GAME NOTES: No. 19 VMI @ Samford (3.20.21)
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Southern Conference's top offensive and defensive units will face off on Saturday, March 20, as the Bulldogs (2-2, 2-2 SoCon) of Samford University welcome the No. 19 Keydets (3-0, 3-0 SoCon) of Virginia Military Institute to Seibert Stadium. Kickoff is set for Noon and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Curt Bloom, Cole Cubelic and Blake Gardner will have the call. Samford enters the week leading the league in scoring (36.5) and total offense (454.5) while VMI is tops in scoring defense (11.3).   

The Bulldogs and Keydets are meeting for the 8th time in the series with Samford holding a 6-1 advantage in the standings. The two teams last met on Oct. 12, 2019, with VMI rallying for a 48-41 overtime victory in Lexington, Va.  

Samford rallied for a thrilling, 37-31, victory over No. 20 Wofford last Saturday at Seibert Stadium. Liam Welch passed for 359 yards with Ty King grabbing seven passes for a career-high 178 yards and a TD. Chris Edmonds finished with eight tackles and his league-leading 4th interception. 

No. 19 VMI (3-0, 3-0 SoCon) remained unbeaten in SoCon play with a dominating 41-14 victory over Mercer. The Keydets held the Bears to 170 yards of total offense while racking up 470 of their own. Reece Udinski completed 26-of-36 passes for 242 yards and a score to lead VMI. 

Chris Edmonds and Mitchell Fineran captured SoCon weekly honors on Monday for their performances versus No. 20 Wofford. Edmonds, a sophomore safety from Crestview, Fla., was named the Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after recording 8.0 tackles, 1.0 TFL, and an INT. Fineran was named Special Team Player of the Week after going 3-for-3 on FGs and 4-of-4 on PATs.
 

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SERIES NOTEBOOK: VMI

• Samford welcomes the Keydets of Virginia Military Institute to Seibert Stadium on Saturday, March 20, as the two schools meet for the 8th time on the gridiron. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 6-1 and 3-0 at home, including a 4-1 mark under coach Chris Hatcher. 
• The two teams last met on Oct. 12, 2019, with the Keydets pulling off a 48-41 overtime victory in Lexington, Va. Reece Udinski passed for 390 yards while Alex Ramsey rushed for 163 yards and six touchdowns in the win for VMI. Chris Oladokun, who completed 31-of-45 passes, finished with 294 yards passing and three touchdowns with Montrell Washington grabbing eight passes for 96 yards and a score.  
• VMI remained unbeaten in SoCon play with a dominating 41-14 victory over Mercer. The Keydets held the Bears to 170 yards of total offense while racking up 470 of their own. Reece Udinski completed 26-of-36 passes for 242 yards and a score to lead VMI. 
• The Keydets enter Saturday's game leading the SoCon in scoring defense (11.3) and sacks (16). VMI is second in the league in total defense, allowing just 261.3 yards per game.
• Reece Udinski has completed 84-of-115 passes for 734 yards with four TDs and one INT. He is averaging 244.7 yards per game, ranking 2nd in the league. The 6-4 senior from North Wales, Penn., was named the SoCon Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.
• Connor Riddle leads the Keydets with 28 tackles, averaging 9.3 stops per game, while Stone Snyder leads the team with 4.0 sacks.

 

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SAMFORD AMONG NCAA'S BEST
The Bulldogs enter Saturday's game with VMI ranked 7th in scoring offense (36.5) and 9th in total offense (454.5) in NCAA FCS. Montrell Washington has continued to be a thorn in the side of special teams coordinators, ranking No. 1 nationally in punt return yardage (183) and No. 3 in yards per return (15.2). Quarterback Liam Welch is 6th nationally with 307.3 yards passing per game with Chris Edmonds ranked 3rd in interceptions per game (1.0). Mitchell Fineran currently sits 13th in field goals per game (1.75) and 14th in scoring (9.5) while A.J. Toney is 21st in receptions (6.2).  

EDMONDS DEMANDING ATTENTION
Sophomore safety Chris Edmonds (6-2, 205) has started the spring season in remarkable fashion. The Columbus, Ga., native leads the SoCon and ranks 3rd nationally with four interceptions, returning one for a touchdown. He has totaled 25 tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss and forced two fumbles in addition to his four interceptions through the Bulldogs' four games.    

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 33.6 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.  Terry Bowden (1987-1992) averaged 27.92 points per game during his tenure while Bill Gray (2001-06 / 25.68) and Pat Sullivan (2007-14 / 25.50) round out the top five. 

BETTER TOGETHER
The Samford defense has made great strides in the first four games of the season, featuring six Bulldogs with 20+ tackles. Ty Herring leads the unit with 33 stops followed by Nathan East (27), Chris Edmonds (25), Noah Martin (25), Thomas Neville (24) and Josh Long (23). All six Bulldogs rank in the top 25 in the SoCon in tackles per game, including Herring at No. 8 overall in the league.

SAMFORD WELCOMES BACK BRADBERRY & PIERCE
NFL standouts James Bradberry (CB / New York Giants) and Michael Pierce (DT / Minnesota Vikings) returned to campus on Saturday, March 13 to cheer on their alma mater in a 37-31 victory over No. 20 Wofford. Bradberry (L) turned in an All-Pro season for the Giants, making 54 tackles with three interceptions. He also led the league in fewest catches allowed by a corner. Pierce (R) sat out the 2020 campaign due to COVID-19, but is set to return to the Vikings defensive front.  

EDMONDS & FINERAN GRAB SOCON HONORS
Chris Edmonds captured his second-straight SoCon Defensive Player of the Week honor while Mitchell Fineran was named the Special Teams Player of the Week after the pair led Samford to a 37-31 win over No. 20 Wofford. Edmonds closed out the day with eight tackles, an interception and a forced fumble with Fineran finishing 3-for-3 on field goal attempts and 4-for-4 on PATs. 

WELCH & KING HAVE CAREER DAYS 
Graduate quarterback Liam Welch (6-3, 205) and sophomore wide out Ty King (6-0, 170) turned in career best performances in Saturday's 37-31 win over No. 20 Wofford. Welch passed for 359 yards and a touchdown while completing 24-of-36 attempts. King was the primary beneficiary of Welch's accuracy on Saturday, grabbing seven passes for a career-high 178 yards and a TD. 

SPREADING THE BALL AROUND
A total of 12 different Samford players have caught passes through Samford's first four games of the 2021 spring season. A.J. Toney leads the group with 25 catches for 251 yards and a touchdown. Ty King has 21 grabs for a team-leading 392 yards and two scores. Michael Vice is third with 12 receptions for 148 yards.  

PUTTING UP POINTS
Over the last five-plus seasons under head coach Chris Hatcher, the Samford offense has scored at least 30 points 33 times. The unit has put up at least 40 points 18 times, and at least 50 points a total of nine times. 

QUICK STRIKES
Samford had five scoring drives take two minutes or less, and one of those drives took less than a minute in last week's 37-31 win over No. 20 Wofford. In five-plus seasons under head coach Chris Hatcher, Samford has made a habit of quick scoring drives. In Hatcher's time, the Bulldogs has had 124 scoring drives of two minutes or less and 55 that have lasted one minute or less.

SOCON LEADERS
After the first four weeks of the spring season, as a team, Samford leads the Southern Conference in scoring offense, averaging 36.5 points per game, and total offense (454.5). Individually, a few players rank at the top of the league as well. Liam Welch is tops in the league in passing yards per game (307.7), total offense (358.8) and QB Efficiency (164.2). A.J. Toney leads the conference in receptions (25) while Ty King is tops in receiving yards (392) and all-purpose yards (200.0). Mitchell Fineran leads the league in scoring (9.5 ppg), field goals (7) and PATs (17). Chris Edmonds is the league-leader in interceptions (4) with Nelson Jordan tied for the league lead with 6.0 tackles-for-loss.   

MR. CLUTCH: MITCHELL FINERAN
Mitchell Fineran has been Mr. Clutch for the Bulldogs, making 7-of-8 field goals and 17-of-18 PATs this season. The 5-10 sophomore from Fort Valley, Ga., was 3-for-3 on field goals, including a 41-yard effort in Saturday's win over No. 20 Wofford. He enters the week ranked No. 13 nationally in field goals per game (1.75) and 14th in scoring (9.5) per game.  

WASHINGTON REMAINS NCAA'S BEST
Samford senior Montrell Washington, a preseason All-American by HERO Sports and Athlon, has continues to be a thorn in the side of special teams coordinators, ranking No. 1 nationally in punt return yardage and No. 3 in yards per return. He has returned 12 punts for 183 yards including a 55-yard touchdown at No. 17 Furman earlier this year. 

SAMFORD AGAINST VIRGINIA TEAMS
Samford has an all-time record of 13-11 against teams from the state of Virginia, including a 6-1 record against Saturday's opponent, VMI. Samford has played the following Virginia teams: Emory and Henry (1-4), Ferrum (1-0), Hampden-Sydney (1-3), James Madison (1-0), Liberty (2-2), VMI (6-1), Washington and Lee (0-1) and William and Mary (1-0).

AGAINST SOUTHERN CONFERENCE TEAMS
Now in its 13th season as a member of the Southern Conference, Samford has a record of 54-44 in league games. Last season, the Bulldogs went 4-4 in league contests. Against the current members of the Southern Conference, Samford has an all-time record of 78-71-4. The Bulldogs are 6-1 all-time against Saturday's opponent, VMI.

EAST, NEVILLE & CHEEKS SLOW DOWN TERRIERS
Nathan East, Thomas Neville and Trimarcus Cheeks played a major role in Samford's 37-31 win over No. 20 Wofford last week, combining for 28 tackles, 4.0 tackles-for-loss, and a sack. East and Neville finished with 10 tackles each while Cheeks had eight stops, 2.5 TFL, and a sack.  

HIDDEN YARDAGE
Preseason All-SoCON punter Bradley Porcellato has not disappointed out of the gate, averaging 40.8 yards per punt. He currently ranks No. 23 in the country. He punted four times for 178 yards, averaging 44.8 yards per punt with a long of 60, in the win over No. 20 Wofford. 

FORCING THE ISSUE
Samford enters this week's contest with VMI leading the SoCon in turnover margin (+3). Through four games, the Bulldogs have forced three fumbles and intercepted six passes.   

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.