Mercer Bears ranked 22nd on the FCS Preseason Coaches Poll
The Mercer Bears land on four FCS Preseason Polls.
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — After two consecutive seasons of letting the Southern Conference (SoCon) title slip away in the closing stages, the Mercer Bears have captured considerable attention this offseason. They’ve secured spots on four FCS Preseason Polls throughout the country.
“It’s great that people are taking notice that we are at a certain place, and that we’re positioned to maybe make some noise and be a contender and be a playoff-caliber team,” said head coach Drew Cronic. “So, it means that our guys are doing a good job. People are taking notice of our program. You know, none of that means anything when you really start playing. You got to go play good. But it’s certainly better than not being in the conversation.”
The Bears have a new offensive leader in redshirt sophomore Carter Peevy. Peevy, who previously held the role of starting quarterback during the pandemic-affected 2020-21 season, displayed notable statistics. He averaged 146.44 passing yards and 20.67 rushing yards per game. His completion percentage stood at 54.3%, with 1,318 passing yards and eight touchdowns. These impressive numbers ranked Peevy second in the conference for passing yards and placed him third in completion percentage, passing efficiency, and passing touchdowns.
Peevy faced adversity when he lost his starting role to Fred Payton over the past two seasons. Nevertheless, he drew inspiration from a similar situation involving a Heisman Trophy finalist.
“I can’t remember what year it was; Jalen Hurts kind of went through the same thing at Alabama. He got benched in the National Championship game, and Tua came in and kind of took the job over for, I think it was two years, maybe a year and a half,” said Peevy. “But I just saw that, and I was like, well if a guy like that at that stage can go through that and handle it with class, then I can do the same thing here.”
QB1 assumes control of an offense featuring wide receivers Devron Harper and Ty James. Both Harper and James have garnered recognition by landing on the Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List, an honor bestowed upon the FCS offensive player of the year.
Mercer begins their season in Montgomery, Alabama, on Saturday, August 26, as they take on the University of North Alabama at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN, which will be the first collegiate football game on ESPN for the 2023 season.
