QUICK FACTS

Name: Ja'Quez Canty Born: July 3, 1988, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Parents: Samuel Canty, Jr., and Taffany Coleman Siblings: sister Raynese; brothers Raymond, Ta’Quan, Sabraham. Hometown: Winston-Salem, N.C. High School: North Forsyth Major at NCCU: Sports Management Favorite Food: mashed potatoes Favorite Athlete: Deion Sanders Favorite Musician: Jay-Z Favorite Movie: “Any Given Sunday” Favorite Book: “Power, Money & Sex - How Success Almost Ruined My Life” by Deion Sanders

Question: What is your major and what do you want to do after graduation?
Ja’Quez Canty: “I am majoring in Sports Management. I would like to continue my education and get a master’s degree in Sports Management. Hopefully, I will work as an athletics director in high school so I can help put kids in college.”

Q: Why did you choose NCCU?
JC: “I had an older cousin, Craig Amos, playing football here at NCCU. When I came on my recruiting trip, he made it seem like it was where I wanted to be.”

Q: What do you like most about NCCU?
JC: “It has always felt like home. It is nice to get away from your hometown and still feel like home. It’s a great community to live in.”

Q: What is your favorite part about game day inside O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium?
JC: “Warming up and trying to get the fans involved in the game. The team feeds off of the crowd. We love the energy they give us.”

Q: Do you have any pregame rituals?
JC: “I talk to the Lord and listen to music. Most of the time I listen to R&B to calm my nerves because I get too excited.”

Q: What has been your most memorable moment at NCCU?
JC: “When I first came here in 2006, winning the CIAA championship game (as a red-shirt freshman). Oh, and beating A&T on their field in 2007.”

Q: If you could invite any living person to W.G. Pearson Cafeteria for lunch, who would it be?
JC: “My three-year-old niece, Thyliah. She brings joy to me every time I see her.”

Q: What is something interesting about yourself that others may not know?
JC: “I eat horribly. I probably eat two Cookout trays a day. I could sit around the house and eat my mom’s chicken all day.”

Q: You have a muscular physique. Have you always been physically strong?
JC: “Actually, I was born two months premature and was always smaller than everybody when I was younger. Now it feels good to be bigger than everyone who used to get on me because of how small I was. I can bench 380 pounds, squat 500 pounds and run the 40-yard dash in 4.2 seconds. I have worked hard to get this way, but it does run in my family.”

Q: How would you like to be remembered on the NCCU gridiron?
JC: “As a die-hard competitor who’d do anything for his teammates to help them excel and reach their goals.”