HBCU Football: How will North Carolina A&T fare in Big South?

After sitting out the 2021 spring season, the North Carolina A&T Aggies will say goodbye to the MEAC returning to the gridiron playing in their new home conference: the Big South.

This will be their first season not playing in the MEAC since they joined the conference in its inaugural season in 1970. They will now be one of two former MEAC members in the Big South alongside the Hampton Pirates who joined in 2018.

North Carolina A&T will head into their first Big South season with high hopes as they were predicted to finish third in the conference’s preseason football poll.

In addition, they had three players selected to the Big South All-Preseason team including senior running back Jah-Maine Martin, senior defensive lineman Jermaine McDaniel, and junior linebacker Kyin Howard.

The biggest change for North Carolina A&T will be at the quarterback position as they will be moving on from quarterback Kylil Carter.

Carter was instrumental in the Aggies’ success in the 2019 season throwing for 2,220 yards scoring 18 touchdowns to just three interceptions. He added 579 rushing yards scoring two touchdowns on the ground.

Carter saved his best performance for the postseason finishing with a career-high 364 passing yards on 18/30 passing scoring a career-high six passing touchdowns to no interceptions in the Celebration Bowl being named the game’s MVP.

Taking Carter’s place as the starting quarterback for the Aggies will most likely be redshirt junior Jalen Fowler.

Fowler made the most of the opportunities he got to step on the field recording 262 passing yards scoring three passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown in seven games.

Time will tell how Fowler and the Aggies will fare in the Big South.