The Shepherd football team's place at the top of the Mountain East Conference preseason coaches poll was no surprise, considering the Rams played in the 2015 NCAA Division II national championship. Head coach Monte Cater appreciated the respect the MEC's other 10 coaches had for his program.
"It's nice, because I think you earn that bullseye on your back," Cater said. "But at the same time, you'd better be ready to go every week, because everyone wants a chunk of you."
The poll, released at the start of MEC media day Wednesday at the Bridgeport Conference Center, had the University of Charleston in second place, earning two first-place votes to Shepherd's nine. The Golden Eagles reached the Division II playoffs for the first time last season. Concord was third and West Virginia State was eighth.
The Rams bring back two huge offensive components - MEC offensive player of the year quarterback Jeff Ziemba and all-American wide receiver Billy Brown. They lose 2015 conference defensive player of the year Shaneil Jenkins, but return all-MEC first team linebacker James Gupton, first-team defensive back Tre Sullivan, second-team linebacker Octavius Thomas and second-team defensive back Adam Coles.
Cater said there's plenty more that goes into a championship campaign than just returning starters on the roster.
"So many things have to go into it," Cater said. "You have to stay healthy. Guys have to play together and all those other things."
It won't be known whether those intangible ingredients will appear until the season begins, but if history is any indicator, the Rams will at least be in contention for the conference crown.
"We've been fortunate that we've been able to be in the hunt most years," Cater said. "Last year was special. That's never happened before."
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UC head coach Pat Kirkland has been working to build the Golden Eagles' reputation since arriving in Charleston in 2011. That inaugural playoff berth and eight returning offensive starters helped bolster their standing in the preseason poll. But Kirkland said UC will have to back up that reputation against some pretty good competition.
"It's encouraging, but like everyone said, you look at last year, and there were so many games that could go either way because of the competitiveness," Kirkland said. "There are some pretty good players here and we lost some pretty good players from last year. It's exciting to get recognized."
After a five-win 2015 and a sixth-place finish in the MEC standings, West Virginia State was picked to finish eighth. The Yellow Jackets' finished with the most victories in a season since winning seven in both 2007 and 2008. They also return MEC leading passer Matt Kinnick and preseason all-America linebacker Dennis Gardeck.
"I don't think there's much stock to be taken in it, to be honest with you," State coach Jon Anderson said. "I think it's something for the media to talk about, and I'm glad that you guys do. But for us, we have our own set of expectations and anything outside of the building isn't critical to how we go about each day of trying to improve."
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Charleston lost a trio of assistants in the offseason, but will bring in two to replace them. Former special teams coordinator and tight ends coach Travis Everhart took an assistant job at Division II Fort Valley State in Georgia. Former defensive line coach/recruiting coordinator David Hill took a job with Football Championship Subdivision member Towson. Graduate assistant Nate Stevenson also departed.
Former Shepherd assistant Zack Santolla will now oversee the defensive line, while Chase Butler, a former intern at Ohio University, will coach tight ends, fullbacks and special teams.
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West Liberty head coach Roger Waialae added a new title over the offseason. He now is an interim co-athletic director along with women's basketball coach Lynn Ullom. The two replace Aaron Huffman, who stepped down to return to the faculty.
Waialae likes sharing the duties with Ullom. The two have been together at WLU since 1992. And while Waialae focuses on football, Ullom can take the reins with administrative duties, and vice versa.
"I couldn't imagine doing both of them by myself at the same time," Waialae said. "Having a co-AD is going to make this work for both of us."
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Cater confirmed that Angelo Jean-Louis, a former Marshall wide receiver who transferred to Shepherd before last season began, had left the team. He caught 17 passes for 246 yards and six touchdowns for the Rams before a leg injury sidelined him after nine games.
Jean-Louis was named to the Conference USA all-freshman team in 2014 after a 21-catch, 490-yard, six-touchdown season. Jean-Louis and the Thundering Herd parted ways in August 2015.