Game 1 -- August 30, 2003, 7:00 EDT Kickoff Furman Paladins (0-0, 0-0 SoCon) vs. Elon Phoenix (0-0, 0-0 SoCon) Greenville, South Carolina, Paladin Stadium (16,000) — Natural Surface TV: Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS) Radio: WCSZ-AM 1070 (Greenville) Internet: http://www.furmanpaladins.com (Live)
Furman Football SID: Hunter Reid (864) 294-2061 Elon Football SID: Matt Eviston (336) 278-6711 Furman Web Site: www.furmanpaladins.com Elon Web Site: www.elon.edu/athletics
2003 FURMAN RESULTS/SCHEDULE 2002 FINAL SOCON STANDINGS SoCon Overall Date Opponent Score/Time Result Team W L .Pct W L .Pct Aug. 30 ...... ELON (CSS) ...... 7:00 Georgia Southern ...... 7 1 .875 11 3 .786 Sept. 6 ...... @ Clemson (Charter) ...... 5:00 Furman ...... 6 2 .750 8 4 .667 Sept. 20 ...... RICHMOND ...... 7:00 Appalachian State ...... 6 2 .750 8 4 .667 Sept. 27 ...... GARDNER-WEBB ...... 2:00 Wofford ...... 6 2 .750 9 3 .750 Oct. 4 ...... @ Western Carolina ...... 6:00 VMI...... 3 5 .375 6 6 .500 Oct. 11 ...... APPALACHIAN STATE (FSN) ...... 3:30 Western Carolina ...... 3 5 .375 5 6 .454 Oct. 18 ...... @ The Citadel (CSS) ...... 3:30 Chattanooga ...... 2 6 .250 2 10 .167 Oct. 25 ...... EAST TENNESSEE STATE...... 2:00 East Tennessee State ...... 2 6 .250 4 8 .333 Nov. 8 ...... @ Georgia Southern (CSTV) ...... 1:00 The Citadel ...... 1 7 .125 3 9 .250 Nov. 15 ...... WOFFORD ...... 2:00 Nov. 22 ...... @ Chattanooga (TFN ) ...... 3:30 2003 SOCON STANDINGS SoCon Overall CSS - Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast Team W L .Pct W L .Pct Charter - Greenville Market Only Appalachian State ...... 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 FSN - Fox Sports Network-Southeast Chattanooga ...... 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 CSTV - Collegiate Sports Television East Tennessee State ...... 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 TFN - The Football Network Elon ...... 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 Furman ...... 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 THE GAME Georgia Southern ...... 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 The Citadel ...... 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 Furman kicks off the 2003 season on Saturday when it hosts new Western Carolina ...... 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 Southern Conference member Elon at Paladin Stadium in a 7:00 p.m. game Wofford ...... 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 televised by Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS). The contest will highlight Paladin Club/Hall-of-Fame Night at Furman and represent the August 28 league conference debut for the Phoenix, who will be making their fifth Samford @ Chattanooga, 7:00 consecutive trip to Greenville since 1999. The August 30 season opener East Tennessee State @ Eastern Michigan, 8:00 marks the earliest inaugural in Furman football history and first time since 1974 the Paladins have opened the season versus a conference opponent August 30 (vs. VMI, 0-7 loss). Wofford @ Air Force, 2:00 Charleston Southern @ The Citadel, 3:30 THE COACHES Western Carolina @ N.C. State, 6:00 Elon @ Furman, 7:00 Furman: Bobby Lamb (Furman ‘86) Appalachian State @ Hawaii, 12:05 a.m. 8-4 (.667), 2nd Year at Furman 8-4 (.667), 2nd Year Overall 2003 PRE-SEASON HONORS Lamb vs. Elon (1-0) Preseason All-Southern Conference Elon: Al Seagraves (Shippensburg ‘75) TE Willis Sudderth (1st Team) 38-39 (.494), 7 Years Years at Elon WR Isaac West (1st Team) 38-39 (.494), 7 Years Overall PK Danny Marshall (1st Team) Seagraves vs. Furman (1-4) OT Ben Bainbridge (2nd Team) C Craig Morgan (2nd Team) DE Travis Jones (2nd Team) CSS TV BROADCAST TEAM LB Cedrick Ritter (2nd Team) Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast TV FS Cam Newton (2nd Team) Bob Rathbun, play-by-play; RS Brian Bratton (2nd Team) Bob Chmiel, analyst; Southern Conference Polls SoCon Head Coaches (T2nd) FURMAN RADIO BROADCAST TEAM SoCon Media (2nd) Furman Radio NCAA I-AA National Polls WCSZ-AM 1070 Sports Network (8th) Chuck Hussion, play-by-play; ESPN-USA Today (9th) John Ingles, analyst; Gordon Higgins, sideline
2003 FURMAN PALADINS FOOTBALL THE SERIES SCORING SUMMARY
Furman owns a 5-1 series lead over Elon and enters Saturday’s game F—Isaac West 78 pass from Billy Napier (Danny Marshall kick) 14:36-1Q riding a three-game winning streak over the Phoenix. All six games have 1 play, 78 yards, TOP 0:24 ...... 7- 0 been played in Greenville. F — Brian Bratton 9 run (Danny Marshall kick) 9:40-1Q 7 plays, 54 yards, TOP 3:19 ...... 14- 0 Year Result Score Site Furman Coach F—Isaac West 71 pass from Billy Napier (Danny Marshall kick) 8:19-1Q 1920 ...... W ...... 33-0 ...... GREENVILLE ...... W.L. Laval 1 play, 74 yards, TOP 0:12 ...... 21- 0 1997 ...... W ...... 38-20 ...... GREENVILLE ...... Bobby Johnson F — Bear Rinehart 7 pass from Billy Napier (Danny Marshall kick) 6:24-1Q 1999 ...... L ...... 22-24 ...... GREENVILLE ...... Bobby Johnson 4 plays, 24 yards, TOP 1:36 ...... 28- 0 2000 ...... W ...... 16-3 ...... GREENVILLE ...... Bobby Johnson F — Isaac West 11 pass from Billy Napier (Danny Marshall kick) 3:33-2Q 2001 ...... W ...... 46-7 ...... GREENVILLE ...... Bobby Johnson 4 plays, 27 yards, TOP 1:41 ...... 35- 0 2002 ...... W ...... 57-7 ...... GREENVILLE ...... Bobby Lamb F — Al Means 1 run (Danny Marshall kick) 12:11-2Q 6 plays, 50 yards, TOP 2:12 ...... 42- 0 THE OFFENSES F — Brian Bratton 9 pass from Bo Moore (Danny Marshall kick) 0:36-2Q 4 plays, 80 yards, TOP 1:52 ...... 49- 0 Furman: Multiple Elon: Multiple F — Lamar Rembert 4 run (John Marks pass) 4:09-4Q '02 Points/Game — 30.4 ‘02 Points/Game — 22.6 8 plays, 57 yards, TOP 4:50 ...... 57- 0 '02 Yards/Game — 413.8 ‘02 Yards/Game — 290.7 E — Kyle Belkoski 23 pass from James Murdaugh (A. Turowski kick) 1:32-4Q Rushing — 195.6 Rushing — 223.1 7 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:37 ...... 57- 7 Passing — 152.4 Passing — 67.6 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS THE DEFENSES Rushing: F — Mays 15-88, Marra 5-30, Brigham 4-28, Emerson 4-18, West Furman: 43 Elon: 43 1-12, Rembert 3-11, Bratton 1-9, Means 1-9, Moore 1-4, O’Neal 3-4, Tant '02 Points/Game — 21.3 ‘02 Points/Game — 32.0 1-2, Cain 1-0. E — Fulmore 9-43, Palmer 12-36, Singletary 9-35, Swindell '02 Yards/Game — 334.2 ‘02 Yards/Game — 398.1 6-22, Murdaugh 3-13, Mitchell 2-8, Banks 1-3, Johnson 2-3. Rushing — 181.8 Rushing — 156.8 Passing: F — Napier 8-10-0-237, Moore 5-7-0-90. E — Singletary 5-13- Passing — 152.4 Passing — 241.3 2-36, Murdaugh 5-5-0-63. Receiving: F — Rinehart 4-58, West 3-160, Rust 2-23, Rump 2-9, Carter LAST MEETING 1-68, Bratton 1-9. E — Belkoski 2-33, Smith 2-20, Mitchell 2-15, Utz 1-21, Neal 1-7, Banks 1-2, Johnson 1-1. GREENVILLE, S.C. -- A two-hour lightning delay didn’t faze NCAA I- AA seventh-ranked Furman as quarterback Billy Napier threw for 237 SPORTS NETWORK NCAA I-AA FOOTBALL POLL yards and four touchdowns to lead the Paladins to a 57-7 romp over Elon (Preseason) and hand head coach Bobby Lamb his first collegiate victory. Rnk. Team 2002 Record Points Previous Napier connected with split end Isaac West on three of his four touch- 1) McNeese State (25) ...... 13-2 ...... 1,905 ...... 2 down strikes, including a 78-yarder on the Paladins’ first offensive play to 2) Georgia Southern (16) ...... 11-3 ...... 1,832 ...... 3 give Furman a quick 7-0 lead. The duo later hooked up on scoring tosses 3) Western Illinois (15) ...... 11-2 ...... 1,733 ...... 5 covering 71 and 11 yards to help put the Paladins ahead 35-0 after the first 4) Montana (5) ...... 11-3 ...... 1,729 ...... 7 quarter. 5) Western Kentucky (17)...... 12-3 ...... 1,532 ...... 1 “I told the guys in the locker room that we should start every game 6) Northeastern ...... 10-3 ...... 1,270 ...... 11 at 9:00 p.m.,” said Lamb after his team was forced to wait two hours 7) Grambling State (2) ...... 11-2 ...... 1,208 ...... 8 before kickoff due to lightning and heavy rains. “I was really proud of the 8) Furman ...... 8-4 ...... 1,194 ...... 9 defense after what happened last week (versus Vanderbilt). Offensively 9) Appalachian State ...... 8-4 ...... 1,161 ...... 10 our plan was to go up top. When Billy hit Isaac striding, that really got us 10) Bethune-Cookman ...... 11-2 ...... 1,001 ...... 15 going and jump started us for a big first half.” 11) Idaho State ...... 8-3 ...... 926 ...... 18 “It was bang, bang, bang so quickly in the first quarter that we really 12) Villanova ...... 11-4 ...... 908 ...... 4 didn’t have much of a chance to get in the game,” said Elon coach Al 13) Fordham ...... 10-3 ...... 890 ...... 12 Seagraves. “They gashed us and took us to the wood shed early.” 14) Massachusetts ...... 8-4 ...... 779 ...... NR Furman’s 35-point first quarter matched the highest scoring quarter 15) Montana State ...... 7-6 ...... 773 ...... 19 in school history, and West’s three touchdown receptions tied a school 16) Maine ...... 11-3 ...... 745 ...... 6 record held by two others. Napier, who completed 8-of-10 passes, exited 17) Delaware ...... 6-6 ...... 741 ...... NR the game along with many of Furman’s offensive starters early in the sec- 18) Eastern Illinois ...... 8-4 ...... 584 ...... 13 ond quarter after fullback Al Means’ 1-yard touchdown plunge put the 19) Wofford ...... 9-3 ...... 576 ...... 14 Paladins ahead 42-0 at the 12:11 mark. 20) Southeast Missouri ...... 8-4 ...... 508 ...... 24 The Paladins, who found the end zone on their first six possessions, 21) Pennsylvania ...... 9-1 ...... 503 ...... 17 closed out the first half scoring outburst when backup quarterback Bo 22) Northwestern State ...... 9-4 ...... 403 ...... 16 Moore connected with Brian Bratton on a 9-yard touchdown pass with 23) Nicholls State ...... 7-4 ...... 350 ...... 23 0:36 left to make it 49-0. 24) Stephen F. Austin ...... 6-5 ...... 274 ...... NR Elon avoided the shutout when James Murdaugh hit Kyle Belkoski on 25) Eastern Kentucky ...... 8-4 ...... 237 ...... 21 a 23-yard touchdown pass with 1:32 left in the game. Furman, which turned to reserves for the entire second half, rolled FURMAN WEEK-BY-WEEK IN TSN up 542 yards in offense, including 327 through the air. West’s three recep- tions went for touchdowns and accounted for 160 yards, and redshirt Preseason ...... 8 Oct. 13...... freshman tailback Brandon Mays paced all rushers with 88 yards on 15 Sept. 1 ...... Oct. 20...... carries. Sept. 8 ...... Oct. 27...... Sept. 15 ...... Nov. 3...... SCORE BY QUARTERS Sept. 22 ...... Nov. 10...... Sept. 29 ...... Nov. 17...... Furman ...... 35 14 0 8 — 57 Oct. 6 ...... Nov. 24...... Elon ...... 0007—7 2003 FURMAN PALADINS FOOTBALL Defense: F — Knight 7 (5 solo, 2 ast., 1 TFL), Latimer 5 (3 solo, 2 ast.), 1920-40, including triumphs over Virginia (13-10, 1923) and Duke (13-7, Slagle 5 (2 solo, 3 ast.), South 4 (4 solo), Whetstone 4 (4 solo, 1 TFL, 1 FR), 1927; 6-0, 1928), among others. Porter 3 (3 solo), Overdyke 3 (2 solo, 1 ast., 2 TFL, 1 Sack). E — Warren 7 (3 solo, 4 ast.). FURMAN IN LAST 10 SEASON OPENERS (3-7) Year Oppponent Score Result TEAM STATISTICS 1993 CONNECTICUT ...... 26-17 ...... W FUR ELON 1994 @ Clemson ...... 6-27 ...... L First Downs ...... 23...... 15 1995 @ Georgia Tech ...... 7-51 ...... L Rushing ...... 43-215...... 44-163 1996 @ Clemson ...... 3-19 ...... L Passing...... 327...... 99 1997 @ Samford ...... 29-10 ...... W C/A/I ...... 13-17-0...... 10-18-2 1998 @ Clemson ...... 0-33 ...... L Total Offense ...... 542...... 262 1999 ELON ...... 22-24 ...... L Fumbles-Lost ...... 4-2...... 1-1 2000 ELON ...... 16-3 ...... W Penalties ...... 2-15...... 4-35 2001 @ Wyoming ...... 14-20 ...... L Punts ...... 2-43.5...... 6-35.2 2002 @ Vanderbilt ...... 18-49 ...... L Punt Returns ...... 1-11...... 1-(-1) Kickoff Returns ...... 2-43...... 8-115 PALADINS IN PRESEASON POLLS...A consensus preseason Possession Time ...... 28:42...... 31:18 second place Southern Conference pick by league head coaches and media, Third Down Conversions ...... 7-10...... 5-14 Furman also recently earned No. 8 and No. 9 national rankings in Sports Fourth Down Conversions ...... 1-1...... 0-2 Network and ESPN-USA Today NCAA I-AA preseason polls. The Paladins Sacks By ...... 1-3...... 0-0 finished the 2002 campaign ranked ninth nationally.
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE COACHES PRESEASON POLL NOTING THE PALADINS Rank Team Points 1) Georgia Southern (8) ...... 64 FURMAN TO KICK OFF 98TH SEASON...The 2003 season T2) FURMAN ...... 52 opener against Elon will mark the 98th season of football at Furman. The Appalachian State (1) ...... 52 first school in South Carolina (along with Wofford) to play football, Furman 4) Western Carolina ...... 42 since 1889 has rolled up a 508-387-38 record. A member of the Southern 5) Wofford ...... 39 Conference since 1936, Furman has captured a record 11 league champi- 6) The Citadel ...... 26 onships (1978, ‘80, ‘81, ‘82, ‘83, ‘85, ‘88, ‘89, ‘90, ‘99, & ‘01). In 1988 the 7) Chattanooga ...... 21 Paladins became the first Southern Conference team and only private 8) East Tennessee State ...... 17 school to ever win an NCAA I-AA national title by defeating Georgia 9) Elon ...... 11 Southern 17-12 in Pocatello, Idaho. SOUTHERN CONFERENCE MEDIA PRESEASON POLL THE NEWCOMER AND VETERAN...Saturday’s Furman-Elon Rank Team Points game represents the Southern Conference debut for Elon, the league’s 1) Georgia Southern (30) ...... 293 newest member. For the Paladins, meanwhile, the clash will mark the 376th 2) FURMAN (2) ...... 250 conference game in Furman history. 3) Appalachian State (1) ...... 236 4) Wofford ...... 170 SOCON MAN...As head coaching tenures go, Bobby Lamb ‘86, 5) Western Carolina ...... 168 who is beginning his second season at the helm of the Paladin program, 6) The Citadel ...... 150 certainly doesn’t qualify as a veteran, but when factoring in total years of 7) East Tennessee State ...... 81 association with Southern Conference schools, he could rightfully be 8) Chattanooga ...... 76 considered the dean of league head coaches. For Lamb, 40, the 2003 9) Elon ...... 61 campaign will mark his 22nd season at Furman. That tenure includes four seasons as a player (1982-85), 16 years as an assistant coach (1986-01), and PALADIN STADIUM PUNCH...Furman enjoys a true home field one season as head coach (2002). No other league mentor can match that advantage at Paladin Stadium, where since 1981 (22 seasons) the purple and length of service to a league school. white have compiled a 110-29-1 record (.789). Over the past three campaigns, Furman has been especially tough at home, having registered a FAMILY...Very few coaching staffs can claim to be as close and know 19-2 mark (.905). Included in that stretch is an 11-1 record (.917) versus the school at which they work better than Furman’s. That’s because the Southern Conference opposition. Going back to 1998, the Paladins are 16- Paladins’ entire coaching staff, with the exception of wide receivers coach 1 (.941) against league competition in Paladin Stadium. Drew Cronic and defensive backs coach Jeff Farrington, is composed of Furman graduates who enjoyed fine playing careers for the purple and THE EXPERIENCE FACTOR...Furman counts only five seniors on white before entering the coaching ranks. Furman’s staff includes defensive its 2003 squad but is well stocked with juniors (22) and sophomores (27). ends coach Julius Dixon '90, defensive line coach Allen Edwards '92, Excluding junior tight end Willis Sudderth (Lilburn, Ga.) and junior tight ends coach Ben Hall ‘00, offensive line coach Clay Hendrix ‘86, split end Isaac West (Augusta, Ga.), who will sit out the Paladins’ first head coach Bobby Lamb ‘86, running backs coach Tim Sorrells ‘81, and three games due to suspensions, Furman’s offensive and defensive starting defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Steve Wilson ‘77. All told, the lineup against Elon will feature only 10 returning regulars from a year ago. Paladins’ current coaching staff sports 81 years of collective coaching That youth is evident in the number of total career starts in the Paladins’ service at Furman and, counting playing tenures, has combined for 109 probable starting 22 against the Phoenix. The biggest deficiency is on seasons of experience at the university. offense, where the Paladins’ lineup has combined for only 25 career starts. All told, Furman’s starting lineup Saturday includes three seniors, 11 FURMAN LOOKING TO IMPROVE IN SEASON juniors, and eight sophomores. OPENERS...Counting last year’s 49-18 loss to Vanderbilt, Furman is only 3-7 in its last 10 season openers. Furman’s mediocre success in recent CAREER STARTING EXPERIENCE COMPARISON season inaugurals can be attributed, in part, to the competition, as six of the 2002 Career Starts 2003 Career Starts last 10 season openers have included Clemson (1994, ‘96, & ‘98), Georgia TE Willis Sudderth ...... 12 John Rust ...... 0 Tech (1995), Wyoming (2001), and Vanderbilt (2002). Despite its recent LT Ben Bainbridge ...... 12 Ben Bainbridge ...... 12 struggles, Furman owns a 54-41-2 overall record (.567) in season openers LG Justin Price ...... 12 Clayton Dyson ...... 0 over the years. Furman reeled off 20 straight season opening wins from C Craig Morgan ...... 11 Corey Stewart ...... 1 2003 FURMAN PALADINS FOOTBALL RG Trevor Kruger ...... 39 Patrick Covington ...... 0 pounds to 140, he endured two more procedures in early 2003, including RT Steven Cain...... 27 Brian Laggis ...... 0 reconstructive surgery. Unable to take part in spring practice In March due SE Isaac West ...... 9 Brian Stone ...... 0 to his condition, he nonetheless attended every practice and offered FLK Bear Rinehart ...... 12 Brian Bratton ...... 3 consistent encouragement to his teammates. Through dedicated rehabili- QB Billy Napier ...... 27 Bo Moore...... 0 tation and the fortune of advanced medicine, Mays has regained 52 pounds FB Eric Emerson ...... 24 Al Means ...... 0 (to 192), strength, and endurance, and appears set to complete his near TB Hindley Brigham ...... 9 Hindley Brigham ...... 9 miraculous comeback as he heads into the season opener against Elon as Offense Totals ...... 194 Offense Totals ...... 25 the Paladins’ backup tailback behind starter Hindley Brigham. Prior to his illness a year ago he had appeared in four games and rushed 18 times for DE Brandon Poole ...... 27 Brandon Poole ...... 27 96 yards. As a prep at T.C. Roberson, he ran for 4,406 and 50 touchdowns DT LeBryan Sperling ...... 44 Justin Porter ...... 9 in his career and was named Asheville Citizen-Times Offensive Player-of-the- NG Michael Burant ...... 2 Michael Burant ...... 2 Year after totaling 1,961 yards and 20 touchdowns his senior year. DE Eddie Overdyke ...... 24 Travis Jones ...... 1 WLB Cedrick Ritter ...... 12 Cedrick Ritter ...... 12 BROTHER ACT...Furman’s 2003 squad features three sets of broth- MLB Mike Killian ...... 21 Mike Killian ...... 21 ers: Hindley and Grant Brigham (Birmingham, Ala.), twins Josh and SLB Keito Whetstone ...... 13 Keito Whetstone ...... 13 Justin Stepp (Pelion, S.C.), and Lockwood and Austin Holmes LCB T.J. Wilson ...... 12 T.J. Wilson ...... 12 (Jacksonville, Fla.). Hindley, a senior tailback, transferred to Furman in RCB Rodney Johnson ...... 41 Keith Johnson ...... 0 2001 following two seasons at Baylor and last year paced the Paladins in SS Paul Billingsly ...... 13 Daniel South ...... 0 rushing with 762 yards and five touchdowns. Grant, a sophomore flanker/ FS Cam Newton ...... 12 Cam Newton ...... 12 return specialist, joined the Paladin program this fall after spending the 2002 Defense Totals ...... 221 Defense Totals...... 109 campaign at Vanderbilt, where he lettered as a true freshman. Josh Stepp, 2002 Combined Totals ...... 415 2003 Combined Totals ...... 134 the 2001 Shrine Bowl MVP, is redshirt freshman quarterback who will compete for backup action this fall. Brother Justin, meanwhile, appears to FATHER FIGURES...Junior Bo Moore (Madison, Ga.), Furman’s have the inside track to start at flanker against Elon. Lockwood Holmes will projected starting quarterback against Elon, appears set to carry on the serve as a reserve cornerback and on special teams this fall while Austin will Paladins’ well established tradition of producing successful signal callers likely redshirt this fall, also as a cornerback. who are the sons of high school head coaches. Starting with Tim Sorrells (1977-81) and also including Bobby Lamb (1982-85), Philly Jones (1991- IMPRESSIVE LINEAGES...Sophomore linebacker Andrew Carson 95) and, most recently, Billy Napier (1999-02), Furman has enjoyed (Newnan, Ga.) is the brother of former Clemson All-America linebacker noteworthy success with quarterbacks who played for their fathers. Chad Carson. Andrew’s father, Tom Carson, played football at Sorrells, who starred under his dad, Fred Sorrells, at Jefferson County Georgia Tech, and his grandfather, Earle Carson, was an end, three-year (Tenn.) High School, quarterbacked Furman to Southern Conference titles letterman, and an honorable mention All-American at Furman (1928-30). in 1980 & ‘81. Lamb, a former standout at Commerce (Ga.) High School A great uncle, M.A. Carson, was a two-time letterwinner as an offensive under his father, Ray Lamb, later helped lead Furman to a conference guard at Furman (1926-27), and another great uncle, Tom Carson, was championship and NCAA I-AA runnerup finish in 1985. Jones, a three-year an All-South offensive tackle selection and three-year letterman who serve starter for the Paladins, played for his dad, Phil Jones, at Winder-Barrow as captain of Furman’s 1931 squad. True freshman defensive end Turner (Ga.) High School, and Napier enjoyed a solid prep career under his father, Burton (Birmingham, Ala.) sports a strong Alabama Crimson Tide heri- Bill Napier, at Murray County (Ga.) High School before coming to tage. His great-grandfather, Fred Sington, was a two-time All-America Furman, where he directed the Paladins to 2001 league title and national offensive tackle at Alabama, member of the Tide’s 1930 national champi- runnerup finish. Moore, meanwhile, fashioned a fine prep tenure for his onship team, 1955 inductee into the National Football Foundation Hall-of- father, Kenny Moore, at Morgan County (Ga.) High School before joining Fame, and member of the Alabama Sports Hall-of-Fame. Two of Burton’s the Furman program in 2001. uncles, Dave Sington (1956-58) and Fred Sington, Jr. (1958-59), also played football for Alabama. LOOKING FOR A PASS RUSH...One of Furman’s top priorities in 2003 is to improve its pass rush, which last year netted a league low eight LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON...Senior placekicker Danny Marshall quarterback takedowns in 12 games. Looking to improve on that number (Atlanta, Ga.) is the son of former Paladin defensive end Tommy will be senior defensive end Brandon Poole (Columbia, S.C.) and Marshall (1974-76), who later served as an assistant coach on the Furman junior defensive end Travis Jones (Greenville, S.C.). Poole, who staff for eight years (1986-93), during which time the Paladins captured registered two of the Paladins’ eight sacks a year ago, has seven career three conference titles and the 1988 NCAA I-AA national championship. takedowns and needs only three more to crack Furman’s career sacks Sophomore cornerback Jon MacDonald (Greer, S.C.) is the son of ledger. Jones, meanwhile, takes over for graduated defensive end Eddie former Furman wide receiver Norman MacDonald (1972-74). Overdyke, who finished his tenure with 10 quarterback takedowns, good for a tie for eighth all-time at Furman. In addition to a talented linebacking PALADINS AND GAMECOCKS...Furman starting senior defen- corps that is certain to be used in its share of blitz schemes, the Paladins sive end Brandon Poole (Columbia, S.C.) is the son of 1981 University could get a lift from impressive redshirt defensive end Roy Ravenell of South Carolina Heisman Trophy winning running back George Rogers. (Goose Creek, S.C.) in its bid to pressure opposing quarterbacks. Furman true freshman Ryan McKie (Simpsonville, S.C.) is the son of James McKie, who was also a running back and former teammate of “SIR CAM” NEWTON...Furman junior All-Southern Conference Rogers at USC. McKie’s cousin, B.J. McKie, was a basketball standout for free safety Cam Newton (Bennettsville, S.C.) headlines a Paladin the Gamecocks. secondary following a stellar 2002 campaign that saw him register 57 tackles, nine pass deflections, and a team leading six interceptions (along NEW FACES ON OFFENSIVE LINE...Furman’s biggest rebuild- with All-America cornerback Rodney Johnson). Newton’s six pickoffs, ing task this year lies clearly on its offensive front, where the Paladins return the second highest total in the league, were especially impressive because only two starters from a year ago. That number may actually be down to they came in the face of a near anemic Paladin pass rush that netted a one for the season opener against Elon, as junior center Craig Morgan conference low eight sacks. His younger brother, Syvelle Newton, is a is listed as doubtful after missing much of the preseason with a concussion, high profile freshman this fall at the University of South Carolina. leaving junior left tackle Ben Bainbridge as the only returning regular from a year ago. Expected to get their first career starts against the Phoenix NOT YOUR ORDINARY COMEBACK...When Furman sopho- are sophomore guards Clayton Dyson and Patrick Covington, and more tailback Brandon Mays (Arden, N.C.) underwent surgery on Oct. sophomore right tackle Brian Laggis — the three of whom have a 30, 2002, for ulcerative colitis, and spent two weeks in the hospital, a return combined total of 318 snaps among them. At center sophomore Corey to football looked fairly bleak. After having approximatlely 90 percent of Stewart appears to be in line to step in for Morgan, which he did in the his large intestines removed and dropping from a pre-illness weight of 190 Paladins’ 2002 season finale versus Villanova to finish with 203 play 2003 FURMAN PALADINS FOOTBALL participations as a true freshman. As youthful as Furman appears on its Furman’s Athletic Hall-of-Fame prior to Saturday’s Furman-Elon game. All- offensive front, its worth remembering that the Paladin offensive line is South Carolina offensive tackle Jack Summers ‘47 and All-America under the guidance of Clay Hendrix, one of the league’s most respected linebacker Kota Suttle ‘93, will be joined by All-America golfer Jen assistant coaches and developer of 20 All-Southern Conference linemen, Hanna ‘98, All-America soccer defender Pete Santora ‘98, and four- 10 All-Americans, and four SoCon Jacobs Blocking Award winners in his 15 time All-Southern Conference linkster Todd White ‘90 in composing this seasons on the Furman staff. year’s class of inductees.