Coach Alvin Wyatt said it will be tough to win the MEAC again.
Bethune-Cookman's usually ebullient coach, Alvin Wyatt, enters the season unusually glum.
The Wildcats start 2003 where they finished 2002 - on top. The preseason 10th-ranked team in Division I-AA is picked to defend its first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title in 14 years. But Wyatt is worried.
"That's a heck of a task they're putting in front of us," Wyatt said, "and we just don't have the guys to meet this task."
No, it's not just Wyatt's usual Lou Holtz act. B-CC returns a talented core but there's much to be concerned about, on and off the field, this year and in seasons to come.
Star quarterback Allen Suber, the Tampa Catholic product who missed most of the last four games of 2002 and the playoffs, has been slow to heal for 2003 with that sprained right foot. He is one of only three offensive starters returning. Seven starters return on defense, but gone to the NFL is I-AA interception record-holder Rashean Mathis. Plus, 16 players Wyatt purged last offseason will not return, leaving the team without those juniors and seniors on the depth chart.
Then there's the seasons to come, and what Wyatt said could be the end of B-CC's rivalry with Florida A&M and the schools' annual, and very profitable, Florida Classic battle.
The Wildcats finally caught up with the Rattlers in 2002's 37-10 win, ending a seven-year losing streak in the 23rd annual classic. But FAMU's planned move to Division I-A in 2004 will only widen the schools' gap in talent and resources, Wyatt said. B-CC would be the only I-AA foe on FAMU's future schedules.
"The scores will look like what they looked like back when we were trying to catch up to them," Wyatt said. "It will not constitute a rivalry. A rivalry is what we've had the last four or five years, with the MEAC championship on the line, the playoffs on the line, the national black college championship on the line. For those years we were right there with Florida A&M.
"Now we'll never be able to compete. They're taking it a step higher and we can't get to that step."
But in the here and now, B-CC looks good on paper. A healthy Suber guided B-CC to a 7-0 record last season, completing 84 of 164 passes for 1,307 yards and nine touchdowns and rushing 158 times for 1,227 yards and 15 scores. He was voted 2002 MEAC offensive player of the year despite his injuries and can rewrite the school's record books if he returns to form.
Two stand ready to replace him in the Wyattbone offense, though. Scrambler Lawrence McCloud ran for three touchdowns against Howard, and passer Scot Austin guided a come-from-behind drive to beat North Carolina A&T.
Senior running back Brad Lee is back after rushing for 584 yards and two touchdowns. The line is anchored by preseason All-MEAC picks Tyrone Sapp at right tackle and and Julius Franklin on the left side. Louisville transfer Fred Nolan is the left guard. Wideout is thin, and former reserves Unri Thomas, Patrick Brown and Pasco High standout Eric Reed must step up.
The defensive picture is brighter. Right end Steve Baggs' 25 career sacks is 10 short of a school record. Returning starter Jamal Muhammad is the "shark" outside linebacker. Tor-El Robinson's return to the secondary will soften the blow of losing Mathis.
But the season depends on the health of Suber, Wyatt said. He's back practicing with the team, but without him, the Wildcats could slide back into mediocrity.
"We've turned the corner," Wyatt said. "We've returned the program back to glory and we feel good about that. But without Allen? It would be very tough. Without the MEAC preseason offensive player of the year, if I don't have him. ... I don't even want to think about it, to tell the truth."
