Southland Conference Football Media Day held

LAKE CHARLES — Another successful Southland Conference Football Media Day event came and went at L’auberge Resort in Lake Charles on July 27, according to the conference’s news release.
All 11 football playing schools were represented by its head coach and two student-athletes and the overall consensus was needing to play their best, stay healthy and finish games in order to win a league title.
McNeese Head Coach Lance Guidry, wide receiver Kent Shelby and tight end Zach Hetrick, both preseason first team all-SLC selections, closed out the event late afternoon, nine hours after it began with Incarnate Word early in the morning.
“I’m the new kid on the block,” said Guidry, who will be beginning his first full season as a college head coach. “Coach Matt Viator did a great job in 17 years here at McNeese, the last 10 as head coach. My coach here at McNeese, Bobby Keasler, started back the winning tradition then Tommy Tate and Coach Viator kept it going. It’s up to us to continue that.”
The Cowboys finished 2015 with a 10-1 overall record — 10-0 in the regular season before being upended by league foe Sam Houston State 34-29 in the second round of the FCS playoffs. It was the program’s 14th Southland title in school history, a league record.
In addition to Guidry taking over the reins, he’s added some McNeese Hall of Famers as part of his staff — Kerry Joseph, Zach Bronson and Charlie Ayro.
“We’ve won 11 titles since 1990,” said Guidry. “We have a representative on our staff from each of those championship years.”
Guidry, the defensive mind for the Cowboys the last three seasons, shed some light on what he wants to see from his offense under new coordinator Landon Hoefer.
“We’re still going to be run-oriented but will be more wide open this year,” he said. “The game is going to be in the quarterback’s hands with them making decisions and changes at the line of scrimmage.
“We’ll be more physical in practice and will compete every day. We want the same attitude throughout the team.”
Guidry also touched on the quarterback situation.
“Grant Ashcraft will be our starter going into fall camp followed by Joe Lissard running the second team and (Arkansas State) transfer James Tabary competing on the third team,” said Guidry.
“There’s competition, not a controversy. Whoever comes out on top at the start of the season will be our guy. We won’t play two quarterbacks.”
The first order of action on the day was the release of the preseason polls by the coaches and sports information directors. Both groups selected Sam Houston State as the favorite followed by the defending champion Cowboys.
One of the hot topics of discussion is a possible proposal by the Southland Conference and Ohio Valley Conference for the FCS to move from an 11-game schedule to a 12-game slate. That would allow not only a possible extra home game but could also set up a home-and-home series with an attractive non-league FCS school.
“I like it,” said UIW Head Coach Larry Keenan. “We play such a brutal non-conference schedule with all of us scheduling a FBS school, then we beat each other up with nine conference games,” he said. “This would allow us to play a sixth home game.”
“We already play nine conference games, and that’s good,” said Lamar Head Coach Ray Woodard. “With an 11-game schedule it makes it tough to have six home games every year. Adding that extra game would almost assure six home games, and that’s important.”
“There are a lot of reasons why that should happen,” said SFA Head Coach Clint Conque. “I’ve been very vocal in support of that.”
All 11 coaches touched on staying healthy, having a deep roster and finishing games as the three of the main factors of being successful and winning a league title.
“Finishing is a big deal for us,” said Central Arkansas Head Coach Steve Campbell. “If we finish strong in our games last year then I think we make the playoffs.”
Southeastern Louisiana Head Coach Ron Roberts said, “In this conference, you better have all the pieces of the puzzle or you’re not going to compete for a championship. Our coaches have done a great job of getting the players to complete that puzzle. In the SLC, you have to take care of your business. You have to play your best and you have to stay healthy. If you don’t do that, then you’ll never compete for a conference championship.”
“Your health and your depth is all about how successful you’ll play the second half of the season,” said Woodard. “I think we’re deep going into camp.”
Also on the day, longtime Northwestern State Sports Information Director Doug Ireland was awarded the Southland Conference’s annual Louis Bonnette Sports Media Award. The Award is named after longtime McNeese SID Louis Bonnette and is presented annually to an individual that has made an outstanding contribution in the field of sports information, print journalism, broadcasting or other media focused on the Southland Conference and/or its member institutions.
Some of the days’ most entertaining quotes:
—Keenan: “Someone asked me about McNeese and why we didn’t beat them last season. I said, well McNeese has been playing for 107 years and has won 14 championships while we’ve only been playing for seven years. We don’t have that great tradition that those guys have but that’s OK because we’re here to start our own tradition.”
—When asked about how Conque was able to hire onto his staff Gary Crowton who has coached at big-time FBS schools and the NFL, Conque responded “Well, we’re friends.”
—ACU Head Coach Ken Collums when asked about fumbling the ball last season: “If you put the ball on the ground, I’d rather you not reproduce because society does not need that burden.”
—UIW WR Jordan Hick on replacing 2015 All-SLC TE Cole Wick: “We have big shoes to fill. Really. They’re like a size 15 or 16.”
—Woodard in his opening statement: “I’m better known as (returning SLC player of the year) Cade Harrington’s coach.”