• 2023 WVSU Football Schedule
• Purchase Home Game Tickets

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – The 2023 MEC Preseason Football Poll was released by the league offices on Monday afternoon. West Virginia State was picked to finish eighth in the Mountain East Conference standings. The poll is voted on by the league's head coaches.

The Yellow Jackets are coming off a 2022 season in which they finished tied for fourth in the MEC standings. The high points for WVSU football last year included handing Concord one of its two losses on the season and beating rivals Charleston on the road to end the season. State barely missed out on matching a program record eight wins with a 31-30 defeat to Glenville late in the season.

Head Coach John Pennington returns for his seventh year at the helm of the WVSU football program. Defensive Coordinator George Shehl also returns as the right-hand man of his former WVU teammate. The Special Teams Coordinator position left by former Concord head coach Paul Price was filled from within by Defensive Line Coach B.J. Buckle.

A total of five All-MEC honorees return to lead the Yellow Jackets during the 2023 season. Most notably, quarterback Donovan Riddick returns for a fifth year after throwing for the third-most yards (2,326) and second-most touchdowns (20) in the league. He also added another 499 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.

Riddick's offensive line will be led by fellow All-MEC Second Team selection Andres Sagastume. Sagastume enters his senior year in 2023. He will be tasked with pass protection as well as run blocking for returning leading-rusher Joel Felder. The DI transfer running back is back for his junior campaign after rushing for 859 yards and eight touchdowns. He rushed for over 100 yards on four occasions last year.

Defensively, two All-MEC Honorable Mentions in senior defensive lineman Corlyn Witcher and fifth-year defensive back Jalen Jones return. Witcher was an integral part of a strong unit up front last year along with junior Nazir Jones who also returns. Graduate student Jalen Jones had a breakout season in 2022 becoming the main disruptive presence on the defense regardless of where he lined up.

On special teams, junior kicker and punter Brennen Schmitt returns to give the Yellow Jackets the edge on the scoreboard and in the field position battle. He has only missed one field goal in his career, which was blocked, with a career-long of 45 yards. Schmitt's career-long punt went for 69 yards in the win over West Liberty last season. He also landed 21 punts inside the 20 yard line throughout the 2022 season.

Notre Dame College was the clear front-runner in this year's MEC Preseason Poll with 10 first-place votes and 100 points. Frostburg State came in second with the one remaining first-place vote and 88 points. Charleston (74 points) barely edged Concord (72 points) for the third-place spot. 

Glenville State (54 points), UNC Pembroke (50 points), Wheeling (49 points) and West Virginia State (45 points) were bunched up in the fifth through eighth positions. Fairmont State (38 points), West Liberty (25 points) and West Virginia Wesleyan (10 points) rounded out the poll in the ninth through 11th spots.

2023 MEC Football Preseason Poll
1. Notre Dame (10) - 100
2. Frostburg State (1) - 88
3. Charleston - 74
4. Concord - 72
5. Glenville State - 54
6. UNC Pembroke - 50
7. Wheeling - 49
8. West Virginia State - 45
9. Fairmont State - 38
10. West Liberty - 25
11. West Va. Wesleyan - 10

(  ) - First-place votes
* Coaches not allowed to vote for own program