THE GAME
Savannah State University will celebrate Homecoming 2024 by hosting the Dragons of Lane College. SSU hopes to send their alumni, students and fans home with a smile on their face. The Tigers, who have won three games in a row and four of their last five, hope to keep the positive momentum going as they finish the home stretch of the season.

LAST YEAR
The Tigers rallied from a three score deficit to tie the game and force overtime but would fall to Lane 27-21 in a game played at Lane Field on November 4, 2023. It was Lane's first time beating Savannah State since 1968 and only their second win in 16 tries in the series.

KELTON'S QUOTE
"It's Homecoming and this game means a lot to a lot of people Alumni, Campus Community, Friends and Family. We have to play a full game against a very good Lane College team to secure a win! Homecoming is always better when you win and that is what we are going to try and do."

LAST WEEK
Savannah State rallied from a ten point deficit with 9:43 left to play in the third quarter and outscored Edward Waters 20-3 the rest of the way in a 27-20 win. Down the stretch it was big plays on special teams by Jacksonville, Florida natives Kevin Stokes, Jr. and Deshawn Dawkins. Stokes' hit on a Edward Waters kick returner caused him to fumble the ball which led to a SSU touchdown. Deandre Creary blocked a EWU field goal attempt and it was recovered by Dawkins which led to SSU running out the clock to earn the win.

TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYERS
Joseph Hampton and Shamarcus Poole share duties in the backfield. Hampton leads the team with 161 rushing yards with one touchdown while Poole has 116 yards and two scores. Jhaydon Sullivan has emerged as the leading quarterback and has thrown for 656 yards and ten touchdowns in five games. Christian Burks has thrown for 391 yards and one touchdowns in his time on the field. The Tigers have a solid pass catching crew that has size and reliable hands. Da'Shun Mitchell has four touchdowns to go with his 441 receiving yards while Brent Carr has 292 yards and one touchdown, Demeke Colbert has 174 yards and four touchdowns and Khiry Wallace has six catches for 88 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

TOP DEFENSIVE PLAYERS
Linebackers Darrian Bell and Gary Davis, Jr. lead the team in tackles with 52 and 36 respectively. The defensive line is anchored by Xavier Esquillen (6.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks), William Jones (5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks) and Tony Rountree (5 tackles for loss) while top players roaming the secondary are Ahlik Booker (20 tackles), Deandre Crowley (19 tackles) and Bruce Mattox (19 tackles).

TOP SPECIAL TEAM PLAYERS
Brent Carr is averaging 11.43 yards per punt return while on kickoff returns, Deandre Creary averages 29.67 yards and Allie "AJ" Brown averages 20.75 yards.

SCOUTING LANE
Lane may have only won two games but the Dragons are a dangerous team with a lot of weapons. Their defense is the top ranked SIAC defense against the run and they also have the top ranked punt return team in the conference. Ike Brown and Kylan Duhe are ranked numbers two and three in the SIAC, averaging 66 and 65.4 rushing yards per game while receiver Anthony Evelyn is ranked fourth in receiving with 80.9 yards per outing and is number one in the conference in all purpose yards with 159.

THE SKINNY
Savannah State is riding high on a three game winning streak. Hopefully the coaching staff can keep the players level headed and on one accord as they get ready for Homecoming. The Tigers must not take Lane for granted because of their 2-5 record. Last week, SSU faced Edward Waters who had the top rated pass defense in the SIAC and in Lane they will face the conference leader against the run. Lane's offensive line gave up seven sacks last week against Central State so the Tigers defensive line will be looking to top that number. Last year, the Dragons defeated SSU for the first time since 1968 and Tiger fans don't want a repeat performance of 2023.

COMMON OPPONENTS
Savannah State and Lane have five common opponents: Benedict, Edward Waters, Clark Atlanta, Tuskegee and Central State

WEEKLY HONOR
Quarterback Jhaydon Sullivan was named the SIAC offensive player of the week for his performance against Edward Waters. Sullivan completed 14 of 28 passes for a career-high 256 yards and four touchdowns.

SAVANNAH STATE/TENNESSEE CONNECTION
SSU defensive lineman Cayden Buchanan is the lone member of the Tigers roster from Tennessee. Buchanan hails from Spring Hill which is 126.8 miles from Jackson, the home of Lane College. He has three tackles on the season but his highlight is the sack he had on the quarterback from Clark Atlanta in the fourth quarter of the Tigers 35-28 win that kick-started their three game winning streak.

CATCHING ON
Da'Shun Mitchell has caught a reception in 27 consecutive games.

SENDING OUR CONDOLENCES
Former Savannah State student-athlete Anthony Major passed away on October 16, 2024 at age 48. Major had the distinction of being a former SSU cheerleader and football player. He was a member of the first SSU co-ed cheer squad in the 1995-96 football and basketball seasons and later joined the football team as a running back for the 1997 & 98 seasons.

FIRST QUARTER BLUES
Savannah State has only given up seven points in the first quarter in their past four games

TOP FIVE
SSU is ranked in the top five in SIAC statistics in five categories: 2nd in punting (36.5 net), 3rd in forced fumbles (6), 3rd in scoring defense (23.4), 4th in rush defense (122.6) and 5th in opponent penalties (76.1).

POLL WATCHING
Savannah State received 14 votes in the latest HBCU Division II Coaches Poll powered by BOXTOROW

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
According to the NCAA.com website, Lexington Matthews is 25th in punting (41.8), Darrian Bell 31st in solo tackles per game (4.9) and Xavier Esquillen is 36th in sacks (0.64). As a team, SSU is 17th in punt returns (14.80), 29th in passing yards per completion (14.07), 42nd in net punting (37.0) and 47th in team sacks (2.29).

WHATS IN A NAME
There are 20 players on the team that share the same last name. Three have the last name of Brown, Johnson, Jones or Williams while two have the sir name of Anderson, Davis, Leonard or White.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION-The SSU roster is made up of players from eleven states (Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, New York, Texas, California, Alabama, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Maryland) as well as the District of Columbia

WELCOME TO THE MARSH
Savannah native Harold Nelson and former North Carolina wide receiver Steven Jerry has joined the Tiger coaching staff this year. Nelson will be the tight ends and assistant offensive line coach while Jerry will be overseeing the wide receivers. Nelson has coached on the high school level in Savannah (Windsor Forest, Calvary Day and Islands) and in Florida and is owner of his own training company, Energy Sports Academy. Jerry's collegiate coaching resume list Central Florida, William & Mary, East Tennessee State, Virginia State, Florida A&M, Benedict and New Mexico Highlands, before coming to SSU

REFURBISHED TURF
SSU is among four HBCUs in Georgia and Alabama who will debut a refurbished football field this fall thanks to grants totaling more than $6.5 million from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. The work at T.A. Wright Stadium included the installation of a new turf and upgrades to the drainage system to improve field quality, safety and accessibility to community groups.

TRANSFER U
SSU has 28 players on the roster that have transferred from other schools. The programs, which range from FBS to junior college, include Albany State, Morgan State, St. Augustine, Bluefield State, Livingstone, Grambling State, South Carolina State, Mercer, Georgia Military, Pitt, Butler Community College, New Haven, Louisville, McPhearson, Louisburg, St. Thomas, Dean, Los Angeles Valley CC, Oklahoma Panhandle State, Notre Dame College, Lake Erie, UNC Pembroke, Georgia Southern and Florida.

HOME GROWN- SSU has ten players in its roster from eight different of the local high schools (Islands, Beach, Savannah High, Bethesda, Johnson, Windsor Forest, St. Andrews and Jenkins.

THE SIZE OF IT- Punter Lexington Matthews the tallest player on the team at 6-foot-5 but Offensive lineman Arnez Jones is the biggest at 360-pounds. Running back AJ Brown is the shortest player on the roster at 5-foot-7 while wide receiver Jalen Leonard is the lightest at 150 pounds.

PRESEASON HONORS
Eight Tigers were selected to the preseason All-SIAC team. Deandre Creary was named to the First Team Defense while Ahlik Booker and Nathaniel Chisholm were named to the Second Team Defense. Jadon Adams, Da'Shun Mitchell and Shamarcus Poole were named to the Second Team Offense while AJ Brown and Joseph Hampton were named as Second Team Return Specialists.

FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE
SSU appeared on the HBCU Go platform on September 7 with their game with Southern. Savannah State is scheduled to appear on ESPN+ three times during the 2024 season. The Tigers played Central State on September 14 at Theodore A. Wright Stadium at 6 p.m. and traveled to Fort Valley State on Sept. 29. The 2024 SSU Homecoming match-up with Lane on October 26 will also appear on ESPN+ with a 3 p.m. kickoff.

NIL PARTNERSHIP
The Savannah State University Department of Athletics and Influxer have formed a partnership which will help SSU student-athletes with Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) merchandising opportunities. Influxer, an approved licensed NIL vendor, will house a complete NIL merchandise store for all Tiger student-athletes who choose to participate, featuring officially licensed apparel with their names and jersey numbers.