BULLDOGS FOOTBALL PREDICTED TO FINISH SIXTH OVERALL IN CIAA

BULLDOGS FOOTBALL PREDICTED TO FINISH SIXTH OVERALL IN CIAAKhari Lee, Austin Hochman, Oladimeji Layeni and Curtis Pumphrey Receive Pre-Season All-CIAA Honors


WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Bowie State University football team has been predicted to finish 6th in the CIAA and 3rd in the Northern Division according to the 2013 conference preseason poll, which was released during the league's football press conference at the Reaves Center on the Winston-Salem State University campus.

The Bulldogs return 39 lettermen including 16 starters from last year's squad. Bowie State finished the 2012 campaign with a 5-5 overall record and 2-5 record in the CIAA.

Senior defensive tackle Oladimeji (5-11, 240, Washington, D.C.), junior tight end Khari Lee (6-4, 235, Baltimore, Md.), fellow junior center Austin Hochman (6-5, 284, Annapolis, Md.) and sophomore defensive back Curtis Pumphrey (5-8, 155, Laurel, Md.) were selected to the 2013 All-CIAA Preseason Team. The conference Predicted Order of Finish and Preseason Team are voted on by the CIAA Football Coaches Association.

The defending CIAA Champions of Winston-Salem State University were selected to finish as the top team in the conference in 2013 followed by Elizabeth City State University, St. Augustine’s University, Chowan University and Shaw University made up the top five teams. Bowie State was voted as the sixth overall ranked team in the conference followed by Johnson C. Smith University, Virginia Union University, Fayetteville State University, Virginia State University, Livingstone College and Lincoln (Pa.).

Bowie State will open up the season on September 7^th, making a non-conference road trip to Manchester, N.H. to face the St. Anselm College Hawks at 1 pm. St. Anselm is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference and finished the 2012 season with an overall record of 2-9 (1-7 in the conference).

2013 Preseason All-CIAA Team

OFFENSIVE TEAM

                #             NAME                                   SCHOOL              CL.          HT.         WT.       HOMETOWN

TIGHT END

                86          Khari Lee                          BSU                       JR           6’4         235       Baltimore, MD

LINEMEN

                67          Austin Hochman           BSU                       JR           6’5         284       Annapolis, MD

                60           David Gatlin                      ECSU                     SR           6’4          330        Washington, D.C.

                55           Rico Arellano                    JCSU                      SR           6’6          280        Charlotte, NC

                73           Chris Bearden                   WSSU                   SR           6’7          315        Decatur, GA

                64           Nathaniel Hartung          WSSU                   SR           6’2          380        Butler, PA

WIDE RECEIVERS

                86           Robert Holland                                CU                          SR           6’3          190        Newport News, VA

                2             Fred Scott                           JCSU                      SO          5’7          170        Stone Mountain, GA

QUARTERBACK

                1             Keahn Wallace                 JCSU                      JR           6’2          210        Homestead, FL

RUNNING BACKS

                24           Colon Bailey, Jr.               FSU                        SR           6’0          200        Manteo, NC

                3             Maurice Lewis                  WSSU                   JR           5’11       190        Lumberton, NC

KICK RETURNER

                1             Darnell Evans                   SU                          SR           5’9          190        Madison, NJ

PLACE KICKER

                9             Brett Symonds                 ECSU                     SR           5’10       165        Temecula, CA

DEFENSIVE TEAM

                #             NAME                                   SCHOOL              CL.          HT.         WT.       HOMETOWN

LINEMEN

            41        Oladimeji Layeni     BSU                 SR        5’11    250     Washington, D.C.

            25        TJ Batchelor               CU                   SR        6’0       240     Middlesex, NC

            45        Javarous Faulk          SAU                 SR        6’1       245     Macon, GA

            49        Donnie Owens           WSSU              SR        6’3       285     Fayetteville, NC

LINEBACKERS

            33        Kenneth White, Jr.     LC                    JR        6’0       225     Southport, NC

            3          Chaz Robinson          SAU                 SR        5’11    220     Hampton, VA

            44        Carlos Fields, Jr.        WSSU              SR        6’3       230     Henderson, NC

DEFENSIVE BACKS

            7          Curtis Pumphrey      BSU                 SO       5’8       155     Laurel, MD

            1          Nigel Rios                   ECSU               SR        5’9       170     Washington, D.C.

            1          Darnell Evans                        SU                    SR        5’9       190     Madison, NJ

            1          Sean Smith                 VSU                 SR        5’10    190     Lithonia, GA

PUNT RETURNER

            1          Denzel Duchenne      VUU                 SO        5’8       160     Brooklyn, NY

PUNTER

            9             Brett Symonds                 ECSU                     SR           5’10       165        Temecula, CA

CIAA Football Predicted Order of Finish

1.      Winston-Salem State University

2.      Elizabeth City State University

3.      St. Augustine’s University

4.      Chowan University

5.      Shaw University

6.      Bowie State University

7.      Johnson C. Smith University

8.      Virginia Union University

9.      Fayetteville State University

10.  Virginia State University

11.  Livingstone College

12.  Lincoln University (PA)