Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Football picked seventh in MVFC Preseason Poll
08/02/2012 | 12:00:00 | Football
Aug. 2, 2012
2012 MVFC Preseason Poll and Preseason Team
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Southern Illinois has been picked to finish the season seventh in the 2012 Missouri Valley Football Conference Preseason Poll, which was released Thursday morning. The poll was conducted by the coaches, media and sports information directors of the 10-team conference.
The Salukis went 4-7 in 2011 and finished seventh in the conference with a 2-6 league mark. Four of those six conference losses were decided by eight points or less, and SIU returns 15 starters from last season's team.
The MVFC also announced the Preseason Team, which features four Salukis. That ties with Illinois State and Youngstown State for second most of any school on this year's team. Defensive linemen Kenneth Boatright and Kayon Swanson earned preseason team honors along with tight end MyCole Pruitt and return specialist Steve Strother.
Boatright, a defensive end, is coming off of a breakout junior season in which he was an All-Conference Honorable Mention and earned a spot on the MVFC All-Newcomer team. He led the Salukis with 6.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss. Boatright was named the defensive MVP and co-defensive line MVP by his teammates.
Swanson returns for his senior season at nose tackle after he was a second team All-MVFC selection in 2011. He led the team with 52 tackles and recorded four sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss. Swanson joined Boatright as the team's co-defensive line MVP.
Pruitt lead SIU in receptions (43), receiving yards (562) and receiving touchdowns (three) as a redshirt freshman in 2011. He was an All-MVFC Honorable Mention and a member of the conference's All-Newcomer team. Pruitt was also named the team's receiving MVP. This season he has been named to the College Football Performance Awards' preseason tight end award watch list.
Strother was a first team All-Conference selection as a return specialist in 2011 as he led the league with an average of 27.6 yards per kick return, which ranked 10th nationally. He recorded 746 return yards, the second most in a single season in school history. Strother is the starting tailback heading into fall camp and has been named to the CFPA preseason running back award watch list.
SIU is scheduled to open the season on Thursday, Aug. 30 at Eastern Illinois.
MVFC Preseason Poll
School (first place votes) Points
1. North Dakota State (37) 379
2. Northern Iowa 300
3. Youngstown State 291
4. Illinois State (1) 287
5. Indiana State 228
6. South Dakota State 182
7. Southern Illinois 167
8. South Dakota 97
9. Western Illinois 90
10. Missouri State 69
