BAYBORO — Entering his third year at the helm, Southside’s Jeff Carrow was one of the only recognizable head coaching faces at this year’s Coastal Plains Conference media day, held at Pamlico County High School on Thursday.

Of the five teams present at the meeting, three will be under new leadership, as a talent-rich conference enters what’s projected to be an extremely competitive season. Southside, East Carteret and Pamlico County, the defending conference champion, are expected to field rosters capable of taking home a title, while Lejeune and Jones Senior are looking to put a disappointing 2014 behind them.

Under first-year head coach Caleb King, new life has been breathed into an East Carteret program coming off a 5-8 finish. King, a former assistant to Havelock’s Jim Bob Bryant, brings seven years of coaching experience to the table, including three state championships and two undefeated seasons at the 3-A classification. King spoke highly of his new conference and the team he inherited during his opening statement.

“I’m just real happy to be here, real happy to be a part of this conference,” he said during his opening statement. “There are some great coaches in this conference and great players in this conference. What we’re trying to do right now is just rebuild the program at East Carteret. We have real good numbers this summer and have had a real good summer, real good spring.”

The coaching hire, along with a slew of returning starters, earned the Mariners a No. 17 preseason ranking by CarolinaPreps.com, making them favorites to take the conference title by a slim margin.

With a No. 19 ranking, the Seahawks are also primed to make a run at a championship. With seven starters returning on both sides of the ball, size and athleticism blanket the roster from top to bottom, but a few preseason questions remain, including at the tight end and offensive line positions.

“We’ve got some depth at some skill positions, but as far as experience, we still have to pan some things out there,” Carrow said. “Especially offensive line wise, we’re still juggling and figuring out which rotation will be the best for us.”

Joining Carrow at the Southside’s table were defensive coordinator Andrea Quinerly and two of the team’s top playmakers, lineman Donshae Tatum, who will be one of the most integral pieces to the wing-T offense’s efficiency, and Hunter Sparks, a junior and the Seahawks’ defense captain.

“We’re strong on defense and we’re going to be working together. We’re a family. When one messes up we all mess up,” Sparks said.

“Coming in it was hard being the leader, being the younger guy. No one really wanted to listen to me. But after I’ve earned respect, showing everybody what I can do, everybody started following in behind me.”

At the 1-A level, positional depth like Southside’s is certainly a luxury, one Jones Senior doesn’t have this season. Despite returning seven seniors, the Trojans anticipate having 18 players in uniform for each game, by far the conference’s smallest roster.

And for a Lejeune team that went without a win last season, the focus for first-year head coach Simon Dorsey is to bring his sizable, senior-laden roster back to the winning ways of 2013, a year the Devil Pups finished 13-2 with a conference championship and an eastern regional final berth. Dorsey will have one of the conference’s largest offensive and defensive lines to work with, as well as quarterback Drake Bodine.

Bodine, a senior, has been along for the roller coaster ride that’s been the last three seasons at Lejeune. Alongside four of his teammates on Thursday, Bodine spoke of the team’s newfound dedication to the game, charisma that resembles the 2013 preseason.

“I’ve experienced both the season last year and the year before that,” he said. “I understand the difference between them. We were a lot less focused last season, as compared to the year before where we were a lot more dedicated.”

Of the three first-year coaches, Pamlico County’s Torrey Nowell, a former linebacker for Gates County and Elizabeth City State, may have walked into the most fortunate situation, inheriting a well-coached and disciplined team that finished 10-3 with a Coastal Plains Conference championship last season. A nice mix of experience and youthful exuberance, the Hurricanes have their sights set on a conference repeat and a deep playoff run.

“Athletically, we always have athletes here, but really we’re trying to make sure we’re disciplined, focused and remaining humble,” Nowell said. “Being hungry, not being satisfied with last season because that season is out the door. It’s a new season, new team, different roles from each player, so that’s the thing we’re focusing on right now.”

For a conference with one of the highest head coaching turnover rates in 1-A since 2010, this season should be a good test of character of not only the players, but the new faces on the sidelines as well. With Southside, East Carteret and Pamlico County expected to compete for a conference title, underdogs like Northside and Lejeune are trying to make statements of their own.

“There’s always a surprise team every single year in this conference that kind of flies under the radar,” Carrow said.