Monmouth University (1-1, 1-0 CAA) vs. Campbell University (1-1, 0-1 CAA)
Saturday, September 16, 2023; 1:00 p.m.
Kessler Stadium (4,200), West Long Branch, NJ
 
Television/Streaming Video
NBC Sports Philadelphia / SNY / FloSports
Play-by-Play: Eddy Occhipinti    
Analyst: Emory Hunt
 
COMMUNITY DAY
Celebrate our on and off campus community from 11am - kick off in the driveway of Kessler Stadium. Meet and explore various organizations, clubs, businesses and more!

Ticket Information
For tickets click HERE for more information
 
Kessler Stadium Information
For information and directions click HERE
                           
HOME OPENER
Saturday's game is the home opener for Monmouth after starting the season with a pair of road contests. Both teams are coming off road victories with Monmouth pulling away from Towson in the fourth quarter for a 19-point win and Campbell handling The Citadel, 56-7.
 
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
Monmouth is coming off a 5-6 season in 2022 and was picked to finish eighth in the CAA Preseason Poll. Campbell was picked 12th in the poll after joining the CAA following a 5-6, 2-3 season in the Big South last year.
 
A WIN WOULD
A win would give the Hawks their second CAA victory of the season and move the team to 2-1 overall. Monmouth is searching to remain unbeaten and move to 4-0 all-time against Campbell. The Hawks are looking to be the first CAA team to start the season 2-0 in league play. Kevin Callahan would win his 180th career game.

THE COACHING MATCHUP
Kevin Callahan
31st Season / 179-136
 
Mike Minter
11th Season / 45-60
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Series Record 3-0
At Monmouth 1-0
At Campbell 2-0
Most Monmouth points 47, 11/16/19
Most Campbell points 21, 10/20/18
Most combined points 59, 10/20/18
Biggest Monmouth win 47-10, 11/16/19
Current streak Monmouth, W3
 
PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA HONORS
Jaden Shirden claimed five national preseason All-America honors from Phil Steele, Stats Perform, Hero Sports, Athlon Sports and The Bluebloods. Shirden completed his sophomore season as the nation's leading rusher and earned consensus All-America honors from six different major publications. Shirden led the entire country in rushing at the end of the regular season, including FBS running backs, with 1,722 yards. His 8.4 yards per carry and 156.5 rushing yards per game were both tops in the FCS, earning him CAA Offensive Player of the Year honors. Shirden averaged an impressive 52.8 yards on 13 touchdown runs, including eight 50+ yard touchdown runs.
 
SWEETNESS
Coming off a third-place finish in last year's voting, junior RB Jaden Shirden was named to the 2023 Stats Perform Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List presented by FedEx Ground. The award is given annually to the top offensive player in the FCS following the regular season. Shirden's inclusion on the Payton Award Watch List is the second of his career and he is the sixth in program history to be named to the list, joining Monmouth greats David Sinisi (2008), Reggie White Jr. (2018), Pete Guerriero (2019), Kenji Bahar (2019) and Juwon Farri (2021 and 2022).
 
SHIRDEN AND THE CENTURY MARK
Jaden Shirden has rushed for over 100 yards 11 times in his career, and has accomplished the feat in 10 of his last 12 games. He is the fifth player in program history to have 11 career 100-yard performances. Along with Shirden on the list is Julian Hayes (11), Juwon Farri (12), Pete Guerriero (20) and the all-time leader David Sinisi (25).
 
DOUBLE THE FUN
Jaden Shirden has run for more than 200 yards four times, including a program-record 299-yard performance on 12 carries against Forham in 2022. Shirden trails only Pete Guerriero (2017-19), who owns the Monmouth record with five-career 200-yard rushing games. Monmouth's all-time leading rusher David Sinisi (2006-09) also had four 200-yard games during his career, a mark Shirden reached during his electric sophomore season.
 
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
Harvard graduate transfer linebacker Jake Brown was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week following his performance in the Hawks' win over Towson. Brown led Monmouth's defensive efforts with a team-high seven tackles, a pair of sacks and forced a critical fumble in the 42-23 victory. Holding on to a 28-23 lead with less than six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Brown jarred the football loose from Towson quarterback Nathan Kent. The fumble was recovered by Miles Mitchell inside Towson territory and Monmouth scored two plays later to regain a two-possession lead.
 
TALKING TURNOVERS
Monmouth leads the CAA in turnover margin with a plus-four differential after forcing four turnovers in the win at Towson. The Hawks recovered two second-half fumbles, Eddie Morales III intercepted a pass to end a long Towson drive and Davis Smith sealed the game with an interception to offset an early fumble on offense. Monmouth was plus-three on the night and won the turnover battle with a Jake Brown interception and Morales III's fumble recovery in the season opener against FAU. The four-turnover effort against Towson is tied for the CAA single-game lead this season.
 
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Monmouth's defense held Towson to 75 yards rushing, the best total since it limited Georgetown to 61 yards on Sept. 17, 2022. Monmouth had its first four sack game of the season, a feat it accomplished twice last season against Rhode Island and Stony Brook. Monmouth held Towson to 2-of-10 on third down and 1-of-2 on fourth down in the victory. The last time Monmouth had four sacks and four turnovers in the same game was against Gardner-Webb in 2014.
 
POUND THE ROCK
Monmouth's 48 rushing attempts at Towson were the most for a CAA team in a game this season. Sone Ntoh's 66-yard run is tied for the longest in the league this year with Delaware's Marcus Yarns at Penn State and Villanova's Jalen Jackson at Lehigh. Ntoh scored three rushing TDs against Towson, the most in a single game in the CAA in 2023. Jaden Shirden's 145 rushing yards and 33 attempts are both the most in a game for a CAA player this year.
 
MCCRAY NAMED STARTING QUARTERBACK
Sacred Heart graduate transfer Marquez McCray will lead Monmouth's offense in 2023. McCray played in 32 games across four seasons at Sacred Heart and helped the Pioneers win three Northeast Conference championships before joining the Hawks ahead of the Spring 2023 semester. McCray threw for 5,002 yards on 422-of-673 passing with 26 touchdowns and 15 interceptions and led the NEC in passing yards with 1,973 last season.
 
MCCRAY'S WIDEOUT WEAPONS
Monmouth's top two wideouts from 2022 are back for 2023. Senior Dymere Miller led Monmouth in all three receiving categories with 55 catches for 820 yards and seven touchdowns in nine games, while fifth-year senior Assanti Kearney had 37 grabs for 638 yards and four TD catches in 2022. Dre Tucker added 12 catches for 184 yards and three scores behind Miller and Kearney.

IMPACT TRANSFERS
Monmouth welcomed the addition of several impact players from the transfer portal ahead of the 2023 season. Graduate linebacker Jake Brown came to Monmouth from Harvard where he was a 2022 All-Ivy League Honorable Mention choice. The defensive line features two-time All-PSAC First Team selection Nick White (Gannon University - DII), Isaiah Oduro (Lackawanna College), Isaiah Rogers (Central Michigan) and Antonio Colclough (JMU). Offensively Harvard running back Sone Ntoh and reserve offensive lineman Matt Fries (Illinois) are the new faces to know. On special teams, Luke Schabel (Incarnate Word) has taken over as the team's primary punter.
 
LEADERSHIP ROLES
Five Hawks, three on offense and two on defense, will lead the Monmouth program this year as team captains. OL Greg Anderson, OL Tyler Williams, WR Dymere Miller, DB/PR Eddie Morales III and LB Ryan Moran will serve in leadership roles. Anderson, an All-CAA selection a season ago, has appeared 36 career games for the Blue & White, starting 18 contests. Williams started every game at center a season ago, leading the way for the CAA's top scoring offense and the nation's leading rusher. Miller is one of the most explosive wide receivers in Division I football, finishing with 820 yards and seven touchdowns in nine games last season.  Morales III, a captain a season ago, is in his sixth season with the Hawks after suffering a season-ending injury in 2022.The versatile defensive back has 143 tackles and seven interceptions in 43 games. Moran started all 11 games at linebacker last season and totaled 50 tackles.
 
MILLER TIME
Dymere Miller was Monmouth's leading receiver last season with 55 catches for 820 yards and seven touchdowns in nine games. Miller missed Monmouth's games against Fordham and Georgetown, but bounced back to make a big impact on the offense. He had 62 yards on five catches with a TD at Villanova, before a career-day with nine grabs for 125 yards and a score at Lehigh. Miller had another 100-yard day with six catches for 116 yards in the UAlbany win. Against Towson in 2022, Miller registered his first-career two-touchdown game with eight grabs for 99 yards. Miller opened the 2023 season with a career-high 10 catches for 78 yards at FAU. Miller's 10 catches were the most for a Monmouth player since Reggie White Jr. had 10 at Gardner Webb on Nov. 17, 2018. He had five grabs for 61 yards against Towson to move into the top 10 in program history with 1,233 career receiving yards.
 
AK MAKES PLAYS
Wide receiver Assanti Kearney became a major weapon for Monmouth's offense last season and he was second on the team in catches (37), yards (638) and touchdowns (4). He set new career highs in catches (6) at Maine, yards vs. Fordham (121) and touchdowns (2) in the win over Villanova. Kearney was named to Phil Steele's CAA Preseason All-Conference Fourth Team and has three touchdown catches in the first two games this year. Kearney delivered a 27-yard touchdown reception on fourth down in the season opener at FAU before hauling in TD receptions of 36 and 16 yards in the victory on Saturday night at Towson.
 
MORE WEAPONS EMERGE
In addition to Dymere Miller and Assanti Kearney, Marquez McCray has a number of options to spread the ball around. TJ Speight had career-highs of six receptions for 72 yards and a 15-yard rush in the season opener and followed that effort up with another six-catch night for 30 yards in the win over Towson. Dre Tucker hauled in a 16-yard touchdown in the season opener at Towson and recovered a muffed punt on special teams against the Tigers.
 
CAA IN THE POLLS
Five CAA teams are ranked in the Stats Perform Poll and four are in the top 25 of the AFCA Coaches Poll. William & Mary leads the group of ranked CAA teams at #4/4, followed by New Hampshire at #11/11, Delaware at #19/22 and Rhode Island at #20/21. Villanova is now in the top 25 of the Stats Perform Poll at No. 24. UAlbany, Campbell, Richmond and Villanova were the other teams receiving votes in the polls.
 
MONMOUTH AGAINST THE COASTAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
Monmouth is one of 15 current members of the CAA in football, with the new additions of former Big South Conference opponents Campbell (3-0) and North Carolina A&T (1-0) in 2023. The Hawks are 24-32 all-time against current CAA opponents. Monmouth has never played three teams in the conference; Elon, Richmond and William & Mary. The Hawks' wins over Hampton (3-0) came as a member of the Big South Conference, while UAlbany (6-12) and Stony Brook (6-4) were foes at times during Monmouth's time as a member of the Northeast Conference. The Hawks improved to 2-8 all-time against Towson. Bryant will join CAA Football ahead of the 2024 season and increase the league's membership to 16.

TICKETS FOR MONMOUTH HOME GAMES ON SALE NOW!
Season tickets, group tickets and individual tickets are on sale now for Monmouth's home contests in 2023 Visit MonmouthHawks.com/Tickets for more information
 
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