After six straight CIAA championship game appearances including a league title in 2022, Fayetteville State football has been picked to finish third in the conference as announced Wednesday during media days in Charlotte.
"It is what it is and let the chips fall where they may," Broncos coach Richard Hayes said.
"(Elizabeth City State) Coach (Marcus) Hilliard talked about a little disrespect: We feel it. (Winston-Salem State) Coach (Robert) Massey talking about being everybody's Super Bowl: We definitely feel that. But we're here and we're ready to play. ... I need them to know that: We are here."
Hayes enters his eighth season leading FSU on a six-year Southern Division championship run, claiming the title in his second year at the helm and winning every one since. The most recent of the Broncos' four CIAA championships came in 2022, adding to titles in '02, '03 and '09.
The Broncos ranked behind top vote-getter Virginia State and reigning champion Virginia Union in the preseason poll, voted on by the league's head coaches.
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The All-CIAA preseason team was also announced Wednesday, with three returning Fayetteville State players honored in voting by the CIAA Football Coaches Association and the Sports Information Directors Association.
Senior offensive lineman Michael Todd, senior defensive back Kolby Merritt and sophomore punter Josiah Boyd represent the Broncos on the preseason squad. Each of them made the All-CIAA team last season.
Todd, a 6-foot-6, 305-pounder from Lumberton, cleared the way for 1,452 rushing yards last year as an All-CIAA first-team selection. Todd was also a preseason squad selection last year.
Merritt, a 6-1, 200-pounder from Charlotte, had 63 tackles (43 solo) and a pair of sacks last year for the league's fourth-ranked defense.
Boyd, a Seventy-First High School graduate, was a first-team All-CIAA selection as a rookie last season after averaging a league-best 37.5 yards per punt.
The Broncos, who finished last season 8-3 overall, 8-0 in regular-season league games, also return leading rusher Derrick Alston Jr., an ECU transfer and 2022 All-Rookie Team member entering his junior year. Julian Milligan, who ranked just behind Alston, is back for his redshirt sophomore season.
Quarterback Joe Owens Jr., a junior Alabama State transfer, will be back in Fayetteville along with one of his favorite targets, senior David Baros who transferred from LaGrange.
While the Broncos' offense struggled last season, Hayes credited his staff for sparking an 8-0 run after a 0-2 start.
"We were in some situations last year where we had to continuously make our kids believe the game ain't over. If you keep playing and you keep believing, you're going to have a chance," he said.
Hayes has added offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Kevin Magouirk to his staff heading into the 2024 season. Magouirk played running back and wide receiver at South Carolina before graduating in 2001. He coached at Lehigh, The Citadel, Methodist and more before joining the staff at South Carolina State where he was offensive coordinator last season.
Kolby is the top returning tackler for FSU, which finished last season ranked third in the CIAA in scoring defense and No. 1 in sacks with 30. Junior linebacker Elijah Casey (49 tackles) returns along with senior lineman Roman Johnson from Western Carolina, and junior lineman Shawn Robinson who had 8.5 tackles for loss last year.
New CIAA football format
This season, the league has done away with divisional formatting that sent Northern and Southern regular-season winners to the conference championship. Now, the two teams with the best conference records will play for the title, with all 11 CIAA programs battling for those spots.
This season's CIAA championship (Nov. 16) will end Salem, Virginia's run as host before moving to Durham County Memorial Stadium in 2025-27. Salem had been home to the title game since 2017. Durham hosted the event from 2008-12 and 2014-15.
CIAA football 2024 predicted order of finish
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