - Matthew Campbell, So., The Citadel RS - David Durden, So., Mercer Second-Team Offense QB - Reece Udinski, Jr., VMI RB - Devin Wynn, Jr., Furman RB - Tyrell Price, Sr., Chattanooga OL - Haden Haas, R-So., The Citadel OL - Drew McEntyre, Sr., The Citadel OL - Ben Blackmon, R-Sr., ETSU OL - Tre'mond Shorts, R-So., ETSU OL - Andy Godwin, R-Sr., Furman OL - Cole Strange, R-Jr., Chattanooga OL - Blake Jeresaty, Jr., Wofford TE - Chris Ellington, Sr., Mercer WR - Thomas Gordon, Sr., Furman WR - David Durden, So., Mercer Second-Team Defense DL - Dorian Kithcart, R-Sr., Mercer DL - Justin Foster, Sr., Samford DL - Nelson Jordan, So., Samford DL - Mikel Horton, Jr., Wofford LB - Elijah McKoy, Jr., Furman LB - Will Coneway, R-Sr., Mercer LB - Jireh Wilson, Sr., Wofford DB - Jeremy Lewis, Sr., ETSU DB - Malique Fleming, R-Jr., Mercer DB - Mason Alstatt, Sr., Wofford DB - George Gbesee, Sr., Wofford Second-Team Specialists PK - Jacob Godek, Sr., The Citadel P - Luke Carter, Sr., Wofford RS - Rohan Martin, Sr., VMI
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