Football 8/31/2023 10:42:00 AM Assistant Sports Info

GAMEDAY CENTRAL: North Greenville Opens the '23 Season at Charleston Southern

Its finally here! North Greenville Football opens the 2023 season tonight against Charleston Southern in Goose Creek.

The Crusaders look to win the season opener for the first time in two years while earning a win over a Division I opponent since defeating Presbyterian in 2010. North Greenville finished the 2022 campaign with a 4 – 7 mark, losing three of those games by a touchdown or less. This year's schedule proves to be challenging once again as the Crusaders will play four games against ranked opponents including three Gulf South games.

Series History
North Greenville and Charleston Southern have history. The Crusaders and Bucs have played 12 – times dating back to the first meeting in 2001, a 38 – 0 win for CSU. The Cru are 1 – 11 against the Buccaneers, the lone win coming 2003 when NGU earned a 49 – 21 win on the road. Charleston Southern is one of a handful of Division I teams that have played IN Tigerville however 10 of the 12 games have been played at Buccaneer Field in Goose Creek.

Pre-Season All Conference
North Greenville had a pair of players make the GSC All – Conference team this season, the second most in program history as a member of the conference. De'Iveon Donald earned his second pre-season nod while Corey Watkins landed on the list for the first time in his career at North Greenville.

De'Iveon Donald continues to be one of the GSC's most consistent defenders, leading the Crusaders in tackles in 2022. Donald finished with 81 – tackles so far in 2022 including 42 – solo stops and 39 assists. Donald also has five tackles for a loss this season and a sack while helping in pass defense with a break-up to go along with four hurries and a fumble recovery. He was a First-Team All-Conference honoree last season.

Watkins is coming off of the program's first 1,000 yard rushing season since the 2016 season. He has added an explosive element to North Greenville's offense with both speed and power.
Watkins returns in 2023 as the Gulf South's second leading rusher with 1,064 yards while averaging 5.9 yards per carry. In 2022, Watkins led the league in average rushing yards per game with 106.4 per contest with five touchdowns. His longest score of the year came from 72 – yards out. He proved to be a threat in the passing game as well, catching nine passes for 74 yards and a touchdown. Watkins earned Second Team All-Conference honors following the 2022 season.

New Faces
Coach Farrington was busy this off season filling several roles on the staff left vacant. The result, one of the youngest coaching staffs in the country at any level of college football with an average age (minus the HBC who is in his 60's) in the lower 30's.

Donny Baker was promoted in the off season to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach after a season coaching NGU's wide receivers. NGU welcomed back an alum to the staff in Stewart Hunt who took over the wide receiver spot. Hunt played football and baseball for North Greenville.

Jackson Williamson was hired as the new offensive line coach for the Crusaders and will return to his Alma Mater tonight as NGU takes on CSU.

Jireh Wilson returns to North Greenville to take over as the defensive coordinator after spending a season at Gardner Webb. Wilson was NGU's outside linebackers coach in 2021 before taking a job with the Bulldogs.

Ty Young takes over the NGU Linebacking Corps and will serve as the team's run-game coordinator and special teams coordinator.

Players to Watch

Dylan Ramirez – The true sophomore quarterback started 10 of 11 games for North Greenville last season and set freshman records in the process. Ramirez threw for 2,500 yards and 18 scores.
Corey Watkins – Watkins was a 2^nd Team All Conference last year after becoming NGU's first 1,000 yard rusher since the 2016 season. Watkins 1,135 yards and accounted for five touchdowns.
Lewis McBeth – The offensive lineman is back for NGU to anchor a front five that helped NGU average 27 – points a game last season and 402 – yards a game of total offense. McBeth started in all 11 of NGU's games in 2022 and has graded out the highest of any offensive lineman over those games, averaging 89-percent this season. He allowed just four sacks in more than 300 passing attempts and has also been an anchor in the running game with 11 – knockdowns to pave the way for North Greenville's runners which are averaging 130 yards a game this season.
Kendrick Clark – GSC coaches know all about Kendrick Clark who was one of the best pass defenders in the league last season. Clark was named the Freshman Defensive Player of the Year last year after leading the league in interceptions with four on the season. He returned two of those for touchdowns including a 94 – yard score.
De'Iveon Donald – A former FDOY and two – time All Conference winner is a force on NGU's defense. He finished the 2022 campaign as the team's leading tackler with 99 – stops on the season. He finished with six tackles for a loss and a sack.