August 26, 2025
Football Heads To UConn For 2025 Opener
The Central Connecticut State football team, defending NEC Champions, begins the 2025 season on Saturday, August 30th with a short-trip to East Hartford to take on UConn. Game time is set for 2:00 pm. It marks the second time in four seasons that the Blue Devils open a season
CCSU Game Notes | Livestats | UConn Radio Network | Tickets | TV: WWAX
The CCSU Blue Devils take to the field for the first-time since playing in the FCS Championship at URI last November. The Blue Devils won their seventh NEC Championship, with a 5-1 league record and won seven games overall.
QUICK HITS
• CCSU boasts the last two reigning NEC Offensive Players of the Year on the 2025 roster. Howard won the honor last season for the Blue Devils, and transfer Donovan Wadley took home the accolade in 2023 while at Merrimack. Howard is on the Stats Perform Walter Payton Award Watch List and Wadley was named to the Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America Third Team last month.
• The CCSU defense led FCS in fumbles recovered in 2024, finishing with 16 over 13 games played.
• Adam Lechtenberg announced the Blue Devils 2025 team captains on Sunday, August 24th. The group, selected by their teammates, are Isaiah DeLoatch, Eric Jackson, Brady Olson and Jack Stoll.
• The Blue Devils are 1-1 in season openers under Adam Lechtenberg.
• The 2024 offensive line finished fourth in the nation, allowing just 0.69 sacks per game. The Blue Devils allowed just nine sacks during the season and did not allow a sack in seven games.
• A dozen Blue Devils were named to the Phil Steele Preseason All-NEC Team. Paul Marsh, Jr. Elijah Howard, Peter Cleary and Isaiah DeLoatch were named first-team offense, with Jack Stoll, Malachi Wright, Sharod Watkins and Chris Jean first-team defense. Donovan Wadley, Precious Ekeh, Reggie Darkah, and Gavin Taylor were second-team selections.
• The Blue Devil defense finished last season with 37 sacks, for an average of 2.85 per game, which ranked ninth in FCS. CCSU recorded nine sacks in the home opener last season, versus Fordham, which was the second most of any team in a single-game last season.
• Elijah Howard begins the campaign ninth all-time in CCSU history with 1,924 rush yards. He has carried the ball 398 times in his 22 games in New Britain, averaging 4.1 yards per carry. Howard has 13 rushing touchdowns for CCSU, with eight last season. He finished 2024 with five 100+ yard rushing games, bringing his career total to nine. He ran for 257 yards in the win over Delaware State in 2023.
• The CCSU defense ranked in the top-20 in single-game TFL's on two different occasions last season. The Blue Devils recorded 15 TFL in the win over Saint Francis, which was third highest total last fall. They also ranked 17th nationally in a single-game, with 13 TFL in the win over Fordham. The Blue Devils had 8.0 or more TFL in six games.
• The Blue Devils finished the 2024 campaign second in turnovers gained, 32 and third in turnover margin, +1.08. Chris Jean played a large part in that with four fumble recoveries, second in the FCS, and 0.4 interceptions per game, which ranked ninth in the FCS. • CCSU intercepted seven passes in the win over Duquesne. That tied for the most in an FCS game in 2024.
• Brady Olson returns the Blue Devils starting quarterback for the 2025 campaign. Olson finished last season with a 111.9 efficiency rating as he completed 51.1 percent (185-362) of his pass attempts. He threw for 17 touchdowns during the year and averaged 172.2 yards per game through the air. He threw for a season-best 288 yards (17-30) at Yale and finished the year with 10 or more completions in seven consecutive games.
• The Blue Devils return the second and third leading tacklers from a season ago, with Malachi Wright, 83, and Jack Stoll, 76, returning to lead the Blue Devils defense. Kimal Clark set a single-season school record last season with 117 tackles.
• Christopher Jean tied a single-game CCSU record with three interceptions in the win over Duquesne. He had four interceptions in the final two games of the campaign, to go along with 10 PBU on the season - three in the FCS game versus URI. He led the Blue Devils with seven tackles in the win over the Dukes, and wrapped his rookie season with 34 total stops, two forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.
• The Blue Devils kicking game will have a new look with the departure of record-setting kicker Jack Barnum and punter Aidan Clark. A trio of newcomers, Colbie Bernier, Zack Bonini and Jack Hennessey enter the opening weekend as the Blue Devils kickers. Clark finished as the Blue Devils career leader in career (39.9), season (42.8) and single-game (51.7) yards per punt, as well as the record holder for career punts (221) and longest punt (84 yards). Barnum kicked 15 field goals last season, surpassing his single-season record tying total of 13 from the 2023 season.
• Assistant coach Joseph Rankin was selected to receive a grant from the Pioli Family Fund for HBCU Coaches and Scouts. The Pioli Family fund was endowed in 2020 by Central graduate Scott Pioli '88, his wife Dallas and daughter Mia, to create opportunities for men and women affiliated with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) who are football coaches or scouts.
• Stlyz Mitchell is a two-sport athlete at CCSU, running with the Blue Devils track & field team. At the 2025 New England Championships, he ran 10.49 to set the school record in the 100m dash.
