GAME NOTES: Western Carolina @ Samford (2.27.21)
Complete weekly release with notes, stats, depth chart & more in PDF format
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - College football is back at
Seibert Stadium this Saturday, Feb. 27, as the
Bulldogs (0-1, 0-1 SoCon) of
Samford University host the
Catamounts (0-4, 0-1 SoCon) of
Western Carolina University. Kickoff is set for Noon and the game will be broadcast on
ESPN+.
SU is
68-28-7 in home openers
at
Seibert Stadium.
Samford dropped its season-opener, 24-17, to East Tennessee State at Greene Stadium in Johnson City. ETSU rushed for a game-high 134 yards, including 125 and two touchdowns by Quay Holmes. Samford quarterback Chris Oladokun completed 35-of-54 passes for 222 yards with a touchdown and a pair of interceptions. Trimarcus Cheeks led the Bulldogs defensively with eight tackles and a TFL.
The Catamounts slipped to 0-4 (0-1 SoCon) with a 35-7 loss at Furman on Saturday, Feb. 20. The Paladins amassed 533 yards of total offense including 320 yards rushing in the win. WCU totaled 109 yards.
Samford and Western Carolina are meeting for the 18th time on the gridiron this Saturday at Seibert Stadium. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 14-3, including a 6-2 mark under head coach Chris Hatcher.
The two teams last met on Nov. 13, 2019, with Samford coming away with a 31-13 victory over the Catamounts.
The Bulldogs entered the spring 2021 season picked to finish fifth in the Southern Conference in both the Preseason Coaches and Media Polls. Wofford was picked as the favorite to win the SoCon by the coaches, while the media tabbed Furman as their favorite. Western Carolina was picked last in both polls.
WASHINGTON NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN: Samford senior Montrell Washington has been selected as a preseason All-American as a punt returner by both HERO Sports and Athlon. Washington returned 15 punts during the 2019 season for an average of 21.9 yards per return. He returned one punt for a 59-yard touchdown late in the first quarter of the team's game at Western Carolina, turning the momentum and helping lead the Bulldogs to a 31-13 win.
DEFENSE SHOWS IMPROVEMENTS: During Saturday's game at ETSU,. the Samford defense forced two turnovers and produced six sacks, a major improvement from last season. During the 12 games of the 2019 season, the Samford defense produced 16 sacks and just 11 turnovers.
SPREADING THE BALL AROUND: A total of 11 different Samford players caught passes during last week's season opener at ETSU. A.J. Toney led the group with eight catches for 78 yards, while Ty King had six catches for 33 yards and Dakota Chapman hauled in five passes for 34 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Chris Oladokun even caught one pass for nine yards.
CHAPMAN PRODUCES IN DEBUT: Dakota Chapman, a graduate transfer from Jacksonville State, made some big plays in his Samford debut last Saturday at ETSU. On the opening drive of the game, Chapman hauled in a five-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Chris Oladokun to give Samford the early lead. For the game, Chapman caught five passes for 34 yards and the one score.
SAMFORD AT SEIBERT STADIUM: Samford has an all-time record of 170-80-4 in games played at Seibert Stadium. This season, Samford has four home games on its schedule, with Saturday's game marking the first of those contests. Last season, Samford posted a record of 3-2 in home games. In the last eight-plus years, Samford has a combined record of 37-12 when playing in the friendly confines of Seibert Stadium. In five seasons under head coach Chris Hatcher, Samford has a record of 20-7 when playing at home.
SAMFORD WELCOMES SEVERAL NEW COACHES: The Samford football coaching staff received a major overhaul in the offseason. The defensive side saw the most changes, with Nick Benedetto coming in as the new defensive coordinator. Additionally Kevin Corless was hired as the team's linebackers coach and Alex Garcia will coach the team's defensive tackles. Offensively, Mitch Stewart will serve as the team's offensive coordinator, coaching the wide receivers, while Mack Helms will coach the team's offensive tackles.
SOCON LEADERS: After the first week of the spring season, as a team, Samford leads the Southern Conference in a few statistical categories. The Bulldogs lead the league in passing offense (231.0 ypg.), kickoff returns (28.8 ypr.) and kickoff coverage (41.8 net avg.), and the team is tied for the SoCon lead in fourth-down conversions (2-for-2), and red-zone offense (3-for-3).
Individually, a few players rank at the top of the league as well. Chris Oladokun leads the SoCon in passing yards per game (222.0) and total offense per game (239.0). A.J. Toney leads the conference in receptions per game (8.0), while Ty King is the league-leader in kickoff return average (28.8 ypr.). Chris Edmonds and Joshua Carter are both tied for the lead in fumble recoveries per game (1.0).
JORDAN HAS BIG DAY: Defensive lineman Nelson Jordan got his season off to a hot start, individually last Saturday. The junior registered 3.0 sacks, 4.0 tackles for loss, one pass break up and one quarterback hurry to go along with his six total tackles in last Saturday's game at ETSU.
EDMONDS COMES UP BIG: On ETSU's first offensive drive last Saturday, Samford sophomore safety Chris Edmonds came up with a big play, forcing a fumble and rocovering it to end the threat. For the game, Edmonds finished with six total tackles, including four solo stops.
PUTTING UP POINTS: Over the last five-plus seasons under head coach Chris Hatcher, the Samford offense has scored at least 30 points 30 times. The unit has put up at least 40 points 17 times, and at least 50 points a total of eight times.
SAMFORD AGAINST NORTH CAROLINA TEAMS: Samford has an all-time record of 37-21 against teams from the state of North Carolina, including a 14-3 record against this week's opponent, Western Carolina.
AGAINST SOUTHERN CONFERENCE TEAMS: Now in its 13th season as a member of the Southern Conference, Samford has a record of 52-43 in league games. Last season, Samford went 4-4 in league contests..
WASHINGTON NAMED WINNER OF CHARLES WILLIAMS MEMORIAL JERSEY: Senior Montrell Washington has been named the 16th recipient of the Charles Williams Memorial Jersey. The jersey, the No. 5, is given each year to a senior leader. The jersey honors former Samford player Charles Williams, who died in a car accident on May 23, 2003.
CHARLES WILLIAMS MEMORIAL JERSEY RECIPIENTS
2005 Ossie Buchannon
2006 T.C. Myers
2007 Jay McCurty
2008 Rodney Shepherd
2009 Jon Weber
2010 Bryce Smith
2011 Sean Thompson
2012 Ryan Dudchock
2013 Justin Shade
2014 Brinson Porter
2015 Carson Barnett
2016 Devon Schmitt
2017 Shaheed Salmon
2018 Tyler Queen
2019 Nick Barton
2021 Montrell Washington
HATCHER'S OFFENSES PRODUCE: Through his first five seasons, Samford head coach Chris Hatcher's offenses have averaged more points than under any other head coach in program history. Entering the season, Hatcher's teams have averaged 33.31 points per game, ahead of Bobby Bowden's 28.57 average. The average is also the highest in the SoCon during the last five seasons. Below is a list of the top five head coaches in points per game in school history.
Samford Coaches Ranked By Points PG
1. Chris Hatcher (2015-Pres.) 33.31
2. Bobby Bowden (1959-62) 28.57
3. Terry Bowden (1987-92) 27.92
4. Bill Gray (2001-06) 25.68
5. Pat Sullivan (2007-14) 25.50
OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION RETURNING: Samford returns its top five rushers and five of its top seven receivers from a year ago. Jay Stanton led the team in rushing in 2019, rushing for 690 yards and seven touchdowns as a true freshman. While two of the top receivers (Robert Adams and Chris Shelling) are gone, Montrell Washington, Kendall Watson, A.J. Toney, Jai'Rus Creamer and Stanton all return after solid receiving seasons.
AMONG THE NATION'S BEST: The Samford football team ranked in the top 10 nationally among FCS programs in four categories during the 2019 season. The Bulldogs led the nation in punt returns, averaging 19.4 yards per return. The team ranked second nationally in fewest penalties per game (3.58), third in fewest penalty yards per game (34.0) and seventh in 4th-down conversions (67.6%).
EIGHT BULLDOGS NAMED ALL-SOCON PRESEASON; SAMFORD PICKED TO FINISH FIFTH: The Samford football team had eight players named to nine different spots on the Southern Conference's preseason All-Conference teams, voted on by the coaches and released by the league Wednesday afternoon. Montrell Washington was named first team All-SoCon as both a wide receiver and as a return specialist. Offensive lineman Mike Williams, defensive lineman Armond Lloyd and place-kicker Mitchell Fineran all joined Washington on the first team. Samford's second team All-SoCon selections were running back Jay Stanton, linebacker Nathan East, defensive back Ty Herring and punter Bradley Porcellato.
The SoCon also released its preseason polls, with Samford being picked fifth by both the coaches and the media. Wofford was picked as the favorite to win the SoCon by the coaches, while the media tabbed Furman as their favorite.
In the Coaches Poll, Wofford was followed by Furman, Chattanooga, The Citadel, Samford, VMI, Mercer, ETSU and Western Carolina. Furman was followed in the media poll by Wofford, Chattanooga, The Citadel, Samford, Mercer, VMI, ETSU and Western Carolina.
SOCON PRESEASON COACHES POLL
Team (1st-place votes) Total
1. Wofford (5) 60
2. Furman (3) 56
3. Chattanooga (1) 53
4. The Citadel 39
5. Samford 34
t6. VMI 26
t6. Mercer 26
8. ETSU 20
9. Western Carolina 10
SOCON PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
Team (1st-place votes) Total
1. Furman (16) 246
2. Wofford (10) 228
3. Chattanooga 192
4. The Citadel (3) 164
5. Samford 142
6. Mercer 118
7. VMI 91
8. ETSU 75
9. Western Carolina 49
