BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford football team opens its season tomorrow night as they take on North Alabama in Huntsville. The two sides meet at Joe Davis Stadium at 6 p.m. as they face off for the 14th time in history, with UNA holding a 6-5-2 series lead.

The John Grass era officially begins for the Bulldogs as he leads his squad for the first time. He returns to the state of Alabama after spending eight seasons as the head coach at Jacksonville State and will look to turn around a Samford team that went 1-11 last season. 

Six potential starters return on the offensive side of the ball for the Bulldogs while just three return on the defensive side. Samford was picked to finish eighth in the SoCon Preseason Coaches Poll and had four players named to the Preseason All-SoCon teams. Wide receiver Preston Bird was named to the first team, while offensive lineman Noah Watts, safety Jalen Nelson, and long-snapper Aidan Barr made the second team. Bird finished second on the team last year in catches (53), yards (617), and touchdowns (4).

North Alabama is coming off a 2-10 year where they went 1-7 in the United Athletic Conference. The Lions were a run-heavy team last year, rushing for nearly 2,000 total yards and averaging 166 yards per game. When the two sides last met, the Bulldogs came away with a 24-21 double-overtime victory in Homewood in 2002. Samford has a 50-55-4 record all-time in season openers. The Dogs are 1-5 when they have started their season at a neutral site, last in 2019 when they fell to Youngstown State. 

Samford's starting quarterback will be a game-time decision between Gabarri Johnson, Charlie Gilliam, and Coulter Cleland. Gilliam appeared in five games for Samford last season, while Johnson came from Oregon State and Cleland came from Davidson. 

Saturday will mark the first-ever college football game to take place inside Joe Davis Stadium, which was built in 1985 and served as the longtime home of the Huntsville Stars minor league baseball team before renovating into the pro soccer stadium for Huntsville City FC.

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