4 Tigers Earn Preseason All-SWAC Football Honors, Most Since 2014

Football 7/21/2022 11:05:00 AM TSU Sports Information

Four Texas Southern Tigers were named to the 2022 Preseason All-SWAC Football Team which was voted on by the league’s 12 head football coaches and sports information directors. 

This marked the most Tigers to earn all-conference preseason honors since 2014. Offensive lineman Drake Centers was the lone Tiger to earn first team honors while tight end Jyrin Johnson, linebacker Tarik Cooper and quarterback Andrew Body were named to the second team. Both Centers and Cooper received additional preseason recognition as both were named to The Bluebloods 2022 Preseason All-SWAC Team. 

Centers, who became the first TSU lineman to earn All-SWAC honors since 2010 last year, displayed his versatility with the ability to step into both tackle spots last season. Centers, a native of Tatum, Texas, also helped anchor an offensive line which helped TSU finish with 4,293 yards of offense while also playing a huge role in helping TSU protect the quarterback as the line ranked fourth in the SWAC in sacks against which marked a huge improvement in that category from the last time TSU played a full season in 2019. TSU finished the 2021 season ranked second in total offense, second in rush offense and third in pass offense.  

Johnson ranked second on the team with 467 receiving yards and three touchdowns from his tight end position. The Sorrento, La. native caught 32 receptions and averaged 14.5 yards per catch in his first full season on the field. Cooper emerged as the anchor for TSU’s defense at middle linebacker as he led the team with 62 tackles in his first full season. A native of Texas City, Texas who transferred from Blinn College, Cooper also compiled 4.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, a sack and two forced fumbles. 

A sophomore from Corpus Christi, Texas, Body finished the 2021 season as the TSU single-season record holder in total offense with 265.9 yards per game while finishing second in the SWAC and fourth-all time in single-season passing at TSU with 2,017 passing yards. For the first time since 2016, Texas Southern returns a quarterback that has passed for over 1,000 yards and returns a 2,000-yard passer from the previous season for the first time since 2010. 

As a team, TSU was picked to finish sixth in the SWAC West.