Prairie View A&M Looks to Build on Terrific 2025 Season
· Yahoo Sports
It didn’t take long for folks in Prairie View to realize that the Tremaine Jackson hire was a home run for their football team. In fact, it took less than a year. Jackson, who came in after leading Division II’s Valdosta State to the national championship game just one season prior, took a Panthers team that finished with a losing record in 2024 and got them to the doorstep of their first HBCU national championship in over 60 years. It took four overtimes for SC State to eventually top Prairie View A&M in the Celebration Bowl last December and rob them of that feat.
With Jackson entering Year Two, however, it seems like a pretty safe bet to say these Panthers aren’t going anywhere. After finishing with ten wins (the first time since 1963) and a conference title, PVAM is re-writing itself as a team to beat in the SWAC. Just how good can they be in 2026, though, and can this be the season that they finally get over that last hurdle in their quest for a ring?
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Consistency will be key in that quest and it is something the Panthers should have a fair amount of heading into this Spring, starting with the coaching staff. Not only is Jackson back but so are several key members of his staff from a season ago. Co-defensive coordinators Trent Earley and Brandon Anderson both return as does offensive coordinator Christopher Buckner. Earley and Anderson orchestrated a unit that held opponents to under 18 points and an FCS-low 139.2 passing yards per contest. On the other side, Buckner spearheaded one of the SWAC’s most productive offenses. Prairie View put up 442 total points and over 6,000 yards in 2025.
Having those coaches back is huge, especially as the program faces personnel changes elsewhere when it comes to several of their key positions, beginning with quarterback. Cameron Peters was sensational for the Panthers last year, accounting for 28 touchdowns and 3,347 total yards but he’s exhausted his eligibility. Now the team has brought in ex-Georgetown signal caller Dez Thomas II to try and fill those shoes. Thomas threw for 1,441 yards and rushed for another 269 for the Hoyas in 2025. Now a grad senior, he’s expected to be the guy in Prairie View to close out his college career.
Thomas is just one of several incoming transfers expected to make an impact this year. Defensively the team brought in linebackers Dorian Gates and Jace Ward from East Texas A&M and rival Jackson State respectively. Ex-Portland State lineman Elias Sanders joined up in the trenches as well while former Northern Arizona DB Nahamani Harris got added to the secondary. Those are just the FCS guys, too. Other notable players like edge rusher Jordan Campbell (Rice) as well as defensive backs Moh Bility (Rice) and Kamrin Canterbury (ULM) also transferred in. All of that should help bolster the defense that was stout last year after losing big names like Darrell Starling Jr, Travor Randle and Parker Kennedy to name just a few. There will be growing pains on that side of the ball for sure, but if these new faces can gel quickly, the Panthers should be really good in that department as well.
On offense, the big task will be replacing standout receiver Jyzaiah Rockwell. Rockwell hit the portal after just one season with the Panthers but it was a special one. He hauled in 74 passes for 1,161 yards and eight touchdowns. In response to losing that kind of production, Jackson and his staff have brought in six receiver transfers all of which will be looking to make an immediate impact. Spring ball should iron out what the depth chart will look like in that department, at least partly.
It won’t be just new players that the team will rely on, though. There will be a healthy mix familiar faces for Prairie View this year as well. Eric Zachary, for instance, returns after a sophomore campaign that saw him post 13 pass breakups and two picks last year. He was one of the more dangerous young DBs in the not only the conference but in the country who should only see his productivity increase this year. SWAC/HBCU Freshman of the Year running back Chase Bingmon is also back following a tremendous season in which he rushed for a team-leading 873 yards and eight scores. Defensive lineman Matthew Moore logged 31 tackles and three sacks last year and is also still around.
Pending a major unforeseen setback, they should be right in the mix again this year despite the loss of a bunch of talent. Jackson proved himself greatly in his first season and now the bar has been set. There’s been a lot of winning going on at Prairie View A&M as of late (just see the men’s basketball team who won its first ever NCAA tournament game on Wednesday). It’s an exciting time to be a Panthers fan not only on the gridiron, but across the athletic department as a whole. That means, though, that the expectations are as high as they’ve been in a long while and when football is due up again, Jackson and his team will be expected to keep the good times rolling.
The Panthers will kick off their season on August 29 at Tarleton State to play a Texans team that was a quarterfinalist in the FCS playoffs last year. A win there might just kick those expectations into a whole other stratosphere. Either way, though, the rest of 2026 could be an exceptionally special year for PVAM and its following.