The Southwest Junior College Football Conference held its annual preseason media day Thursday at the Eagle’s Bluff Country Club in Bullard.
As part of the media day, the conference released its coaches and media preseason poll. Each team’s head coach voted on the coaches poll while seven media members voted on the conference media poll.
Blinn was picked to finish seventh in the conference by the coaches and fifth by the media. Navarro was picked to win the conference by the coaches with six first-place votes. Kilgore topped the media poll with three first-place votes.
All eight conference head coaches spoke to the media in attendance. Blinn coach Ryan Mahon was the first coach to speak Thursday. After thanking the Blinn College administration, he noted that he brought back his entire coaching staff for the first time in his career.
Mahon’s staff includes Chuck Parson, who serves Blinn in a football operations role, and five assistant coaches. Joshua Kaddu and Kenneth Braimer, who work with the linebackers and wide receivers, respectively, are in their second year at Blinn.
Defensive line coach Keafer Clegg returns for his third year at Blinn with Drew Coleman is in the midst of his second stint at Blinn and serves as a defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach. Offensive line coach Andy Felton returns for his eighth year at Blinn.
Mahon then discussed the quarterback position, which sees a three-way position battle this year after Rylan Wooten departed to graduation. He said the starting job will be up for grabs between returner Nathan Lewis and newcomers Jack Emerson from Willis and Gunner Nelson from Katy.
“(They have) a lot of wins under their belt, so there is going to be a bunch of competition there,” he said.
Mahon also expressed excitement over a bunch of freshmen at offensive line joining Clayton Schupp and Tyler Bostick.
The offensive line will look to provide running room for a new group of running backs this year. Mahon said while his running backs are new to the program, they also establish the tempo for the team.
“They will set the tone in the weight room and on the field,” he said. “They are a very excitable bunch. It is just fun watching them go. Each (one) has a little bit different that they bring to the table, but they are all very, very talented.”
Mahon also touted the return of Brenham High School alum Reid Robinson to the receiving room. Robinson will make a position change to tight end this year after putting on weight over the summer.
Defensively, Mahon touted a deep defensive line with 23 players at the position. He credited Coleman for adding speed and length to the defensive back room. The linebacker room is also deep with Mahon mentioning returners Caden Baldwin and Frankedric Powell.
“We always feel that if we load up there, we are going to be OK,” he said.
He also noted an influx of kickers into the program for this year. Mahon brought in three kickers to the program to fix an issue that he thought was the cause of close losses. Blinn lost four one-possession games in conference play a year ago, leading to the Buccaneers missing the postseason.
Overall, he said this year’s group of 85 Buccaneers is the most he has had in the summer. They all give him plenty of effort each day, leading this year’s group to be a great one for him to coach.
“This team, they make you feel excited,” Mahon said. “It is one of those ones where you are happy you go to work every single day (that) you get a chance to coach them because they are so eager to be coached. They are so eager to be pushed and they are just a joy.”
Blinn will play scrimmages on Aug. 14 and 21 against Southwest University and Trinity University, respectively, before opening the season on Aug. 30 against Transformation with Athletics. The Buccaneers will open their conference slate on Sept. 20 against the New Mexico Military Institute.