NC Central rides freshman QB to the top
ROSCOE NANCE
Special to the BCSP
The North Carolina Central Eagles are on the verge of the first undefeated season in school history after staring down a set of adverse circumstances that could have ruined their last season in the CIAA before moving to Division I-AA and the MEAC.
Three weeks before the season started, the Eagles lost three assistant coaches, including their offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. Two weeks later, senior quarterback Adrian Warren - a two-year starter and the 2004 CIAA offensive player of the year - left the team.
But the Eagles haven't missed a beat, or lost a game, as
red-shirt freshman Stadford Brown has run the offense flawlessly and
offensive coordinator Moses Rison, offensive line coach
James Spady and linebackers coach
Derrick Arnold have made seamless transitions.
"That knocked me for a loop,'' Eagles fourth-year coach Rod Broadway says of the personnel losses. "Throw them in with what I think is a back-breaking schedule and I'm real proud of this team for a job well done. The team has responded real well and the coaches we brought in have done a good job.''
The Eagles, 9-0 and the defending CIAA champions and 2005 NCAA Div. II playoff participant, have clearly been the class of the conference. They went into last weekend's game against Livingstone ranked at the top in 10 statistical categories. After Hampton's loss a couple of weeks ago, they're now the only undefeated team in black college football and on top of the BCSP Top Ten and the Sheridan poll.
"We've done it with good players and good coaches,'' Broadway says. "We have some outstanding players in our program. They play hard and they play fast. They've bought into what we're trying to do. It helps when you surround yourself with good people. That's what we've done.''
North Carolina Central has clinched its second consecutive CIAA Western Division championship and can wrap up a perfect regular season when the Eagles host Johnson C. Smith for homecoming Saturday. Still ahead is the CIAA championship game and postseason appearance in the Division II playoffs or the Pioneer Bowl against the representative of the SIAC.
"Any time you go undefeated, it's important,'' Broadway says, adding that he hasn't given any thought to a perfect season, focusing instead on the upcoming opponent each week.
"We try to keep everything in perspective and not get ahead of ourselves. I learned that my first year. We started 3-1 and guys were talking about the CIAA championship, playoffs and all that. We lost four in a row. I learned not to look ahead. I try to keep them in the now and focus on the job at hand.''
The Eagles began the season in impressive fashion, shutting out defending SIAC champion Albany State 20-0. They really opened eyes when they defeated Southern University at Mumford Stadium in Baton Rouge, La., which is one of the most hostile venues in black college football.
CIAA coaches picked NCCU to finish behind Fayetteville State in their preseason predictions for the Western Division, a team the Eagles walloped 49-6 on Oct. 14. FSU QB Jonathan Autry had been chosen as the league's first-team all-conference signal caller. Brown wasn't even in the picture.
"His growth has been remarkable,'' Broadway says. "He's done an outstanding job of managing the team and keeping a level head. "He has protected the ball really well, and he has gotten the ball into the hands of our playmakers most of the year. But to expect him to play the way he has played this early in his career? We thought he was going to be a great player by the time he finished, but we didn't think he would play this well this quick.''
The coaches may be surprised by Brown's play, but Brown isn't.
"Actually, I was going into the season with the mindset that I was going to be the No. 1 quarterback whether the offensive coordinator said it or not,'' he says. "I was going to work hard enough where he had no choice but to start me.''
Brown was CIAA Offensive Back of the Week for his performance in North Carolina Central's 37-15 victory against Livingstone. He completed 12 of 21 passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for a touchdown.
For the season, he is the CIAA's top passer with a 54.3 completion percentage (119 of 219) for 1,883 yards and 21 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. Brown along with Elizabeth City State QB Curtis Rich, Virginia Union QB Lamar Little and Bowie State RB Nathaniel Queen are favorites for the league's offensive player of the year award.
"I don't think I've played my best game yet,'' says Brown, who starred at Dunbar High in Washington, D.C. "I give myself a B at the highest. I haven't had an A+ game yet. I feel like I need to make better decisions, read the defense better.''
Brown says things have gotten easier for him as the season has progressed, in part because of the experience he has gained from going against the Eagles' defense in practice.
"They're one of the top defenses around,'' he says. Practicing against their fast pace caught me up to other teams as well.''
© 2006 Azeez Communications, Inc.