Bethune-Cookman University football preview: Coach welcomes challenge of new league

The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, who opted out of the 2020 season because of COVID-19 concerns, are back — but this time in a new league.

B-CU and rival Florida A&M left the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and joined the Southwestern Athletic Conference, which is now a 12-team league.

The Wildcats, who will be joined by FAMU in the six-team East Division, have been picked to finish fifth. But perhaps the Florida schools got a break because Alcorn State — which has won six of the past seven East Division titles — has been switched to the West.

“Change is good,” Wildcats coach Terry Sims said during B-CU Media Day. “Being in the SWAC is a chance to develop new rivalries. We left a lot of them behind in the MEAC, but we’re in the SWAC now.

“We played a SWAC school every year for the past four or five seasons. Now we’ll play a complete SWAC schedule.”

The Wildcats, who went 7-4 in 2019, will have to find a new quarterback to replace Akevious Williams, a two-year starter.

Shannon Patrick, a 6-2, 210-pound redshirt senior, has taken most of the QB snaps this fall, but Marcus Riley, who played running back for the Wildcats in 2018 and 2019, is an intriguing option. Riley starred at QB at Tallahassee’s Rickards High.

The Wildcats’ top returning receiver is tight end Taron Mallard, who played 11 games in 2019 — including nine starts — and had 16 catches for an 18.4-yard average and two touchdowns.

Two of B-CU’s top running backs are Que’Shaun Byrd and LaDerrien Wilson.

Byrd, a backup in 2019, ran for 330 yards, one TD and a 4.4 average. Wilson, who started his career at Maryland, played for B-CU in 2019, rushing for 118 yards and a 3.5 average.

At the SWAC Media Day, two Bethune-Cookman players were named to the preseason all-league teams, both making the second unit: offensive lineman Nicholas Roos and linebacker Untareo Johnson.

Roos is a crushing blocker, and Johnson is the Wildcats’ top returning tackler with 54 stops in 2019.

Now that the Wildcats are in the SWAC, Johnson said he is looking forward to the entire league schedule, especially B-CU’s Oct. 23 trip to Jackson State.

“I have family in Jackson [Mississippi],” Johnson said. “I’m going to try to get all those tickets that week so all my family can get in free. I plan on playing big.”

Bethune-Cookman’s schedule is tough. It starts at Texas-El Paso on Sept. 4, and it follows on Sept. 11 with a trip to Central Florida. After that, the Wildcats jump into their first SWAC league schedule with their Sept. 16 home opener against defending conference champion Alabama A&M.

The Wildcats, who have won nine straight Florida Classics against FAMU, will get another shot at the Rattlers on Nov. 20.

Sims, who has been at Bethune-Cookman since 2010 and has been the Wildcats’ head coach since 2015, said his players and staff are eager for the upcoming season.

“Last year was chaotic [because of COVID-19],” Sims said. “Our players are a bunch of 18-to-23-year-olds, and they are used to being on a schedule.

“When they were off schedule, it was uncomfortable. But our staff did a great job keeping them engaged.”

In spring, Bethune-Cookman held practices at 5 a.m.

“Some people may say that’s crazy, but we had zero issues,” Sims said. “No guys were late. Nobody was whining.

“We had been away from football for a year and a half, and everyone was ready to get back to work.”

Sims, who preaches academics, said he has at least four of his players currently working on their master’s degrees.

On the field, however, the Wildcats have some snarl.

“We’re going to play hard,” Sims said. “We’re going to play fast, and we’re going to play physical.

“Every time you see Bethune-Cookman, you are going to be in for a show.”