BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University football team will be on the road again this Saturday, squaring off against in-state foe Campbell in a return to non-conference action.

Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. in Barker-Lane Stadium, and the game will air live on FloFootball.

Series History: This will be the third meeting all-time between the Eagles and the Camels, with the series tied 1-1. Each team has been victorious on its home field; N.C. Central won 49-48 in overtime last season

Last Time Out: N.C. Central (3-2, 1-0 MEAC) picked up its first conference win of the season, defeating Norfolk State 37-10 in the Circle City Classic behind four touchdown passes from quarterback Walker Harris and a defensive effort that held the Spartans to 244 yards of total offense and 85 yards through the air.

Campbell (2-3, 0-2 CAA) snapped a two-game skid with a 44-41 win over Delaware State. The Hornets led in the closing minutes, but Chad Mascoe found Sincere Brown from two yards out with 42 seconds left to clinch the win. Mascoe threw three touchdown passes for the Camels, all to Brown, who recorded 133 receiving yards on just five catches.

Non-Conference Success: N.C. Central is 16-12 in non-conference games under Oliver. Over the last two-plus seasons, the Eagles are 14-4--which includes wins over three top 25 teams (No. 25 Elon [2023], No. 25 New Hampshire [2022], and No. 5 Jackson State [2022]).

This season, the Eagles will play three teams from the CAA in non-conference action, one from the ACC and a SWAC opponent.

Walking with Walker: Quarterback Walker Harris has been named MEAC Offensive Player of the Week twice: once for his performance against North Carolina A&T, when he had 272 yards passing with three touchdowns passing and one score rushing; the other was for his performance against Norfolk State, when he threw for 245 yards and four touchdowns. He is currently ranked 11th in FCS in passing touchdowns with nine, 16th in passing efficiency at 158.8 and points responsible for with 60. 

Taylor Made: N.C. Central has been known for producing some great running backs, and J'Mari Taylor is cut from the same fabric as the others. In the season opener, he had 24 carries for 128 yards and two touchdowns to go along with two catches for 18 yards and a touchdown. He finished with 146 all-purpose yards. Taylor has recorded 451 yards and seven touchdowns to average 90.2 yards per game. He has 12 receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown as well, and he has scored a touchdown running the ball in every game he has played in this season. Taylor leads the team and the MEAC in scoring with 48 points. He is currently fifth in NCAA FCS in total touchdowns with eight, sixth in the NCAA in rushing touchdowns with seven and eighth in scoring overall.  

Quick on the Uptake: In the last two games, Markell Quick has nine receptions for 243 yards and three touchdowns. Over that same span, he has two catches of 60 yards or more. In the win over North Carolina A&T, Quick had four catches for 119 yards and a touchdown, and against Norfolk State, he had five catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns. It marked his first 100-yard receiving game, and the first multi-touchdown game of his career. 

Eagles vs. The CAA: Since his arrival, head coach Trei Oliver holds a 4-3 mark against teams from the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA, formerly Colonial Athletic Association), with wins over North Carolina A&T, Campbell and Elon a year ago – and another win over the Aggies this season. The Eagles have hosted Elon and North Carolina A&T in 2024, and they travel to Campbell this weekend.

The Coaches: Trei Oliver (N.C. Central, 1998) is in his fifth season as a college head coach. With 24 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, Va., 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.

Braxton Harris, who previously spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons on staff at Campbell, returned to Buies Creek after spending 2023 as head coach at FCS Southland Conference member Houston Christian. At HCU, Harris coached the Huskies to their first winning season in program history in 2023, going 6-5 overall after inheriting a program that had won more than two games once in the previous six years. HCU also fashioned its first winning record in conference play, going 4-3 in the SLC and finishing fourth in the league after being picked last in the preseason poll. Additionally, linebacker Jalyx Hunt posted an All-America campaign (AFCA, Stats, Perform, Phil Steele), also earning SLC Defensive Player of the Year honors, headlining a group of five Huskies named to All-SLC teams. In his first stop at CU, Harris served as associate head coach and linebackers coach in addition to recruiting coordinator duties under Mike Minter, who resigned in December 2023 after 11 seasons.

NCCU the MEAC Favorite: The 2022 MEAC champion and HBCU national champion Eagles were selected as the preseason favorite to win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) for the second straight season.

Four Eagles made the preseason first team: Trevon Humphrey (OL), Jaden Taylor (DL), Kole Jones (DB) and Juan Velarde (P/K). Four more Eagles were on the second team list: J'Mari Taylor (RB), Joaquin Davis (WR), Ja'Quan Sprinkle (OL), and Max U'Ren (LB).

Nationally, NCCU is receiving votes in both the Stats Perform FCS and AFCA Coaches polls.

Youth Movement: Underclassmen have played a significant role with the Eagles during the first three games this season, and that shows just how much youth is on this team. There are 56 underclassmen on the roster (freshman or sophomore), and they continue to play snaps for the Eagles. Five games into the season, 40 of the 56 underclassmen have seen playing time.

A North Carolina State of Mind: NCCU's emphasis on recruiting talent in North Carolina is demonstrated with 63 Eagles calling the Tar Heel state their home out of the 110 student-athletes on the team's season-opening roster (63%).

A North Carolina State of Mind, Part Two: Oliver has made a point of playing schools from the state of North Carolina, and there are four on the schedule this year (Elon, North Carolina, North Carolina A&T and Campbell). There have been at least two teams from the Tar Heel State on the schedule each year since Oliver took over as head coach. 

Since 2011, the Eagles are 20-21 against teams from North Carolina and Oliver has an 8-6 advantage. The Eagles went 4-0 against teams from North Carolina just a year ago, and they are 6-3 over the last two-plus seasons. This season, the Eagles are 0-2 against in-state opponents with North Carolina A&T and Campbell left to play.

For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.