WU Football Record Book

Wingate, N.C.----The defending South Atlantic Conference champion Wingate University Bulldogs open up the 2025 season this weekend, hosting UNC Pembroke Saturday at 6 p.m. at Irwin Belk Stadium and Founders Field. Fans can get tickets here or can watch on FloSports and follow on live stats.

The Bulldogs went 9-2 last year, with a 6-1 record in league play. Wingate captured the Piedmont Division title, then prevailed 28-13 over Carson-Newman in the SAC title game to claim the fourth conference championship in program history. The 'Dogs earned a bid to the NCAA D2 play-offs for the sixth time in program history and fifth time in the last seven seasons. Wingate hosted its fourth play-off game.

The 'Dogs open up against UNCP on Saturday night, facing the Braves in the season opener for the second straight season. The Bulldogs prevailed 17-12 at Pembroke last year. Wingate has won 12 straight season openers. The 'Dogs are 8-4 all-time against the Braves, with a 5-1 record at Irwin Belk Stadium. The Bulldogs have won five straight in the series. The last time UNCP came to Wingate was the 2019 season, when the 'Dogs prevailed 48-38 at Irwin Belk Stadium.

The Bulldogs were picked second in the preseason SAC poll, with six Players earning SAC Player to Watch accolades. Those six are Carlos Estronza, Ethan Wallace, Porfirio Acosta, Kai Russell, Jaquan Edwards and Brandon Perry.

Rashaan Jordan enters his second season as the head coach, capturing a conference title and being named the SAC Coach of the Year in his first year at the helm. "The biggest thing entering this year is adjusting to guys in new roles, filling some holes from some good players we lost last year," Jordan says. "We have some guys that we expect to step up in new roles, some guys moving into new positions, and some young guys that we'll need to make an impact. We lost a great class to graduation, had some good players go in the portal. We'll have some players that our fans aren't quite as familiar with that are taking more reps and stepping up this year. The biggest adjustment is finding out where they fit and who can do what."

"The conference this year on the whole is going to look different than last year," Jordan says. "There aren't many returning quarterbacks, there were a lot of key guys that graduated or transferred. Every year our team's vision is to be there at the end, in position to win a championship and make the play-offs. The goal is to go 1-0 every week, that's all that really matters. It's a week-by-week process, make sure the team is focused on that process. Starting every Monday, it's a new week, focus on that week, whether the week before was positive or negative. We don't spend too much time on big picture hopes. Yes, we have aspirations, but the reality is you have to deal with week-to-week situations, or the big goals wont even matter."

WIDE RECEIVERS

The wide receivers will be led by Estronza, one of the team captains and a SAC preseason Player to Watch. He ranked second on the team with 31 receptions last season, going for 393 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He had four games with over 45 receiving yards on the season. Xavier Jackson also returns, after collecting 21 receptions for 197 yards in 2024. Jaylen Brown-Wallace added six grabs for 84 yards last year. They will be joined by newcomers Jaylen Himes and Quintrelle Pettiford.

"We'll lean heavily on Carlos at the receiver position," Jordan says. "He's a team captain and a returning veteran that has been important to this team for a while. He means a lot to us in that position. We have some guys like Xavier and Jaylen that played last year that will be in the mix again this year. We also have some newcomers that have had solid preseasons in Jaylen and Quintrelle. There are several other guys that have gotten reps in the preseason phase that have stepped up and shown they can contribute. A lot of guys got a lot of reps, and we are excited to see what happens when they get that chance in games."

RUNNING BACKS

Wallace leads the running back group, earning preseason Player to Watch accolades. He had 320 rushing yards and four touchdowns last year, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Wallace ran for 77 yards and two TDs at Carson-Newman, while adding 69 yards and a score at Limestone. Xavier Pugh had 207 rushing yards on 22 carries last year, averaging 9.4 yards per rush while scoring three touchdowns. He piled up 140 yards and two TDs against Catawba, including a 75-yard touchdown run.

"Ethan will be a guy we look to have a big year for us," Jordan says. "We are a bit of a running back by committee. Xavier has gotten some significant reps for us. Jayshawn Appling is a returning redshirt freshman that can fit some unique roles in our offense. It is a deep position for us, we've got some young players that have had some opportunities and as the season goes along, we'll figure out where they belong in the situations. We've got some talented backs with different skills, so it is a skilled room and we're excited to see the progress.

TIGHT END / FULLBACK

Silas Tate and Jesse Clinesmith will handle a bulk of the duties at the tight end and fullback spots this season. "Silas and Jess both had good preseason camps for us," Jordan says. "Silas has gotten a good amount of playing time the last two years, and Jesse stepping up and taking over for Matt Flanders and will see a big increase in his role this year. We have some other young guys will get their chances. We feel strong about the positions, we are just looking to develop a few other guys to add depth to the group."

OFFENSIVE LINE

The Bulldogs return three starters on the offensive line in Acosta, Liam Towey and Will Hart. The 'Dogs lost a pair of key starters, including the 2024 SAC Jacob's Blocking Trophy winner Erwil Anthony.

"The offensive line is a solid group this year," Jordan says. "We lost two key starters, but we've filled them UAB transfer Tennyson Hadfield and Kaleb McKenzie, who redshirted last season. We're looking for those two to step in and contribute right away, while we can still depend on our three returners. Porfirio was an all-conference center last year, while Will and Liam both had big seasons as well in 2024. It's a strong group, we've got some other guys that are going to step in and contribute for us. They can help us move the ball in the run game and can protect our quarterback."

QUARTERBACK

Redshirt sophomore Elijah Holmes will be the starting quarterback in 2025. "Elijah won the quarterback battle and earned the starting spot for us," Jordan says. "We had a good battle in the spring, he was great throughout the summer and carried that into the preseason. Elijah was the guy that could make the throws we needed him to make, could operate the offense, and that is the reason we decided on him as the starter. He's been here a few years, so he has had a chance to watch and learn our system. This is his opportunity and we are excited to see where he can lead this team as a starting quarterback."

DEFENSIVE LINE

The defensive line was a key part of the WU defense ranking in the top 10 nationally in several categories. The 'Dogs were third in total defense, fourth in scoring defense, sixth in tackles for loss while leading the nation in red zone defense and third down defense. Wingate did lose some key players on the line, including Gene Upshaw Award winner and consensus first team All-American Marquise Fleming, but still return a solid group, led by preseason SAC Player to Watch Kai Russell. Russell was an all-conference selection last year, piling up 14 tackles for loss with 7.5 sacks while adding nine QB hurries and forcing three fumbles. He also earned a spot on the 2025 D2Football Elite 100 Watchlist. Jonathen Cross is another impact returner on the line, notching 3.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks and a pair of fumble recoveries last year.

"The defensive line is still a very talented, deep group of guys," Jordan says. "The group is led by Kai and Jonathen. Kai is a dynamic, explosive, impact player. Jonathen was kind of the third guy last year of a dynamic group that made a lot of plays for us. We expect him to rise up and fill an even bigger role this season. We have a whole group of guys stepping up from secondary spots to primary positions this year. We rotate a lot, so there are plenty of chances for guys to show their abilities on Saturdays. We are excited to see what roles the guys can fill. Guys like Jaden James, Elijah Barnes, Mandjou Berte and Guy Taylor got good playing time last year, but we're looking for them to step up into big roles this season. Jasiah Hill, Brice Colter will be solid guys on the interior of the line."

LINEBACKER

The linebacker group will be led once again by team captain and All-SAC honoree Jaquan Edwards. Edwards has suffered season-ending injuries early in each of the last two years, but is healthy entering the 2025 season. In 2022, Edwards piled up 87 tackles with 10 tackles for loss while adding a pick-six in the play-off win at Virginia Union. Ryan Green and David Squires are also key returners, with Green collecting 47 tackles with three TFLs last season. Squires had 35 tackles and an interception in 2024.

"This is a good, energetic group this year," Jordan says. "It's great to have Jaquan back for another year, we've lost him the last two years with early injuries. He's a gifted player, he's been around a long time and has made a lot of plays for us. When he's healthy, he's an all-sac player. Other players that saw big time last year in Ryan and David, they'll fill roles that they played last year and we expect another big year from them. Diego Aviles is another guy that saw significant time last year that will contribute to the unit. We've got young players like Sam Cowher and Paul Thompson that can fill some spots for us. The linebacker unit is healthy in terms of talent and experience."

SECONDARY

The secondary will be led by preseason Player to Watch Brandon Perry, an all-conference selection in 2024. Perry had eight pass break-ups and two interceptions last year, adding a pair of forced fumbles and two recoveries to go along with 15 tackles and a tackle for loss. CJ McGarity added three break-ups and an interception to go along with 10 tackles and a forced fumble. Derrick Witherspoon contributed nine tackles, with Omar Ba notching three pass break-ups.

"We lost some key guys in the secondary, so we have a number of guys stepping up into starting roles," Jordan says. "Brandon has been a tremendous player for us, we look for him to have a year and be a shutdown corner this year. CJ played big minutes last year and we are hoping he can have an All-SAC type season, so that gives us two prime corners on the outside."  

"We have a solid group of young players that have chances to step into bigger roles," Jordan says. "Derrick coming back as a senior has a chance to see significant minutes. Then guys like Bryson Steele, J'Von Mack and Noah Collins are younger players that will see minutes for us. At the safety spot we are expecting Omar and Tory Kelly to be players we can rely on heavily this year. Ephraim Wright and Aaron Cloud are a couple more guys that will see key minutes for us. At the rover spot Jaden White was huge for us last year. He is a dynamic player, a great athlete with a lot of skills and can do a lot of things for us. We are excited to have him back."

SPECIAL TEAMS

The Bulldogs return the main special teams players from last year's squad, including SAC championship game MVP Caleb Bonesteel as the placekicker. He made all five field goal attempts in the title game, including a 43 and 48-yarder to lead the 'Dogs to the SAC championship and earn National Player of the Week accolades. Rivers Teeter averaged 39.7 yards per punt on 44 punts last year, with 15 punts inside the 20 and six punts of at least 50 yards. Lawson Thorn is back as the kickoff specialist after suffering a season-ending injury early in 2024, while long snapper Everett McLaughlin is also back for the Bulldogs.

"Caleb was the hero of the SAC title game, made 5 big kicks for us to push us over the line," Jordan says. "Lawson is back from injury, long-range guy and kickoff specialist with a big leg, so we are excited to have him back. Rivers was stronger as the year went along last season and has had a great preseason of punting the ball, getting us the distance and hang time we need. And then Everett, mister reliable, always great to have a guy that consistent and reliable at that position. We know he's always going to be on point to keep everything on time and in line."