HAMMOND, La. –  The Southeastern Louisiana University football team will officially open preparations for the 2021 season with the start of fall practice Friday at Strawberry Stadium.
 
For the first four days of camp, Southeastern will engage in split-squad practices starting at 9 a.m. Starting Wednesday, Aug. 11, SLU will come together as a group for 9 a.m. practices. The Lions will practice in the mornings until the start of school on Wednesday, Aug. 18, at which point Southeastern will transition to 3:50 p.m. practice on Monday through Thursday with morning practices set for Friday and Saturday.
 
"The evaluation process will be key in the early part of camp during those split practices," Southeastern head coach Frank Scelfo said. "Once we start practicing as a full squad, we want to see how quickly we can come together as a team and our leadership develops."
 
Armed with a league-high 16 preseason All-Southland Conference performers – more than the previous three seasons combined, Scelfo's squad is picked first in the Southland Conference preseason polls. Southeastern is generating a lot of national buzz, as the Lions are ranked in the Athlon Sports (15^th), Hero Sports (13^th) and College Football America Yearbook (10^th) FCS national preseason polls.
 
Southeastern quarterback Cole Kelley – the reigning Walter Payton Award winner – is a member of the preseason watch list for the 2021 version of the award given to the top offensive player in FCS, while two-time All-American Lion defensive back Ferlando Jordan is on the preseason watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award, which is presented to the FCS' top defensive player. Kelley, Jordan and wide receiver CJ Turner give SLU its most preseason All-Americans since 2014.
 
"Any time people are talking about our program in a positive light is good for us," Scelfo commented. "But the reality is we really haven't done anything yet. We're looking to take a step forward from where we are as a program. We need to get better this fall in some areas that we underperformed in during the spring."
 
Kelley returns to lead a Lion offense that will return its entire starting offensive line – including All-Southland performers Jalen Bell, Drew Jones, Rendon Miles-Character and Ethan McMullan. Turner (158 catches, 1,919 yards, 14 touchdowns in Lion career) and Austin Mitchell (114-1,965-17 TD) comprise one of the most prolific duos in all of FCS and highlight a deep and talented receiving corps.
 
"We feel we have the opportunity to have more explosive plays on offense than we did in the spring," Scelfo said. "We want to be able to run the ball more effectively and protect the quarterback better. Our offensive staff did an excellent job addressing those objectives during the offseason."
 
Jordan and fellow two-time All-Southland performer Alexis Ramos are the leaders of a Lion defense that will be managed by new defensive coordinator Raymond Monica. All-conference performers Darrius Harry, Donniel Ward-Magee, Jack Henderson and Herman Christophe also return for a defense that is looking to make strides from the spring.
 
"Our ability to stop the run is going to be key for us," Scelfo commented. "We feel comfortable with where we're at from a personnel standpoint. We have to be more physical and play with more energy defensively."
 
Southeastern also features the top punter and kicker duo in the conference, as Mateo Rengifo was 9-for-10 on field goals in the spring, while Austin Dunlap averaged 43.7 yards per punt, which would've represented the eighth-highest average in FCS if the Lion offense would've allowed the Slidell, Louisiana native to attempt enough punts to qualify for the national rankings.
 
Southeastern will open the 2021 season on Sept. 4, hosting North Alabama at 6 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium.
 
2021 Southeastern Football Preseason Practice Schedule
Aug. 6 – 9 a.m.*
Aug. 7 – 9 a.m.*
Aug. 8 – 9 a.m.*
Aug. 9 – 9 a.m.*
Aug. 11 – 9 a.m.
Aug. 12 – 9 a.m.
Aug. 13 – 9 a.m.
Aug. 14 – 9 a.m. (Season Ticket Pickup Day)
Aug. 16 – 9 a.m.
Aug. 17 – 9 a.m.
Aug. 18 – 3:50 p.m.
Aug. 19 – 3:50 p.m.
Aug. 20 – 9 a.m.
Aug. 21 – 9 a.m.
Aug. 23 – 3:50 p.m.
Aug. 24 – 3:50 p.m.
Aug. 25 – 3:50 p.m.
Aug. 26 – 3:50 p.m.
Aug. 27 – 9 a.m.
Aug. 28 – 9 a.m.
 
TICKETS
For ticket information, contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net. Southeastern will continue offering mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets for the 2021-22 season. All tickets will be available via e-mail or text message in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Football, follow @LionUpFootball and @Coach_Scelfo on Twitter, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
 
TOUCHDOWN CLUB/S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the football program are encouraged to join the Touchdown Club. Lion football alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the Touchdown Club and S Club (football) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern football program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events, effective with the start of the 2018 football season. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.