BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — With his usual calm demeanor, Arkansas-Pine Bluff football coach Monte Coleman made it known Monday morning he would have been happier with more of his players selected for the Preseason All-SWAC teams.
Offensive lineman Terron Armstead is the Golden Lions' only first-team selection. Linebackers Bill Ross and Jer-ryan Harris were named to the second team.
“I think we have a lot of SWAC players on our team that got overlooked last year,” said Coleman, going into his fifth season as head coach. “I thought (free safety) Jarvis Webb played well enough last season to be preseason All-SWAC. Bill Ross played well enough to be first team last year. I would have thought he played well enough to be first team this year.”
Webb, who attended SWAC Media Day at the Birmingham Marriott along with Coleman and Armstead, said he wasn't disappointed in not being selected.
“Like he said, it's a prediction,” the senior from Pine Bluff High said. “It just motivates me to work harder. We all have to be dedicated.”
Harris, the 2010 SWAC Freshman of the Year, was limited to seven games last season due to a hamstring injury, but still finished with 36 tackles, recovered two fumbles and intercepted a pass. “Even though he didn't play all 11 games last year, I think he made a statement his freshman year,” Coleman said. “I think the folks around the league recognized his ability to run to the football, so maybe (he is) justifiably a second-team pick, but Bill Ross, who was in the top five in total tackles last year (in the SWAC with 107, good for second-most), I would have thought he'd have been a first-team pick. (Free safety) Ryan Shaw played well for us last year, and I would have thought he would have been at least a second-team pick if not a first-team pick. “There are a lot of guys on my team that have been overlooked, but it is what it is. It's just a pick.”
So was the Lions' predicted finish in the SWAC Western Division — third. UAPB, which was 6-5 and 5-4 in the West a year ago, received two first-place votes. Defending SWAC champion Grambling State earned 20 first-place votes and was picked to repeat in the West, with Prairie View A&M predicted second with one first-place vote.
“Last year, we were picked fourth, so we moved up a spot,” Coleman said. “All it is, is predictions. … We just got to go and handle our business and go and do the things we do, and everything else will take care of itself.”
Staying healthy and avoiding mistakes are chief among the Lions' focuses this season, according to Coleman. “If we stay healthy, I think we can compete with anybody,” he said. “We're an all-veteran team, so I'm expecting us to come out like veterans.”
