THE GAME
North Carolina Central University "Eagles" vs. Morgan State University "Bears"

THE KICKOFF
Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021 – Kickoff at 1:00 p.m.

THE SITE
Hughes Stadium (10,000 capacity / Synthetic Grass) - Baltimore, Md.

THE RECORDS
N.C. Central (2-4 overall, 0-0 MEAC); Morgan State (0-6, 0-2 MEAC)

MEDIA COVERAGE
Audio: NCCU Sports Network (NCCUEaglePride.com)
TV/Video: ESPN+

QUICK HITS
• NCCU opens conference play on the road against Morgan State in Baltimore.
• Saturday will be Morgan State's homecoming game.
• The MSU Bears hold a 24-16-2 advantage in the series, while the NCCU Eagles have been victorious in the last three meetings (2019, 2016, 2015). 
• Four of the last six match-ups between the Eagles and the Bears have been decided with less than seven minutes left in the contest.
• With 10 catches for 81 yards in the Eagles' last outing versus Tennessee Tech (Oct. 9), NCCU senior receiver Ryan McDaniel became just the sixth Eagle in NCCU history to register 10 receptions or more in a game. The NCCU single-game record is 17 receptions by Robert Clark on Aug. 30, 1986, versus Jackson State. 
• NCCU senior receiver Ryan McDaniel remains atop the MEAC in receptions with 37 (6.2 avg./22nd in FCS) and receiving yards with 470 (78.7 avg./30th in FCS).
• NCCU sophomore Brandon Codrington ranks third in the nation in punt returns with an average return of 18.6 yards. His 77-yard punt return touchdown versus Alcorn State in the season-opener is the second special teams touchdown of his young career. In 2019, in the final minute of a tie game versus Delaware State (Oct. 26), he returned a kickoff 75 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
• Adrian Olivo added another field goal to his season total on Oct. 9, making NCCU's sophomore kicker 8-for-8 on the season, the most made field goals in the MEAC.
• The linebacker duo of Cole Williams and Noah Rainbow-Douglas are tied for the team lead with 43 tackles each, which ranks second in the MEAC (7.2 avg.).
• NCCU tops the MEAC and ranks seventh in NCAA Division I-FCS in red-zone scoring, posting points on 14 of 15 trips inside the 20-yard line (93.3%). 
• Freshman defensive back Marvin Reed's 94-yard interception return at Marshall is equal to the sixth-longest return of a pick in NCCU history.
• NCCU is under the direction of second-season head coach Trei Oliver, who was an all-region safety and punter (1994-97) at NCCU, as well as an Eagles' assistant coach (2003-06).
• Twenty-four NCCU Eagles have already earned their undergraduate degrees, including 14 from NCCU and 10 graduate transfers.
• NCCU redshirt senior running back Isaiah Totten ranks sixth on NCCU's career rushing list with 2,280 ground yards and 15 touchdowns. Totten needs 197 yards to move to third, 561 yards to jump to second, and 729 yards to break Greg Pruitt Jr.'s NCCU career record of 3,008 rushing yards.
• Since the start of the 2012 season, NCCU has scored 41 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including a 77-yard punt return by Brandon Codrington in the 2021 season-opener, along with a pick-six and a kickoff return TD in 2019.
• NCCU boasted the top pass defense in the MEAC in 2019, allowing just 170.0 passing yards per contest (11th in FCS).
• NCCU's 14 interceptions in 2019, good for second in the MEAC, were the most picks by the Eagles since 2013 (14).
• NCCU quarterback Davius Richard became just the third quarterback in school history to throw for more than 2,000 passing yards (2,020 yards/2019) as a freshman, joining Earl "Air" Harvey (3,190 yards/1985) and Stafford Brown (2.577 yards/2006).
• As a freshman in 2019, NCCU quarterback Davius Richard achieved the sixth-best passing performance in school history versus Norfolk State (Nov. 9, 2019), amassing 384 passing yards with three touchdowns, completing 30 of 46 throws. Only NCCU hall of fame quarterback Earl "Air" Harvey (1985-88) has thrown for more passing yards, as he holds the top five single-game passing efforts in school history.
• Davius Richard's 62-yard touchdown run at Morgan State (Sept. 28, 2019) is the longest rush by an NCCU quarterback since Lawrence Fuller raced 74 yards against Morris Brown on Sept. 30, 2000.
• NCCU's 330 yards rushing at Morgan State (Sept. 28, 2019) are the most against a conference opponent since Oct. 23, 2004, when the Eagles were in the Division II CIAA and rushed for 349 yards against CIAA foe Livingstone College.

THE SERIES
This will be the 43rd gridiron meeting between NCCU and Morgan State since the teams first played on Nov. 15, 1930. The MSU Bears hold a 24-16-2 advantage in the series. The Bears won the first five contests, then rolled off another five-game win streak from 1964-68, out-scoring the Eagles 125-7 during that stretch, including four straight shutouts. NCCU has posted three, three-game win streaks, first from 1957-59 then from 1972-74, and from 2015-19. MSU has won seven of the past 12 meetings, but the Eagles are on a three-game win streak. Four of the last six match-ups have been decided with less than seven minutes left in the contest.

Recent Meetings:
Sept. 28, 2019 - NCCU 27, MSU 17 (Baltimore, Md.)
Oct. 22, 2016 - NCCU 21, MSU 17 (Baltimore, Md.)
Oct. 24, 2015 - NCCU 20, MSU 17 (Durham, N.C.)
Oct. 18, 2014 - MSU 21, NCCU 20 (Baltimore, Md.)
Oct. 19, 2013 - MSU 34, NCCU 22 (Durham, N.C.)
Oct. 13, 2012 - NCCU 24, MSU 20 (Baltimore, Md.)
Oct. 15, 2011 - MSU 52, NCCU 3 (Durham, N.C.)
Sept. 13, 2008 - MSU 49, NCCU 7 (Baltimore, Md.)
Oct. 16, 1982 - NCCU 27, MSU 7 (Baltimore, Md.)
Oct. 10, 1981 - MSU 35, NCCU 27 (Durham, N.C.)
Oct. 11, 1980 - MSU 14, NCCU 7 (Baltimore, Md.)

THE COACHES
NCCU: Trei Oliver (N.C. Central, 1998) is in his second season as a college head coach. With 22 years of college coaching experience that includes five conference championships and three black college football national titles, Oliver returned to his alma mater as North Carolina Central University's 24th head football coach in December 2018. A native of Yorktown, Virginia, Oliver earned all-conference and all-region honors as a defensive back and punter during his four-year playing career at NCCU from 1994-97. The 1998 graduate later returned to NCCU as an assistant coach from 2003-06, helping the Eagles to back-to-back Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) championships in 2005 and 2006.

Morgan State: Tyrone Wheatley (Michigan, 2008) was announced as Morgan State's 22nd head football coach effective February 21, 2019. Wheatley spent the past two seasons as the running backs coach under head coach Doug Marrone for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. Wheatley also worked with Marrone at Syracuse University from 2010-12, and then with the NFL's Buffalo Bills from 2013-14. Wheatley finished his Michigan football playing career as the program's second-leading rusher. He was the Big Ten's "Offensive Player of the Year" in 1992, and also earned All-America honors in the 110-meter hurdles as a track athlete in 1995. He enjoyed a 10-year career in the NFL before starting his coaching career.

ALUMS AS HEAD FOOTBALL COACHES AT NCCU
Trei Oliver is the third alumnus to lead the NCCU football program, following in the footsteps of Bishop Harris, a 1963 graduate who coached the Eagles from 1991-92, and Herman Riddick, a 1933 graduate who guided the Eagles to a school record 112 victories from 1945-1964.

EIGHT NCCU EAGLES VOTED TO PRESEASON ALL-MEAC TEAMS
Eight NCCU Eagles were named to the 2021 Preseason All-MEAC Football Teams. NCCU senior running back Isaiah Totten, senior defensive back Stephen Stokes and sophomore return specialist Brandon Codrington were voted to the Preseason All-MEAC First Team, while senior offensive lineman Robert Mitchell, sophomore offensive lineman Corey Bullock, junior defensive lineman Jessie Malit, sophomore defensive back Manny Smith, and sophomore placekicker Adrian Olivo were selected to the Preseason All-MEAC Second Team.
• Totten (Apex, N.C.), a repeat All-MEAC First Team pick in 2019, ran for 636 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 4.0 yards per carry, to become just the eighth Eagle in school history to amass 2,000 career rushing yards. He currently ranks seventh on NCCU's all-time rushing list with 2,122 yards, averaging 5.0 yards per run with 15 touchdowns.
• Stokes (Baltimore, Md.) finished with 62 tackles (46 solo), including 7.0 hits for a loss and a pair of fumble recoveries in 2019. He placed third on the team and 10th in the conference with eight passes defended (2 interceptions, 6 pass break-ups).
• Codrington (Raleigh, N.C.), named All-MEAC Third Team in 2019, finished among the conference leaders in both punt returns and kickoff returns. He ranked third in the MEAC with a punt return average of 7.8 yards, and averaged 18.8 yards per kickoff return. In the final minute of a tie game versus Delaware State (Oct. 26, 2019), Codrington returned a kickoff 75 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
• Mitchell (Millsboro, Del.) played in all 12 games on the offensive line in 2019, including 10 as a starter.
• Bullock (Accokeek, Md.) appeared in eight games as a rookie with four starts on the offensive front.
• Malit (Concord, N.C.) started all 12 games at defensive end in 2019, recording 26 tackles, including five for loss and 1.5 sacks. Earlier this year, he earned the Stats Perform FCS Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award, presented to a student-athlete who excels both in the classroom and in the community.
• Smith (Laurel Hill, N.C.) played in all 12 games during the 2019 campaign, including the final 11 as a starter in the defensive secondary. He ranked sixth on the team with 43 tackles (30 solo), along with 3.0 hits for a loss and three pass break-ups.
• Olivo (Plant City, Fla.) ranked fourth in MEAC in field goals made per game (0.83), field goal percentage (76.9%), and extra-point kick percentage (92.3%) in 2019. As the team's top scorer with 54 points, he made 10 of 13 field attempts and 24 of 26 extra-point kicks.

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 97 games, NCCU has scored 41 touchdowns on defense and special teams, including one this season, two in 2019, two in 2018, 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 15 punt returns, seven kickoff returns, three blocked field goal returns, 12 interceptions and four fumble recoveries. 

THREE NCCU EAGLES IN THE NFL
Three former NCCU Eagles are currently with NFL teams, including cornerback Ryan Smith and offensive lineman Nick Leverett, who earned Super Bowl rings as members of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past season. Smith is now a member of the Los Angeles Chargers, while Leverett remains with the Bucs. Bryan Mills, who was an all-American cornerback at NCCU in 2019, is now with the Cleveland Browns.

 ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS
• Twenty-four NCCU Eagles have already earned their undergraduate degrees, including 14 from NCCU and 10 graduate transfers: Barry Campbell, Quentin Chaplin, Jamal Currie-Elliott, Jorden Freeman, E.J. Hicks, Ryan McDaniel, Robert Mitchell, Justin Nicholson, Noah Rainbow-Douglas, Daeshawn Stephens, Matt Stevens, Stephen Stokes, Isaiah Totten, Cole Williams, Noah Ellison (Wagner), Kareem Gaulden (Southeast Missouri State), Isiah Macklin (San Diego State), Arin Mannery (Portland State), Marcus McDonald (UNC Pembroke), Chidi Okonya (Duke), Desmond Quinerly (Saint Augustine's), Bruce Trigg (Morgan State), Tre Turner (Eastern Kentucky), Colby Warrior (Morgan State). 
• NCCU defensive lineman Chuck Manning was announced as a University Scholar-Athlete Award recipient by The National Football Foundation's Bill Dooley Chapter on June 28. A native of Durham, North Carolina, Manning played in all 23 games in his first two seasons at N.C. Central. During the Eagles' last season of competition in 2019, he collected 20 tackles, including 4.0 stops for loss with 2.0 sacks. The Riverside High School product currently boasts at 3.925 overall grade point average and is on track to graduate in December with a degree in mass communication.
• When wide receiver Daeshawn Stephens earned his bachelor's degree from NCCU in May 2020, he received distinction with the highest cumulative grade point average (3.848) among graduates in the mass communication department. In 2019, Stephens finished second on the team with 28 receptions for 354 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 12.6 yards per catch.
• Sixteen of the Eagles who started in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge currently boast a 3.0 grade-point average (GPA) or better, including both game MVPs, all four running backs, the top three receivers, and six of the eight leading tacklers in NCCU's 23-14 win over Alcorn State, as seen live on ESPN by more than one million viewers.

COMMUNITY SERVICE LEADERS
Two NCCU Eagles have earned national recognition for their community service efforts:
• Jessie Malit won the 2020-21 STATS Perform FCS Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award, presented to the nation's top FCS student-athlete who excels both in the classroom and in the community and was named to the 2021 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. Malit spearheaded the NCCU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's E.A.G.L.E.S. (Educated Actions Generate Lifelong Empowerment & Success) Vote initiative in October 2020, including a campus-wide March to the Polls event (289 out of a possible 315 eligible student-athletes registered to vote [92%], including 100% of the football team), organized a book drive to create a library in his mother's home village in Kenya (currently has collected more than 400 books with a goal of 1,000), volunteered at a battered women's shelter, led his church youth group in providing food and shelter for homeless men, volunteered at the Food Bank of North Carolina, and has advocated for support for poverty issues including housing, food security and quality education. The SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) Vice President at NCCU, he owns a 3.305 overall grade point average while pursuing a bachelor's degree in political science with a concentration in pre-law and theory, and is on track to graduate in December 2021, with plans to attend graduate school to study public policy.
• Stephen Stokes was one of only 22 college football players in the nation to earn distinguished recognition as a member of the 2020 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, announced by Allstate and the American Football Coaches Association on Sept. 23, 2020. Among his many community service efforts, Stokes has volunteered with the Project BUILD Gang Intervention Program in Durham, N.C., working one-on-one with local youth who are at high risk of gang involvement. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he helped in his hometown by creating at-home workout videos for the Police Athletic League Center website and speaking to students at his alma mater, Parkville High School, about the importance of higher education. Stokes is also active with the Big Brother Program at R.N. Harris Elementary School in Durham. He graduated from NCCU in May 2020, achieving a 3.15 cumulative grade point average as a criminal justice major with a concentration in homeland security. He is currently pursuing a second undergraduate degree in psychology.

ABOUT NCCU FOOTBALL
• North Carolina Central University is in its 10th season of full NCAA Division I (FCS) athletics competition as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. 
• The Eagles have won 11 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, 2016), and have made three appearances in the NCAA Division II 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 146 all-conference selections (first team), 70 all-Americans, 41 NFL draft picks, 11 conference championships and two Black College National Championships (1954, 2006).
• Three 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 third Eagle to play in the Super Bowl was Ryan Smith with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Feb. 7, 2021, as Smith became the first NCCU Eagle to play in a Super Bowl victory.
• 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.