QTNA - Can Prairie View A&M's Fall Camp Provide Clarity

Written by Lionel Mosby Jr

The Prairie View A&M Panthers along with, and because of, their confident new head football coach, Tremaine Jackson, have been shaking up the media and making noise all spring and summer long. The bold vision, transfer portal rules, creative marketing, recruiting rankings and interviews have all eyes directed to The Hill to see what happens when the Panthers come off of it August 30th.

Before the big reveal, however, the Panthers will have their moment of silence as they grind it out internally in the most anticipated fall camp since the 2009 campaign. The discussions resonating in the football media, alumni forums and among former PV Panther football players have one word resurfacing - Competiton. The #1 HBCU recruiting class and #4 FCS recruiting class (according to 247 Sports & Sports Illustrated) have provided Coach Jackson with a wealth of talent and depth at every position. The lingering inquiry now is can this talent provide clarity for the questions that need answers.

Question #1

• Who is QB1?

No matter how many resources this staff has spent to strengthen the offensive line, stock playmakers out wide and supply home run abilities to the back field, who will be the lead conductor of the offense is still the most pivotal question to be answered in fall camp.

With the additions of Tyler Nelson from Garden City Communiy College in the mid-year class and Tevin Carter from Tennessee State during the spring transfer window, the Panthers have brought in substantial talent to compete with returner, Cam Peters, for the most coveted job in sports. Each quarterback has their strengths and weaknesses, but the victor won't have a full camp to win the job. Coach Jackson has stated on numerous occasions that he will name a starter early on in fall camp so QB1 has time to gel in his post sooner than later.

Question #2

• Will the new look offensive line improve the Panthers run game?

New Panther OC Chris Buckner is certainly bringing a pass friendly, air raid system to Prairie View, but Coach Jackson was adamant that it would be packaged with a power run. Last year, the team struggled to get consistent traction on the ground. In pivotal games, like those against Texas Southern and Southern, the Panthers averaged less than 3 yards per rush. This was primarily due breaking in a completely new and extremely young offensive line group who needed time to grow their game experience.

Not only does new Ofensive Line Coach Carlson have four of the starting O Line group returning from last year's team, he also has a myriad of transfer options who completely overhauled the size and depth of the room. Dylan Spencer (UCA), Calvin McMillian (Memphis), Jeremiah Mawali (JMU) and CK Carter (UTEP) are a few new additions that can change the trajectory of the Panthers run game and open up holes for a backfield filled with dynamic talent.

Question #3

• Can the 212 defense generate pressure and provide extra possessions for the offense?

Coaches Brandon Andersen and Trent Earley were recognized last year for overseeing the most stingy defense in all of D2 football. How much of that stingy play can that infuse into this Panther defense in year 1 will be key to answering whether this team can achieve its ultimate goals or not. In order for that to be accomplished, they will need to find the pieces to make opponents uncomfortable more often than what Prairie View did last year. The Panthers sat at the bottom of the SWAC in multiple categories (sacks, TFLs and TOs) and didn't have the depth of pass rushers needed to create negative plays.

The Panther defensive line and linebacker core has been completely remodeled with this system in mind, but returning IDL Jamal Marshall will be expected to continue his productive college career and lead this front 7 alongside transfer LB Sterling Roberts. Roberts is coming off an amazing season at Valdosta and now will be called on to provide veteran leadership for this new squad. PV will also need to identify early in the season the guys who can get after the QB consistently. Malik Gulake, Chris Harvey and Premiere Whitley will all have their opportunities that prove their value as this camp begins, but don't be surprised if another name emerges to take the top spot.

Question #4

• Are the secondary woes in the past?

One of the most glaring issues that derailed the 2024 Prairie View team was the inconsistent and undisciplined play of the secondary unit. Not only were they the most penalized unit on the team, giving opponents assistance with extra yardage an field position, but they also gave up big plays throughout the year.

The most improved unit, from the outside looking in, is the entire DB room. This talent is only enhanced a DB Coach who has won over 10 championships and produced top tier secondaries across his career, Coach DG. Top tier transfers Travor Randle, Malachi Williams, Cornelius Davis and Danarius Hollywood, among many others, and impact returners such as Eric Zachery, Kamren Amao and Cameron Franklin provide depth in this room that Panther has not seen in a very long time. This unit has the potential to be the best in the SWAC. Fall camp will reveal if they are able to work seamlessly to provide the blanket on the back end for this new look Panther defense.

Question #5

• Can special teams be special?

Last year, the Panthers had one of, if not, the best placekickers in the conference and all FCS. Guillermo Garcia provided the team with plenty of leg to turn stagnant offensive drives into points with long 40+ and 50+ yard FGs. They also had a punter, Efren Jasoso who helped with field position and transfer over to the Big 12. Can PV replace that productive with the transfers of Aiden Webb & Adam Atwell? Also, it is no secret that Prairie View's kickoff and punt return units the last few years have not been able to strike fear and provide sparks that can turn game around or put them away. Who will emerge in the return game to make special teams special?

With the influx of speed through the transfer portal, Coach Hadley will have many options to consider in the return. At the top of the consideration list will be Ja'Koby Banks (Memphis). Banks had an amazing spring after transferring in mid-year. He looks the part as a WR and top tier return specialist. Other speedster like Kerya Powell, Trae Davis, Conner Wisham and Chase Bingmon could also get opportunities to prove valuable and give this team an added dimension in an area that has been a weak point the last few seasons.

Are there any questions you would add to this list? Leave them in the comments below.

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About the Author

Lionel Mosby Jr is a 2009 Graduate of Prairie View A&M University and was the sports editor for The Panther, PVAMU's student newspaper, during PV's last championship run. He is the founder & host of the PV vs Everybody podcast channel. This podcast channel is dedicated to covering all things PV Athletics.

You can email Lionel at pvvseverybody@gmail.com