THE GAME
Delaware State University "Hornets" vs. North Carolina Central University "Eagles"

THE KICKOFF
Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021 – Kickoff at 2:00 p.m.

THE SITE
O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium (10.000 capacity/Mondoturf) - Durham, N.C.

THE RECORDS
N.C. Central (5-5 overall, 3-1 MEAC); Delaware State (5-5, 2-2 MEAC)

MEDIA COVERAGE
TV/Video: ESPN+ (Jonathan Duren, play-by-play)

QUICK HITS
• NCCU celebrates Senior Day by honoring 13 seniors prior to Saturday's game.
• With a win over Delaware State and a Norfolk State victory over S.C. State, NCCU would earn a share of the MEAC Championship. It would be the Eagles first conference title since 2016. It would also be NCCU's first winning season since posting a 7-4 record in 2017.
• NCCU is coming off back-to-back wins for the first time this season. A win this weekend over the Hornets would give the Eagles their first three-game win streak since 2017.
• Delaware State is tied as the NCAA Division I-FCS leader with eight blocked kicks.
• The Hornets rank ninth in the NCAA Division I-FCS with a MEAC-high 13 interceptions. DSU also ranks 18th nationally in turnover margin and 19th in time of possession. 
• NCCU leads the series against Delaware State, 19-7. The Eagles have won 10 of the last 12 contests against the Hornets.
• Delaware State's last gridiron victory in Durham was in 1977. The Hornets are 0-6 in the Bull City since then.
• NCCU sophomore Davius Richard needs 17 passing yards to become just the second quarterback in NCCU history to record 2,000 passing yards in consecutive seasons, joining NCCU hall of famer Earl Harvey (1985-88). Richard threw for 2,020 yards in 2019, and stands at 1,983 yards entering Saturday's season finale. Richard's 4,003 career passing yards ranks eighth at NCCU.
• NCCU senior receiver Ryan McDaniel remains atop the MEAC in receptions with 51 (5.1 avg./42nd in FCS) and ranks second in receiving yards with 669 (50th in FCS). McDaniel's 51 catches is tied for ninth on NCCU's single-season list. Only three Eagles have ever registered 60 or more receptions in a season (Torey Ross, 69, 2005; Robert Clark, 67, 1985; Jacen Murphy, 60, 2017).
• NCCU sophomore Brandon Codrington ranks third in the nation in punt returns with a MEAC-high average return of 15.9 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, 2019), he returned a kickoff 75 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
• NCCU sophomore kicker Adrian Olivo is 11-for-12 on the season, the most made field goals in the MEAC and third-highest field-goal percentage (91.7%) in FCS.
• The linebacker duo of Noah Rainbow-Douglas (78 tackles) and Cole Williams (76 tackles) are the top two tacklers in the MEAC.
• Sophomore running back Latrell "Mookie" Collier leads NCCU with seven touchdowns (5 rushing/2 receiving) this season. The West Virginia native also led the Eagles in 2019 in touchdowns scored with five trips to the end zone (3 rushing/2 receiving).
• NCCU tops the MEAC in both red-zone scoring offense (11th FCS) and red-zone scoring defense (28th FCS), posting points on 27 of 30 trips inside the 20-yard line (90.0%), while holding opponents to 32 of 43 (74.4%).
• 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 2,413 ground yards. Totten needs 64 yards to move to third.
• Davius Richard's 74-yard touchdown run versus S.C. State (Oct. 30, 2021) is the longest rush by an NCCU quarterback since Lawrence Fuller raced 74 yards against Morris Brown on Sept. 30, 2000.
• With 10 catches for 81 yards in the Eagles' outing versus Tennessee Tech (Oct. 9, 2021), 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. 
• 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.
• 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 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.

THE SERIES
This will be the 27th meeting in the series between the Eagles and the Hornets since the teams first played in 1945. NCCU leads the series against Delaware State, 19-7. The Eagles have won 10 of the last 12 contests with wins in 2017, 2016, 2015, 2012, 2011, 2004, 2003, 1996 and 1979, while DSU won 28-13 in 2018, and the 2010 meeting 29-7. NCCU owns an 11-3 advantage against the Hornets in Durham, with the Eagles winning the last six matchups in the Bull City. DSU's last win in Durham was in 1977.

NCCU vs. Delaware State Series Results:
10/26/2019 - NCCU 30, DSU 23 (Durham, N.C.)
10/27/2018 - DSU 28, NCCU 13 (Dover, Del.)
10/28/2017 - NCCU 42, DSU 14 (Durham, N.C.)
11/5/2016 - NCCU 38, DSU 19 (Dover, Del.)
11/7/2015 - NCCU 43, DSU 10 (Durham, N.C.)
11/3/2012 - NCCU 23, DSU 20 - 2OT (Durham, N.C.)
11/5/2011 - NCCU 14, DSU 7 (Dover, Del.)
11/6/2010 - DSU 29, NCCU 7 (Dover, Del.)
9/11/2004 - NCCU 26, DSU 23 (Dover, Del.)
9/20/2003 - NCCU 21, DSU 14 (Durham, N.C.)
9/21/1996 - NCCU 21, DSU 16 (Atlantic City, N.J.)
10/13/1979 - NCCU 31, DSU 26 (Durham, N.C.)
10/14/1978 - DSU 16, NCCU 13 (Dover, Del.)
10/15/1977 - DSU 23, NCCU 0 (Durham, N.C.)
10/16/1976 - NCCU 27, DSU 6 (Dover, Del.)
10/18/1975 - NCCU 16, DSU 14 (Durham, N.C.)
10/19/1974 - NCCU 7, DSU 0 (Dover, Del.)
10/13/1973 - NCCU 32, DSU 7 (Durham, N.C.)
10/14/1972 - DSU 14, NCCU 10 (Dover, Del.)
10/16/1971 - NCCU 34, DSU 3 (Durham, N.C.)
10/7/1950 - NCC 13, DSU 0 (Dover, Del.)
10/22/1949 - NCC 27, DSU 0 (Durham, N.C.)
9/25/1948 - NCC 14, DSU 0 (Dover, Del.)
9/27/1947 - DSU 7, NCC 0 (Durham, N.C.)
9/28/1946 - NCC 32, DSU 6 (Durham, N.C.)
9/29/1945 - DSU 13, NCC 12 (Durham, N.C.)

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.

Delaware State: Rod Milstead (Delaware State, 1992), a former DSU Hornet All-America offensive lineman and National Football League standout, is in his fourth season as head coach at his alma mater. This is his first collegiate head coach position. Milstead served as Delaware State's offensive line coach in 2014 and held the same position at North Carolina Central in 2013. Following his playing career with the Hornets, Milstead competed for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and the Washington Football Team.

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.

TWO NCCU EAGLES EARN MEAC WEEKLY AWARDS
North Carolina Central University freshman center Torricelli Simpkins III and sophomore kicker Adrian Olivo have captured MEAC football weekly awards for their performances during a 45-27 victory at Howard University, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference announced on Monday. Simpkins (6-3, 300, Fr., Charlotte, N.C.) has been selected as the MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Week after helping to pave the way for 530 yards of total offense (the most by NCCU vs. a MEAC foe since 2012), including 293 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns (the most by NCCU in more than 20 years). In 70 snaps, the center achieved the team's best overall grade of 88% with two pancake blocks, while not committing a penalty or surrendering a sack. Olivo (5-10, 160, So., Plant City, Fla.) has been named MEAC Specialist of the Week after contributing nine points to the NCCU victory by connecting on a 24-yard field goal and all six extra-point kicks. This is the third time this season Olivo has earn the conference's weekly award.

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 101 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.