Hinson en route to top QB spot

Unless he gets hurt or something goes drastically wrong, senior Steven Hinson will be ENMU’s starting quarterback this fall for the second consecutive year.

Elliott said after Saturday’s situational scrimmage at the ENMU practice facility that the real battle is for the No. 2 position.

“Steven’s No. 1, (redshirt freshman) Michael Benton’s No. 2 and (sophomore) Jon Bell is No. 3,” he said. “Jon Bell is battling with Michael Benton, though, for the No. 2 spot.

(Michael) progressed real well last spring, and I didn’t think he had a bad day. Steven right now is throwing at the highest (completion) percentage.”

Preseason polls

Defending LSC South Division champion Texas A&M Kingsville goes into the season ranked in the top 10 in NCAA Division II polls released by two publications.

Street & Smith’s Magazine ranks the Javelinas No. 4 while Lindy’s Magazine has them at the No. 9 spot.

Three other LSC squads were listed in at least one of the two Top 25s.

Also in Street & Smith’s, Central Oklahoma is ranked No. 7, Tarleton state 15th and Southeastern Oklahoma 19th. Lindy’s has UCO ranked 18th and Tarleton 19th.

Turning heads

Greyhound offensive coordinator Mike Howard has seen a few players make huge strides over the summer, most notably junior tight end Art Tennison.

“His consistency is so much better,” Howard said of Tennison. “He’s someone that’s just matured.”

The Price is Right

Special teams coach Mike Walton didn’t have any doubts when naming an oustanding special teams player during preseason — kicker Lee Price.

“He’s taken care of business this summer,” Walton said of Price, who made all of his field goal tries and hit a 40-yarder in Saturday’s scrimmage, despite Corey White getting a hand on it. “He’s done extremely well on kickoffs, and you saw him today with field goals.”

Position battles

There are several spots where the backup is close to being the starter across the offense and defense. Howard said the fullback spot — which is a huge key to the option offense — has become a close competition thanks to the development of Robert Garza and Patrick Hemphill. Sukora Cooper, who started last year, is currently the favorite to start again.