The Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine hit the shelves in stores last week and football fans everywhere had reason to rejoice. Following the strangest year in college football history, fans and sportswriters are both ready for a return to some form of normality.
Thus, it is time to reveal the Small College Preseason Team.
Texas is the best state for football in the world. Need proof? With Sam Houston claiming the FCS national championship in May, the Lone Star State became the only state to win a national title at every level of college football.
Texas has truly reigned supreme in the small college ranks over the last five years with Mary Hardin-Baylor (2016, 2018), Texas A&M-Commerce (2017), and the Bearkats (2020) securing a national title. One could argue Cisco would have been favored to win an NJCAA title last spring but finished the regular season ranked third in the country despite being undefeated. Note, the NJCAA does not have a playoff system to determine its champion.
This year’s preseason team features an amazing array of talent with 16 of the 26 players on this list having won All-American honors in previous years. Sam Houston leads the way with seven selections while Mary Hardin-Baylor has three players represented. Fourteen of the players hail from the FCS ranks while Division II and Division III combine for 12 members.
Offense
| Position | Name | School | Class | Hometown |
| QB | Eric Schmid | Sam Houston | Jr. | The Woodlands |
| RB | Kevin Brown | UIW | Sr. | Mount Pleasant, S.C. |
| RB | Antonio Leali'ie'e | Texas A&M-Commerce | Sr. | Copperas Cove |
| WR | Jequez Ezzard | Sam Houston | Sr. | College Park, Ga. |
| WR | Xavier Gipson | Stephen F. Austin | So. | Dallas |
| WR | Jake Parker | Howard Payne | Sr. | Whitehouse |
| OL | Colby Thomas | Sam Houston | Sr. | Manvel |
| OL | Justice Guillory | Stephen F. Austin | Fr. | Katy |
| OL | Amon Simon | Texas A&M-Commerce | Sr. | Humble |
| OL | Parker Hanna | West Texas A&M | Jr. | Stratford |
| OL | Boomer Warren | Hardin-Simmons | Jr. | Haslet |
| PK | Adrian Guzman | Tarleton | Fr. | Temple |
| KR | Ce'Cori Tolds | UIW | Sr. | Houston |
Defense
| Position | Name | School | Class | Hometown |
| DL | Jahari Kay | Sam Houston | Sr. | Berkeley, Calif. |
| DL | Joseph Wallace | Sam Houston | Sr. | Dallas |
| DL | Melik Owens | Midwestern State | Sr. | Houston |
| DL | G'Karri McCoy | Angelo State | Jr. | Dallas |
| LB | Storey Jackson* | Prairie View A&M | Sr. | Kansas City, Kan. |
| LB | Michael Jewett | Trinity | Jr. | Houston |
| LB | Akeem Jackson | Mary Hardin-Baylor | Sr. | Fairfield |
| DB | Zyon McCollum | Sam Houston | Sr. | Galveston |
| DB | Devin Hafford | Tarleton | Sr. | Humble |
| DB | Jefferson Fritz | Mary Hardin-Baylor | Sr. | Kaufman |
| DB | KJ Kelley | East Texas Baptist | Sr. | Abilene |
| P | Matt McRobert | Sam Houston | Sr. | Berowra, Australia |
| PR | K.J. Miller | Mary Hardin-Baylor | Jr. | Orange |
*Jackson has since transferred to Liberty
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