What gives in the MEAC? QB play at the top of the list of championship factors
Until further notice, the pecking order in the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference is well established.
Head coach Chennis Berry’s two-time undefeated MEAC champion Bulldogs of South Carolina State are first. Trei Oliver’s Eagles of North Carolina Central are a solid second. The hard-charging Hornets of Delaware State and Head Coach DeSean Jackson did and are challenging the top two. Damon Wilson’s Bears of Morgan State are a competent quarterback short of threatening the top three. New Howard head coach Ted White and Michael Vick at Norfolk State have to prove they’re capable of getting into the top half of the standings.
That is the expected ranking that came from last week’s 2026 MEAC Media Day in Baltimore.
THE UNEXPECTED
What was not expected, but perhaps should have been, was that the preseason all-MEAC quarterbacks would practically be unknown! After all, the top 10 MEAC quarterbacks statistically from the 2025 season have all departed!
That’s exactly what N. C. Central redshirt sophomore QB Josh Jones is, an unknown. At least he’s that to MEAC fans because he’s seen little action since signing with the Eagles in 2023. And that's understandable given he’s sat behind first team all-MEAC selection and league offensive player of the year Davius Richard in 2023 and two-time all-MEAC QB Walker Harris in 2024 (2nd team) and 2025 (first team).
Jones is certainly known in his hometown of Fayetteville, NC where he established himself as one of North Carolina’s best dual-threat QBs during his time at Westover High School. The talent is there.
As it stands now, Jones got in for nine NCCU games last season, primarily in a mop-up role, and threw just seven passes. He completed five (71.4%) for 36 yards and no TDs. His best season so far was in 2024 when he played in just four games behind Harris and completed 18 of 23 passes (78.2%) for 294 yards and three scores. He also rushed for three scores. Not bad for a back-up. He got into no games as a freshman. We will see how he performs when the Eagles open at Texas Southern on Aug. 29.
If you believe that’s a small sampling for a preseason first team QB, check the stats for second-teamer Ja’Shawn Scroggins of Howard. A season ago, Scroggins was hurt early in the season and played in just six games. He completed just five of 17 passes for 33 yards and no TDs.
His selection has to be for his promising sophomore season of 2024 when he threw for 1,262 yards and 9 TDs (with 9 interceptions) while completing 53.2% of his passes. If Scroggins starts for White, we'll get the first look at him when the Bison meet Alabama A&M at the Aug. 29 SWAC/MEAC Challenge in Atlanta.
Regardless, Jones and Scroggins fall way short of the standard of preseason first-team MEAC QBs set over the last few seasons.
At Media Day, only Vick brought a QB – junior Reggie Johnson – who transferred to NSU from San Diego Mesa, a community college in California? At 6-3, 191, he looks the part. It appears Vick had to look far and wide to find him. The Spartans open on Aug. 29 hosting Winston-Salem State.
What does this mean? If the three QBs mentioned above are the best the MEAC has to offer in 2026, it likely means we’re likely to see sub-par quarterback play from the conference this season.
It also begs the question. Is the requirement to win now so pressing that you have to play college veterans – that usually come thru the transfer portal – that there’s no or minimum opportunity to develop young talent? That appears to be the situation.
It’s a challenging situation for budding QB Whispers like Berry, Oliver, Jackson, Wilson, White and Vick, who have excelled as QBs (Vick and White) or with QBs (Berry, Oliver, Jackson and Wilson). And it’s begging for an answer.
EXPERIENCED QBs
Amongst the newcomers, Berry and his tw0-time defending champion South Carolina State Bulldogs have brought in Keely Watson, a transfer from NAIA member St. Thomas. Watson threw for over 8,000 yards and 86 TDs during a three-year career there. Berry has won the last two titles employing experienced transfer QBs. SCSU opens on Aug. 29 hosting Savannah State, Berry's alma mater.
Also, keep an eye out for Morgan State transfer QB Cameron Edge, who spent last year at Eastern Michigan after three years at Maryland. The Bears open on Aug. 29 at North Carolina A&T.
Jackson at DelState has two experienced options in junior Jayden Sauray who threw just two TDs thru 11 games last season, primarily as a back-up, and Marqui Adams, who did not see the field in 2025 but played in 17 games in the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The Hornets host Stony Brook on Thursday, Aug. 27 to open the season.