2015 college football preview | Hampton University

COURTESY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

HAMPTON, Virginia -- Remember Jaylian Williamson? The Hampton University quarterback lit up Old Dominion for 407 passing yards and three touchdowns last season, then added 385 yards a week later against William & Mary, then disappeared after a clash with coach Connell Maynor.

Remember QB Jerrell Antoine? He was MEAC Rookie of the Week three times last season but disappeared because there’s a new/old guy back in town.

Remember David Watford? He set a University of Virginia record with 427 passes in a sophomore season (2013), then disappeared when the Cavaliers looked at his 15 interceptions and the team’s 2-10 record and decided there was a cause and effect.

He’s back where it all started, in Hampton.

“It’s a wonderful thing to be able to come home to be around my family, my friends, people I grew up around,” Watford said. “To be able to play in front of my home crowd in my home city – there’s no better feeling.”

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Cal Opens 2015 In First Meeting Vs Grambling State

BERKELEY, California -- California opens the 2015 season with its first-ever meeting against Grambling State, which is just seven miles away from Louisiana Tech where Cal head coach Sonny Dykes coached before coming to Berkeley.

The Golden Bears have won 11 of their last 13 home openers, dating back to 2002. Last season, Cal topped Sacramento State, 55-14, in the home opener. Since 2002, the Bears are 9-4 in season openers after last year’s 31-24 victory at Northwestern. In 120 seasons, Cal is 74-42-4 all-time in season openers.

Saturday’s tilt with Grambling State marks the eighth time that Cal will face an FCS opponent. The Bears are 8-0 against FCS teams, with the most recent game last year’s 55-14 victory over Sacramento State.

California Golden Bears vs Grambling State Tigers

Saturday, Sept. 5 | 2:00 pm PT

Kabam Field at California Memorial Stadium | Berkeley, CA

TV: Pac-12 Networks - Roxy Bernstein (Play by Play), Mike Pawlawski (Analyst), Drea Avant (Sideline)

Radio: KGO 810 AM – Joe Starkey (Play by Play), Dave Barr (Analyst), Todd McKim (Sideline)

Live Stats: Cal.StatBroadcast.com

Live Audio: TuneIn Radio

SiriusXM Satellite Radio: Sirius (93) and XM (197)

Cal Student Radio: KALX 90.7 FM – Glenn Borok (PlayBy-Play), David Straub (Analyst), Todd Vogel (Analyst)

Series History: First Meeting

Cal Game Notes | Pac-12 Weekly Release | Cal Information Guide | Cal Athletics YouTube | @CalFootball | @CalCoachDykes | Cal_Football Instagram

Tuesday Press Conference Video: Sonny Dykes, Jared Goff, Jalen Jefferson, Bryce Treggs

Inside The Lair Radio Show: Sonny Dykes, Art Kaufman, Daniel Lasco

The 2015 Cal team features players who accounted for over 80 percent of its offense in the following categories in 2014 – passing (99.7%), total offense (99.3%), rushing (98.4%), all-purpose (89.7%), total touchdowns (88.5%) and receiving (84.6%).

Cal enters the 2015 season with its most experienced group under Dykes. The Bears’ roster lists 34 players who made a combined 228 starts last year (Offense 16/111, Defense 17/105, Specialists 1/12). Those figures are a marked improvement from 2014 when Cal entered the year with 28 players having made 164 starts (Offense 17/97; Defense 10/65; Specialists 1/12) in 2013. In 2012, Cal had 14 players who started 120 times the previous season (Offense 7/55; Defense 6/53; Specialists 1/12).

Cal received a single vote in the 2015 AP Top 25 preseason poll. The Bears last garnered top-25 consideration following their 4-1 start last season.

Cal finished the 2014 season with an overall record of 5-7 for a four-win turnaround from 2013 which was its best since the 2002 squad went 7-5 overall after the 2001 club finished 1-10.



National honors candidate junior quarterback Jared Goff is a Heisman Trophy contender and has been named to nearly every watch list for college football’s top player and quarterback awards. Goff is the nation’s second-leading returning passer after ranking fifth in nationally in passing touchdowns (35), passing yards (3,973) and passing yards per game (331.1) last season. He is already the holder of 19 school records.

Senior Trevor Davis is a second-team preseason All-American as a kick returner and on the watch list for the Paul Hornung Award honoring the nation’s most versatile player. Davis equaled NCAA and Pac-12 records in 2014 when he became the 20th player in FBS history and the third in the Pac-12 to bring back two kick returns in a single game on consecutive kick returns at Washington State.

Seven of the eight Cal players who recorded at least 20 catches in 2014 are returning, led by junior wide receiver Kenny Lawler who posted a team-best 54 receptions a year ago. Senior wide receiver Bryce Treggs was right behind with 52 catches. The others on the list are Stephen Anderson (46), Daniel Lasco (33), Maurice Harris (25), Trevor Davis (24) and Darius Powe (20).

CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

UAPB unsure who will quarterback against SCSU

PINE BLUFF, Arkansas -- If there was one thing learned from Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s football media day on Saturday, it was that the quarterback race will come down to the final week, this week.

Picking a starter for the opening game against South Carolina State University may even be a game-time decision when UAPB plays its first contest of the season on Sunday in Orlando, Florida at 3:30 p.m., in front of a nationwide ESPN television crowd.



That game, the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, will be the first one since 2010 that Ben Anderson did not enter the week at the top of the UAPB depth chart. The four-year starter wrapped up his stellar four-year career last fall, and left Monte Coleman and his staff a large hole to attempt to fill.

Five quarterbacks have auditioned this fall for the role. Marcus Terrell and Nolan Sorensen have pulled away a bit from the others. Brandon Duncan is still battling to make it a true three-man competition. Freshmen LaEarl Patterson, from Memphis, and Roger Totten II, have gotten their share of the reps, but haven’t done enough to really get into the conversation.

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Fayetteville State RB Andre Montgomery harnesses intensity to become leader

FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina -- Running back Andre Montgomery came to Fayetteville State with his hungry edge and dauntless work ethic already in place.

All of that came years ago from the early mornings he spent working with his father, former Goldsboro High School and East Carolina football player Gregory Montgomery.

From pounding out 40-yard sprints, to footwork drills, to practicing how to catch and carry the ball, Gregory made sure his son was going to know how to not only play the position, but also how to work.
Heading into his senior season with the Broncos as their featured back and off-field leader, Montgomery credits his success to the competitive fires that were lit back then.

But he also acknowledges the importance of learning how to dial them back.

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JCSU Football to Host Wingate in Season Opener

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina  -- The Johnson C. Smith University football team will usher in the Kermit Blount era when they open the 2015 season on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 6:00 p.m. against local rival Wingate at the Irwin Belk Complex.  The game marks the first home night game for JCSU in recent memory.

JCSU comes off a 3-7 campaign in 2014, winning two of their last three, including a 14-10 homecoming win over St. Augustine's  and a 31-14 win over rival Livingstone in the Commemorative Classic.

The game marks the third time that the Bulldogs and Golden Bulls will face off on the gridiron.  Wingate holds a 2-0 lead in the series dating back to 1995.  Wingate won that initial meeting 33-12 as well as the most previous meeting in 2002, 24-0.

The Golden Bulls have history on their side, having won five consecutive home openers, including a 13-6 thriller against Kentucky State in 2014.  Conversely, Wingate has dropped four of their past six season road openers since 2009, including a 28-10 loss at CIAA foe St. Augustine's in 2012.

Fans are encouraged to come take part in FestiBull, a street festival with inflatables, games, face painting and music prior to Saturday's contest.  FestiBull kicks off at 3:00 p.m. on North Summit Avenue, adjacent to the Irwin Belk Complex.

Also new this season is the "Golden Bull Game Zone".  The "Golden Bull Game Zone" includes vendors, FestiBull, and tailgating located on North Summit Avenue.  Ticket scanners will be at all points of entry to North Summit Avenue.  All guests that park in the Brayboy Gym lot and Lot B are required to have a ticket.  Also, patrons are required to have a ticket to enter North Summit Avenue.

Fans can enter the JCSU campus via Beatties Ford Road for general parking, while VIP guests can enter the VIP reserved parking lots via Martin Street.

Ticket sales as well as will call tickets will be available at Brayboy Gym, one and one-half hours prior to kickoff.  This season, no tickets will be sold or distributed at the Irwin Belk Complex.

Tickets are available for Saturday's game by clicking here.

As a reminder, JCSU has the right to check any and all bags before entrance to the facility and strictly prohibits the following items:

• Alcoholic beverages
• Artificial noise makers
• Coolers or other large containers
• Explosives, firearms, or weapons of any kind
• Illegal drugs or paraphernalia
• Outside food or beverages
• Pets (service animals welcome)
• Umbrellas

COURTESY JOHNSON C. SMITH UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Jackson, August win first GCAC weekly awards of 2015

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana has dominated the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Runner of the Week awards since they were first awarded during the 2008 cross country season. So it's no surprise that XU's Zahri Jackson and Christopher August are the initial recipients in 2015.
    
The GCAC announced the awards Tuesday. Jackson and August were the first XU finishers Friday in the Big Easy Opener at City Park.
    
Jackson — a fifth-year senior from Kingwood, Texas, and a graduate of Kingwood Park High School — won the women's two-mile race in 14 minutes, 27.3 seconds. It was her fourth collegiate victory and her first since 2012. She led the Gold Nuggets to the team championship.
    
August — a junior from Spring, Texas, and a graduate of Klein Collins High School — was the first collegiate finisher in the men's 5,000-meter race and placed eighth overall. His time of 17:03.6 ranks 15th among XU runners from 2002-15. The Gold Rush placed second in team scoring behind Power Miler Track Club and first among colleges.
    
Jackson is a nine-time GCAC Runner of the Week, and she's two awards from tying former teammate Catherine Fakler's career record. August won for the first time.
    
Xavier has earned 65 GCAC Runner of the Week awards, 38 by the Gold Rush.
    
Next for the Gold Nuggets and Gold Rush will be the Southern Miss Invitational at Tatum Park in Hattiesburg, Miss. The men will race at 5:30 p.m., followed by the women at 6. Distance for all will be 5,000 meters.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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XU Harris, Pirkl earn GCAC defender, setter honors

NEW ORLEANS — The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference has expanded its weekly women's volleyball awards from one to three in 2015, and a pair of Xavier University of Louisiana seniors are beneficiaries in the initial week.     

The GCAC announced the awards Tuesday. Xavier's Darian Harris is Defender of the Week, and Franziska Pirkl is Setter of the Week. Both were All-GCAC in 2014 — Pirkl has been on the first team three times — but this is the first time for either to win a weekly award.
    
Harris, a libero/defensive specialist from Gretna, La., and a graduate of McGehee School, picked up where she left off last season, when she led the Gold Nuggets' GCAC championship team in digs. Harris reached double figures in digs in all four matches of the season-opening Big Easy Blastoff and twice had 19 digs. She helped Xavier rank 10th in the NAIA in digs per set through Saturday's reported matches. Through Monday, Harris ranked 35th nationally with 5.0 digs per set.
    
Pirkl, a setter from Munich, Germany, and a graduate of Theodolinden Gymnasium, produced her most-ever assists in a three-set match — 42 Saturday in a victory against Faulkner. Pirkl led the Big Easy Blastoff with 11.2 assists per set. She produced a double-double — 37 assists and 16 digs — against Mobile, which received votes in the NAIA preseason coaches poll. Pirkl ranked seventh in the NAIA through Monday in assists per set.
    
The NAIA also has expanded its weekly volleyball awards to three. Those honors will be given starting next week.
    
Next for the Gold Nuggets (2-2) will be four matches in the Mariner Invitational at Brunswick, Ga. They'll play Friday at 9 a.m. EDT against Bethel (Ind.) and 1 p.m. against NAIA No. 20 Coastal Georgia, then Saturday at 9 a.m. against Martin Methodist and 5 p.m. against Bryan. The next XU home match will start at 7 p.m. Monday against Talladega in the GCAC opener at tthe Convocation Center.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
https://twitter.com/xulagold
https://www.facebook.com/