TOWNEBANK STADIUM CAPTAINS FIELD FREEMAN CENTER JAMES T. & SARAH C. EYRE COURTS JENNINGS FAMILY STADIUM CAPTAINS PARK (BASEBALL) CAPTAINS PARK (SOFTBALL) CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT UNIVERSITY Location .........................................................Newport News, Va. Department Phone ................................................757-594-7025 Founded .............................................................................. 1961 Department Fax ....................................................757-594-7839 Enrollment .......................................................................... 5,000 Website ...................................................... www.CNUsports.com Nickname .......................................................................Captains Senior Director of Athletic Communications Colors ........................................................Royal Blue and Silver Francis Tommasino ................................................757-594-7884 Conference ...........................................................Capital Athletic Director of Sports Information Home Field ..................................................TowneBank Stadium Rob Silsbee ............................................................757-594-7382 President ..................................................Sen. Paul S. Trible, Jr. Assistant Director of Sports Information Director of Athletics .............................................Kyle McMullin Kenny Kline ............................................................757-594-7886 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2019 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE COACHING STAFF 9/7 North Central TowneBank Stadium 12:00 p.m. Head Coach Art Link ..........................................2 Assistant Coaches .............................................3 Coaching Staff Breakdown ................................6 9/14 Hampden-Sydney TowneBank Stadium 7:00 p.m. 2019 SEASON 9/21 at Brevard Brevard, N.C. 7:00 p.m. Season Schedule ..............................................1 Roster ................................................................8 Roster Breakdown ...........................................10 10/5 at Kean* Union, N.J. 12:00 p.m. Season Preview ...............................................11 Meet the Captains ...........................................12 MEET THE CAPTAINS 5 10/12 William Paterson* TowneBank Stadium 1:00 p.m. OPPONENTS 2019 Opponent Capsules ................................36 10/19 at Montclair State* Montclair, N.J. 2:00 p.m. All-Time Opponents .........................................41 New Jersey Athletic Conference ......................42 10/26 TCNJ* TowneBank Stadium 3:00 p.m. 2018 SEASON IN REVIEW 2018 Recap .....................................................44 11/2 at Salisbury* Salisbury, Md. 1:00 p.m. 2018 Statistics .................................................45 Game-by-Game Recaps ..................................50 NJAC in Review ...............................................54 11/9 Rowan* TowneBank Stadium 1:00 p.m. CAPTAINS HISTORY 11/16 at Wesley* Dover, Del. 1:00 p.m. Program History ...............................................58 2018 SEASON REVIEW Coaching History .............................................59 43 Offensive Records ...........................................60 *New Jersey Athletic Conference Game Defensive Records ..........................................64 Special Teams Records ...................................68 Team Records .................................................68 Year-by-Year Leaders ......................................72 All-Americans ..................................................74 MEDIA GUIDE CREDITS All-Time Honors ...............................................75 All-Time Roster ................................................79 All-Time Results ..............................................86 NCAA Postseason History ...............................88 ON THE COVER Opponent Records ..........................................92 TowneBank Stadium Records .........................93 RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE HONOREES TowneBank Stadium ........................................94 (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) CNU Firsts .......................................................96 CAPTAINS HISTORY 57 • Defensive Back D.J. Wright WELCOME TO CNU • Wide Receiver Cole Blais • Offensive Lineman Matt Rittenhouse Christopher Newport University .......................98 Campus Life ....................................................99 • Defensive Lineman Ben James Campus Activities ..........................................100 • Quarterback Jack Anderson Gameday Atmosphere ...................................101 • Linebacker Conner Ryan Athletic Support .............................................102 • Defensive Back Damian Jiggetts Athletic Facilities ............................................103 Captains Overseas ........................................104 Captains in the Community ...........................105 Academic Success ........................................106 The 2019 Football Media Guide is a publication of the Christopher New- CNU Sports Live ............................................107 port University Department of Athletic Communications. CNU Athletics History ....................................108 CNU Administration .......................................110 Editor/Writer: Rob Silsbee, Francis Tommasino, Kenny Kline; Photog- Athletics Staff Directory ................................. 111 WELCOME TO CNU raphy: Ben Leistensnider, Patrick Dubois, University Communications; CNU at a Glance ...........................................112 97 Cover and Interior Design: Kenny Kline; Printing: Carter Printing, Inc. ART LINK ALMA MATER: FLORIDA ‘99 SEASONS AT CNU: 3 Art Link begins his third season leading the Christopher Newport University football program in 2019. He is just the second head coach of the Captains in history of the program, which dates back to 2001. Link was hired on January 30, 2017, succeeding Matt Kelchner, who led the squad from 2001-2016. Link has led the Captains to a 12-7 overall record over his first two seasons, and Chris- topher Newport is 10-7 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference in that span. Christopher Newport is coming off a 7-2 overall record in the 2018 cam- paign that saw the Captains finish 6-2 in the NJAC. Link’s squad won its final four games to finish strong, and both of Christopher Newport’s defeats came in overtime thrillers. The cam- paign included three impressive road victories over New Jersey schools; Rowan (39-6), William Paterson (39- 10), and the College of New Jersey (38-13). The Captains also registered triumphs over Southern Virginia (38- 9), Hampden-Sydney (17-13), and Kean (13-3). The Captains notched impressive victories over Hampton-Sydney, Montclair State, and Rowan along the way. After improving to 5-2 with a home victory over William Link began his head coaching career Paterson, the Captains would end up losing their final three games to conclude the by leading the Captains to a 45-17 season with a 5-5 mark. triumph at Southern Virginia University on September 2, 2017. Christopher Link’s inaugural campaign featured two outstanding individual performances. Fresh- Newport would go on to start the sea- man wide receiver Cole Blais was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year in the son with a 4-1 mark, matching the best start in program history through five games. New Jersey Athletic Conference after catching 54 passes including two for scores. Senior cornerback Justus Drakeford became just the ninth Christopher Newport foot- ball standout to achieve All-American status after picking off six passes and posting 40 tackles. COACHING HISTORY Prior to taking over the Captains program, Link spent three years as the Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., from 2013- 2016. Prior to that, he served as linebackers coach at the University of New Hampshire CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT UNIVERSITY 2017-PRESENT for two seasons (2012-2013), both years advancing to the NCAA tournament. His 2013 Head Coach New Hampshire squad advanced farther than any other Wildcats team and reached LAFAYETTE COLLEGE 2014-16 the NCAA semifinals. Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE 2012-13 Before his time in the CAA, Link led the program’s defensive unit and linebackers at Linebackers Coach Campbell University when they started the football program in 2008. Link’s opportunis- CAMPBELL UNIVERSITY 2007-11 tic defense led the Camels to their first winning season in 2011 when Campbell ranked thirteenth nationally in turnovers forced. He was also the defensive coordinator and Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers defensive backs coach at Division III Catholic University in the Old Dominion Athletic CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA 2006-07 Conference for the 2006 season. Defensive Coordinator / Defensive Backs UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2004-06 Link, a native of Gainesville, Fl., received both his bachelors of science as well as Graduate Assistant / Linebackers masters in Exercise and Sports Science from the University of Florida where he was BOCA RATON COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL 2003-04 a member of the Gators 1996 National Championship and SEC Championship team. Defensive Line Coach He played for Head Coach Steve Spurrier at Florida, as well as Defensive Coordinator FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY 2002-03 Bob Stoops. He received the Fifth-Year Senior Award in 1998, and was part of teams that played in the Orange Bowl (1999), Citrus Bowl (1998), and Sugar Bowl