Two Wildcats have received AllSWAC Pre-Season honors, the conference announced on Tuesday during its annual Media Day at the Sheraton Birmingham in Birmingham, Alabama.
Fifth-year senior cornerback Omari Hill-Robinson was named All-SWAC Pre-Season First Team while rising junior defensive back and kick returner Darnell Deas was named All-SWAC Pre-Season First Special Teams as a kick returner.
Bethune-Cookman was picked to finish sixth in the SWAC East Division.
Despite low expectations, there is plenty of optimism and hype in Wildcat Nation.
During Tuesday’s Zoom Media Day teleconference, first-year Head Coach Raymond Woodie said, “We’re excited to get going for this upcoming and exciting season.”
Woodie also addressed what the team did during the spring and offseason while speaking on the live SWAC media day broadcast.
“We had a good spring, but one of the things we did was addressed what was needed. We only had seven offensive linemen. We really went and added to the offensive line,” Woodie note.
The Wildcats will continue implementing new offensive, defensive and special teams’ schemes heading into their season opener.
Woodie expressed, “We will be smart in the classroom and on the field. We want to play smart, fast, physical, and aggressive. Winning comes with execution. We’ll run multiple defenses and offense will be spread, 11 and 12 personnel. It depends on our players. You can’t run scheme without personnel. We are building. We’ve recruited guys to be able to run what we want to run. We want to be able to allow our players to play fast.”
The Wildcats will began fall practice in August.
All-SWAC selections
Hill-Robinson is from Fort Lauderdale. He was All-SWAC First Team defense in 2022, finishing the season tied for second in the league with four interceptions including a 97-yard interception return for touchdown against Mississippi Valley State – the third-longest return in B-CU history.
Deas hails from Pompano Beach. He was First Team All-SWAC special teams in 2022 when he returned 28 kicks for 745 yards and averaged 26.6 yards per return with two touchdowns. Deas returned a kick 98 yards for a score in a 45-35 win over Mississippi Valley State in Itta Bena, Mississippi. He returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown in a 36- 19 win over Grambling State in Daytona Beach.
Florida A&M quarterback Jeremy Moussa is the league’s Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Grambling State’s Sundiata Anderson is Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
Florida A&M was picked to finish atop the Eastern Division while Southern was picked to win the Western Division.
Wildcats will be on ESPN
The SWAC also announced its TV schedule on Tuesday.
Bethune-Cookman will appear in a total of five games that will air live on ESPN networks.
The Wildcats open the season on Saturday, Sept. 2, at Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent, the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee at 7 p.m. The game will stream on ESPN+.
B-CU plays at FBS opponent, the University of Miami, on Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m. on the ACC Network powered by ESPN.
The Wildcats travel to two-time defending SWAC champion Jackson State for the W.C. Gordon Classic in Jackson, Mississippi at 3 p.m. on ESPN+.
Bethune-Cookman hosts SWAC Eastern Division foe Mississippi Valley State to Daytona Stadium on Thursday night, Nov. 2, at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
The final ESPN regular season broadcast game will feature the Wildcats against rival Florida A&M in the Florida Blue Florida Classic at Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 3:30 p.m.
Several other key SWAC games are on the 2023 schedule on the ESPN networks, including the Labor Day Classic (Prairie View A&M at Texas Southern), the State Fair Classic (Grambling vs. Prairie View A&M), the Magic City Classic (Alabama A&M vs. Alabama State) and the Boombox Classic (Jackson State at Southern University).
The 2023 Cricket SWAC Football Championship is on ESPN2 on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 4 p.m.
For more on Bethune-Cookman University Athletics, football news, stats, scores and schedule visit www.bcuathletics.com.
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