(Source: TheSAC.com) – Newberry has been voted as the conference favorite by the South Atlantic Conference football head coaches for the second consecutive year, the league announced today. The Wolves collected six first-place votes and 114 points in the poll.
The Wolves took home their second consecutive and third overall SAC Football Championship under Coach Todd Knight’s leadership in 2022, finishing the season with a record of 9-2 overall and 7-2 in the conference. The Wolves return five preseason All-SAC selections, including tight end Tommy Washington, long snapper Blake Arnoult, offensive lineman Noah Mangum, and defensive linemen Devante Gambrell and Malik Devine-Brown.
At No. 2 in the poll was Wingate with 109 points and four first place votes. The Bulldogs are coming off an 11-3 season overall, going 7-2 in conference play. Coach Joe Reich’s team advanced to the NCAA postseason picking up first and second round wins over Virginia Union (32-7) and Benedict (23-6). The Bulldogs eventually lost in the region championship game to West Florida (45-14). The Bulldogs will be led by four preseason All-SAC performers on defense; Marquise Fleming (DL), Jaquan Edwards (LB), Tre Morrison (DB), and Jaheim Mullen (DB).
Lenoir-Rhyne checks in at No. 3 in the 2022 preseason poll with 101 points and one first place vote. The Bears are coming off a 2022 campaign that saw them finish the year with an 8-3 overall record, going 7-2 in the conference. Lenoir-Rhyne will be looking to return to the NCAA playoffs this season, after missing out on postseason play for the first time in the last four years. The Bears have seven preseason All-SAC selections back, including running back Dwayne McGee, defensive lineman Andre Jefferson, and linebacker Jon Ross Maye.
The Limestone Saints came in at No. 4 in the preseason poll with 88 points and one first place vote. They finished the 2022 season with an 8-4 overall record, going 7-2 in league play. The Saints advanced to the NCAA postseason for the first time in program history. Eight players earn preseason All-SAC honors with quarterback Dustin Noller leading the way. He led the league in passing yards with 2,460 and was second in touchdowns with 21.
Mars Hill landed at No. 5 in the preseason poll with 85 points. Under the direction of head coach Tim Clifton, the Lions are looking to stay at the top of the Mountain Division standings once again this year after going 7-3 overall and 7-2 in conference play last season. Eight preseason All-SAC performers return for Mars Hill, including one of the top linebackers in NCAA Division II Landon Honeycutt, who finished the season with 90 tackles, five sacks, and 15 tackles for loss.
At No. 6 in the poll was Tusculum with 79 points. The Pioneers went 8-3 a year ago with a 6-3 record in the SAC. This year’s squad will have nine preseason All-SAC selections; four on offense and five on defense, including three linebackers: Ryan Dolce, Wesley Scott, and Earnest Johnson III.
Coming in at No. 7 in the poll was Carson-Newman with 58 points. The Eagles went 6-5 overall and 5-4 in the SAC in 2022. Returning to lead the Eagles are six preseason All-SAC selections with five of those on the offensive side of the ball, including running backs TJ King and Tyree Nelson.
Checking in at No. 8 in the poll was Barton with 48 points. In their first season in the SAC the Bulldogs posted a 4-7 overall record, going 3-6 in conference. Leading the way for Barton will be one of the top running backs in Division II, Jordan Terrell. He rushed for 1,632 yards, averaging 148.4 yards per game, scoring 15 touchdowns.
The Emory & Henry Wasps earned the No. 9 spot with 41 points. The Wasps posted a 5-6 overall record, going 4-5 in league play. The Wasps have six preseason All-SAC picks with four players on offense and four on defense.
Earning the No. 10 spot in the poll was UVA Wise with 32 points. The Cavaliers went 2-9 overall last season, finishing with a 1-8 record in SAC play.
Rounding out the poll at No. 11 were Catawba and Erskine at No. 12.
The Catawba Indians went 1-10 overall in 2022, they will be under the direction of new head coach Tyler Haines.
Erskine went 2-9 overall and was 0-9 in the SAC last season.
In addition to the preseason coaches’ poll, the SAC also released its 2023 Preseason All-Conference teams Friday. The full preseason all-conference Mountain Division and Piedmont Division teams are listed below.
The 2023 SAC football season will kick-off on Thursday, August 31, with four teams taking the field, while the remaining eight teams will begin play on Saturday, September 2. Check out the full schedule of games online at www.thesac.com.
Be sure to catch all of the SAC football action online with live video streaming via the FloSports Network! Fans can sign-up for FloSports by visiting https://flosports.link/3IwzCJ6.
2023 SAC Football Preseason Coaches Poll
| Rank | School (First Place Votes) | Score |
| 1. | Newberry (6) | 114 |
| 2. | Wingate (4) | 109 |
| 3. | Lenoir-Rhyne (1) | 101 |
| 4. | Limestone (1) | 88 |
| 5. | Mars Hill | 85 |
| 6. | Tusculum | 79 |
| 7. | Carson-Newman | 58 |
| 8. | Barton | 48 |
| 9. | Emory & Henry | 41 |
| 10. | UVA Wise | 33 |
| 11. | Catawba | 22 |
| 12. | Erskine | 14 |
2023 Preseason All-SAC Football Teams
ALL- Mountain OFFENSE
QB – Kyle Short, Emory & Henry
RB – TJ King, Carson-Newman
RB – Tyree Nelson, Carson-Newman
RB – Justin Hill, Emory & Henry
WR – Tyler Burke, Tusculum
WR – Malik Laurent, Mars Hill
WR – Tmahdae Penn, Emory & Henry
OL – Leondre Andreas, Mars Hill
OL – Ben Shellenback, Tusculum
OL – Justin Bullock, Mars Hill
OL – Ricky Dodson, Emory & Henry
OL – Christian Jones, Carson-Newman
TE – Bryce Moore, Tusculum
PK – Christian Erwin, Carson-Newman
LS – Andrew Bradshaw, Carson-Newman
RS – Eddie Watson, Tusculum
ALL-Mountain DEFENSE
DL – Dajavon White, Tusculum
DL – Boris Lewis, Mars Hill
DL – Damipi Lamboni, Mars Hill
DL – Joslyn Mira, Tusculum
LB – Landon Honeycutt, Mars Hill
LB – Ryan Dolce, Tusculum
LB – Wesley Scott, Tusculum
LB – Earnest Johnson III, Tusculum
DB – Monroe Sanderson, Mars Hill
DB – Major Williams, Carson-Newman
DB – Addison Knicely, Emory & Henry
DB – Tristan Rankin, Mars Hill
P – Ethan Muncy, Emory & Henry
All- PIEDMONT OFFENSE
QB – Dustin Noller, Limestone
RB – Dwayne McGee, Lenoir-Rhyne
RB – Jordan Terrell, Barton
RB – Tre Stewart, Limestone
WR – Jelani Baker, Limestone
WR – Kelin Parsons, Lenoir-Rhyne
WR – Drew Dixon, Limestone
OL – Blake Jefferson, Lenoir-Rhyne
OL – Noah Mangum, Newberry
OL – Luke Bond, Limestone
OL – Xavier Jennings, Lenoir-Rhyne
OL – Alex Buschow, Barton
TE – Tommy Washington, Newberry
LS – Blake Arnoult, Newberry
RS – Kujuan Pryor, Catawba
All-PIEDMONT DEFENSE
DL – Devante Gambrell, Newberry
DL – Marquise Fleming, Wingate
DL – Malik Devine-Brown, Newberry
DL – Andre Jefferson, Lenoir-Rhyne
LB – Jaquan Edwards, Wingate
LB – Shane Perry, Barton
LB – Jon Ross Maye, Lenoir-Rhyne
LB – Chandler Matthews, Limestone
DB – Tre Morrison, Wingate
DB – C’Darius Kelley, Lenoir-Rhyne
DB – Ahmond Glass, Limestone
DB – Jaheim Mullen, Wingate
P – Bryan Frey, Limestone
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