BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Coming off of a season in which the West Alabama football team finished fourth in the Gulf South Conference standings, the Tigers enter the 2022 season picked to finish fourth again in the Preseason Coaches Poll that was released on Wednesday. In addition to the team rankings, three Tigers were named to the Preseason All-GSC Team in Darius Nalls, Michael Anderson and Shamar Lewis.
UWA received 29 points to come in fourth, with reigning co-champion Valdosta State the selection to win the conference title again with 48 points and six first-place votes. West Florida, the other co-champion of the league title, is a close second with 43 points and the other two first-place votes. West Georgia rounds out the top-three with 38 points. Delta State (26 points), Mississippi College (17), North Greenville (16) and Shorter (7) round out the final four spots in the preseason poll.
After climbing the AFCA poll to as high as 10th in the nation in 2021, UWA went 7-4 and 4-3 in conference play. It was a strong start to the season with the Tigers rolling to six-straight victories. The 6-0 start to the season was the first in the program's 83-year history.
Nalls, a redshirt junior wide receiver from Fayette, Ala., is coming off of a strong first season on the field for the Tigers in 2021. He finished the season with 33 catches for 411 yards and three touchdowns. Nalls made an impact right out of the gate in the first game of the season when he caught nine passes for 200 yards and a pair of scores against Morehouse.
Anderson, a graduate student linebacker from Chatom, Ala., saw action in all 11 games last season for the second time in his career at UWA. He compiled 55 tackles, 38 solo, along with 2.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, an interception and a pass breakup. Anderson recorded 10 tackles, seven solo, against Mississippi College and had six games with at least five tackles. His 38 solo stops ranked in the top-15 in the GSC.
Lewis, a senior defensive back from Dixon Mills, Ala., played in 10 games a season ago coming away with 39 tackles, 36 solo, a forced fumble and recovery, three interceptions and six pass breakups. Lewis was tied for second in interceptions in the GSC, fourth in passes defended, and was in the top-20 in solo tackles. He had four games with a season-high six tackles against Tuskegee, North American, Valdosta State and North Greenville. Lewis had multiple solo tackles in seven games, with a high of six against North American and Valdosta State. He tallied an interception each over his first two games and added a third against Shorter.
Head coach Brett Gilliland enters his ninth season guiding his alma mater and recently eclipsed 50 career victories at UWA following the 38-20 win over West Georgia on Oct. 2 last year.
UWA will open the 2022 campaign with a pair of road games first traveling to Atlanta to face Morehouse College on Sep. 3 and then staying in the state of Alabama to play Miles College a week later on Sep. 10 in Birmingham. The first home game of the year will arrive on Sep. 17 against Tuskegee.
Gulf South Preseason Coaches Poll
First place votes in ( )
1. Valdosta State (6) – 48
2. West Florida (2) – 43
3. West Georgia – 38
4. West Alabama – 29
5. Delta State – 26
6. Mississippi College – 17
7. North Greenville – 16
8. Shorter – 7
Gulf South Preseason All-GSC Team
OFFENSE
QB — Ivory Durham, Valdosta State
RB — Seth McGill, Valdosta State
RB — Shomari Mason, West Florida
AP — Jamar Thompkins, Valdosta State
WR — David Durden, West Florida
WR — Dohnte Meyers, Delta State
WR — Larry Rembert, West Florida
WR — Darius Nalls, West Alabama
TE — Kyle Morlock, Shorter
C — Dalton Simpler, West Florida
OG — Keyshawn Jennings, Delta State
OG — Juan Angoi, West Florida
OT — Jacob Bruce, West Florida
OT — Jeremiah Campbell, Valdosta State
DEFENSE
DL — Tim Williams, Delta State
DL — Marzavion Dix, West Georgia
DL — Kwame Livingston, North Greenville
DL — Bryan Rice, Shorter
LB — Jameon Gaskin, Valdosta State
LB — De'Iveon Donald, North Greenville
LB — Kee Whetzel, West Florida
LB — Michael Anderson, West Alabama
DB — Deontae Overstreet, West Georgia
DB — Shamar Lewis, West Alabama
DB — Shannon Showers, West Florida
DB — Nick Walker, Mississippi College
SPECIAL TEAMS
K — Estin Thiele, Valdosta State
P — Myles Prosser, North Greenville
UTL — Joe Skinner, West Georgia
UTL — Cody Myers, Mississippi College
To stay connected with the UWA football team, follow @UWA_football on Instagram and Twitter. General athletic news, along with game recaps and box scores, can be found at uwaathletics.com. Additional updates and information are available @UWAAthletics on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
