Phil Steele Preseason All-MEAC Team / philsteele.com
BALTIMORE, Md. (July 24, 2020) -- The Morgan State football team has placed five student-athletes on the 2020 Phil Steele Preseason All-MEAC Team.
The Blue & Orange selections included one first-team pick, one second-team pick and three third-team selections.
Junior placekicker Nicholas O'Shea was the lone first-team selection for the Bears. Senior Donte Small was named second-team defensive back. The third-team picks were senior offensive line Bruce Trigg, senior defensive lineman Merinio Dendoe and redshirt senior linebacker Kalen Jennings.
A year ago O'Shea was named to the 2019 Phil Steele All-MEAC Third Team. He started in 12 games and ranked 2nd in the league in field goals (13-18) and field goal percentage (72%). He also converted 20 of 25 point after attempts and ranked 5th in the league in scoring kicks (59 pts). As a punter, he averaged 35.8 yards on 58 punts (ranked No. 7 in MEAC) and had 13 punts downed inside the 20, along with three punts of 50+ yards
Small was sidelined due to injury last season. He started all eleven games in 2018 as a sophomore and led the league with four interceptions a season ago. He collected three of his picks at UAlbany (Sept. 15), including one he returned 45 yards for a touchdown. Small, an All-MEAC First Team selection, ranked T-No. 7 in the nation in passes defended (15) and ranked fifth on the team with 31 tackles (28 solo) from his cornerback position. He was also named to the 2018 ECAC FCS Football All-Star Second Team.
Returning to lead the Bears in the trenches is redshirt senior Bruce Trigg, who was a mainstay at left tackle for the Bears last season. He was a pivotal part of an offensive line that helped the Bears produce over 3,700 yards of total offense, including over 1,400 on the ground a season ago.
Dendoe saw action in 10 games and is expected to continue to wreak havoc when the Bears return to the field. He recorded 28 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in his first season at Morgan. He also had five QB hurries and blocked a kick.
Jennings transferred to the Bears from Iowa Western C.C. in 2019. The 6-3, 230-pound linebacker is expected to help fill a significant void as a result of the departure of All-MEAC linebackers Rico Kennedy and Ian McBorrough.
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The Council of Presidents and Chancellors of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) announced that the league will suspend all sports competition, championship and non-championship segments, for the 2020 fall season, as a result of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. A decision is yet to be made on whether fall sports schedules will be moved to the 2021 spring semester.
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Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified doctoral research institution offering more than 100 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
