GAME TIME 
Morgan (1-3) is set to face the Miles College Golden Bears (0-4, 0-2 SIAC) in a non-conference matchup at the Circle City Classic on Saturday, Sept. 27. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The game will also be broadcast by WEAA, 88.9FM.

GAME COVERAGE

RADIO: WEAA, 88.9 FM is the flagship station for the Morgan State Bears ... Lamont Germany will call the play-by-play with Ronnie Duncan 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 SERIES
Saturday's game will be the first-ever matchup between the two programs.

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.

• Chris Goode enters his first season as Miles College's head coach. Goode is a former stalwart for the University of Alabama and in the National Football League and looks to bring his wealth of football acumen to the Golden Bears program. After his playing career concluded, he served as the defensive coordinator for the Birmingham Steeldogs of the Arena Football League. 

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 52 of 80 passes for 544 yards, including three interceptions and two 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 301 yards on 75 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.

• 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 (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 fifth on Morgan State's all-time tackles list with 230, has already proven himself as one of the top defenders in the FCS.  

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS
• Miles College wrapped up the 2024 season with a 10-3 record, finishing a perfect 8-0 in conference play to capture the SIAC championship. The Golden Bears advanced to the Division II playoffs, where they knocked off Carson-Newman in the opening round before falling to top-seeded Valdosta State in the second round.

• Chris Goode is in his first season as the head coach at Miles. The Golden Bears, who are the defending SIAC champions, entered the season ranked 24th in Division II in the 2025 American Football Coaches Association Division II poll. Miles is still looking for their first win of the season after falling to Virginia Union, Edward Waters, Alabama State, and Savannah State. 

• Running back Javonta Leatherwood and linebacker Carson Pritchett were both named to the preseason All-SIAC team.

• The Golden Bears are going through a youth movement with many freshmen in the starting lineup. Roderick Thomas has run for 126 yards with two touchdowns, while sophomore WR Glen Williams (10 rec., 187 yds, TD) and James Gatewood (7 rec., 104 yards) and Tifton Dobbs ( 9 rec., 96 yards) lead the team in receiving. Brinley Vandiver has thrown for 444 yards and a TD, and Kamren Ivory has passed for 260 yards and a touchdown. Linebacker Robert Williams is the defensive leader with 25 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack.

• Miles College (0-4, 0-2) fell to Savannah State, 45-19, at Albert Sloan Stadium in the Prince Hall Americanism Football Classic. The Tigers offense produced 309 yards while the defense, who entered the game ranked third in NCAA Division II in rush defense and eighth in total defense, limited Miles to 59 yards on the ground and 276 total offensive yards. QB Brinley Vandiver completed 18 of 38 passes for 217 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown pass to WR Glen Williams (7 rec., 132 yards). Robert Williams led the defense with seven stops and a TFL, while Abraham Daniels added six tackles and a sack.

•  Miles College is a private historically black college located in Fairfield, Alabama, about six miles west of downtown Birmingham. 

•  Notable Miles alumni include former Birmingham mayors Richard Arrington and Bernard Kincaid, civil rights activists Autherine Lucy, and U.S. District Court Judge U.W. Clemon, Alabama's first black federal judge.

A LOOK AHEAD
Morgan will face non-conference opponent Georgetown on Saturday, October 4th, in Washington, D.C. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Cooper Field.

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, 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
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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.