Elon, N.C. - Elon opens the 2021 fall season Saturday by hosting long-time rival Wofford at 2:00 p.m., streamed on FloSports and televised on My48. Along with this being graduation weekend for the Elon class of 2020, the Athletics Department will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of Rhodes Stadium.
Elon returns 20 starters from the 2020 season (2021 spring), including all 11 on offense. The Phoenix will also see an influx of talent from those who missed part or all of the spring campaign due to various reasons. Notably, senior quarterback Davis Cheek returns after missing the spring campaign due to injury. He is 10th among active FCS quarterbacks in career passing yards and was the CAA Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2017.
This will be the 39th meeting all-time between the two programs with Wofford holding a 27-11 edge. Wofford has won the past five match-ups since a 34-6 Elon win in 2009. The last time the programs met was in the FCS Playoffs in 2018. Both teams were ranked in the top 20 but Wofford pulled out a 19-7 victory.
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TONY TRISCIANI BEGINS YEAR THREE LEADING THE PHOENIX
• On Dec. 17, 2018, Tony Trisciani was named the 23rd head football coach in Elon history. In the fall of 2021, he begins his third season at the helm.
• While it will be his third season as head coach, he begins his sixth year overall with the Phoenix, serving as the defensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018 before his elevation to the lead chair. In 2006, Trisciani coached the defensive backs and ran the special teams for Elon.
BUILDING STAFF CONSISTENCY
• While Tony Trisciani begins his third year leading the Elon football program, he is building consistency in the staff surrounding him.
• Associate Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator Drew Folmar begins his fifth consecutive season at Elon in the fall of 2021. Recruiting Coordinator/Running Backs Coach Clay Browning and Special Teams Coordinator/Outside Linebackers Coach Dillon Lucas also start their fifth seasons at Elon.
• Defensive Coordinator Billy Crocker, Offensive Line Coach Andy Marino and Defensive Line Coach Seth Payne have all been on Trisciani's staff throughout his head coaching tenure, beginning their third seasons. Wide Receivers Coach Chris Young and Special Teams Assistant Mike Nall are doing the same.
• The newest member of the coaching staff is former Elon All-American Warren Messer, who was hired just prior to the start of the season and will coach the cornerbacks.Tight Ends Coach Arketa Banks and Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Safeties Coach Dovonte Edwards were hired during the summer following the 2021 spring campaign. Banks is a 2003 Elon graduate.
A LOOK BACK: WOFFORD DEFEATS ELON IN 2018 FCS PLAYOFFS
• The last time Elon and Wofford squared off came in the 2018 FCS Playoffs as No. 12 Wofford defeated No. 17 Elon 19-7.
• Elon led 7-6 at the half, holding the Terriers to two first-half field goals, but Wofford scored early in the third quarter to go ahead 13-7 and then tacked on two more field goals for the 19-7 final.
• Jaylan Thomas, who still plays for the Phoenix, led Elon with 38 yards rushing. Current wide receiver Avery Jones had three catches for 44 yards, Bryson Daughtry had three for 34, and Kortez Weeks had two catches for 12 yards.
• Defensively, current Elon player Cole Coleman led the team with 11 tackles, gathering 1.0 TFL.
REVISITING 2020 (OR SPRING 2021)
• Elon went 1-5 during a unique spring 2021 season that was pushed back from the fall due to COVID-19.
• The Phoenix opened the year with a 26-23 victory over Davidson before losing to Gardner-Webb 42-20.
• In week three, Elon had then-No. 1 James Madison on the ropes, leading 17-3 at the half. But injuries began to pile up in the 20-17 James Madison comeback and the Phoenix were never able to recover.
• As an example, preseason starting quarterback Davis Cheek never took a snap and injuries forced coach Tony Trisciani to use three more QBs throughout the year, each of whom got two starts.
TURNING BACK TO CHEEK
• After missing the 2020 season (spring of 2021), senior quarterback Davis Cheek returns to the starting lineup Saturday against Wofford.
• Cheek has 29 career starts, helped the Phoenix to FCS Playoff appearances in 2017 and 2018, and ranks 10th among returning FCS quarterbacks with 5,624 career passing yards.
• His 5,624 career passing yards rank third in Elon school history, needing 1,026 more to pass Thomas Wilson (2009-12) for second. He is also third in career touchdown passes (34), fourth in career passing attempts (752) and fourth in career completions (448). Cheek's 59.6 career completion percentage ranks third as well, as does his 135.5 career passing efficiency.
ALL HE DOES IS WIN, WIN, WIN
• Since stepping foot on campus in time for the 2017 season, quarterback Davis Cheek has made a huge impact on the Elon program.
• Elon went 2-9 in 2016 and immediately turned things around with an 8-4 season in 2017 that included a trip to the FCS Playoffs. Cheek started all 12 games during that freshman campaign.
• Starting with that 2017 season, Elon is 17-12 when Cheek is in the starting lineup but just 3-8 when he is not.
CHEEK EARNING PRESEASON HONORS
• Davis Cheek was named one of 26 quarterbacks in the country, at all levels, to begin the year on the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl preseason Big Board. He is one of just three non-FBS quarterbacks to join the elite group.
• Cheek is also a nominee for the William V. Campbell Trophy, given annually to one football player that combines academics, community service and on-field performance.
PLAYIN' JAYLAN
• Junior running back Jaylan Thomas is working his way into Elon's record books.
• Thomas ranks seventh in Elon's FCS history with 1,483 career rushing yards, needing 62 more to pass Tracey Coppedge (2012-15) for sixth place. He is also eighth in career carries with 304.
• Thomas also has a penchant for finding paydirt, posting nine career rushing touchdowns. He needs just one more to move into the top ten in the school's FCS history.
NO WEEKS OFF
• Senior Kortez Weeks played in just three of Elon's six spring games but he has been impactful since being named third team All-CAA as a freshman in 2017.
• Weeks led the Phoenix with 60 catches for 709 yards as a freshman and followed that up with 36 catches for 484 yards in 2018.
• In 2019, he again led the team with 43 receptions, totalling 412 yards. He had eight more catches in limited action in the spring.
• With 1,671 career receiving yards, Weeks is eighth in school history, needing 37 yards to pass Curtis Leary (1970-73) for seventh. With 156 yards, he'd move into the top five, passing Sean Jeffcoat (2007-10) along the way.
• Weeks' seven career receiving touchdowns ranks ninth in Elon's FCS history as well.
THE 'SKY'LER IS THE LIMIT
• Junior kicker Skyler Davis has been one of the most consistent and reliable kickers in FCS football since starting his career at Elon in 2018.
• Davis has made 34-of-46 field goals attempts in his career, connecting on his last 11 attempts inside of 40 yards (as well as 15 of his last 16) dating back to the William & Mary game on Nov. 2, 2019.
• With 176 career points scored, Davis ranks sixth in Elon's FCS history in scoring.
LEADING THE CHARGE
• Head coach Tony Trisciani announced that senior quarterback Davis Cheek, senior defensive lineman Tristen Cox, junior linebacker Devonte Chandler and graduate tight end Donovan Williams have been named captains for the Phoenix.
• The team captains are identical to the spring 2021 campaign.
GETTING THAT DEGREE
• Nine current players on the Elon football team already have their degrees.
• Joey Baughman, Davis Cheek, Tristen Cox, Skyler Davis, Jalen Greene, Michael Purcell, Kortez Weeks, Donovan Williams, and Torrence Williams are all Elon graduates.
THREE NAMED PRESEASON ALL-CAA
• Sophomore Tre'Von Jones was named to the 2021 CAA Football Preseason All-Conference Team as a punt returner, while senior quarterback Davis Cheek and junior defensive back Cole Coleman earned honorable mention honors.
• Jones averaged 7.3 yards per punt return and 18.3 yards per kick return during the spring, following a 2019 season that saw him named a Phil Steele Freshman All-American.
• Cheek missed the entire 2021 spring season but has started 29 games at quarterback for the Phoenix and was the CAA Football Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2017.
• Coleman only played in two games in the spring but was CAA Defensive Player of the Week after earning 17 tackles against Davidson. He has 175 career tackles and 5.5 for loss.
'MULTI-SPORT' ATHLETES
• During the summer, the Elon football team took on the challenge of competing in sports other than football.
• Freshman Chase Speicher won the team's softball home run derby.
• Redshirt freshman Justin Allen won the team's free-throw competition, while sophomore Bo Sanders won the squad's three-point competition.
TO BE THE BEST, YOU'VE GOT TO BEAT THE BEST
• Elon's schedule is littered with teams recognized in the Stats Perform Preseason Top 25 poll.
• The Phoenix will play at No. 2 James Madison on Oct. 30 and will host No. 16 Villanova the next weekend for Homecoming Nov. 6.
• Richmond is just outside the top 25 and Elon will play the Spiders on the road Oct. 2. The Phoenix host New Hampshire, another team receiving votes, on Oct. 23. Elon closes the season at home Nov. 30 for Senior Day against Rhode Island, a third team on the schedule receiving votes.
• In Athlon's preseason poll, James Madison is No. 1, followed by No. 16 Villanova and No. 22 New Hampshire. Elon will face those three teams in succession.
VERSATILE ATTACK
• Elon is the only team in FCS returning a player with 5,000 career passing yards, a player with 1,600 career receiving yards, and a player with 1,400 career rushing yards.
• Quarterback Davis Cheek enters the season with 5,624 career passing yards, wide receiver Kortez Weeks has 1,671 career receiving yards, and running back Jaylan Thomas has 1,483 career rushing yards.
TURNING THEM OVER
• Building on the foundation head coach Tony Trisciani brought to Elon when he was the defensive coordinator, Billy Crocker's unit has shined in forcing turnovers in his first two seasons at Elon.
• In 2019, Crocker's defense forced 21 turnovers and Elon was a CAA best +9 during the regular season.
• In 2020 (spring 2021), the defense again caused havoc, ranking in the top 10 nationally in fumbles recovered (7) and top 30 in total turnovers forced (11).
• Since Crocker began at Elon (counting the 2019 and 2020 seasons together), the Phoenix are tied for second in the CAA in turnover margin (+10, tied with Delaware and trailing only James Madison at +11), and are third in turnovers forced (32, behind only James Madison at 39 and Delaware at 33).
BACK TO ONE DIVISION
• CAA Football will return to a one divisional lineup for the fall 2021 season.
• Due to COVID-19, the CAA had split the league into two divisions for the 2020 (spring 2021) season. Elon played in the four-team South Division in the spring, along with James Madison, Richmond, and William & Mary.
HOME COOKING
• Although Elon plays two road games in the month of September, the Phoenix will not leave the state of North Carolina until October.
• Elon's September road trips will be to Campbell (Buies Creek, N.C.) and Appalachian State (Boone, N.C.).
• The first time Elon will venture outside of the state will be when the Phoenix play at Richmond (Richmond, Va.) on Oct. 2. Elon will then follow that up with the longest road trip of the season, playing at Maine (Orono, Maine) on Oct. 9. Games at James Madison (Harrisonburg, Va.) and Towson (Towson, Md.) will conclude the regular season road slate.
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August 31, 2021 at 09:22PM
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Football Returns! Phoenix To Host Longtime Rival Wofford Saturday - Elon University Athletics
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