Hampton Football to hold home opener against Tennessee Tech

HAMPTON, VIRGINIA  -- The Hampton University football team, in search of its first win in 2013, will hold its home opener at Armstrong Stadium on Saturday at 6 p.m. against Tennessee Tech.

The Pirates (0-2), in their fifth season under head coach Donovan Rose, lost 31-7 to William & Mary this past Saturday, while the Golden Eagles (1-1), under long-time head coach Watson Brown, are coming off a 48-0 loss to Wisconsin this past Saturday.

So far this season, sophomore quarterback Jaylian Williamson (Chesapeake, Va.) is fourth in the MEAC in passing, averaging 137.0 yards in the air per game. He had a season-high 161 yards and a touchdown at William & Mary this past weekend, going 20-for-36 in the air without an interception.

Williamson is also 10th in the MEAC in pass efficiency at 103.2.

Game Notes



Sophomore wide receiver Rayshad Riddick (Portsmouth, Va.) caught a team-high seven passes for 49 yards at William & Mary, and he is tied for fifth in the MEAC in receptions with 4.5 per contest.

Junior Jorrian Washington (Los Angeles, Calif.) leads the MEAC in kickoff returns, averaging 23.0 yards per return, while senior running back Antwon Chisholm (Belle Glade, Fla.) is sixth in the MEAC in all-purpose yards, averaging 103.0 per game.

Defensively, the Pirates rank third in the conference in yards allowed (322.5 per game), and senior defensive back Carvin Johnson (New Orleans, La.) is tied for second in the MEAC in tackles with 10.5 per contest. Sophomore defensive end Miles Grooms (Richmond, Va.) is averaging 1.5 sacks per game, tying him for sixth in the MEAC.

The Pirates are 0-1 all-time against Tennessee Tech after falling 41-31 on the road to open the 2012 season. This will be Tennessee Tech's first visit to Armstrong Stadium.

Hampton is 0-3 all-time against teams currently in the Ohio Valley Conference, having gone 0-2 all-time against Tennessee State and 0-1 against Tennessee Tech. Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech are the only schools from the OVC that Hampton has faced to this point; the Pirates have never played Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, Murray State, Southeast Missouri, or Tennessee-Martin.

The Pirates went 2-2 at home last season, falling 45-7 to Old Dominion on Sept. 8 and 38-26 to Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 29, before picking up wins on Oct. 15, a 28-14 defeat of rival Norfolk State, and on Oct. 27, a 21-13 Homecoming win over Savannah State.

For his career as head coach, Rose is 12-8 at Armstrong Stadium.

For more information on Hampton University football, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.

COURTESY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY PIRATES SPORTS INFORMATION