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GAME TIME
Morgan State (3-6, 0-2 MEAC) looks to halt a two-game skid and capture its first conference victory of the season when it hosts Delaware State (6-3, 2-0 MEAC) on Friday, Nov. 7, at Hughes Stadium in Baltimore, Md. The Bears are coming off a narrow 36-30 setback at South Carolina State, while the Hornets ride into town following a 27-20 win over Norfolk State. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m., with live coverage on ESPNU, WEAA 88.9 FM, and HSRN.com.
GAME COVERAGE
ESPNU will air the game live. Tiffany Greene will call the play-by-play with color analyst Jay Walker.
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.
• DeSean Jackson enters his first season as Delaware State University's head football coach in 2025. He was hired on Dec. 27, 2024. In 2024, he completed his first season in a coaching role, serving as the offensive coordinator at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, Calif. After being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft, Jackson would play for 15 years in the league, becoming one of the best deep threats in NFL history.
THE SERIES
• Friday will mark the 68th meeting between the two schools.
• Morgan leads the series against Delaware State with an overall record of 42-26 since 1945.
• The Bears have won 10 of the last 11 meetings since 2013, including a current string of 6-straight (2018-2025).
• In their last meeting on Nov. 9, 2024, redshirt junior quarterback Duce Taylor threw a touchdown pass, and redshirt freshman Jason Collins Jr. added a season-high 138 yards and a score to lead Morgan State to a 36-28 win over Delaware State at Alumni Stadium.
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.
• Redshirt freshman quarterback Raymond Moore III made a strong impression in his first start of the season. Through six games, the Baltimore native has totaled 643 passing yards (52 of 99) with four touchdowns and 328 rushing yards (7.5 avg) with four more scores...including an 81-yard touchdown run versus Howard (Oct. 25). Having earned MEAC Rookie of the Week honors three times this season, Runway Ray continues to impress as the Bears advance through conference play.
• 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 389 yards on 96 carries and has scored 6 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 22 receptions for 218 yards, including 2 TDs...he's also averaging 22.1 yards on kick returns.
• 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 ranks fourth on Morgan State's all-time tackles list with 265, has already proven himself as one of the top defenders in the FCS.
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
• Delaware State finished the 2024 season with a 1-11 overall record and posted a 0-5 mark in MEAC play, and lost the last 10 games of the season.
• Delaware State was selected to finish last on the MEAC preseason order of finish heading into the 2025 football season. Seven Hornets earned recognition on the 2025 Preseason All-MEAC Team. The First Team honorees were WR NyGhee Lolley and DL Marquise Brunson. The Second Team included RB Marquis Gillis, TE Edward Core, OL Isaiah Cook, LB Anthony Johnson, and LB Brian Bates.
• Dual-threat QB Kaiden Bennett triggers the top offense in the MEAC. The Sacramento State transfer has completed 94 of 158 passes for 1,103 yards, including three TDs. He currently ranks No. 8 in the league in rushing with 417 yards on 86 carries, including a league-high 9 TDs.
• Last time out -Delaware State used a big 201-yard showing on the ground, including 109 yards from James Jones, to pick up a 27-20 win against Norfolk State last Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field. Jones paced the Hornets' rushing attack by accumulating 109 yards and one touchdown over the course of the game, averaging 10.9 yards per carry. Marquis Gillis also added 79 yards on the ground, averaging 4.6 yards per carry.
• Graduate student RB Marquis Gillis (6-0-, 210) ranks No. 7 in the nation in rushing with 928 yards on 142 carries, including eight TDs ... he also ranks No. 10 in rushing yards per game (103.1 avg).
• Redshirt sophomore LB Brian Bates and graduate student LBL Na'Shawn Biggs are two of the Hornets' top defenders. Bates has 58 tackles (No. 3 in MEAC) and a sack, including 4.5 tackles for loss. Biggs has 38 stops, 7.0 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery. Redshirt junior DL Jaydon Mifflin ranks No. 3 in the league in sacks (5) and has six tackles for loss, to go along with 27 tackles.
• DSU ranks as the league leader in several statistical categories: No. 1 in scoring (36.7), No. 1 in total offense (468.4), No. 1 in rushing offense (302.2), No. 1 in first down conversions (22.7), No. 1 in 4th down conversions, and No. 2 in rushing defense (121.9).
A LOOK AHEAD
Morgan State will travel to face the Norfolk State Spartans on Saturday, Nov. 15. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. at Dick Price Stadium in Norfolk, Va.
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.
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Facebook: /MorganStateBears
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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.
