BEAUMONT, Texas – How does that headline relate to anything regarding the 2017 Lamar University football team? The purpose of a headline is to quickly and briefly draw the reader's attention to the story. With that being said, there is a better than not chance this particular headline has failed the reader, and for that I apologize.
 
The goal of this particular headline was simply an attempt to help ease the mind of Cardinals fans who are believing the preseason hype, or lack thereof. At the recent Southland Conference Media Days in Houston, head coach Mike Schultz and selected players went in front of the media to talk about the upcoming season. While all three represented the university in such a way that brought added excitement about the upcoming season, it wasn't hard to notice that the majority of hype was centered around one school in particular.
 
The Cardinals enter the season seventh in the Southland Conference's preseason poll (which is voted on by the league's head coaches and media relations directors). In addition to that, LU only had one player on the Preseason All-Southland squad (DB Rodney Randle) and the Cards didn't receive any attention in the Stats FCS Preseason Top 25 poll.
 
My advice to Big Red faithful about the numbers listed above is to not worry about it, and this is why. For starters, preseason polls are not worth the paper they're written on. There are no preseason national championship or preseason conference title banners hanging in any stadium in America – for any sport – because they don't matter. Preseason polls simply give media relations directors and sports journalist something to talk about before the season starts. Second, preseason all-conference honors are almost always based on the previous year's accomplishments – no one brags about being a three-time preseason all-conference selection.
 
Randle summed it best at Southland Media Day after being asked about the preseason honor. "It's a great honor to be recognized, but it has very little to do with me. If it wasn't for my teammates pushing me every day, helping me get where I'm at no one would know who I am. It's like my father told me when I was younger, that stuff is all hype – it's just for the fans and media. You can't get caught up in all of that. It's an honor but let's be realistic, we haven't even played a game yet. Last year, I received preseason honors and I allowed it to get to me and I didn't do anything. That is a humbling experience. I just want to get on the field and help this team in any way I can so we can have more all-conference guys at the end of the year."
 
It would take very little time to go back through the most recent Southland preseason polls to see just how wrong those polls can be. Without naming the school (I don't feel like promoting another school's accomplishments on our site), there have been teams that were picked fifth (of eight teams) in the preseason poll but went on to win the league and finish the season ranked in the top 10. That program was coming off a four-win season a year earlier. Two years prior, that same program was picked to finish second in the preseason poll and went on to record an 0-11 record.
 
The next piece of advice is related to the headline – the power of the unknown. What is meant by 'the unknown?' It's really very simple. The Cardinals may have a lot to look forward to this season and it's all based around players that we don't quite know yet. Before you decide to search for a different story to read just hang with me for a few more minutes.
 
By unknown I'm referring to the players who will be standouts for the Cardinals who just haven't had their chance to shine yet. A perfect example is two former Cardinals who just recently exhausted their eligibility – Kade Harrington and Brendan Langley.
 
By now every Cardinals fan knows everything there is two know about these two former players, but let's look back at the day they arrived in Beaumont. Upon Harrington's signing no one would have guessed that he would go on to be the school's all-time leading rusher, an eventual All-American, a runner-up for the Walter Payton Award and become just the seventh back in NCAA Division I history to rush for 2,000 yards in only 10 games. Outside of Harrington there was probably no one who thought that was possible – and if they did they were not being very vocal about. Harrington stood a gratuitous 5-9 and 190 pounds as a bulked up senior. Coming out of high school no one, outside of LU, wanted him. According to every other Division I school in the country, and probably a few Division II schools, he was not worthy of a scholarship. They were wrong.
 
On National Signing Day 2013, Harrington was an "unknown" who went on to become one of the most decorated players in program history. To put it simply, Kade Harrington wasn't Kade Harrington until he became Kade Harrington on the field.
 
It was a similar story for Langley. The argument can be made that Langley was a "known" quantity earning High School All-America honors and ranked as a four-star prospect coming out of the prep ranks. Langley signed with Georgia out of high school but after not receiving much playing time in his first two years he transferred to LU and here is where the "unknown" aspect comes into play. Langley originally came to Beaumont to play receiver. He was the player chosen to replace Mark Roberts who earned All-America honors the year before as a deep-ball threat for the Cardinals. Langley was only switched to the defensive side of the ball midway through the year due to a growing need at the position. On the day he arrived, no one expected Langley to be an All-American on the defensive side of the ball that would go on to be the program's first NFL draft selection since 1990. Again, Brendan Langley wasn't Brendan Langley until he became Brendan Langley on the field.
 
To further this point, the Cardinals have recorded two very strong recruiting classes heading into 2017. Two years ago the Cardinals recorded the nation's fourth-best FCS class. In February, Schultz and his staff brought in the Southland's second-best recruiting class (247Sports.com), a fact that is made more impressive when considering that the LU coaching staff had been in place less than a month prior to National Signing Day. It can be argued that LU's roster is full of "unknowns" just waiting for their time to shine.
 
Now let's focus on the "known," – Mike Schultz. If you're not familiar with the Cardinals new head coach I would encourage you to sit back, relax and read his bio. The program's second head coach since the its rebirth, Schultz is known for building powerhouse offenses. He was the architect of TCU's offense which helped turn the Horned Frogs from a conference also-ran into a national power. An offense that was responsible for future NFL standouts LaDainian Tomlinson and Andy Dalton.
 
The other known quantity is the 2017 season opener is just around the corner. The Cardinals kick of the season Saturday, Sept. 2^nd at North Texas. LU will kick off the home portion of the schedule the following week against UT-Permian Basin. Tickets for all home games can be purchased by clicking here or by calling the LU Ticket Office at (409) 880-1715.