TJC football coach Tanner Jacobson is shown during the SWJCFC Media Day on Thursday at Hollytree Country Club.

TJC’s second-year football coach Tanner Jacobson has had some sleepless nights lately, but it is not just about football.

Jacobson and his wife, Beth, are the proud parents of a new daughter, Halle, who was born on Sunday in Tyler.

“These guys (point to the league’s coaches) are not the only ones keeping me up at night,” a smiling Jacobson said while mentioning his daughter at the annual Southwest Junior College Football Conference Media Day on Thursday. “I’m rocking Halle and watching film at the same time.”

The Jacobsons are first-time parents so they are juggling parenthood with football duties about to crank up even more as workouts begin on Tuesday.

The eight coaches from the league gathered at Hollytree Country Club to discuss the coming season and conduct a conference meeting.

The Coaches and Media Polls were released with two different teams picked to win the SWJCFC.

Defending postseason champion Kilgore College is favored in the Coaches’ Poll as the Rangers received four first-place votes and 54 points. The Rangers edged Navarro, which received two first-place votes and 53 points. They were followed by defending regular season champion Trinity Valley (1 first-place vote, 51 points), 2021 national champion New Mexico Military (1 first-place vote, 48 points), Tyler Junior College (31 points), Blinn (24 points), Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (16 points) and Cisco (11 points).

TVCC topped the media poll with three first-place votes and 50 points. The Cardinals were followed by Kilgore (2 first-place votes, 47 points), Navarro (2 first-place votes, 43 points), NMMI (40 points), TJC (29 points), Blinn (21 points), NEO (12 points) and Cisco (9 points).

Jacobson enters his second year as Chief of the Apaches’ program.

“You just have to reload the rosters, you really don’t have time to rebuild,” Jacobson said.

The Apaches were noted for their defense last year and but they are expecting the offense to get in gear.

Three quarterbacks are battling for the starting position — Nathan Greek (6-5, 235, Ferris), Jaden Pete (6-2, 210, Houston) and Josh Thomas (6-2, 200, Longview).

“It is a wide-open competition,” Jacobson said of the QB battle. “I like all three. All three could have started last year.”

The Tribe has a couple of standout running backs in returner Ike Lee (5-9, 200, New Orleans) and Tank Logan (5-11, 210, Gary, Indiana).

Logan, whose given name is Lavarion, is a transfer from Illinois State. As a senior at Merrillville High School in 2021, Logan led the state of Indiana in rushing his senior season with 2,256 yards and 38 touchdowns on 288 carries.

Up front a couple of lineman are back in left tackle Carlos Slayden (6-4, 295, Corpus Christi) and Dakari Fantroy (6-1, 285, Euless Trinity).

Defensive back newcomer is Wei Wei (6-3, 180, The Woodlands), Jacobson said, “Media guys I want credit for this, ‘No way, Wei.’”

Jacobson wanted to upgrade his schedule so he added a road game as TJC will play against Georgia Military on Saturday, Sept. 9 in Milledgeville, Georgia.

TVCC kicks off the season on Thursday, Aug. 24 when the Cardinals meet Snow (Utah) in Malakoff. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

The Apaches open their year on Saturday, Aug. 26, hosting Kilgore in a non-conference game. Kickoff is 7 p.m. TJC’s conference opener is Saturday, Sept. 23 against Trinity Valley at Bruce Field in Athens. (Kickoff is 7 p.m.).