The 2023 Virginia Union Panthers football team represented Virginia Union University as a member of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) during the 2023 NCAA Division II football season. Led by 5th-year head coach Alvin Parker, the Panthers compiled an overall record of 10–2 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play; winning the CIAA championship.
Virginia Union lost to in the first round of the playoffs for back-to-back first round losses and the programs' twelfth consecutive loss in the playoffs with no playoff wins.
Offseason
Team departures 2023 Virginia Union offseason departures Name Number Pos. Height, Weight Year Hometown Notes John Jiles #0 WR 6'3, 190 Junior Wake Forest, NC Elected to transfer to West Florida Jahkari Grant #1 QB 6'1, 190 Graduate Windsor, CT Graduated/declared for 2023 NFL draft Alvin Howard #4 WR 6'0, 175 Junior Key West, FL Elected to transfer to Concord Devin Sanders #4 DE 6'1, 220 Junior Seat Pleasant, MD N/A James Jackson #5 WR 6'1, 170 Senior Richmond, VA Graduated Damontay Rhem #6 LB 6'0, 225 Graduate Wendell, NC Graduated/declared for 2023 NFL draft Demetrius Mann #7 S 5'9, 180 Graduate Tampa, FL Graduated Kyron McKinnie-Harper #8 CB 6'1, 190 Sophomore Detroit, MI N/A Xzavier Hines #9 DE 6'4, 235 Senior Lanham, MD Graduated Zion Edwards #15 S 6'0, 180 Junior Palm Beach, FL N/A K'Jon Coley #19 CB 6'0, 180 Graduate Richmond, VA Graduated Joseph J. Johnson #24 WR 5'6, 175 Sophomore Forestville, MD N/A Dev'on Grant #28 LB 6'1, 210 Junior Wake Forest, NC Elected to transfer to Elizabeth City State Shamore Collins #33 LB 6'0, 220 Sophomore Millville, NJ N/A Donovan Owens #34 S 6'0, 185 Freshman Chesapeake, VA N/A Mingo Peterson #37 DB 5'11, 175 Graduate Arlington, VA Graduated Wali-Shahad Sabree #38 LB 6'4, 210 Senior Chester, PA Graduated R. J. Rountree #39 S 6'0, 185 Graduate Silver Spring, MD Graduated/declared for 2023 NFL draft Vince Willis #40 LB 5'11, 195 Sophomore Los Angeles, CA N/A Xavier Wilson #41 CB 5'10, 170 Freshman Richmond, VA N/A Malique Miller #45 LB 6'1, 215 Sophomore Washington, DC N/A Andrew Kibler #47 K/P 6'1, 220 Graduate Cape Coral, FL Graduated Kole Williams #52 LB 6'0, 215 Sophomore Suffolk, VA N/A Christian Solomon #54 OL 6'3, 285 Freshman Hammonton, NJ N/A Brian Gibson #57 OL 6'4, 285 Senior Baltimore, MD Graduated Justin Meade #58 OL 6'2, 275 Senior Richmond, VA Graduated Demetrie Massey #73 OL 6'3, 275 Senior Miami, FL Graduated Darian Bryant #76 OL 6’6, 320 Graduate Philadelphia, PA Graduated/declared for 2023 NFL draft Ahmad Holloway #85 TE 6'2, 230 Junior Richmond, VA N/A Dwayne Chandler #89 TE 6'5, 225 Freshman Manassas, VA Elected to transfer to Old Dominion Keenan Evans #90 DL 6'3, 285 Senior Raleigh, NC Graduated/declared for 2023 NFL draft
Transfer portal
Outgoing transfers Four Virginia Union Panthers players left via the NCAA transfer portal during or after the 2022 season.
Virginia Union outgoing transfersNameNo.Pos.Height/Weight YearHometown College transferred toSources John Jiles #0 WR 6'3, 190 Junior Wake Forest, NC West Florida Alvin Howard #4 WR 6'0, 175 Junior Key West, FL Concord Dev'on Grant #28 LB 6'1, 210 Junior Wake Forest, NC Elizabeth City State Dwayne Chandler #89 TE 6'5, 225 Freshman Manassas, VA Old Dominion
Incoming transfers Over the off-season, Virginia Union added seventeen players via the transfer portal.
Virginia Union incoming transfersNameNo.Pos.Height/Weight YearHometownPrevious school Sources Nehemiah Scott #1 S 6'1, 175 Sophomore Richmond, VA Emory and Henry J'Bore' Gibbs #4 QB 6'3, 225 Graduate Chicago, IL Idaho Navarro Price #12 QB 6'1, 195 Junior Hampton, VA Elizabeth City State Kory Fleming #15 TE 6'3, 230 Graduate Clarksburg, MD Morehouse Nahsir Morgan Sr.#16WR6'5, 190JuniorAtlantic City, NJDelaware ValleyDavid Freeman#21RB5'10, 195SeniorBaltimore, MDHartnell CollegeElijah Rice#23WR5'9, 185SeniorWilliamsburg, VAEmory and HenryXzavier Barnes#25CB6'0, 185 SophomoreKilmarnock, VAVirginia–WiseDecari Randle#33LB6'1, 230 JuniorChicago, ILIowa Central CCKyle Kidewell#37S6'3, 195 SophomoreBowie, MDAtlanta TechJabrill Norman#44LB6'2, 220JuniorSalisbury, NCMars HillJerry Newmy#46FB6'0, 245 FreshmanChester, VAChowanJahmel Flowers#48DE6'5, 215 JuniorAtlanta, GAArkansas–MonticelloJosue Hernandez#50K/P6'1, 180JuniorMiddlesex, NJKeystoneDillon Porter#70OL6'5, 285SophomorePulaski, VAVirginia–LynchburgTajhir Tate#99DL6'1, 300GraduateElizabeth, NJWagnerCorie AddoWR5'10, 195 SophomoreRichmond, VANorfolk State
Recruiting class
Virginia Union signed 26 players in the class of 2023.
CIAA media day The 2023 CIAA Media day were held at 9:30 a.m. on July 20, 2023. Each team had their head coach available to talk to the media at the event.
Predicted Order of finish 1 Fayetteville State 2 Bowie State 3 Virginia Union 4 Shaw 5 Virginia State 6 Johnson C. Smith 7 Winston-Salem State 8 Elizabeth City State 9 Bluefield State 10 Lincoln (PA) 11 Livinstone 12 St. Augustine's
Predicted Order of finish (Northern) 1 Bowie State 2 Virginia Union 3 Virginia State 4 Elizabeth City State 5 Bluefield State 6 Lincoln (PA) Predicted Order of finish (Southern) 1 Fayetteville State 2 Shaw 3 Johnson C. Smith 4 Winston-Salem State 5 Livingstone 6 St. Augustine's
Preseason All-CIAA teams Position Player Class Team OffenseRBJada ByersJr Virginia UnionTEKalen Carver Jr Virginia UnionOLJustin MeadeSr Virginia Union DefenseDLIsaac Anderson Jr Virginia UnionArmonii BurdenGr Virginia UnionLBShamar Graham So Virginia Union Special teamsPKBrady MyersSo Virginia UnionKRLarry HackeyJr Virginia Union
Schedule
Game summaries Vs. Morehouse (Black College Football HOF Classic)
On January 13, 2023, Virginia Union was picked to play against fellow HBCU Morehouse in the fourth-annual Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic. Virginia Union came into the game looking to build upon the previous seasons success as they finished with a 9–2 record and made an appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs under head coach Alvin Parker. Morehouse came into the season with first-year head coach Gerard Wilcher as the team looked to improve following a 1–9 season with former head coach Rich Freeman at the helm.
Virginia Union beat Morehouse while running back Jada Byers scored three touchdowns and the Panther defense held the Maroon Tigers to less than 250 total-yards of offense throughout the entire game.
At Shaw
At Livingstone
Fayetteville State
At St. Augustine's
At Elizabeth City State
Bowie State
Lincoln (PA)
At Bluefield State
No. 22 Virginia State
Vs. Fayetteville State (CIAA Championship)
At No. 7 Kutztown (NCAA Division II First Round)
Personnel Coaching staff Virginia Union Panthers Name Position Consecutive season at Virginia Union Panthers in current position Previous position VUU profile Alvin Parker Head coach 5th St. Augustine's assistant head coach and offensive coordinator (2016–2017) Edward Pointer Assistant head coach, defensive coordinator, and linebackers coach 5thSt. Augustine's defensive coordinator (2016–2017) Diego Ryland Associate head coach, special teams coordinator, and running backs coach 5thHampton running backs coach (2017) Monterio Hand Wide receivers coach 5thElizabeth City State special teams coordinator, wide receivers coach, and tight ends coach (2004–2017) Luke Bengston Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach 1stVirginia Union pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach (2022) Quinn Brown Run game coordinator and offensive line coach 1stHenderson State assistant head coach, run game coordinator, and offensive line coach (2019–2022) Solomon Brown Defensive run game coordinator and defensive line coach 1stVirginia Union defensive line coach (2022) Nico Rogers Secondary coach 1stVirginia Union safeties coach (2022) Justin Smith Tight ends coach 1stVirginia Union graduate assistant (2021–2022) Evan Jones Cornerbacks coach 1stStevenson defensive pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach (2020–2022) Ryan Gould Defensive ends coach 1stRichard J. Reynolds HS (NC) co-offensive coordinator, run game coordinator, and offensive line coach (2021–2022)Reference:
Support staff Lane Washington – Director of football operations Bernard Rucker – Equipment manager Keith Swinson – Assistant equipment manager Joe Ellison – Team chaplain
Roster
Rankings
Statistics
Team Virginia Union Opp Points per game 35.513.8 Total 426166 First downs 231146 Rushing 13242 Passing 7478 Penalty 2526 Rushing yards 2,602620 Avg per play 5.21.7 Avg per game 216.851.7 Rushing touchdowns 313 Passing yards 1,8702,173 Att–Comp–Int 231–128–9336–164–18 Avg per pass 8.16.5 Avg per game 155.8181.1 Passing touchdowns 1815 Total offense 4,4722,793 Avg per play 6.14.0 Avg per game 372.7232.8 Fumbles–Lost 7–621–10 Penalties–Yards 97–93391–795 Avg per game 77.866.3 Punts–Yards 52–1,94482–2,730 Avg per punt 33.328.7 Time of possession/Game 31:4028:06 3rd down conversions 50–13845–167 4th down conversions 6–177–22 Sacks–Yards 25–12919–128 Touchdowns scored 5823 Field goals–Attempts 5–114–7 PAT–Attempts 55–5816–21 Red Zone Attempts–Score 34–3910–18 Red Zone TD 307 Attendance 21,5314,158 Games/Avg per Game 5,382.8831.6 Neutral Site 9,333
Individual leaders Offense Passing statistics # NAME POS RAT CMP ATT YDS AVG/G CMP% TD INT LONG 1 Christian Reid QB 143.23 106 185 1,501 125.1 57.3% 13 5 81 18 RJ Rosales QB 128.01 20 41 301 37.6 48.8% 4 3 33 16 Nashir Morgan Sr. WR 367.1 2 3 68 9.7 75.0% 1 0 38 4 J'Bore' Gibbs QB -100.0 0 2 0 0.0 0.0% 0 1 0
Rushing statistics # NAME POS ATT GAIN AVG TD LONG AVG/G 3 Jada Byers RB 205 1,186 5.8 16 57 118.6 9 Curtis Allen RB 117 660 5.6 6 60 55.0 5 Rashard Jackson RB 52 281 5.4 2 13 46.8 18 RJ Rosales QB 20 130 6.5 4 25 16.3 21 David Freeman RB 23 115 5.0 0 38 23.0 1 Christian Reid QB 48 55 1.1 1 29 4.6 20 Kenneth Davis RB 8 48 6.0 1 22 4.8 11 Larry Hackey WR 5 36 7.2 0 13 3.0 2 Said Sidibe WR 7 34 4.9 1 20 2.8 24 Jerome Jones RB 3 21 7.0 0 11 3.0 30 Robert Alvarez Jr. RB 4 19 4.8 0 10 19.0 16 Nahsir Morgan Sr. WR 1 18 18.0 0 18 2.6 14 Mykael Anderson WR 1 15 15.0 0 15 2.5 29 Marvin Holmes P 1 -7 -7.0 0 0 -0.6
Receiving statistics # NAME POS CTH YDS AVG TD LONG AVG/G
After the season Awards and CIAA honors
Weekly Honors Recipient Weekly Award (CIAA) Week # Date awarded Ref. Justin Meade, OL Offensive Lineman of the Week 1 September 5, 2023 Jada Byers, RB Offensive Back of the Week 1 September 5, 2023 Brady Myers, PK Special Teams Player of the Week 1 September 5, 2023 William Davis, DB Defensive Back of the Week 2 September 11, 2023 Shamar Graham, LB Linebacker of the Week 2 September 11, 2023 Isaac Anderson, DE Defensive Lineman of the Week 4 September 25, 2023 Curtis Allen, RB Offensive Back of the Week 5 October 2, 2023 Jada Byers, RB Offensive Back of the Week 6 October 9, 2023 Justin Meade, OL Offensive Lineman of the Week 7 October 16, 2023 Jada Byers, RB Offensive Back of the Week 7 October 16, 2023 Isaac Anderson, DL Defensive Lineman of the Week 7 October 16, 2023 Justin Meade Offensive Lineman of the Week 8 October 23, 2023 Justin Meade, OL Offensive Lineman of the Week 9 October 30, 2023 Said Sidibe, WR Receiver of the Week 9 October 30, 2023 Justin Meade, OL Offensive Lineman of the Week 10 November 6, 2023 Jada Byers, RB Offensive Back of the Week 10 November 6, 2023 Shamar Graham, LB Linebacker of the Week 10 November 6, 2023
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Individual Awards Recipient Award Date awarded Ref.Alvin ParkerCoach of the YearNovember 10, 2023Justin MeadeOffensive Lineman of the YearNovember 10, 2023Brady MyersSpecial teams Player of the YearNovember 10, 2023
All-CIAA
All-CIAA First-TeamPlayerPosition Jada Byers RB Kalen Carver TE Justin Meade OL Jamaree Mayer OL Isaac Anderson DL Shamar Graham LB Brady Myers PK
All-CIAA Second-TeamPlayerPosition Mathias Nelson OL
All-CIAA RookiePlayerPosition Mathias Nelson OL Jalen Mayo S Kamari Federick DL
References