The 2017 North Carolina A&T Aggies football team represented North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This season marked the 94th for the program, and the final season for head coach Rod Broadway, who retired at the season's end. The Aggies finished the season undefeated with a record of 12–0, 8–0 in MEAC play, capturing their ninth conference title. The Aggies also earned an invitation to the Celebration Bowl where they defeated Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Grambling, earning their fifth black college football national championship. The Aggies played their home games at Aggie Stadium and were members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
On January 8, 2018, head coach Rod Broadway announced his retirement. He finished at North Carolina A&T with a seven-year record of 57–22.
Before the season At the conclusion of the 2016 football season, the Aggies lost key players such as Running Back Tarik Cohen, Wide Receiver Denzel Keyes, Defensive End Angelo Keyes and Kicker Cody Jones.
Recruiting
Prior to National Signing Day in February 2017, five players enrolled for the spring semester in order to participate in spring practice. On National Signing Day, A&T signed 12 additional players out of high school that completed the 2017 recruiting class. Of the class, 10 players were from North Carolina, two players from Greensboro and six players offensive linemen.
Coaching staff 2017 North Carolina A&T Aggies coaching staffHead coach Head coach – Rod Broadway
Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/wide receivers – Chip Hester Offensive line – Ronald Mattes Quarterbacks – Chris Barnette Running backs – Shawn Gibbs Tight end/offensive graduate assistant – Matt Pawlowski
Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator/defensive backs/associate head coach – Sam Washington Defensive line – Courtney Coard Inside linebackers – Thomas Howard Outside linebackers – Terry Lantz Defensive graduate assistant – Denzel Jones Administrative staff Athletic Director (A.D.) – Earl M. Hilton III Administrative support associate for football – Zanetta Thompson
Schedule
Roster 2017 North Carolina A&T Aggies Roster (Source)Wide receivers 1 Jaquil Capel – Graduate Student 3 Xavier Griffin – Senior 8 Khris Gardin – Senior 13 Elijah Bell – Sophomore 16 Caleb Gabriel – Senior 17 Isaiah Hicklin – Junior 19 Zachary Leslie – Freshman 80 Ahmed Bah – Freshman 81 Ron Hunt – Freshman 85 Terrence Peterson – Junior 86 Deshaun McFadden – Sophomore 88 Malik Wilson – Junior 89 Rashad Bovian – Freshman
Offensive line 58 Dacquari Wilson –Freshman 61 Josh Mattocks – Senior 62 Malik Johnson – Junior 63 Macquel Hardy – Junior 65 Daquan Blake – Senior 66 Arlander Cherry – Sophomore 68 Chamberlin Russell – Freshman 69 Deven Milton – Freshman 70 Brandon Parker – Senior 71 Chris Davis – Sophomore 72 Darriel Mack – Senior 73 Marcus Pettiford – Sophomore 74 Sylvester Smith – Sophomore 75 Christian Marshall – Graduate Student 76 Trajan Douthit – Freshman 77 Bilal Ali – Freshman 78 Micah Shaw – Junior 79 Dontae Keys – Freshman
Tight ends 84 Trey Scott – Graduate Student 87 Leroy Hill – Junior
Fullbacks 46 William Hollingsworth – Junior 49 William Simpson – Sophomore Quarterbacks 7 Lamar Raynard – Junior 10 Kylil Carter – Junior 12 Jalen Fowler – Freshman
Running backs 20 Jamari Smith – Graduate Student 22 Marquell Cartwright – Junior 23 Amos Williams – Junior 25 Kashon Baker – Sophomore 26 Samuel Stidwell IV – Junior 36 Unique Johnson – Freshman 37 Anthony McCray – Freshman 39 Keifer Oates – Freshman
Fullbacks 46 William Hollingsworth – Sophomore 49 William Simpson – Sophomore
Defensive line 50 Devin Harrell – Freshman 82 Jarvis Reid – Sophomore 90 Karfa Kaba – Freshman 92 Jermaine Williams – Sophomore 94 Justin Cates – Junior 95 Julian McKnight – Junior 97 Shomari Wallace – Freshman 99 Artavious Richardson – Freshman
Defensive ends 40 Darryl Johnson – Sophomore 91 Kenneth "KJ" Melton – Senior 93 Turner Echols – Junior 96 Sam Blue – Junior 98 Kadarius Kendrick – Freshman
Rovers 2 Jamaal Darden – Senior 30 David Pulliam – Senior Linebackers 4 Marcus Albert – Senior 34 Deion Jones – Junior 41 Leon "Tre" Smalls – Sophomore 44 Julius Reynolds – Junior 45 Joshua Patrick – Senior 48 Jeremy Taylor – Senior 52 Kiaundric Richardson – Junior 53 Johnnie Brunson – Freshman 54 Kyin Howard – Freshman 56 Tyler Beck – Freshman 57 Markeiss Blue – Junior 58 Adrian McPherson – Sophomore 59 Elijah Westbrook – Sophomore
Defensive backs 5 Tard McCoy – Senior 9 Zerius Lockhart – Senior 14 Timadre Abram – Junior 18 Richie Kittles – Sophomore 21 Derrek Williams – Freshman 24 Amir McNeil – Freshman 27 Justin Philip – Freshman 29 Mac McCain – Freshman 32 Marquis Willis – Junior 33 Jalen Bethea – Sophomore 42 Taylor Wilson – Senior 43 Najee Reams – Freshman 47 Jaylen Pittman – Freshman
Punters 15 Dominic Frescura – Senior 60 James Mackey – Sophomore 83 Garrett Nestor – Senior
Kickers 35 Noel Ruiz – Freshman 38 Davis Rogers – Freshman
Long snappers 51 John Davis – Freshman 67 Ernest (Petie) Bush III – Sophomore † Starter at position * Injured; did not play in 2017.
Game summaries
Gardner–Webb
This game marked the 1st ever meeting between the Aggies and In-State Division I FCS opponent Gardner–Webb. Going into the game, Gardner-Webb had a 10–4 record against MEAC competition. Junior Quarterback Lamar Raynard threw for 321 yards, 3 touchdowns and 19 of 21 completions. this marked the first time in his career that he threw over 300 yards in a single game. Junior Running Back Marquell Cartwright scored the first points of the game with a 3-yard run and finished with 19 carries for 58 yards. Other standouts include: Wide Receiver making 2 touchdown catches; receiver Jaquil Capel with 5 receptions, 91 yards and 1 touchdown and return specialist Khris Gardin who had 5 returns for 150 yards and set a new career best return of 88 yards. Gardner-Webb, who was selected to finish 3rd in the Big South preseason poll, were held to 114 yards of offense and 80 yards rushing.
Mars Hill
This game was the home opener for NC A&T and marked the 1st ever meeting between the Aggies and In-State Division II opponent Mars Hill. Going into the game, the Aggies held a 25–11 record against opponents in their home openers at Aggie Stadium. This game also marked the sixth time since 1980, that A&T faced a division II opponent from outside of the CIAA, another conference made up of predominantly HBCUs. Quarterback Lamar Reynard threw for 262 yards and 5 touchdowns matching a school record set in 1985 by Alan Hooker. Other standouts include: Junior Running Back Marquel Cartwright who ran for 121 yards on 8 carries and 1 touchdown; Wide Receiver Elijah Bell had 6 catches and 3 touchdowns; Senior safety Jeremy Taylor earned 10 tackles, forced one fumble, recovered one fumble and a returned interception for 32 yards. Mars Hill was held to only 7 yards rushing, but did gain 285 passing yards. This was the 40th time under coach Broadway that A&T held an opponent to under 100 yards rushing.
Charlotte
This game marked the 1st ever meeting between the Aggies and In-State Division I FBS program Charlotte. Going into the game, Charlotte was 1–1 against MEAC competitors as they split a two-game series with North Carolina Central, A&T's arch rival. The standing room only crowd of 18,651 was a new attendance record for Charlotte's Richardson Stadium. It was expected that attendance for this match up of regional schools would be high as A&T has a large number of alumni in Charlotte and surrounding areas.
Freshman Defensive Back Mac McCain, had 2 interceptions including on in the final minute of the game where he ran 74 yards for a touchdown. Other stand out performances include Quarterback Lamar Raynard who completed 16 or 26 passes for a total 256 yards and 1 touchdown; 244 of those yards were before halftime. Also Junior defensive lineman Justin Cates had 3 sacks and 4 tackles for loss. The Aggies' win over Charlotte was the 2nd straight win the FCS program had over a higher tier Division-I FBS opponent, as they defeated Kent State, the previous season. This win also puts the Aggies at a 3–0 start to the season, a feat that has not been repeated since 2013.
Morgan State
This game marked the 83rd meeting between the Aggies and Morgan state. Morgan State holds the all-time lead in the series at 43–38–3. In their last meeting in 2014, the Aggies shut out the bears with a 45–0 win. Going into the game, the Bears were 0–3 and had been outscored 101–0 against opponents this season. The Aggies, who were ranked in both national FCS polls, were in pursuit of their first 4–0 start since the 1993 season.
The Aggies amassed 514 yards of total offense, with 169 yards passing and 345 rushing. Freshman Defensive Back Mac McCain earned 3 Interceptions, 2 of which for touchdowns, including a 100-yard interception from the bears endzone to put the Aggies up 35–0 at Halftime. In the game's second half, Morgan state scored their first points of both the game and season with an 83-yard pass from Elijah Stanley to Brian Gentry for a touchdown. In addition to McCain's performance, other standouts included: Quarterback Lamar Renard who threw for 169 yards and 3 touchdowns; Running Back Marquell Cartwright who ran for 176 yards and a touchdown and wide receiver Elijah Bell who had 4 receptions and 2 touchdowns.
South Carolina State
This game marked the 54th meeting between the Aggies and Bulldogs. The Bulldogs hold the lead in this rivalry with a record of 31–20–3. In their last meeting, in 2016, the Aggies defeated the Bulldogs 20–30 in Greensboro. Going into the game, the Aggies are on a 2-game winning streak against SC State. They entered an environment at Dawson Stadium in which they have only won 5 out of the last 21 games played there against the Bulldogs.
The Aggies ended the game with 425 Yards in total offense. Quarterback Lamar Raynard threw for 18 of 31 completions for 298 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. Raynard's streak of 159 passes without interception was broken by SC State's Graduate free safety Jason Baxter in the games' 3rd quarter. Other Aggie standout performances include: Running Back Marquell Cartwright who ran for 98 yards and a touchdown and Freshman Kicker Noel Ruiz who made 3 of 4 field goals from 36, 41 and 27 yards respectively. SC State were held to 279 yards of total offense, including 82 rushing yards. The bulldogs now have an 0–2 start in conference play for the first time in 16 seasons. The Aggies have now increased their streak against SC State to 3 games; a feat last completed in the 1998, 1999 and 2000 seasons.
Delaware State
This game marked the 46th meeting between the North Carolina A&T and Delaware State. Going into the game, A&T held a one-game lead in the all-time series with 23–22–1. In their last meeting, the Aggies defeated the Hornets 45–14 in Dover, Delaware. Quarterback Lamar Raynard completed 20 of 36 passes for 324 yards and 3 touchdowns in their homecoming victory. Other standouts include: Running Back Marquell Cartwright who recorded 96 yards rushing on 19 carries and two touchdowns; and sophomore Wide Receiver Elijah Bell who had nine catches for 178 yards and 1 touchdown. The Aggies held Delaware State to 128 total yards, including minus −38 yards rushing. The A&T defense recorded 8 sacks for 41 yards against the Hornets.
Florida A&M
This game marked the 64th meeting between North Carolina A&T and Florida A&M. Going into the game, Florida A&M held a 44–17–3 all-time record against the Aggies, with the A&T winning the last meeting 42–17 the year before in Greensboro.