CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College football team closes out its seven-game spring schedule on Saturday with a trip to Iowa to face Drake at 3 p.m. from Drake Stadium.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHAT: Presbyterian (3-3) at Drake (2-2)
WHERE: Drake Stadium (Des Moines, Iowa)
WHEN: Saturday, April 17, 2021 (3 p.m.)
THE SERIES: First All-Time Meeting
FOLLOW THE ACTION
WATCH: MEDIACOM MC22
LIVE STATS: Sidearm Stats
TWITTER: @BlueHoseFtball
GAME NOTES: Presbyterian Notes
Last Time Out
• Senior Colby Campbell set a DI program single-game tackle record with 25 stops this afternoon in the Presbyterian College football team's 29-24 victory over Davidson at Bailey Memorial Stadium.
• PC clinched the victory with an interception from Rod Haygood in the final minute of the contest.
• Tyler Huff finished the game with 21-25, 198 passing yards, and 2 touchdowns. Senior Keith Pearson totaled 11 catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns.
Opponent Profile
• Drake comes into Saturday's matchup with a 2-2 record following a 33-7 victory over Butler last Saturday.
• Declan Carr leads the Bulldogs defense with 7.7 tackles per game which rank fourth amongst PFL defenders. Carr sits atop the league in solo tackles per game with 5.7 stops.
• On offense, the Bulldogs are led by Hunter Wendling at the quarterback position who has completed 57.1% of his passes for 304 yards, while Ian Corwin is 7-of-16 for 75 yards and three passing scores this spring.
• Cross Robinson paces Drake in the backfield with 209 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Caden Meis has totaled 199 yards and a pair of scores as well.
Blue Hose in the Ranks
• Keith Pearson enters Saturday's game third in FCS with 8.3 receptions per game, fifth in receiving yards with 658, and fifth in receiving yards per game at 109.7.
• Pearson is 19th in the nation averaging 126.67 all-purpose yards per game.
• Linebacker Colby Campbell ranks second in the FCS ranks averaging 14.8 tackles per game. He also ranks fourth with 7.5 solo stops per game.
• Tyler Huff checks in 16th in FCS football with a 63.7% completion percentage and is 21st in completions per game averaging 20 a contest. He sits 24th among FCS quarterbacks averaging 220 passing yards per game.
Campbell Named Co-Defensive Player of the Week
• Senior linebacker Colby Campbell has been named the Pioneer Football League's co-defensive player of the week as announced by the league on Sunday. Campbell totaled a DI school record 25 tackles in a 29-24 victory over Davidson on Saturday afternoon.
• Campbell's 25 stops are the most by a PFL defender since 2014 and are the most by any FCS defender in 2020-21. He had 11 solo stops and totaled 3.0 tackles for loss in the victory. One of those stops behind the line of scrimmage saw him also force a fumble that Presbyterian recovered and saw them score on the ensuing drive to take a 14-7 lead in the first half. Campbell also had another tackle for loss on third down that helped force a Davidson punt deep in its territory.
• With his 3.0 tackles for loss on Saturday, Campbell surpassed Antwan Thomas for the school's DI record in tackles for loss in a career with the Blue Hose. He has totaled 32.0 career TFL's including 7.0 this spring to lead the Blue Hose.
Campbell Earns National Honor
• Senior linebacker Colby Campbell became the second straight Blue Hose to earn Stats Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the week as announced on Monday.
• DB Jeffrey Smyth earned the honor the week prior after recording two pick-sixes in a 26-3 victory over Stetson.
Quarterbacks Continuing to Fill Stat Sheet
• The Blue Hose quarterbacks have continued to fill up the stat sheets thru the spring.
• Brandon Thompson and Tyler Huff are averaging 239.5 passing yards per game while scoring 11 touchdowns thru the air and the pair has scored four times on the ground (Huff x3, Thompson).
• After Huff totaled 166 through the air against Stetson, he bounced back with a near-flawless performance against Davidson. He recorded 198 passing yards and two passing touchdowns, while only recording four incompletions (21-of-25).
• Thompson got the start against San Diego and didn't disappoint. He had a career-high 323 passing yards while accounting for three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) in a 24-21 defeat against the Torerors.
• Huff on Saturday against Davidson passed for 218 yards for his third straight game with 200+ yards passing along with a career-high three touchdowns.
• In week two, Huff passed for 211 yards, while adding 71 rushing yards and accounting for three touchdowns in PC 31-16 win over Morehead State.
• Huff opened his 2021 spring against Gardner-Webb with the best stat line of his collegiate career.
• Huff completed a career-high 29 pass for 307 yards (also a career-high) and a pair of touchdowns. He also added a score on the ground.
• He became the first 300+ yard performance in Blue Hose DI history since Hays McMath totaled 322 yards during the 2013 season against VMI.
Emmanwori & Smyth Earn PFL Weekly Honors
• Sophomore defensive back Jeffrey Smyth has been named the Pioneer Football League's defensive player of the week as announced by the league on Sunday.
• Sophomore defensive back Oka Emmanwori was also named the league's Co-Special teams player of the week on Sunday. The pair accounted for all three touchdowns for the Blue Hose in a 26-3 victory on Saturday afternoon against Stetson.
• Smyth became the 28th FCS player – and the first since 2013 – to return two interceptions for a touchdown in the same game, providing two of the three Presbyterian touchdowns in a 26-3 victory at Stetson on Saturday afternoon. He recorded a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter and followed that up with a 52-yard pick-six in the third quarter to enter the record book.
• Emmanwori got the Blue Hose offense out to a fast start on Saturday with an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown en route to the 26-3 victory. After Stetson took a 3-0 lead, Emmanwori returned the ensuing kickoff to the house to give Presbyterian the lead they would not relinquish. It was the first kickoff return for a touchdown since 2013 when Jeremiah McKie recorded a 97-yard return against VMI.
Huff & Pearson Earn PFL Weekly Honors
• Sophomore quarterback Tyler Huff and senior wide receiver Keith Pearson have earned the Pioneer Football League offensive and special teams player of the week honors respectively following their performances on Saturday in a 31-16 victory over Morehead State for the Blue Hose.
• Huff was responsible for three touchdowns in Presbyterian's 31-16 victory against Morehead State, Saturday.
• He completed 17-of-28 passes for 211 yards and threw for two touchdowns, including a 65-yard strike to Matthew Rivera. Huff also ran for 71 yards and a touchdown, including a 14-yard scoring scamper for Presbyterian's final touchdown.
• Pearson's 65-yard punt return in the third quarter set a Presbyterian DI era record in a 31-16 victory against Morehead State, Saturday.
• His 65-yard return broke the record set in 2013 and Presbyterian made it pay off three plays later with a touchdown run by Huff. Pearson averaged 25.0 yards per return on three punt returns against Morehead State. The senior wideout also added seven catches for 54 yards to his stat line on Saturday.
