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GAME TIME
Morgan State (2-4) is set to welcome the Virginia University of Lynchburg Dragons (3-3) in a non-conference matchup at Hughes Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 11, with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. The game will also serve as Homecoming at Morgan State and mark the Bears' final non-conference contest before entering Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play.

Fans can catch all the action live on ESPN+, or listen via WEAA 88.9 FM and HSRN.com.

GAME COVERAGE
ESPN+ (online) Click Here |  will air the game live. Phil Schoener will call the play-by-play with color analyst Emory "The Czar of the Playbook" Hunt.  

RADIO: WEAA, 88.9 FM is the flagship station for the Morgan State Bears ... Lamont Germany will call the play-by-play with Renard Stubbs in the booth. The game will be broadcast live on 88.9 FM and streamed on WEAA.org, HSRN.com, and SiriusXM 386 and 988 on the SiriusXMmobile app. 

LIVE STATS: www.morganstatebears.com - here

THE COACHES
• Damon Wilson enters his 4th season as Morgan's head coach. He previously spent 13 seasons as the head coach at Bowie State University, where he achieved three straight Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) conference championships.

• Tim Newman enters his second season as head coach/athletics director/offensive coordinator of Virginia Lynchburg football. He also had head coaching jobs at Barber-Scotia College and Louisburg College.

QUICK HITS
• The 2025 Morgan State Bears are under the leadership of fourth-year head coach Damon Wilson. Wilson, the 24th coach in school history, previously served 13 seasons as the head football coach at Bowie State. There, he achieved three straight Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) conference championships in 2021, 2019, and 2018; five NCAA playoff berths; and three CIAA Coach of the Year honors.

• QB Kobe Muasau emerged from fall camp, beating out four other quarterbacks to earn the Bears' starting signal-caller role for the season. Muasau, from Honolulu, Hawaii, spent most of last season on the sidelines before making his lone appearance in the 2024 finale. He earned the start against Beltway rival Howard on November 23 at Hughes Stadium, guiding the Bears to a 35–21 victory. Muasau has completed 76 of 117 passes for 824 yards, including three interceptions and four touchdowns.

• RB Jason Collins Jr. was named the MEAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Collins Jr. made an immediate impact in his debut season, rushing for 634 yards and eight touchdowns on 114 carries to earn 2024 MEAC Rookie of the Year honors. His breakout performance came against Delaware State, where he totaled 152 rushing yards on 24 carries. He leads the Bears with 322 yards on 82 carries and has scored 5 TDs so far this season.

• Returning as the Bears' leading receiver for the 2025 season is Malique Leatherbury, a promising talent looking to build upon his previous year's experience. In 2024, he appeared in 12 games and had a stat line of 29 receptions for 250 yards. He was also one of the premier return specialists in FCS football. He earned him a spot on the All-MEAC Second Team, largely fueled by his remarkable 17.9-yard average per punt return, which ranked second-best in the entire FCS. He currently leads the team with 15 receptions for 167 yards, including two touchdowns.

• Morgan has several offensive linemen as they enter the 2025 season ... The Bears have 19 OL listed on the roster and will be led by veteran center Preseason All-MEAC Second Team Daniel Casillas Jr. (6-3, 315).

• LB Erick Hunter is on the official watch list for the 2025 Buck Buchanan Award Preseason Watch List.  Despite missing most of the 2024 season, he made a strong comeback in the final two games, ending the year with a standout performance against Howard that included seven tackles and one sack. Hunter, who currently leads the MEAC in tackles, ranks fourth on Morgan State's all-time tackles list with 247, has already proven himself as one of the top defenders in the FCS. 

A GLANCE AT THE DRAGONS
•  Virginia-Lynchburg finished the 2024 season with an overall mark of 2-6 with wins against Atlantis University of Miami (W, 45-0) and over S.C. Central Christian College (W, 64-6). 

•  VUL, a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association, is a private, faith-based HBCU in Lynchburg, Virginia.

•  Head coach  Tim Newman's football journey took off as an electrifying athlete at Olympic High School. The multisport athlete is a Charlotte, North Carolina. He was a dominant RB at Johnson C. Smith University, where he secured three consecutive selections for the CIAA All-Conference recognition and unanimously claimed the offensive MVP title for three consecutive years with the Golden Bulls.

•  Virginia University of Lynchburg enters Saturday's contest riding a two-game winning streak, coming off a dominant 55–12 Homecoming victory over S.C. Central Christian College, and a thrilling 43–42 win against Bluefield State.

•  The Dragons' offense is led by quarterback Max Zalava. The 5-foot-9, 175-pound signal-caller completed 19 of 31 passes for 259 yards, including five touchdowns, in the win against Bluefield State.

•  RB Tim Newman Jr. (5-10, 200) is the head coach's son and was a transfer from Johnson C. Smith.  

KNOW THY OPPONENT
• Notable alumni:  Kevin Scott '94 - Microsoft CTO; Setsuko Thurlow '55 - Accepted Nobel Peace Prize for nuclear disarmament movement; Joan Foster - Eight-year mayor of Lynchburg, Virginia; Jim Bibby '77 - former MLB pitcher; Bob Duff - Connecticut Senate Majority Leader; Emily Brown '02 - USA Today director of platform storytelling.

A LOOK AHEAD
Morgan will travel to face the Howard Bison in their conference opener on Saturday, Oct. 25. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at Greene Stadium in the Nation's Capital.

PRESEASON PICKED THIRD 
Morgan State was picked to finish third (3rd) in the MEAC standings, according to the poll of the conference head coaches and sports information directors. Returning MEAC champion South Carolina State has been picked to win the MEAC Football Championship as the Bulldogs topped the league's annual preseason poll for 2024. North Carolina Central was tabbed to place 2nd.

BEARS OPEN 50th SEASON IN MEAC
The Bears will open their 50th season in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) when they travel to face Howard for the conference opener on Oct. 25.
• The Bears opened the 2024 MEAC schedule with a 16-7 loss at North Carolina Central (Oct. 26) at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium.
• The Bears kicked off their first season in the MEAC in 1971. Morgan State withdrew from the conference at the end of the 1979-80 fiscal year, before returning to the MEAC in 1984.

PRESEASON ALL-MEAC PLAYERS
The Bears made a clean sweep of the conference's top individual honors, with standout LB Erick Hunter earning the prestigious title of Preseason MEAC Defensive Player of the Year, and RB Jason Collins Jr. securing the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year nod at the 2025 MEAC Football Press Luncheon in Baltimore, Md. Eleven (11) Bears were named to the MEAC preseason team: DL Dashawn Fields, LB Erick Hunter, DB Jadon Carter, RS Malique Leatherbury, PK Sahr Gbundema, and P Shane Messenger were first-team selections. RB Jason Collins Jr., WR Malique Leatherbury, C Daniel Casillas Jr., OL Kahari Finley, OL Treyvon Branch, and LB Arturo Mattocks were second-team picks. 

BEARS OPEN 126th SEASON OF FOOTBALL SINCE 1898
MSU enters its 126th season of football and will open the 2025 campaign under fourth-year head coach Damon Wilson.

RETURN MEN 
The 2025 Morgan State Bears return 20 starters - 9 on offense, 6 on defense, and 5 on special teams.

CAMPAIGNING FOR SUCCESS 
The Bears enter the 2025 season looking to post their first winning season since going 6-5 in 2009. MSU's 7-6 record in 2014 was vacated.

NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
The Bears will open the 2025 campaign with four of their first seven non-conference matchups coming on the road. MSU opens the season at South Alabama (Aug. 30), host Towson (Sept. 6), followed by a game at Toledo (Sept. 13), before returning home to face Central State (Sept. 20). Morgan will face Miles College in the Circle City Classic (Sept. 27), and round out non-conference play at Georgetown (Oct. 4) and then homecoming versus Virginia Lynchburg (Oct. 11).

MSU LEGEND EARL "PAPA BEAR" BANKS
Earl "Papa Bear" Banks was a legendary head coach at Morgan State University, 
• In 1960, Banks took over the head coaching position at Morgan State from 2011 Trailblazer Award winner Edward Hurt. 
• In his 14 seasons as head coach, he would lead the Bears to six CIAA titles, one CIAA Northern Division championship, and one Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title. Banks had an overall record of 96-31-2 after he retired from coaching in 1973 and produced three undefeated seasons from 1965 through 1967. 
• He guided Morgan State to four bowl games, winning the 1965 Orange Blossom Classic and the 1966 Tangerine Bowl.
• He was named the American Football Coaches Association's recipient of the 2018 Trailblazer Award. The award was presented, posthumously, at the 2019 AFCA Convention in San Antonio, Texas.

FOLLOW MORGAN STATE ATHLETICS IN CYBERSPACE 
There are many ways to keep up with MSU athletics online and on the go:
• Visit www.morganstatebears.com, the official website of Bears athletics, for news, schedules, stats, bios, and more. 
• Follow us on social media:
 Facebook: /MorganStateBears
 Twitter: @MorganStBears
 Instagram: /MorganStateBears

ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 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.