Last but not least, the Swac champion, Prairie View, and Panthers Jermaine Jackson, the head coach. Second season. All right, so there was so much excitement about last year, the first Swac championship for you all in some time, and then you make it to the Celebration Bowl, just coming up, just so close to hoisting that trophy. In terms of what your reflections are from year one, what would you walk away with? >> Yeah, I don’t have any.
I don’t We We kind of put that to bed a long time ago. We’re not the program that sits around and and think about what we were. We We’re chasing what we can be, and we’re We We moved on from that very quickly. We appreciate the memories from last year. We appreciate that collective of guys that made a decision to become champions.
But But now we move on. And when we got here today, we realized that the Swac championship trophy for 2026 is sitting right here, and I didn’t bring it. And so we We’ve got to strive for this right here. And so we don’t sit around and think about what we were. We’re trying to figure out what we are.
>> Give us some insight on what this edition of the Panthers will look like. >> Yeah, this collective is really different. You know, it was 70 guys that we brought. We’ve added five new guys over the summer, so you’re talking about a difference of 75 guys on the roster of 114, 115, somewhere around there. There’s a lot of new in our program, but there’s a lot of old in the Our old guys played.
>> They wouldn’t They don’t believe it now. [laughter] They don’t believe it now, so well Well, the question becomes now, how do you go from the hunter to now you’re the hunted? >> Yeah, I don’t feel that way. We We have a unique way of doing things. And people think it’s cocky, people think it’s it’s outlandish, [clears throat] but we don’t really care about what anybody else thinks about us.
We go about developing our people and our program a certain way, and and we know what winning looks like at a high level. You got to know that we’ve won on both sides of these tracks. And so we understand what winning is on and off the field, and what it looks like around the country. And so we don’t feel hunted. We don’t feel like there’s a target on our back.
We feel like we’re in the mud, we got to find a way to get ourselves out the mud so we can compete to be the West Champion, the Swac Champion, and ultimately we came here to win the Celebration Bowl. And about 12:00 about 12:00 on December 12th, they’re going to kick a ball off. Prairie View A&M plans to be there, and at 4:00 the confetti going to fall on us, and the confetti in Atlanta fall sideways so it gets on everybody. Okay. So, just going back a little bit to last year, so you kind of got to the Celebration Bowl.
You had some unfinished business. I know that motivates you there. But, what’s it going to take, you know, from a football perspective, what’s it going to take to get back to what and I think, you know, you got to try and host the Swac Championship, you got to try and make it to the Celebration Bowl. What’s it going to take for Prairie View to have that success? >> Yeah, Prairie View A&M we’re finishing the fight.
In order to finish the fight, you got to start a fight. We’re going to start a fight August 29th. They just put a cup to it, it’s called the Chancellor’s Cup. We open up at Tarleton State for now cup. When we took off from Houston, there was no cup involved.
We landed, there was a cup involved. So, anytime we’re playing for a trophy, we fully expect to win it. And so, when we go to Tarleton and start this fight, then we know we have to endure through a fight in order to finish the one in Atlanta. >> Got you. >> All right, he talked about it.
He already He already just gave us a preview of what the schedule was going to be. So, let’s go ahead and see the schedule and let’s talk through the games that you will have for this season and how you bring what you have on uh your lapel dog, that discipline, obedience, and grit, that dog uh to these games. >> Yeah, yeah, opening up with Tarleton State. When we got here, we said we wanted to be an elite FCS program. We get that opportunity in our state because of the rich FCS football that’s played in our state.
And so, we get a chance to play Tarleton, got a really good game at Texas Southern on a Sunday, which is a classic game, which which to me turned out being the Western Division Championship game in week one and we just didn’t know it at the time. Uh we’re going to Baylor. Um you know, we we had this conversation last night. I don’t believe we’re going to Baylor to get a check or to uh endure to hope we come out healthy. We’re going to Baylor to go win.
I didn’t play in the game, but since we’re playing the game, then we’re playing to go win. And I don’t care if it’s the 85 Bears, Prairie View A&M, when we show up in the stadium, we’re playing to win. We come back to Stephen F. Austin, who’ll probably be top 10 in the country, and then we get into our conference play, which we found out the rigory the rigory of the conference, starting with Texas Southern, going to Grambling, along with the pageantry and and that’s it’s a grind. It’s a grind on our side to get where it is that we’re trying to go.
And so we know we got nine SWAC games in order to get to where we’re trying to go, eight during the regular season, obviously the SWAC championship. >> know, what I would say, you know, we’ve seen all the schedules from everybody else, that’s probably the toughest. That’s probably the toughest cuz, you know, knowing the FCS football landscape, Charleston State, legit. Stop Stephen F. Austin, legit.
Non-conf. And I’m not even talking about the Baylor, which, you know, you play Baylor for obvious reasons there. But then the fact that they got to get it going with Texas Southern, which is, you know, toss-up game, rivalry in state in down in the Houston area. And then Grambling, neutral site in Dallas. In Dallas, a lot of distractions out there.
So I think it’s key for them to remain healthy, but also get off to a fast start. Get off to a fast start, win one of those conference games early, which could determine the swing of the direction in the West. >> All right. Well, Prairie View A&M had the top defense in 2025, and standing by Malik Mason, the defensive lineman, along with Rodney Ojo, with Arsenal. Fellas, how did it feel walking in here today as the SWAC champs?
>> Uh feels good, but we know what our goal is this year, and it’s to win Atlanta. >> Same feeling. We already know what the plan is, but that was last year. Worry about the future right now. >> How were y’all able to flush last season so quickly and turn that page to next season?
>> Uh because, like Coach Jackson said, we don’t think about our past accomplishments. Like, we think about what we’re going to do in the future. We we speak it into existence. We always talk about you got to see it before you see it in order to see it. >> Mhm, deep.
>> No disrespect to last year’s team. They set the standard, they did what they had to do, but it’s a brand new collective now with a bunch of individuals that we were bringing together to make a family, and we are to know what the standard is and where we want to go and how to get there. >> And Malik, we saw that standard that was set on the defense last year, one of the best in the SWAC. How can y’all build upon that and be even better this year? >> For this year, I would just say that for we would have to show the new players what the 212 is really about.
And as a returning starter and as a one of the people that the defense looked through coming to this season, I would say I have to be I got to be very like communicative and be very sound cuz defense has to you have to be a sound defense in order to get anything done. So, cuz football is not an individual sport. It’s a sport with a bunch of individuals that you bring together in order to make something happen. >> And Rodney, how can this offense turn it up even more? >> It’s Sarah quick six offense.
It’s a year two offense. Uh this past off season in the summer, we’ve been just evaluating what we’re really good at, something that we can really just switch it up on and we’ll be good schematically and game plan against other teams. >> And coach just said he doesn’t feel like this team is the hunted this year. Do y’all feel like y’all are the hunted or do y’all feel like y’all are still the underdogs? >> No, we’ll be doing the hunting this year.
>> Definitely not hunted. People just want to say that cuz what we did last year, but it’s a brand new collective. We haven’t done nothing this year. >> Absolutely. Well, we can’t wait to see this new edition of Prairie View this season.
>> All right. Thanks so much, fellas, and Simone, what do you take away from when you were your players? I I think they definitely have your mindset of not being the hunted. >> It’s kind of like a parent. You don’t know if they’re listening to you or not when you’re talking.
You you got to find out somewhere else, right? Those guys are two of our best, which there are a lot of best that are back home practicing right now, getting themselves ready, but to see those two guys, Rodney was in the program when we got here. Uh he decided to stay. Malik came with us uh from where he was before. So, to see those two guys sitting next to each other speaking the same language, we know nothing is impossible.
>> So we get that. >> So So when I think about Prairie View, right? You know, and still, you know, a lot of people from the last time we saw Prairie View was during the Celebration Bowl there. And I I had this phrase. I was like, “Yes, folks, it’s that Prairie View.
” It’s that Prairie View that has an opportunity >> Yeah. >> to become HBCU national champs. >> Yep. >> Right? And some of the fans out there were like, “Oh, why do they keep calling it that Prairie View?
” But you understood exactly what I was talking about. Trying to make that transition from that Prairie View to the Prairie View, the Prairie View. Did y’all grasp that mindset? >> Yeah, Jay, there’s a video of a coach at Prairie View in the ’90s. He’s playing against Steve McNair and Alcorn, and he felt like Alcorn had ran it up on them.
And I just saw this video before we got here, and coach told the head coach at Alcorn, I can’t remember coach’s name, but he said, “It ain’t going to always be like this.” >> Mhm. >> Eventually at Prairie View, we’re going to get it together. Well, I don’t know if coach is is here with us or not, but it it it ain’t like that anymore. Uh this is this is a different time in our program, a different era, and these guys understand that.
Our fans now understand that. But you were right in saying that that Prairie View, because I’m from Houston. I knew that other Prairie View, right? But like I told somebody before, this Prairie View team got hands, too. And this Prairie View team ain’t afraid to use them.
And so however we got to get down, that’s how we get down. But there’s football being played on the hill 40 miles outside of Houston, and we aim to show everybody that every August, cuz they really already know. >> Uh you know what? And I would say this is that same Prairie View is going to be the one that I’m going to say that Prairie View has the best looking HBCU campus in the country. It’s that Prairie View.
That Prairie View has all the ROTC programs, all the engineering majors there. That That That Prairie View’s got that athletic director who’s the 12th man down on the field with you all. >> Yep. >> That Prairie View is trying to do some special things there, and it’ll be interesting to see how y’all keep that up. >> The grass is green, and the flowers have bloomed on the hill.
We’re ready to go. >> [laughter] >> And that Prairie >> That Prairie View still got cows on campus. That’s how you get a little cocky. You still got cows, >> [laughter] >> This Prairie View is ready to scrap with anybody this season >> [music] >> and try to defend their swag title this time around and perhaps make it back to Atlanta for the Cricket Celebration Bowl. Tremaine Jackson >> One more thing, sir.
And I I’m going to find out sooner or later. That Prairie View I keep hearing, that’s one of the best homecomings out there. I keep hearing about it. >> Ain’t nothing like it. >> You been there in a while?
>> I I’ve never experienced it, but I certainly want to. >> We going to figure that out soon. >> I think we going to take the name of GHOE, the greatest homecoming on earth, and put it on the hill. >> There’s always a story. >> [laughter] >> Thank you FOR DOING THAT RIGHT THERE, Tremaine Jackson.
The least favorite man in the Ocho. Thanks so much for being here. We will be back to close things out here from Birmingham. Jay’s give me five and your takeaways from today’s Swac Football Media Day brought to you by Pepsi.
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