news-record.com

SCOUTING THE AGGIES

Coach: Alonzo Lee (first season overall and at A&T)

2008 record: 3-9 overall, 1-7 MEAC (8th)

Home field: Aggie Stadium (21,500), Greensboro

KEY QUESTIONS FOR N.C. A&T

Who will replace RB Michael Ferguson?

No single player will fill Ferguson's shoes. A great tailback on bad teams, Ferguson finished his career with 2,524 yards rushing (4.7 per carry) to rank sixth on N.C. A&T's all-time list. Rookie Mike Mayhew, a sophomore from Charlotte, won the starting job in training camp, but there's a good chance the Aggies will use a tailback-by-committee approach. Junior Nigel Tomlin, the team's second-leading rusher last season (270 yards, 5.5 per carry), also will play. At 6-feet-3 and 235 pounds, junior college transfer Tony Coles is bigger than the other tailbacks and a more bruising runner.

Why isn't former Dudley QB Ricky Lewis on the active roster?

Lewis, who led the Panthers to back-to-back state championships, will wear a redshirt his freshman year at A&T. Last year's News & Record high school player of the year figures prominently in the Aggies' future plans, but with decent depth at quarterback and running back this season, A&T decided to save a year of eligibility for Lewis. He worked out with the team all summer, and the extra year of practice time will help the Aggies figure out where to play the speedster, who is officially listed as "athlete" on the extended roster. Will he be a running QB or a passing HB? Tune in next season to find out.

Will any of Alonzo Lee's freshman recruits make an immediate impact?

The question is not if any of them will contribute, but how many. None of the freshmen will start the opener, but a bunch of them will play. Among the notables: WR Larry Raper, a speedster from Shelby, has already worked his way into the lineup when the Aggies go to three- or four-receiver sets. Dudley alum Chris Neal, a 6-f, 230-pound DE, is second on the depth chart on the right side. Darius Hall, a 6-2, 260-pounder from Dudley is working at both DT and DE.

Do the Aggies really have two bye weeks?

Yep. N.C. A&T gets two Saturdays off this season — Oct. 17 and Nov. 14 — although the Aggies will get credit for a victory at 12:01 a.m. Oct. 18. A&T was set to face Delaware State that weekend at Aggie Stadium, but the Hornets chose to forfeit so they could travel to Michigan for a guarantee game. Delaware State gets a $550,000 payday from Michigan, and the Hornets couldn't get out of the contract without paying the Wolverines a $550,000 escape clause. Repeated calls to the MEAC commissioner's office during the summer to discuss Delaware State's penalty for opting out of a league game were brushed aside.

2008 RESULTS
Johnson C. Smith — W, 44-12
Winston-Salem State — W, 14-8
at Norfolk State — L, 27-21
at Hampton — L, 44-7
Coastal Carolina — L, 20-7
N.C. Central — L, 28-27
Morgan State — L, 41-3
at Delaware State — L, 42-7
Howard —W, 21-20
at Bethune-Cookman — L, 24-14
Florida A&M — L, 45-7
South Carolina State — L, 55-0

2009 SCHEDULE
Saturday: at Winston-Salem State, 6
Sept. 12: Norfolk State, 6
Sept. 19: Hampton, 6
Sept. 26: at Coastal Carolina, 7
Oct. 3: vs. N.C. Central at Charlotte, 6
Oct. 10: at Morgan State, 1
Oct. 17: no game (Delaware State forfeit)
Oct. 24: at Howard, 1
Oct. 31: Bethune-Cookman, 1:30 (homecoming)
Nov. 7: at Florida A&M, 3
Nov. 14: Off
Nov. 21: South Carolina State, 1:30

N.C. A&T INFO

Tickets: $20 for single games. Call 334-7749.

Official athletics Web site: www.ncataggies.com

Local radio affiliate: WNAA-90.1

DEPTH CHART
Listed by player's number, name, height, weight and class year

Offense

Left tackle
77 Alex Harper 6-5 330 Jr.
79 Terrence Humes 6-6 325 Jr.

Left guard
57 Kreg Carter 6-1 312 Jr. (Burlington/Williams HS)
66 Timothy Sunkins 6-5 320 Fr.

Center
58 Brent Walker 6-2 284 So.
74 Enoch Cohen 6-4 285 Jr. (Winston-Salem/North Forsyth HS)

Right guard
62 Thomas Hearn 6-0 262 So.
69 Matthew Hamler 6-2 311 So.

Right tackle
70 Jason Valmont 6-3 300 So.
67 Jack Page 6-5 320 Fr.

Tight end
24 Brett Fisher 6-3 240 Sr.
86 James Thomas 6-4 235 Fr.

Wide receiver
5 Derek Gould 6-4 188 So.
81 Donta Price 6-4 185 So.

Wide receiver
89 Wallace Miles 6-1 193 So.
15 Giorgio Lowrance 6-4 203 Sr.

Fullback
47 Justin Kearney 5-11 240 Jr.
49 Bryan Keller 6-3 293 Fr. (Greensboro/Western Guilford HS)

Running back
28 Mike Mayhew 5-10 205 So.
22 Tony Coles 6-3 235 Jr.

Quarterback
14 Carlton Fears 6-1 186 Sr.
7 Lewis Kindle 6-2 180 Fr.

Placekicker
37 Eric Houston 5-7 160 Jr.

Defense

Defensive end
51 Jarrell Herring 6-2 253 Sr.
91 Brandon Hill 6-2 220 Fr.

Defensive tackle
93 Micah Stanfield 6-1 265 So. (Reidsville/Morehead HS)
90 Brandon Young 6-2 244 Fr.

Defensive tackle
92 Adam Beal 6-2 300 Sr.
98 Darius Dawkins 6-4 280 Fr.

Defensive end
94 Tyre Glasper 6-3 244 Sr.
99 Chris Neal 6-1 230 Fr. (Greensboro/Dudley HS)

Linebacker
53 Jamison Hedgepeth 6-2 224 Sr.
43 Jeremy Graham 6-1 210 Jr.

Linebacker
10 Brandon Jackson 5-11 204 Jr.
59 Linnell Evans 6-0 225 Jr.

Linebacker
46 Andre Thornton 6-3 233 Sr.
42 Ben Binder 6-3 205 So.

Cornerback
18 Quay Long 5-10 180 So.
26 Josef Peek 5-11 190 Sr.

Cornerback
34 Justin Ferrell 5-10 185 So.
4 DaShaun Graham 5-11 173 Jr. (Greensboro/Page HS)

Strong safety
27 Vernon White 6-0 187 Sr.
25 Charlton Latta 6-1 185 Fr.

Free safety
21 Nick Clement 6-0 197 Sr.
2 Donald Dorsey 6-2 182 Jr.

Punter
41 Alex Grubb 6-0 220 Fr. (Lexington/West Davidson HS)