THE GAME
Savannah State University will play their final contest of the 2024 season by making the trip to Columbia, South Carolina to take on the Tigers of Benedict College. Riding high off last week's victory over Albany State, SSU hopes to keep the momentum going and send the senior class out with a win. Savannah State and Benedict first met in 1932 and BC owns a 13-4 edge in the series.
LAST YEAR
For a half, Savannah State and Benedict, who entered the game ranked No. 5 in Division II, were neck and neck but the final 30 minutes of the game belonged to the Tigers from Columbia, South Carolina. The game was deadlocked at 17 at intermission but Benedict scored three touchdowns in the third quarter to pull away with a 38-21 win, in a game played October 28, 2023 at Theodore A. Wright Stadium.
KELTON'S QUOTE
"The game this week is really important to our process of winning. It is the last game and a spring board to off-season workouts and training. We need to also close out the year the right way for our seniors and program and play a complete game against a very good Benedict College team."
LAST WEEK
In dramatic fashion, SSU knocked off Albany State 28-26 at Theodore A. Wright Stadium and at the same time snapped a three-game losing skid to the Golden Rams. It was Savannah State's first victory over ASU since 2019. The win was extra special for Tiger quarterback
Jhaydon Sullivan who is a graduate transfer from Albany State. In the game, Sullivan threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns. The SSU defense sacked the Golden Rams quarterback three times, had a goal line stand in the fourth quarter and intercepted two passes.
TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYERS
Quarterback
Jhaydon Sullivan has completed 80 of 124 passes for 1,240 yards and 14 touchdowns. His top receivers are
Da'Shun Mitchell,
Brent Carr,
Demeke Colbert and
Khiry Wallace. Mitchell has 686 receiving yards and seven touchdowns while Carr has 450 yards and two touchdowns. Colbert has four touchdowns to compliment his 222 yards and Wallace averages 15.5 yards per catch.
Joseph Hampton is the leading rusher with 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns and
Shamarcus Poole has added 140 yards and three touchdowns. Colbert has four rushing touchdowns.
TOP DEFENSIVE PLAYERS
Darrian Bell leads the team in tackles with 60 while fellow linebackers
Gary Davis, Jr. and
Uchenna Nwoha has been in on 53 and 39 stops respectively. Anchoring the defensive line are
Xavier Esquillen and
William Jones who have 28 tackles apiece. Esquillen has 11.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks while Jones has 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Roaming the secondary will be
Ahlik Booker (26 tackles),
Keion Bryant (25 tackles),
Dreshawn Dawkins (25 tackles) and
Deandre Creary (22 tackles, two interceptions).
TOP SPECIAL TEAM PLAYERS
Brent Carr averaged 9.86 yards on punt returns while
Shamarcus Poole and AJ Brown average 18.5 and 18.8 on kick returns
SCOUTING BENEDICT
Benedict has lost two games in a row and four out of their last five. The BC offense averages 21.8 points a game and is led by quarterback Charles Simmons who leads the team in rushing (385 yards and two touchdowns) and passing (1,251 yards and 17 touchdowns). Running back Jalen Leary averages 5.1 yards per carry while wide receivers Troy Hillman and Malaqhi Jones have combined for 659 yards and 10 touchdowns. Isaiah Stephens leads the defense with 63 tackles and Israel Nwokocha has 14 tackles for loss and nine sacks.
THE SKINNY
Savannah State has not beaten Benedict since the 2021 season. By beating Albany State last week, SSU threw a wrench into the SIAC playoff picture and would love to end their 2024 season on a winning note. Despite starting the season with back-to-back losses, Savannah State has been very competitive down the stretch.  Benedict has a new head football coach and is guaranteed their first losing season since 2019. Benedict has the top kick return and net punting unit in the conference and their place kicker has been successful on 24 of 25 attempts thus far. Savannah State has relied on their defense all season but their passing game ranks No. 4 in the SIAC as does their scoring offense. Both squads have had offensive line issues with SSU giving up 31 sacks and Benedict with 30. Look for SSU's version of the Four Horsemen (quarterback
Jhaydon Sullivan and wide receivers
Da'Shun Mitchell,
Brent Carr and
Demeke Colbert) to finish the season with another outstanding performance.
COMMON OPPONENTS
Savannah State and Benedict have three common opponents: Lane, Edward Waters and Fort Valley State
SAVANNAH STATE/BENEDICT CONNECTION
Benedict special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Jordan Hopgood was the Savannah State running back coach for two seasons (2022-23).
SENIOR DAY
Today's game is the last game in a Tiger uniform for 23 seniors: Kelvin Drummond, Tre Samuel, Tracy Todd, Jordan Springs, Da'Shun Mitchell, Demeke Colbert, Brent Carr, Shamarcus Poole, Kirk Smith, Marlon Jackson, Randy Scott, Elijah Norwood, Hudson Primus, Jhaydon Sullivan, AJ Brown, Darrian Bell, Christopher Murray, Bruce Mattox, Zaire Anderson, Curtis Spivey, Pearce Brown, Tyler Carmona and Zyaire Williams
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Happy birthday wishes to offensive lineman Christian Hubbard who was born on November 10.
CATCHING ON
Da'Shun Mitchell has caught a reception in 29 consecutive games
HOMECOMING
Today's game will be a homecoming for offensive lineman Tre Samuel who is from Columbia and prepped at Gray Collegiate Academy. Tight end
Jordan Springs and lineman
Jamar Walker are both from Irmo which is 11 miles from Columbia. SSU has a total of six players on the roster from the Palmetto State.
TOP FIVE
SSU is ranked in the top five in SIAC statistics in five categories: 2nd in punting (36.5 net), 1st in forced fumbles (8), 4th in scoring defense (24.2), 5th in rush defense (114.1) and 4th in passing offense (196.2)
POLL WATCHING
Savannah State is ranked No. 8 in the latest Ultimate HBCU Sports Division II Football Poll and received 6 votes in the HBCU Division II Coaches Poll powered by BOXTOROW
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
According to the NCAA.com website, Jhaydon Sullivan is ranked 3rd in Division II in passing efficiency (180.9), 5th in yards per pass attempt (10.0), 7th in passing yards per completion (15.5) and 26th in completion percentage (.65); Lexington Matthews is 29th in punts (41.9); Da'Shun Mitchell is 35th in receiving touchdowns (7), 29th in receiving yards (686) and 32nd in receiving yards per game (76.2); Xavier Esquillen is 3rd in sacks (1.06), 44th in tackles for loss (1.3) and 54th in forced fumbles (0.22). As a team, SSU is ranked 20th in passing yards per completion (14.60), 37th in punt returns (11.6), 20th in sacks (2.78), 39th in fourth down conversion (0.571), 43rd in team passing efficiency (145.60), 42nd in net punts (36.8) and 49th in rush defense (114.1).
WHAT'S 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 (OH), Lake Erie, UNC Pembroke, Georgia Southern and Florida.
HOME GROWN-Â 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-Â 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 appeared 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 also appeared on ESPN+ with a 3 p.m.
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.
