Football | 9/4/2015 10:35:00 AM
Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University football team opens the 2015 season Saturday, traveling to Johnson C. Smith University for a 6 p.m. contest against the Golden Bulls. Bulldog head coach
Joe Reich and his staff welcome back 53 letter winners and 18 starters from the 2014 campaign. Reich sat down recently with the Wingate Sports Information department to share his thoughts about the upcoming campaign. A transcript of the interview follows…
Joe Reich pre-season outlook interview transcript Position-by-Position breakdown Quarterback: We expect
Kyle Johnson to take the next step in his development as a second-year starter.
Ja'Shawn Joyner needs to take the next step as well…he will continue to grow as he sees time on the field.
Running Back: Lawrence Pittman is entering his first year as a full-time starter. We look for big things from him.
Mycah Gaylord is one of the smartest players on our team. He is pound-for-pound one of the strongest as well.
Wide Receiver: Jordan Berry is a returning All-SAC performer…we would like for him to take the next step as well…and increase his productivity.
Jiwan Funderburk is extremely reliable…possibly one of the most dependable receivers in the league. He is a good leader with great hands.
Joe Wallace had a great pre-season camp…we expect big things from him.
Jody Fuller is very talented…the coaching staff is looking for how he fits into our schemes.
Offensive Line: Mathu Gibson is very reliable and very smart. We like to call him the sage of the offensive line.
Austin May had a great pre-season camp…he is very athletic with a great upside.
Daniel Owens made a move in the off-season, switching to center. He is big and strong…and a great fit in our schemes.
In addition,
Cabell Cantrell moves to guard from center. The coaching staff believes Cabell has a tremendous up-side.
Orlando Colon is looking good…he is very strong…he is another player who had a good camp. Ian Fabian is learning and developing…he needs game-time experience…
We have
Jordan Kendrick…who can play either center or guard…he had a strong camp as well.
Jordan Hennessee is a potential starter for us…we are looking for big things (from him).
Grayson Johnson is making a move from defensive line to offensive line…he is strong and powerful…he will find ways to help us.
Tight End: Jake Jensen is a multi-dimension tight end who is very athletic. He is following in the big footsteps of two-time Academic All-America®
Brandon Ellington. As was the case with Brandon, Jake has a penchant for making big plays.
Grayson Cobb is big and athletic who brings a good skill-set to the table.
Defensive Line: Andre Foulks is very strong and very active…he has a great motor.
Dillon Tucker is a veteran leader…the coaching staff believes he is ready to be 'the guy.' We are expecting great things from
Josh Mills...he is a returning starter who we feel is ready to take the next step.
We have
Jordan Smith…he is someone who is seizing every opportunity he can…to make a contribution to this team. He is a great-effort guy who is very strong and physical.
Ray Edwards will see time…he is very athletic and a good pass rusher.
Shalon Moore is big and athletic…he should see plenty of time before the season concludes.
Linebacker: Eric Mapoles is a returning All-SAC and Academic All-America® performer who is very smart…always in the right place at the right time. He is a team leader for us.
Charlie Hosea keeps getting better and better. He could be our best defensive player before the season concludes…the coaching staff believes he is an unsung hero-type of guy.
Robert Wallace is young and very athletic with a great motor. Sterling Brooks will play an important role for us…he is an explosive athlete who makes many good attributes to the table.
Mackenzie Battle and
Willie McDonald give us good depth…they will find ways to help us.
Defensive Backs: Nortavius Otis is a tough, physical and aggressive safety…we expect big things from him this season.
Cornel Cheron is an extremely smart guy...he seems to always be in the right position.
Josh Shelton is a tall and rangy corner…who is very athletic.
Kameron Johnson is tough and physical…a very aggressive player…he needs game experience.
Tim Longmire is athletic with a great motor.
Special Teams: At placekicker,
Caleb Baird,
James Card and
Freddy McCollum have a great competition going for the top spot. We have the chance to use multiple combinations (at kicker) as the season develops. In the same vein,
Chandler Phillips and
Christopher Birozes have a keen competition in progress for the punter position.
At long snapper,
TJ Bell is very reliable. We believe he will be in the running for an All-SAC honor at the end of the season. Punt returners Jordan Berry and Alonzo Hurtado are both very explosive…and can break a game open at any time.
Tim Nalesnik is a great kick returner…
Jody Fuller and
Alonzo Hurtado give us several options at this position.
General thoughts on pre-season camp… I think every coach in the USA says pre-season camp is shorter than they would like for it to be…I feel this way. The coaching staff believes camp was very intense…we did battle a few injuries…but we were able to get a good look at several younger guys…allowing them an opportunity to gain valuable experience.
Strengths I would say without any hesitation…our linebacker corps is deep, solid and very good. They stand out in my mind as one of the big strengths of this time. Our wideouts have a chance to be a very special group before the season concludes. When you put
Tim Nalesnik,
Adam Riley II,
JT Stokes and
Malik Bledsoe in the mix with
Jordan Berry,
Jiwan Funderburk,
Joe Wallace and
Jody Fuller…the possibilities are endless.
Challenges We must build chemistry in the defensive secondary. We believe these guys will mold themselves into a very good group before the season ends. Our offensive line is getting more snaps as they develop into a unit. We must have them together as a group. Once they experience game fire and game conditions, the coaching staff feels they will be fine.
Pleasant surprises On defense, true freshmen (defensive lineman)
Colton Beard and
Jamal Grier are going to help us upfront. On offense, true freshmen (wide receivers)
TJ Stokes and
Malik Bledsoe have made even more progress than we had anticipated.
This and That Johnson C. Smith and Wingate series: Wingate leads the series between the two schools 2-0. On August 31, 2002, the Bulldogs
scored three touchdowns in a 2:16 span of the second quarter on the way to a 24-0 shutout victory over JCSU in the Eddie McGirt Classic at Memorial Stadium. Wingate defeated the JCSU Golden Bulls 33-12 in 1995.
Season openers: Joe Reich has a 12-2 record in season openers as the Bulldog head mentor. He is 35-16 overall in September. Reich led Wingate to its eighth winning season in the last 11 years in 2014 as the Bulldogs compiled a 6-5 overall mark with a 3-4 SAC ledger.
Triple Crown: Wingate senior linebacker
Eric Mapoles was the only NCAA Division II football student-athlete to achieve the following Triple Crown in 2014:
All-Conference (South Atlantic Conference)
Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®
Capital One Academic All-America® NCAA Division II football team
Five AAA honorees: Wingate had a school-record five student-athletes receive Capital One Academic All-America® NCAA Division II football team recognition last year. Wingate's five football honorees tie NCAA Division III Rose-Hulman for the most in the three NCAA divisions last season. On the 2014 NCAA Division II Academic All-America® football list, Chadron State (Neb.) was second with four selections.
WINGATE UNIVERSITY Wingate University, consistently ranked as a top 10 "best value" in the South by
U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,000 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, master's degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport management and doctorates in pharmacy, physical therapy and education.
With a 15 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visit
www.youtube.com/wingateuniversity.
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past nine years. For more information, go to
www.wingate.edu.
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing colleges in the 2000's with 77 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate's 77 Academic All-America® honorees are number one during this millennium. Wingate's 86 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information on WU athletics, go to
www.wingatebulldogs.com.
