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GAME TIME
Morgan State (2-3) is set to face the Georgetown Hoyas (2-3, 0-1 Patriot League) in a non-conference matchup at Cooper Field on Saturday, Oct. 4. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Washington, D.C. The game will also be broadcast by WEAA, 88.9FM, and HSRN.com.
GAME COVERAGE
ESPN+ will air the game live. Jeremy Huber will call the play-by-play with color analyst Christian Taylor.
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 SiriusXM mobile app.
LIVE STATS: www.guhoyas.com - here
THE SERIES
• Saturday's game will be the second matchup between the two programs.
• The Bears won the first-ever meeting between the schools, 28-21, at Hughes Stadium on Nov. 20, 2021.
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.
• Rob Sgralata was named the 31st head football coach in GU program history in February 2014, becoming just the fourth person to have played football and graduated from Georgetown before earning the head coach title, joining Joe Reilly, Jack Hagerty, and Maurice Dubofsky.
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 55 of 85 passes for 557 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 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.
• 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 236, has already proven himself as one of the top defenders in the FCS.
SCOUTING THE HOYAS
• Georgetown closed the 2024 season with a 5-6 record, including a 2-4 mark in Big East play, and ended the year on a three-game skid.
• Rob Sgralata is in his 11th season as the head coach at Georgetown. The Hoyas were picked to finish 6th in the Preseason Patriot League Poll, and they currently sit at 2-3 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
• WR Jimmy Kibble, LB GianCarlo Rufo, and DL Cooper Blomstrom were named to the Patriot League Preseason All-League Team.
• Senior QB Danny Leuter has had a solid start to the season, completing just about 60% (51-of-84) of his passes for 613 yards, 5 touchdowns, and one interception.
• Savion Hart is the lead running back for the Hoyas and has already scored 5 TDs in five games, with a total of 290 yards on the season. Hart is averaging 6.2 yards per carry. The 5-10 sophomore scored three touchdowns against Davidson in the season-opener (Aug. 30).
• The Hoyas' leader on defense is returning junior LB Giancarlo Rufo, who is leading the team in tackles (37) and has 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Junior DL Cooper Blomstrom has also been disruptive for the Hoyas defense as he has collected 21 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, and leads the team with 2.5 sacks.
• Quincy Briggs is T-No. 4 in the nation with four interceptions in five games.
• The Hoyas are ranked T-No. 5 in interceptions (6) and T-No. 10 in turnovers gained (9).
• After opening the season with wins over Davidson (51-14) and Wagner (31-20), the Hoyas have stumbled in their last three outings, dropping games to Lafayette (42-37), Brown (46-0), and Columbia (19-10).
A LOOK AHEAD
Morgan State will host non-conference opponent Virginia-Lynchburg on Saturday, October 11th. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Hughes Stadium.
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.
