We’re going to preview the Division I Conferences based on the lesser-known players of all the Division I teams. Let’s have some fun and give some attention to the players you likely don’t know or talk about too much, unless something goes wrong or you say, "Hey, look at that number."

Basically, we’re going to give you each team’s (we hope their starting) Long Snapper, Punter and #69. Then we’ll give you their longest road trip of the season, last conference title, playoff appearance, and a simple Yes or No if they have a new Head Coach. I’m sure I’ll question my choice for doing season previews this way this year, but I’m limited on time due to a myriad of factors. I’ll keep dreaming of being able to do this full time. Maybe one day. If you know of any sponsors, please let us know.

East Texas A&M

(formerly known as Texas A&M - Commerce)

• Where: Commerce, TX

• Last Year's Record: 3–9 (2–4 Southland)

• Longsnapper: #44 Josiah Kennard - Redshirt Junior

• Punter: Ben Mehan - Freshman - No number listed as of now

• #69: None - Had one last year but not rostered this year 

• Longest Road Trip: 806 miles to Tallahassee to face Florida State

• Last Conference Title: 2016 - Lonestar Conference in DII, 2017 National Championship in DII

• Last Playoff Appearance: 2019 in DII

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

Houston Christian

• Where: Houston

• Last Year's Record: 5–7 (3–4 Southland)

• Longsnapper: #39 Kyle Wittenrich - Redshirt Senior

• Punter: #35 - Brady Young & #36 Peyton Kendall - both Redshirt Seniors, do we have a camp punter battle?

• #69: NONE - We blame the CVS on the other side of their stadium

• Longest Road Trip: 876 Miles to Lincoln to take on Nebraska

• Last Conference Title: None - they’ve only had a program since 2013

• Last Playoff Appearance: None - they’ve only had a program since 2013

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

Incarnate Word

• Where: San Antonio, TX

• Last Year's Record: 11–3 (7–0 Southland)

• Longsnapper: #22 - Bryce Felt - Senior

• Punter: #27 - Ryan Shamburger - Graduate Senior

• #69: David Brown - OL - Sophomore

• Longest Road Trip: 1,039 miles to Flagstaff to take on NAU at the Walkup Skydome - Commish aka myself made this exact road trip last year. San Antonio to Flagstaff. Crazy how this works.

• Last Conference Title: 2024

• Last Playoff Appearance: 2024

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

Lamar

• Where: Beaumont, Texas

• Last Year's Record: 7–5 (4–3 Southland)

• Longsnapper: None listed???

• Punter: #94 - Ben Woodard - Senior

• #69: None

• Longest Road Trip: 325 miles to Denton to play North Texas

• Last Conference Title: 1971 - They were 5-6 but 4-1 in Conference

• Last Playoff Appearance: 2018

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): N

I am going to link how Lamar ended their season last year. They scored a TD to lead against their rival McNeese at the end of the game. However, offensive pass interference backed them up to the 20 for an untimed down and they still pulled out the win.

McNeese

• Where: Lake Charles, LA

• Last Year's Record: 6–6 (3–4 Southland)

• Longsnapper: #28 Pierson Parent - Sophomore

• Punter: They have 4 kicker/punters on the roster - but I am going to pick the Australian Freshman #38 George Dixon

  

  I need him to develop a Cajun Aussie accent so bad

• #69: None

• Longest Road Trip: 1,626 miles to Logan, Utah to take on Utah State

• Last Conference Title: 2015

• Last Playoff Appearance: 2015

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): Yes and No - Matt Viator returns in his second stint as HC after being ULM’s Head Coach (ULM Mentioned) and on the Cajuns staff for the past three years.

Nicholls

• Where: Thibodaux, Louisiana

• Last Year's Record: 4–8 (2–5 Southland)

• Longsnapper: #61 William Stewart - Senior

• Punter: #16 Pharrel Harewood from the United Kingdom - Freshman

• #69: Joseph Bradord - Senior

• Longest Road Trip: 798 miles to face Eastern Kentucky

• Last Conference Title: 2023

• Last Playoff Appearance: 2023

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): Yes - All new coaching staff on LA 1 this year.

Northwestern State

• Where: Natchitoches, Louisiana

• Last Year's Record: 0–12 (0–7 Southland)

• Longsnapper: #57 Colby Carranza - Junior

• Punter: #81 - Zach Stone - Jr - Love a punter with a WR number.

• #69: Nicholas Soileau - OL - Redshirt Jr.

• Longest Road Trip: 1,064 miles to Minneapolis to play the Golden Gophers

• Last Conference Title: 2004

• Last Playoff Appearance: 2004

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

Southeastern Louisiana

• Where: Hammond, LA

• Last Year's Record: 7–5 (6–1 Southland)

• Longsnapper: #31 Will Davidson

• Punter: #46 Jack Hunter

• #69: None - They don’t even have any 67 - 71 either!

• Longest Road Trip: 502 miles to Murray, KY to play Murray State

• Last Conference Title: 2022

• Last Playoff Appearance: 2022

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

Stephen F. Austin

• Where: Nacogdoches, Texas

• Last Year's Record: 7–5 (4–3 SLC)

• Longsnapper: Tug Sanford - No Photo or Number on the roster page but I found his instagram!

• Punter: None Listed

• #69: None Listed

• Longest Road Trip: 342 miles to Abilene to face Abilene Christian

• Last Conference Title: 2022 - the WAC Champ but didn’t get the WAC-ASUN auto bid.

• Last Playoff Appearance: 2021

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

UT Rio Grande Valley

• Where: Edinburg, Texas

• Last Year's Record: BRAND NEW TEAM

• Longsnapper: #52 Connor Cortez

• Punter: They have three listed and I think one of them is the Coach’s son (Ty Bush)

• #69: D’Andre Harwell - Redshirt Freshman

• Longest Road Trip: 650 miles to Hammond to face Southeastern Louisiana

• Last Conference Title: BRAND NEW TEAM

• Last Playoff Appearance: BRAND NEW TEAM

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): BRAND NEW COACH

Here’s the Southland Preseason Poll

Thank you for reading. Hope to get through many more conferences! Truly getting hyped for the season now!