BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Entering a year that will see them without one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), but with a host of other weapons, Alabama A&M football has been picked to finish third in the East Division, fifth overall and collected three All-Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) preseason selections at the annual Football Media Day on Thursday, July 21.
 
The event officially kicked off the 2022 campaign with a live broadcast on ESPN3 with each of the SWAC's 12 head coaches and two student-athletes from each institution taking center stage as well as the announcement of the preseason team and the opportunity for media to interact with the individuals representing those teams.
 
Coming off of a 7-3 season and 5-3 mark in the SWAC, A&M garnered 87 points with a pair of first place votes to finish behind defending champion Jackson State (116 points, 2 First Place) and Florida A&M (108P, 7F). The Bulldogs placed well ahead of rival Alabama State (60P, 1F), Bethune-Cookman (56) and Mississippi Valley State (35).
 
The only other teams ahead of them came at the top of the West Division with Southern predicted to take the top spot with 111 points and 11 first place votes followed by Alcorn State with 110 and five, respectively. The rest of the West is comprised of Prairie View (82P, 5F), Grambling (77P, 1F), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (42) and Texas Southern (40)
 
In terms of individual honors, A&M picked up three selections, including a pair on the First-Team with senior wide receiver Abdul-Fatai Ibrahim (Miramar, Fla.) and senior running back Gary Quarles (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) doing the honors.
 
Junior offensive lineman Carson Vinson (Cary, N.C.) earned his first such honor, landing on the Second-Team, while it is the third such recognition for both Quarles and Ibrahim. The tailback previously earned two Second-Team selections while Ibrahim was First-Team for his two honors, all of which came in Spring 2021 and Fall 2021.
 
ABDUL-FATAI IBRAHIM – FIRST-TEAM WIDE RECEIVER
Seven-time All-American and former walk-on and tryout player Ibrahim was just one of 16 individuals to record at least 1,000 yards receiving at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level in 2021 and is the only one to do so in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
 
His 1,008 yards in 10 games ranked 15^th in the country with every one of the 14 individuals in front of him having played at least 11 games. In terms of the SWAC, he led the league in yards receiving by nearly 100 - over teammate Odieu Hilaire - and also topped the conference with an average of 100.8 per game as the only player to average triple digits.
 
His 6.7 catches per game trailed only Hilaire (7.1) as did his 67 receptions and his eight touchdowns were sixth, trailing two of his teammates among that group. Nationally, his receiving yards per game ranked fifth with his receptions per game and total receiving yards ranking eighth and 15^th respectively.
 
His second career 1,000-yard season featured numerous standout performances, including 177 on eight grabs against Tuskegee (9/25), 133 with a career-high 10 catches the following week at Grambling (10/2) and 104 with a score against Alabama State (10/30) in the Magic City Classic.
 
He saved his best for the final two games of the season, however, snagging eight balls for 176 yards and a pair of scores - including one from 81 yards out - at Texas Southern (11/13) and 115 yards on seven catches, two of which he would house, against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (11/20).
 
Named a BOXTOROW All-American, an All-SWAC and Phil Steele All-SWAC First-Team selection, Ibrahim added another impressive honor during the season, one which only three other Bulldogs have ever achieved. That would be CoSIDA Academic All-District, recognizing him as one of the top receivers on the field and in the classroom out of District 4.
 
The latter includes FCS and Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools from Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.
 
GARY QUARLES - FIRST-TEAM RUNNING BACK
Quarles delivered an impressive 2021 campaign, leading the SWAC in yards per game (95.5) and rushing touchdowns (10) while finishing third in the league in yards (955), accomplishing the latter in just 10 games.
 
Standing just 5-6, Quarles hardly left the field and was involved in all aspects of the offense, from handing the ball, blocking and the receiving game. Toting the ball 205 times (along with 21 catches for 224 yards), he accounted for 1,179 all-purpose yards and topped the 100-yard plateau five times on the year.
 
Those would include the first three games with 129 yards and a touchdown against South Carolina State (9/4), 101 and a score at Bethune-Cookman (9/16) in a driving rain storm and a career-high 164 yards and a pair of TDs against Tuskegee (9/25) in Mobile, Alabama.
 
Quarles would add 126 yards in a victory over Alabama State (10/30) in the Magic City Classic and 162 on a career-best 35 carries at Texas Southern (11/13), scoring a pair of touchdowns in each game. In the latter, he also caught four balls for a personal best 80 yards to account for 242 scrimmage yards in a 52-49 victory.
 
The diminutive tailback was named the league's Offensive Player of the Week on September 6 following his performance at Bethune-Cookman, was a BOXTOROW Honorable Mention All-American, All-SWAC First-Team and Phil Steele All-SWAC First-Team.
 
CARSON VINSON – SECOND-TEAM OFFENSIVE LINEMAN
As a unit, the offensive line cleared the way for one of the top offenses in the country in Fall 2021, not just the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), and Vinson was – literally and figuratively – a huge part of that.
 
The 6-6, 305-pound earthmover anchored a 10-game campaign that would see Alabama A&M end up holding five marks within the Top-15 in the NCAA National Stats, with four of those coming in the Top-10. Leading the way is a No. 3 ranking in Fourth Down Conversion (.727) followed by the No. 4 Passing Offense (367.2) and No. 7 Scoring Offense (37.9). They were also No. 5 in Passing Efficiency (159.42) and No. 13 in Passing Yards Per Completion (13.86).
 
Every single one of those categories, along with rankings of No. 18 in Red Zone Offense (.875) and No. 23 in First Down Offense (252), also led the SWAC – all of which starts with the offensive line clearing a path and providing enough time to get the job done.
 
For good measure, A&M was also No. 21 in Completion Percentage (.624), good for second in the league, and No. 19 in Time of Possession (32:17) which was third in the SWAC.
 
On top of that, they blocked for the league's only finalist for the prestigious Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level in quarterback Aqeel Glass (finished 9-of-25), the league's leading scorer in wide receiver Dee Anderson (12 touchdowns) and the SWAC's leading rusher in Gary Quarles. Glass would also repeat as the Deacon Jones National Player of the year behind that line.
 
The latter was third in the league lead in rushing yards (955) in just 10 games, led the league in average (95.5) and scored  rushing 10 touchdowns, a number that led the league and was good for third overall in the conference.
 
Overall, the offensive line blocked for an offense that led the SWAC with 51 touchdowns and 37.9 points per game and averaged more than eight points per game over the No. 2 in the league.
 
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M and those honorees kick off the season under the lights at Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) member Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) on Thursday, September 1.
 
2022 PRESEASON ALL-SWAC HONORS
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year – Shedur Sanders, QB, Jackson State
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year – Isaiah Land, LB, Florida A&M

2022 Preseason All-SWAC Football First-Team Offense
QB: Shedeur Sanders, Jackson State
RB: Gary Quarles, Alabama A&M
RB: Caleb Johnson, Mississippi Valley State
OL: Dallas Black, Southern
OL: Mark Evans II, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
OL: Drake Centers, Texas Southern
OL: Tony Gray, Jackson State
OL: Robert Alston, Alabama State
WR: Abdul-Fatai Ibrahim, Alabama A&M
WR: Xavier Smith, Florida A&M
TE: Kemari Averett, Bethune-Cookman
 
2022 Preseason All-SWAC Football First-Team Defense
DL: Sundiata Anderson, Grambling State
DL: Ronnie Thomas, Mississippi Valley State
DL: Jason Dumas, Southern
DL: Jordan Lewis, Southern
LB: Isaiah Land, Florida A&M
LB: Aubrey Miller, Jackson State
LB: Monroe Beard III, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
DB: Omari Hill-Robinson, Bethune-Cookman
DB: Irshaad Davis, Alabama State
DB: Shilo Sanders, Jackson State
DB: BJ Bohler, Florida A&M
 
2022 Preseason All-SWAC Football First-Team Special Teams
PK: Jose Romo-Martinez, Florida A&M
P: Josh Sanchez, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
LS: Thomas Reny, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
RS: Isaiah Bolden, Jackson State
 
2022 Preseason All-SWAC Football Second-Team Offense
QB: Andrew Body, Texas Southern 
RB: Niko Duffey, Alcorn State 
RB: Jaden Stewart, Prairie View A&M 
OL: Jeremiah Stafford, Southern
OL: Brian Williams, Southern 
OL: Cameron Covin, Florida A&M
OL: Carson Vinson, Alabama A&M
OL: Arrington Taylor, Prairie View A&M
WR: C.J. Bolar, Alcorn State
WR: Malachi Wideman, Jackson State
TE: Jyrin Johnson, Texas Southern
 
2022 Preseason All-SWAC Football Second-Team Defense
DL: Jalen Bell, Mississippi Valley State
DL: Troy James, Prairie View A&M
DL: Devonta Davis, Jackson State
DL: Athen Smith, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
LB: Tarik Cooper, Texas Southern 
LB: Claudin Cherelus, Alcorn State
LB: Blake Thomas, Grambling State
DB: Cam'Ron Silman-Craig, Jackson State
DB: Quin Mitchell, Grambling State
DB: Caleb Brunson, Mississippi Valley State
DB: Javan Morgan, Florida A&M
 
2022 Preseason All-SWAC Football Second-Team Special Teams
PK: Garrett Urban, Grambling State
P: Garrett Urban, Grambling State
LS: Desmond Calloway, Prairie View A&M
RS: Darnell Deas, Bethune-Cookman
 
2022 SWAC Preseason Poll
SWAC East
1. Jackson State - 116 points (12)
2. Florida A&M - 108 points (7)
3. Alabama A&M - 87 points (2)
4. Alabama State - 60 points (1)
5. Bethune-Cookman - 56 points
6. Mississippi Valley State - 35 points
 
SWAC West
1. Southern - 111 points (11)
2. Alcorn State - 110 points (5)
3. Prairie View A&M - 82 points (5)
4. Grambling State - 77 points (1)
5. Arkansas-Pine Bluff - 42 points
6. Texas Southern - 40 points
*First place votes listed in parenthesis