THE GAMEEdward Waters College "Tigers" vs. North Carolina Central University "Eagles"
THE KICKOFF
Saturday, November 3, 2018 – Kickoff at 2:00 p.m.
THE SITE
O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium (10,000 capacity / Mondoturf) - Durham, N.C.
THE RECORDS
N.C. Central (3-4 overall, 2-2 MEAC); Edward Waters (4-5, 2-3 Mid-South)
MEDIA COVERAGE
Audio: NCCU Sports Network "GameCentral" at NCCUEaglePride.com (internet stream). Broadcast starts at 1:40 p.m. (Carter Woodiel, play-by-play).
Video: ESPN3 (WatchESPN).
QUICK HITS
• Saturday will be NCCU's homecoming game.
• The Eagles have a 63-19-2 record (.762 winning percentage) on homecoming since 1931, including four consecutive victories.
• NCCU leads the series against Edward Waters 4-0. The Eagles have out-scored the Tigers 169-33 in the prior four contests, all played in Durham, N.C.
• NCCU is coming off a 28-13 road loss at Delaware State, ending a five-game win streak in the series with the Hornets.
• After winning back-to-back games to begin the month of October, Edward Waters has dropped its last two contests.
• First-year Edward Waters head coach Greg Ruffin joined the Tigers after spending the 2017 season as the tight ends coach at Bethune-Cookman University.
• NCCU leads the conference and ranks 35th in the NCAA Division I-FCS in tackles for loss with an average of 7.0 per game.
• NCCU tops the MEAC and ranks eighth in the nation in third-down conversion percentage defense (.286).
• NCCU boasts the top red-zone offense in the MEAC, scoring 92.0 percent of the time. The Eagles are 23-of-25 inside the 20-yard line, with 14 touchdowns and nine field goals.
• NCCU senior defensive lineman Darius Royster already has more tackles for loss than last season's team leaders (Roderick Harris and Antonio Brown with 8.5). Royster owns 10.5 takedowns behind the line of scrimmage (3rd in MEAC, 20th in FCS) and three forced fumbles (1st in MEAC, 4th in FCS).
• NCCU senior safety Davanta Reynolds, the Preseason MEAC Defensive Player of the Year and a member of the STATS FCS Preseason All-America Team (Second Team), ranks third in the MEAC with 58 tackles (8.3 per game).
• Since the start of the 2012 season, NCCU has scored 38 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including three defensive scores last year and two this season.
• NCCU is under the direction of first-year head coach Granville Eastman, who accepted the interim role after Jerry Mack left to be the offensive coordinator at Rice.
• NCCU returns just nine starters (6 offense, 3 defense), but boasts nine members of the Preseason All-MEAC Team: First Team - DB Davanta Reynolds, RB Isaiah Totten, OL Nick Leverett, DL Kawuan Cox; Second Team - TE Josh McCoy, OL Andrew Dale, DL Randy Anyanwu; Third Team - WR Xavier McKoy, and DB De'Mario Evans.
ABOUT NCCU FOOTBALL
NCCU won three consecutive MEAC championships from 2014-16, and represented the MEAC in the 2016 Celebration Bowl versus Grambling in the Georgia Dome.
NCCU Recent Records:
2017: 7-4 overall, 5-3 MEAC
2016: 9-3 overall, 8-0 MEAC – MEAC champions
2015: 8-3 overall, 7-1 MEAC – MEAC co-champions
2014: 7-5 overall, 6-2 MEAC – MEAC co-champions
ABOUT EDWARD WATERS COLLEGE
Located in Jacksonville, Fla., Edward Waters College was founded in 1866 and currently enrolls more than 800 students. The Tigers compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) as members of the Mid-South Conference.
THE SERIES
This will be the fifth football meeting between North Carolina Central University and Edward Waters College. NCCU has out-scored the Tigers 169-33 in the prior four contests, all played in Durham, N.C.
Oct. 30, 2010 NCCU 20, EWC 7 (Homecoming)
Sept. 29, 2001 NCCU 45, EWC 0
Aug. 27, 2005 NCCU 70, EWC 12
Nov. 1, 2008 NCCU 34, EWC 14 (Homecoming)
LAST WEEK
Delaware State 28, NCCU 13 (Dover, Del.) - Delaware State celebrated homecoming by rushing for 273 yards and two touchdowns during a 28-13 upset victory over NCCU on Oct. 27 at Alumni Stadium. The win was the first of the season for Delaware State (1-7, 1-4 MEAC) and snaps a five-game losing skid in the series with NCCU, dating back to 2010. NCCU's lone touchdown was a 24-yard run by sophomore quarterback Chauncey Caldwell early in the second quarter. He left the contest with 1:38 remaining in the first half due to an injury. Redshirt freshman kicker Adam Lippy accounted for the rest of the scoring for the Eagles with a pair of field goals and an extra-point conversion. Sophomore running back Isaiah Totten rushed for 90 yards on 19 carries, and sophomore receiver Nique Martin collected six receptions for 87 yards for NCCU. Defensively, senior safety Davanta Reynolds registered nine tackles, including an assisted stop for a loss, and his second interception of the season. Linemen Randy Anyanwu and Carl Isaac contributed seven takedowns apiece.
Southeastern University 44, Edward Waters 0 (Lakeland, Fla.) - After kicking a field goal in the first quarter, Southeastern University scored six touchdowns in the second and third quarters to cruise to a 44-0 win over Edward Waters. Southeastern amassed 393 yards of total offense, including 252 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, while holding Edward Waters to 158 total yards with 45 yards passing.
THE COACHES
NCCU: Granville Eastman (Saint Mary's, 1992) is in his first season as a college head coach. With 20 years of collegiate coaching experience to his credit, Eastman joined the NCCU staff in January 2014, serving as assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and safeties coach until his promotion to interim head coach on Dec. 8, 2017. Prior to joining NCCU, Eastman spent nine seasons (2005-13) as the defensive coordinator at Austin Peay State University in Clarkesville, Tennessee. During his 11 total seasons at APSU, he coached defensive backs and linebackers, and also served as special teams coordinator (2003-04) and interim head coach (winter 2013). Eastman coached four seasons (1999-2002) at Tiffin University in Ohio, including the last three seasons as defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator, while working with defensive backs and defensive line during his tenure. A native of Toronto, Canada, Eastman secured his first coaching position at York University in his hometown, where he spent two seasons (1994-95) working with defensive backs. He then served as a defensive graduate assistant for three seasons (1996-98) at Arkansas State University, earning a master's degree in sociology in 1999. Eastman was a two-time all-city defensive back at Stephen Leacock High School in Toronto before attending Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, where he was a three-year letterman as a defensive back. Twice Saint Mary's played in national title games while he was there. Eastman earned his bachelor's degree from Saint Mary's University in 1992.
Edward Waters: On December 14, 2017, Greg Ruffin (Lane College) was officially hired as the 14th head football coach in the history of the Edward Waters College football program. His 20-plus years of experience in turning programs around as a head coach at the Division II and NAIA levels and a position coach in at the FCS level made him the perfect selection for EWC. Ruffin joined Edward Waters after spending the 2017 season at Bethune-Cookman University as the tight ends coach. Ruffin's last head coaching job was at fellow NAIA HBCU Texas College in 2016. However, prior to his stint at Texas College, Ruffin was head coach for Paine College in the school's resurgence of football in 2013, after the program was dormant for more than 50 years.
EAGLES TURN DEFENSE, SPECIAL TEAMS INTO POINTS
Since the start of the 2012 season, the Eagles have demonstrated a knack for finding the end zone when the offense is off the field. In the past 76 games, NCCU has scored 38 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including two this season, three in 2017, three in 2016, six in 2015, five in 2014, nine in 2013 and 10 in 2012. In that time, the Eagles have made trips to the end zone on 14 punt returns, six kickoff returns, three blocked field goal returns, 11 interceptions and four fumble recoveries.
LEVERETT RECOGNIZED FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE
NCCU offensive lineman Nick Leverett is one of only 22 college football players selected for distinguished recognition on the 2018 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, as announced by Allstate Insurance Company and the American Football Coaches Association. The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® has been one of the most esteemed honors in college football for more than 25 years, celebrating the remarkable accomplishments of college football student-athletes on the field, in the classroom and in the community. A native of Concord, North Carolina, Leverett is a two-time All-MEAC offensive lineman and team captain, a three-year graduate with a degree in criminal justice and a 3.37 overall grade point average, a campus leader, and an active participant in community service. Two other NCCU football student-athletes have earned distinction on the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® in recent years, Jordan Reid (current NCCU running backs coach) in 2013 and Carl Jones in 2016.
NINE NCCU EAGLES VOTED TO PRESEASON ALL-MEAC TEAMS
Nine NCCU Eagles were voted to the Preseason All-MEAC Football Teams. Earning All-MEAC First Team honors for NCCU are Preseason MEAC Defensive Player of the Year senior defensive back Davanta Reynolds, sophomore running back Isaiah Totten, junior offensive lineman Nick Leverett, and junior defensive lineman Kawuan Cox. Three NCCU Eagles on the Preseason All-MEAC Second Team are senior tight end Josh McCoy, sophomore offensive lineman Andrew Dale, and senior defensive lineman Randy Anyanwu. Receiving Preseason All-MEAC Third Team honors are junior wide receiver Xavier McKoy and senior defensive back De'Mario Evans.
THREE NCCU EAGLES ON HBCU PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Three NCCU Eagles – senior safety Davanta Reynolds, sophomore running back Isaiah Totten and freshman running back Jamal Currie-Elliott - are among the 52 student-athletes from 25 different HBCUs to be named to the 2018 Watch List for the Black College Football Player of the Year Award, the Black College Football Hall of Fame (BCFHOF) announced Wednesday. The Award is presented annually to the most outstanding football player from a Historically Black College & University. The winner of the 2018 Black College Football Player of the Year Award will be honored with the Deacon Jones Trophy during the Black College Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, which takes place on Feb. 16, 2019 in Atlanta. Four finalists will be unveiled on Nov. 29.
LONG SNAPPER SCHLECKER EARNS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA HONOR
NCCU senior long snapper Erik Schlecker was named to the HERO Sports 2018 FCS Preseason All-American Team. A native of Sunrise, Florida, Schlecker earned a spot on the FCS Preseason All-American Third Team for achieving a 99 percent success rate on his snaps with only one errant snap in the past two seasons at NCCU. The transfer from ASA College also boasts a snap time average of 0.75 seconds. To his credit, each NCCU teammate Schlecker has snapped for during the 2016 and 2017 seasons – two placekickers and a punter – has garnered all-conference recognition.
ABOUT NCCU FOOTBALL
North Carolina Central University is in its eighth season of full NCAA Division I (FCS) athletics competition as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Eagles have won 13 conference championships as members of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1953, 1954, 1956, 1961, 1963, 1980, 2005, 2006) and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (1972, 1973, 2014, 2015, 2016), and have made three appearances in the NCAA playoffs (1988, 2005, 2006). The Eagles won back-to-back football conference championships and a Black College National Championship in their final two years in the Division II ranks (2005 and 2006) before starting the transition to Division I in 2007. During its storied gridiron tradition, NCCU has produced 140 all-conference selections (first team), 67 all-Americans, 41 NFL draft picks, 13 conference championships and two Black College National Championships (1954, 2006). Two Eagles have represented NCCU on the National Football League's grandest stage - the Super Bowl. The first NCCU Eagle to make a Super Bowl appearance was Richard Sligh, who was a reserve tackle with the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl II against the Green Bay Packers on Jan. 14, 1968. Sligh, who holds the distinction as the tallest player in NFL history (7'0"), played at NCCU from 1962-64 and was later drafted by the Raiders in the 10th round of the 1967 NFL draft. On Jan. 24, 1982, former NCCU Eagle Louis Breeden was a starting cornerback for the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XVI against the San Francisco 49ers. Earlier in the season (Nov. 8, 1981), Breeden intercepted a pass thrown by San Diego Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts and returned it a team-record 102 yards for a touchdown. The following year, he was selected as a First-Team All-Pro. He completed his 10-year NFL career with 33 interceptions for 558 return yards and two touchdowns. The first Eagle selected in the NFL Draft was Matt Boone, who was taken by the Giants with the eighth pick in the 18th round in 1956. The latest Eagle announced during the NFL Draft was Ryan Smith, who was chosen by the Buccaneers in the fourth round in 2016. NCCU's highest draft pick was Doug Wilkerson, who was selected in the first round with the 14th overall pick of the 1970 NFL Draft by the Oilers. The Eagles have also had three second-round NFL draft picks, including Robert Massey in 1989 by the Saints, Charles Smith in 1975 by the Broncos and Chuck Hinton in 1962 by the Browns. HBCU football pioneer John Brown, who represented NCCU (then North Carolina College) on the gridiron in the 1940s, was one of the first to play professional football out of a historically black college or university. Brown shares the honor with Ezzret Anderson of Kentucky State and Elmore Harris of Morgan State, who all began their professional football careers in 1947. Brown and Anderson were teammates on the Los Angeles Dons, while Harris was a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. According to NCCU records, Brown was the first of the three to sign a professional football contract. He played center and linebacker with the Dons from 1947-49, before moving to the Canadian Football League.
NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY EAGLES SPORTS INFORMATION
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