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https://ucasports.com/news/2021/8/2/football-uca-receivers-earn-all-america-honors.aspx

AA honors for Winningham and Hudson....

CONWAY, Ark. _ University of Central Arkansas receivers Tyler Hudson and Lujuan Winningham were named Monday to the 2021 Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America teams.

Hudson, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound sophomore from Spring, Texas, was named a first-team wide receiver, while Winningham, a 6-3, 195-pounder from Humble, Texas, earned third-team honors.

Hudson, the Fall Offensive Player of the Year in the Southland Conference last season, led the Bears with 50 receptions for 845 yards (16.9 yards per catch) and seven touchdowns last fall. He was also a first-team All-SLC selection as a punt returner. In 2019, Hudson was the SLC Freshman of the Year.

Hudson had four 100-yard receiving games, including 12 catches for 154 yards against FBS Arkansas State.

Winningham had a team-high 12 touchdown receptions and caught 37 passes for 522 yards (14.1 yards per catch) last season. His 12 touchdowns tied for the second-best single season in school history.

The Bears open their 11-game 2021 season on Saturday, Sept. 4 at Arkansas State. UCA's first home game is Saturday, Sept. 18 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff on "The Stripes" at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

https://theanalyst.com/na/2021/08/stats-perform-fcs-preseason-all-america-team-talented-and-familiar/

2021 STATS PERFORM FCS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA TEAM
FIRST TEAM

OFFENSE

QB – Eric Barriere, senior, 6-0, 200, Eastern Washington

QB – Cole Kelley, senior, 6-7, 260, Southeastern Louisiana

RB – Julius Chestnut, senior, 6-1, 215, Sacred Heart

RB – Jah-Maine Martin, senior, 5-10, 214, North Carolina A&T

RB – Otis Weah, junior, 5-9, 195, North Dakota

FB – Hunter Luepke, junior, 6-1, 245, North Dakota State

WR – Avante Cox, senior, 5-10, 170, Southern Illinois

WR – Jakob Herres, senior, 6-4, 211, VMI

WR – Tyler Hudson, sophomore, 6-2, 185, Central Arkansas

TE – Ryan Miller, senior, 6-2, 221, Furman

OL – P.J. Burkhalter, senior, 6-3, 330, Nicholls

OL – Liam Fornadel, senior, 6-4, 310, James Madison

OL – Garret Greenfield, junior, 6-6, 295, South Dakota State

OL – David Kroll, senior, 6-7, 315, Delaware

OL – Cordell Volson, senior, 6-7, 310, North Dakota State

OL – Ty Whitworth, senior, 6-4, 300, Weber State

DEFENSE

DL – Jared Brinkman, senior, 6-2, 290, Northern Iowa

DL – Isaiah Chambers, grad, 6-5, 250, McNeese

DL – Mike Greene, senior , 6-3, 285, James Madison

DL – Jahari Kay, senior, 6-2, 255, Sam Houston

DL – Jordan Lewis, junior, 6-3, 205, Southern

LB – Troy Andersen, senior, 6-4, 235, Montana State

LB – Logan Backhaus, senior, 6-4, 205, South Dakota State

LB – Willie Eubanks III, senior, 6-2, 230, The Citadel

LB – La’akea Kaho’ohanohano-Davis, senior, 6-1, 215, Southern Utah

LB – Stone Snyder, junior, 6-3, 225, VMI

LB – Tre Walker, senior, 6-1, 235, Idaho

DB – Markquese Bell, redshirt senior 6-3, 205, Florida A&M

DB – Nicario Harper, junior, 6-1, 205, Jacksonville State

DB – Kordell Jackson, senior, 5-9, 188, Austin Peay

DB – Ferlando Jordan, junior, 6-0, 180, Southeastern Louisiana

DB – Zyon McCollum, senior, 6-3, 195, Sam Houston

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK – Ethan Ratke, senior, 5-10, 185, James Madison

P – Daniel Whelan, senior, 6-6, 215, UC Davis

LS – Kyle Davis, senior, 5-11, 210, James Madison

KR – Christian Watson, senior, 6-4, 200, North Dakota State

PR – Jequez Ezzard, grad, 5-9, 190, Sam Houston

AP – Elijah Dotson, senior, 6-0, 185, Sacramento State

AP – Quay Holmes, senior, 6-1, 216, ETSU

AP – Javon Williams Jr., junior, 6-2, 245, Southern Illinois

—

SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

QB – Zerrick Cooper, senior, 6-3, 225, Jacksonville State

QB – Eric Schmid, senior, 6-1, 180, Sam Houston

RB – Percy Agyei-Obese, senior, 6-0, 204, James Madison

RB – Karl Mofor, senior, 5-9, 229, Albany

RB – Pierre Strong Jr., senior, 5-11, 210, South Dakota State

FB – Nathan Walker, senior, 6-0, 225, Wofford

WR – Samuel Akem, senior, 6-4, 212, Montana

WR – Dai’Jean Dixon, senior, 6-4, 200, Nicholls

WR – Xavier Gipson, junior, 5-9, 170, Stephen F. Austin

TE – Noah Gindorff, junior, 6-6, 266, North Dakota State

TE – Rodney Williams II, senior, 6-4, 235, UT Martin

OL – AJ Farris, senior, 6-2, 300, Monmouth

OL – Tylan Grable, junior, 6-7, 260, Jacksonville State

OL – Braxton Jones, senior, 6-7, 310, Southern Utah

OL – Trevor Penning, senior, 6-7, 321, Northern Iowa

OL – Tre’mond Shorts, senior, 6-4, 326, ETSU

OL – Tristen Taylor, senior, 6-6, 325, Eastern Washington

DEFENSE

DL – DJ Coleman, senior, 6-6, 265, Jacksonville State

DL – Malik Hamm, senior, 6-3, 260, Lafayette

DL – Kobie Turner, senior, 6-3, 285, Richmond

DL – Spencer Waege, senior, 6-5, 274, North Dakota State

DL – Joseph Wallace, senior, 6-1, 300, Sam Houston

LB – Ryan Greenhagen, senior, 6-1, 235, Fordham

LB – James Kaczor, senior, 6-0, 211, North Dakota State

LB – Jace Lewis, senior, 6-1, 238, Montana

LB – Conner Mortensen, senior, 6-0, 215, Weber State

LB – Tristan Wheeler, junior, 6-2, 228, Richmond

DB – Anthony Adams, junior, 6-0, 185, Portland State

DB – Anthony Budd, senior, 5-11, 200, Monmouth

DB – Qua Brown, senior, 5-11, 206, Southern Illinois

DB – Decobie Durant, senior, 5-11, 175, South Carolina State

DB – Chris Edmonds, junior, 6-2, 205, Samford

DB – Kedrick Whitehead, senior, 5-11, 195, Delaware

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK – Antonio Zita, senior, 5-9, 170, Tennessee State

P – D.J. Arnson, grad, 6-0, 185, Northern Arizona

LS – Robert Soderholm, junior, 6-1, 216, VMI

KR – Rashid Shaheed, senior, 6-0, 180, Weber State

PR – Tyrin Ralph, senior, 5-8, 170, Arkansas-Pine Bluff

AP – Kevin Brown, senior, 5-9, 204, UIW

AP – Dejoun Lee, senior, 5-7, 185, Delaware

—

THIRD TEAM

OFFENSE

QB – E.J. Perry, senior, 6-2, 210, Brown

QB – Cameron Ward, sophomore, 6-3, 225, UIW

QB – Liam Welch, grad, 6-2, 194, Samford

RB – Josh Davis, junior, 5-9, 195, Weber State

RB – Juwon Farri, junior, 5-10, 195, Monmouth

RB – Geno Hess, senior, 5-8, 209, Southeast Missouri

RB – Devin Wynn, senior, 6-0, 211, Furman

FB – Logan Kendall, senior, 6-4, 264, Idaho

WR – Xavier Smith, redshirt senior, 5-10, 175, Florida A&M

WR – C.J. Turner, junior, 6-2, 180, Southeastern Louisiana

WR – Lujuan Winningham, junior, 6-3, 195, Central Arkansas

TE – Marshel Martin, sophomore, 6-2, 210, Sacramento State

OL – J’Von Brown, senior, 6-3, 320, Central Connecticut State

OL – ZeVeyon Furcron, senior, 6-2, 327, Southern Illinois

OL – Kyle Nunez, senior, 6-2, 340, Stony Brook

OL – J.D. DiRenzo, senior, 6-6, 315, Sacred Heart

OL – Colby Thomas, senior, 6-2, 295, Sam Houston

OL – Matt Waletzko, senior, 6-7, 295, North Dakota

DEFENSE

DL – Malik Fisher, senior, 6-4, 295, Villanova

DL – Devonnsha Maxwell, senior, 6-2, 295, Chattanooga

DL – Shaundre Mims, senior, 6-0, 276, Charleston Southern

DL – Jared Schiess, senior, 6-3, 300, Weber State

LB – Keonte Hampton, senior, 6-2, 220, Jackson State

LB – Matthew Jackson, senior, 6-2, 205, Eastern Kentucky

LB – Forrest Rhyne, senior, 6-1, 225, Villanova

LB – Jeremiah Tyler, senior, 6-2, 225, Princeton

DB – James Caesar, senior, 5-10, 185, Southern Illinois

DB – Brandon Easterling, senior, 6-0, 203, Dayton

DB – Marcis Floyd, junior, 6-0, 188, Murray State

DB – Robby Hauck, junior, 5-10, 185, Montana

DB – Evan Horn, senior, 6-0, 220, New Hampshire

DB – Tyree Robinson, senior, 5-11, 184, ETSU

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK – Luis Aguilar, grad, 6-3, 200, Northern Arizona

P – Noah Gettman, senior, 6-5, 205, Sacred Heart

P – Brady Schult, senior, 6-1, 215, South Dakota

LS – Matthew O’Donoghue, senior, 6-1, 260, Montana

KR – Malik Flowers, junior, 6-2, 195, Montana

PR – Mike Roussos, senior, 6-0, 195, Columbia

AP – Jake Chisholm, senior, 5-9, 182, Dayton

AP – Isaiah Davis, sophomore, 6-1, 220, South Dakota State

Definitely ready for football to start....

https://ucasports.com/news/2021/8/6/football-experienced-bears-hit-the-field-for-day-1.aspx

CONWAY, Ark. _ An experienced bunch of University of Central Arkansas Bears will officially kick off fall practice Saturday morning, 28 days in front of their season opener at Arkansas State on Sept. 4 in Jonesboro.

The Bears, who return 20 starters, will be prepping for their first season as part of the ASUN-WAC Challenge after 15 successful seasons in the Southland Conference. UCA will play two ASUN members and four WAC members, all former members of the SLC. It starts with practice No. 1 on Saturday.

"From Day 1, I want to see a lot of retention, because we have a veteran team,' said head coach Nathan Brown, entering his fourth season as head coach of his alma mater. "When you return that many starters from a team that had so much success last fall, you should see retention, you should see guys playing fast, understanding what our schemes are. And really going out and not making many mistakes.

"Obviously we've got a good crop of freshman and transfers that are going to integrate into our system, but for the most part of lot of these guys are back for another year, so we're excited about that. It should make for a quick install time so we can into the real part of camp fairly quickly.'

The Bears had a league-best 13 players named to the preseason All-ASUN team, after having 11 student-athletes named to the Fall All-SLC team last fall, including Coach of the Year in Brown. Sophomore wide receiver Tyler Hudson was named the 2020 Fall SLC Offensive Player of the Year and the preseason ASUN Offensive Player of the Year for 2021.

"I think we're going to have a lot of peer leadership, we're going to have a peer-led team,' said Brown. "I think we've got some really good teammates, just because they've been here. We have 10 or 11 of what we're calling super seniors who are using their covid-waiver year for their fifth or sixth year. So when you've got a veteran group like that, they should be leaders, they should be the face of your program.

"I also think, if you look up and down our roster, we have as much team speed as we've ever had. We're just really fast. An emphasis has been put on that in recruiting and we have guys who can really run that have been here. But this freshman class and some of these transfers we brought in that will be competing for a spot can really run at the skill positions. That's something that I'm really excited about.'

Brown said the emphasis early in camp will be on a couple of specific positions.

"We've got to develop a backup quarterback, figure out who's going to win that job,' he said. "We have three capable quarterbacks (third-year freshman Darius Bowers, second-year freshman Hunter Loyd, true freshman Tyler Gee) behind Breylin (Smith). That's going to be a great competition and we have to figure out who's going to be the guy.

"I think offensive line, we feel very comfortable about the first six or seven guys, but we need to continue to build depth there. We have some talented young guys and some guys we were able to redshirt and a couple of true freshmen with a lot of talent. We'll see how we develop that depth on the offensive line.

"And on the defensive side, it's really linebackers, there's going to be a lot of competition in our linebacker room. We feel very solid about our top guys on the defensive line and in the secondary. But at linebacker, you have some key names that are really going to be competing there. Guys like Darin Davenport, Trenton Dunn, T.J. Campbell, Malik Wilson, Kendarrius Moore, a young freshman, Dwain Hunt, another freshman. There are guys that are going to be competing really hard in that room and that will be fun to watch.'

The Bears have several highly touted newcomers, including a quartet of transfers that will be battling for playing time from the start.

"It starts at corner with Willie Langham, a transfer from Tulane,' said Brown. "He's a really long corner who started 8-9 games for Tulane last year, so he's got a ton of experience. Looks the part, can really run, excited to see how he integrates into our defense.

"Kylan Stribling is a safety who is a graduate transfer from Middle Tennessee. He's a guy who had a ton of production at an FBS program. And then Davon Wright, a defensive tackle from Tulane, will be competing for a lot of playing time on the defensive front.
Those three added some maturity to our defense immediately and I'm excited about them.

"On offense, Jaden Salley, an offensive lineman from Arkansas-Monticello has a chance to come in and compete right away. He's also a graduate transfer, an All-Conference player in the GAC (Great American Conference) who is using his last year of eligibility with us. And then Darius Hale, a true freshman who enrolled early in the spring, at running back. I think he's as talented and skilled a running back as we've had. It will be fun to watch him compete with Cameron Myers and some of the guys we already have here for playing time in the running back room.'

UCA finished with a 5-4 record while playing a full fall schedule in 2020, while numerous schools competed in the spring of 2021 and will have a quick turnaround.

PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Saturday, Aug. 7 - practice 9-11 a.m. (helmets)
Sunday, Aug. 8 - practice 3:30-5:30 p.m. (helmets)
Monday, Aug. 9 - practice 9-11 a.m. (shells)
Tuesday, Aug. 10 - practice 9-11 a.m. (shells)
Wednesday, Aug. 11 - practice 9-11 a.m. (shells)
Thursday, Aug. 12 - Photo/Media Day (1:30 interviews)
Friday, Aug. 13 - practice 9-11 a.m. (shells)
Saturday, Aug. 14 - practice 9-11 a.m. (full)
Sunday, Aug. 15 - practice 3:30-5:30 (helmets)
Monday, Aug. 16 - practice 9-11 a.m. (shells)
Tuesday, Aug. 17 - practice 9-11 a.m. (shells)
Wednesday, Aug. 18 - Kickoff Scrimmage 6-7:30 p.m. (full)
Thursday, Aug. 19 - First day of classes

https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2021/aug/13/uca-in-rhythm-for-2021/

Excerpt below.....nice article....

UCA Coach Nathan Brown isn't concerned with long travel just yet. He's got other pressing matters to contend with before his team takes the field against ASU.

"One, we've got to take care of ourselves," he said. "We've got to get the horses to the race, especially some of our key players, and making sure we get good quality work in. We also have to pace those guys so we can get through a football season.

"I've got a lot of talented players on this team and a lot of position battles still going on, and they probably will go on for a couple of weeks. But I also want to see us keep coming together. I want to see who's going to develop as leaders, who's going to continue to push this team in the intangible ways, not just the football ways. Great teams are led by their peers, and that's what our challenge is each day."

is this the toughest schedule in bear history? yikes

A-state is a good G5 school with a lot of transfer help coming in. Bears will need some turnovers and a stout run D to stay in the game, but from what i can tell, we should be very formidable on D this year. lots of talent and experience returning

very excited about the new conference and starting new rivalries. jax st and eku will be fun to play year in and year out. hopefully by 2022 we can rekindle our UNA rivalry. those were some great games back in our gulf south days.

this could be a tough year but one where 7 wins could get us in the playoffs. wondering what effects the spring schedule will have on teams like shsu.

my politically unbiased predictions:
a-state: L
mo st: W
uapb: W
shsu: L
acu: W
eku: W
lamar: W
jax st: W
texas wesleyan?: W
sfa: L
tartleton: W

Nice to lead Red Wolves 7-6 at half but now it gets tough....got to do better than 21 runs for 16 yards....Go Bears!!

Well good effort by the Bears, but ASU was looking for revenge. Plus, I’m pretty sure they found their QB in Lane again. Not sure what happened to make him lose the job in the first place, but he is their man.

Hatcher was 12-12, 150 yards and 4 TD all in the 2nd half!

Bears played hard and limited turnovers.....lack of running game really hurt (no small part was due to ASU's d-line) ....Breylin seemed to have a good night....296 yards passing and only one INT before the last desperation drive....Lujuan and Tyler played well...defense was tremendous thru mid Q3 then the depth issue arose....we really have hard time managing Hatcher....he was really the difference maker....

Still, ASU will be among the best teams we play, especially tier d-line...

In Stillwater, Mo State gave Ok State all the Pokes could handle losing 23-16 with the ball near midfield at end of game.....

Go Bears!!

I thought you guys played very well. You made very few mistakes until we got a couple scores ahead and forced your QB to take chances. Was impressed overall with your defense. Outside of one series, you guys didn't beat yourselves on that side. It took an unreal performance from Hatcher to get us a win.

I think we're unsure ourselves as to how Hatcher didn't win the job at the beginning. There's some thought that Jones wanted to give Blackman a chance since he brought him in from Florida State, but the lack of Spring Ball really hurt him.

Good luck the rest of the season.

University of Central Arkansas junior defensive back Deandre Lamont was named the ASUN Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Lamont, a nickel safety from Baytown, Texas (Goose Creek Memorial High School), led the Bears with 11 tackles and a fumble recovery in their season opener at FBS Arkansas State on Saturday night in Jonesboro.

Lamont had a career-high 11 tackles and his fumble recovery in the first quarter led to the Bears' first touchdown and a 7-0 UCA lead at the 9:53 mark of the first period.

Lamont was UCA's fourth-leading tackler in 2020 with 39 stops, a pair of interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

Along with Offensive player of the week Da'Joun Hewit and Special teams player of the week Patrick Nations, BOTH of EKU

Good Luck Saturday guys.

Looking for Colonels to give Louisville a good game....I could not tell if Ole Miss really is pretty good or Cards just not clicking well.......they did look like quite a bit of speed...

FCS Top 25 - 9/13/21
https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/arti ... fcs-top-25

1 Sam Houston (33) 2-0 1,214 1
2 South Dakota State (9) 2-0 1,190 2
3 James Madison (5) 2-0 1,158 3
4 Montana (3) 2-0 1,110 4
5 North Dakota State 2-0 1,066 5
6 Delaware 2-0 949 6
7 Eastern Washington 2-0 889 7
8 Southern Illinois 1-1 814 8
9 Weber State 1-1 771 10
10 Jacksonville State 1-1 751 16
11 North Dakota 1-1 710 9
12 Villanova 2-0 674 12
13 Montana State 1-1 664 11
14 UC Davis 2-0 661 14
15 Southeastern Louisiana 1-1 511 13
16 ETSU 2-0 497 15
17 Missouri State 1-1 377 23
18 Northern Iowa 1-1 364 21
19 Austin Peay 1-1 336 17
20 Monmouth 1-1 297 20
21 Richmond 2-0 261 25
22 VMI 1-1 146 18
23 New Hampshire 2-0 127 NR
24 Kennesaw State 1-1 121 22
25 Central Arkansas 0-2 105 19

Dropped Out: Holy Cross (24)

Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Furman 90, Chattanooga 74, Rhode Island 67, Murray State 58, Alabama A&M 56, Jackson State 48, Duquesne 32, Nicholls 29, Stephen F. Austin 11, Samford 7, Merrimack 4, Sacramento State 3, Holy Cross 2

FCS Top 25 - 9/19/21
https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/fcs/fcs-coaches-poll

1 Sam Houston (24) 2-0 696 1
2 James Madison (3) 3-0 667 2
3 South Dakota State (1) 2-0 636 3
4 Montana 2-0 586 5
5 North Dakota State 3-0 583 4
6 Eastern Washington 3-0 508 6
7 Villanova 3-0 490 T-9
8 Southern Illinois 2-1 455 T-9
9 Jacksonville State 2-1 447 11
10 UC Davis 3-0 403 12
11 Delaware 2-1 399 7
12 Montana State 2-1 385 13
13 North Dakota 2-1 381 14
14 Northern Iowa 2-1 354 15
15 Weber State 1-2 313 8
16 Southeastern Louisiana 2-1 295 16
17 East Tennessee State 3-0 290 17
18 Missouri State 1-1 209 19
19 Monmouth (N.J.) 2-1 199 20
20 Austin Peay 2-1 143 21
21 Richmond 2-1 126 18
22 New Hampshire 3-0 105 23
23 Chattanooga 1-2 99 22
24 Central Arkansas 1-2 67 24
25 Kennesaw State 2-1 67 NR

Dropped Out: Furman (25)

Others Receiving Votes: Rhode Island, 28; South Dakota, 24; VMI, 23; Furman, 22; Northern Arizona, 19; Murray St., 13; Nicholls, 12; Alabama A&M, 10; Stephen F. Austin, 9; Gardner-Webb, 7; Illinois St., 6; Princeton, 6; Fordham, 5; Duquesne, 4; Harvard, 3; Jackson St., 3; Florida A&M, 1; Holy Cross, 1; UT Martin, 1.

FCS Top 25 - 9/26/21
https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2021-09-27/four-teams-break-latest-fcs-coaches-poll-top-six-remain-unchanged

1 Sam Houston (26) 3-0 698 1
2 James Madison (1) 3-0 658 2
3 South Dakota St. (1) 3-0 652 3
4 Montana 3-0 614 4
5 North Dakota St. 3-0 589 5
6 Eastern Washington 4-0 557 6
7 Southern Illinois 3-1 494 8
8 UC Davis 4-0 479 10
9 Villanova 3-1 426 7
10 Delaware 2-1 425 11
11 North Dakota 2-1 400 13
12 Montana St. 3-1 387 12
13 Northern Iowa 2-1 365 14
14 East Tennessee St. 4-0 334 17
15 Southeastern Louisiana 2-1 317 16
16 Missouri St. 2-1 275 18
17 Jacksonville St. 2-2 224 9
18 Weber St. 1-3 158 15
19 Chattanooga 1-2 143 23
20 Kennesaw St. 2-1 127 T-24
21 Richmond 2-2 115 21
22 VMI 3-1 102 NR
23 Rhode Island 3-0 87 NR
T-24. Holy Cross 3-1 67 NR
T-24. UT Martin 3-1 67 NR

Dropped Out: Monmouth (N.J.) (19), Austin Peay (20), New Hampshire (22), Central Arkansas (24t)

Others Receiving Votes: Central Arkansas, 47; New Hampshire, 44; Alabama A&M, 41; Stephen F. Austin, 36; Austin Peay, 20; Princeton, 20; Eastern Kentucky, 18; Mercer, 17; Nicholls, 15; Harvard, 12; Monmouth (N.J.), 12; UIW, 10; Gardner-Webb, 9; Jackson St., 8; Charleston Southern, 5; Duquesne, 5; Illinois St., 5; Murray St., 5; North Carolina A&T, 4; Northern Arizona, 3; Northern Colorado, 3; Florida A&M, 1.