2017 The Citadel Bulldogs football team

The 2017 The Citadel Bulldogs football team represented The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bulldogs were led by second-year head coach Brent Thompson and played their home games at Johnson Hagood Stadium. They were members of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 5–6, 3–5 in SoCon play to finish in a tie for sixth place.

2017 The Citadel Bulldogs football
Conference	Southern Conference
2017 record	5–6 (3–5 SoCon)
Head coach	Brent Thompson (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Lou Conte (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Triple option
Defensive coordinator	Blake Harrell (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Johnson Hagood Stadium (Capacity: 11,332)

2017 Southern Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 6 Wofford $^		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 18 Samford ^		6	–	2					8	–	4
No. 19 Furman ^		6	–	2					8	–	5
Western Carolina		5	–	3					7	–	5
Mercer		4	–	4					5	–	6
The Citadel		3	–	5					5	–	6
Chattanooga		3	–	5					3	–	8
East Tennessee State		2	–	6					4	–	7
VMI		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS FCS Poll

Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2016 season 10–2, 8–0 in SoCon play to claim their fourth conference championship. This was the first time a Citadel football team completed an 8–0 record in conference play. The Bulldogs appeared in the FCS Playoffs for the fifth time, but were defeated in their first game after earning a bye to the second round.

Preseason

Preseason media poll

The SoCon released their preseason media poll on July 18, 2017, with the Bulldogs predicted to finish in second place, with six of 22 voters picking The Citadel first.[1] The same day the coaches released their preseason poll with the Bulldogs also predicted to finish in second place.[2]

Media poll

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Wofford	178 (11)
2	The Citadel	166 (6)
3	Samford	156 (3)
4	Chattanooga	152 (2)
5	Mercer	101
6	Furman	87
7	Western Carolina	71
8	ETSU	49
9	VMI	30

Coaches poll

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Wofford	63 (7)
2	The Citadel	54 (2)
3	Samford	52
4	Chattanooga	41
5	Mercer	32
6	Western Carolina	27
7	Furman	26
8	ETSU	17
9	VMI	12

Preseason All-SoCon Teams

The Bulldogs placed five players on the preseason all-SoCon teams, and Kailik Williams was named as preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

Defensive Player of the Year

Kailik Williams – DB

Offense 1st team Cam Jackson – RB Tyler Davis – OL

Defense 1st team Kailik Williams – DB 2nd team Ken Allen – DL Jonathan King – DL

Schedule

The Bulldogs planned to host Mercer for their traditional Parents' Day game on October 7, and will face VMI for Homecoming.[3][4]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	6:00 p.m.	Newberry*	No. 16	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	7C ESPN3	W 31–14	7,467
September 9[5]	Noon	at Presbyterian*	No. 14	Bailey Memorial Stadium Clinton, SC	BSN	W 48–7	2,586
September 16	1:00 p.m.	at East Tennessee State	No. 13	William B. Greene Jr. Stadium Johnson City, TN	ESPN3	W 31–25	7,544
September 30	3:00 p.m.	at No. 25 Samford	No. 8	Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL	ESPN3	L 14–35	9,233
October 7	2:00 p.m.	Mercer	No. 17	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	ESPN3	L 14–24	9,969
October 14	6:00 p.m.	No. 5 Wofford	No. 23	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	ESPN3	L 16–20	8,543
October 21	2:00 p.m.	at Chattanooga		Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN	ESPN3	W 20–14	7,521
October 28	2:00 p.m.	VMI		Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC (Military Classic of the South)	7C ESPN3	W 21–3	11,609
November 4	2:00 p.m.	No. 24 Western Carolina		Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	ESPN3	L 19–31	7,384
November 11	2:00 p.m.	at No. 21 Furman		Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC (Rivalry)	7C	L 20–56	10,105
November 18	12:20 p.m.	at No. 4 (FBS) Clemson*		Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	ACCN	L 3–61	80,618
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS FCS released prior to game Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Roster

2017 The Citadel Bulldogs football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 2 Rod Johnson So QB 4 Brian Murdaugh Fr QB 10 Jordan Black So QB 12 Ryan McCarthy Fr WR 13 Jalen Lampkin Jr WR 13 Cole Owens Fr FB 16 Brandon Rainey So WR 17 Logan Bailey Fr RB 18 Cam Jackson Sr QB 19 Dominique Allen Sr WR 21 Curt Nixon So WR 22 Raleigh Webb Fr RB 26 Keyonte Sessions Fr RB 29 Grant Drakeford Jr WR 30 Dante Smith Fr FB 31 Malik Brooks Fr FB 34 Evan McField So RB 36 Matthew Taylor Fr FB 37 Lorenzo Ward So WR 40 Jordan Williams So FB 41 Shy McPhail Fr FB 42 Brandon Berry Fr FB 44 Jordan Thomas So OL 52 Jon Barrett Lewis Fr OL 53 Tyler Davis Jr OL 54 Haden Haas Fr OL 56 Attorney Gallman So OL 57 Blake Harrison Fr OL 61 Mark Weakland Fr OL 62 Jonathan Cole Fr OL 63 Drew McIntyre So OL 64 Harry Easler So OL 67 Prince Howard-Whitaker Fr OL 70 Charley Conley Fr OL 73 Patrick Ivey Fr OL 73 Mike Rentz Jr OL 74 Nick Hudgens Fr OL 77 Tristan Harkleroad Jr WR 80 Josh LeBlanc So WR 81 Dijon Profit Fr WR 82 Rashad Riley Fr WR 83 Cardan Williams Fr WR 84 Liam Reid Fr WR 87 Cameron Roberts Fr WR 88 Peter Kennedy So OL Nick Pappas Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 1 Shy Phillips Sr DB 3 Wally Wilmore Fr LB 5 Myles Pierce Sr DB 6 Lane Botkin Fr DB 7 Kailik Williams Sr LB 8 Israel Battle Sr DB 9 Khafari Buffalo So DB 11 Ben Roberts Sr DB 20 Jay Howard Fr DB 23 Tyus Carter Sr DB 24 Aron Span III Jr DB 25 Phil Barrett Fr DB 28 Chance Steverson Fr LB 32 Phil Davis So LB 33 Quinlan Washington Jr DB 34 Marvin Marshall Fr LB 38 Noah Dawkins Jr LB 39 Micah Byrd-Brown Fr DB 43 Jalen Barr Fr DB 45 Sean-Thomas Faulkner Fr DB 46 Carl Cunningham Jr. Jr LB 47 Jeremy Samuels Fr LB 48 Cody Floyd Sr DB 49 KD Frederick Fr LB 50 Willie Eubanks III Fr LB 52 K. J. Simpson Fr LB 55 Russell Hubbs Jr LB 58 Denzel Wright Fr LB 59 Adam Baker Fr DL 60 Adam Wawrzynski So LB 65 Colton Feinberg Fr DL 68 Ken Allen Jr LB 70 Collin Flanders Fr DL 71 Dalton Owens Fr DL 72 Sam Parker Sr DL 75 Bradley Carter So DL 76 Jabauri Garner Fr DL 79 Gunner Covey Fr DL 90 John Wesley Whiteside II Fr LB 92 Aaron Brawley Fr DL 94 A. J. Stokes Fr DL 95 Blake Oliveira Fr DL 96 Jalon Williams So DL 97 Jonathan King Sr DL 98 Joseph Randolph II So DL 99 Christian Weyrich Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class LS 57 Aaron Blaylock So K 69 Joshua Roides Fr LS 85 Patrick Keefe Jr K 86 Jacob Godek So P 93 Gage Russell Fr	Head coach Brent Thompson (2nd season) Coordinators/assistant coaches Blake Harrell – Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers Lou Conte - Offensive Coordinator / QBs / B-Backs J.P. Gunter - Special Teams / A-Backs Ron Boyd - Offensive Line Charles Hopkins - Offensive Tackles Orlando Mitjans Jr. - Cornerbacks Brian Rucker - Wide Receivers Joel Taylor - Defensive Passing Game Coordinator / Safeties John Ward - Defensive Line / Academic Coordinator Scott Yielding - Outside Linebackers / Recruiting Coordinator Donnell Boucher - Strength and Conditioning Will Hornsby - Special Teams Quality Control Floris Mendonca - Video Coodinator Kate Yeager - Director of Personnel Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: December 6, 2020

Game summaries

Newberry

1 2 3 4 Total Wolves 0 7 0 7 14 • No. 16 Bulldogs 7 7 7 10 31 Date: September 2, 2017 Location: Johnson Hagood Stadium, Charleston, SC Game start: 6:00 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3:10 Game attendance: 7,467 Game weather: 85°F • N 10 • Mostly cloudy Referee: Thomas Graham TV announcers (7C/ESPN3): Kendall Lewis, James Riley, Eric Summers

Scoring summary 1 7:14 CIT Grant Drakeford 29-yard run (Jacob Godek kick) CIT 7–0 2 10:30 NEW Darius Clark 3-yard run (Shea Rodgers kick) 7–7 2 1:28 CIT Jordan Black 1-yard run (Godek kick) CIT 14–7 3 0:37 CIT Cam Jackson 74-yard run (Godek kick) CIT 21–7 4 7:22 CIT Josh LeBlanc 6-yard pass from Black (Godek kick) CIT 28–7 4 4:28 NEW Chance Walker 26-yard pass from Nick Jones (Rodgers kick) CIT 28–14 4 0:17 CIT Godek 37-yard field goal CIT 31–14

at Presbyterian

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 14 Bulldogs 14 21 6 7 48 Blue Hose 7 0 0 0 7 Date: September 9, 2017[5] Location: Bailey Memorial Stadium, Clinton, SC Game start: Noon EST Elapsed time: 2:26 Game attendance: 2,586 Game weather: 73°F • NNE 12 • Sunny Referee: Greg Waybright TV announcers (BSN/ESPN3): Kendall Lewis, James Riley, Eric Summers

Scoring summary 1 6:36 CIT Dominique Allen 1-yard run (Jacob Godek kick) CIT 7–0 1 6:18 PRE Torrance Marable 76-yard run (Brett Norton kick) 7–7 1 1:55 CIT Lorenzo Ward 5-yard run (Jacob Godek kick) CIT 14–7 2 13:21 CIT Raleigh Webb 57-yard pass from Jordan Black (Godek kick) CIT 21–7 2 8:22 CIT Rod Johnson 18-yard pass from Black (Godek kick) CIT 28–7 2 1:09 CIT Allen 1-yard run (Godek kick) CIT 35–7 3 5:41 CIT Allen 2-yard run (Godek kick failed) CIT 41–7 4 5:27 CIT Brandon Rainey 14-yard pass from Black (Godek kick) CIT 48–7

at East Tennessee State

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 13 Bulldogs 7 0 7 17 31 Buccaneers 7 7 3 8 25 Date: September 16, 2017 Location: William B. Greene Jr. Stadium, Johnson City, TN Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3:02 Game attendance: 7,544 Game weather: 80°F • NE 6 • Mostly Sunny Referee: Larry Adcock TV announcers (ESPN3): David Jackson, Mark Hutsell, Kasey Marler

Scoring summary 1 12:38 ETSU Vincent Lowe 22-yard pass from Austin Herink (JJ Jerman kick) ETSU 7–0 1 7:10 CIT Brandon Rainey 10-yard run (Jacob Godek kick) 7–7 2 1:05 ETSU Drake Powell 8-yard pass from Austin Herink (JJ Jerman kick) ETSU 14–7 3 11:01 ETSU JJ Jerman 46-yard field goal ETSU 17–7 3 4:17 CIT Dominique Allen 1-yard run (Godek kick) ETSU 17–14 4 11:42 CIT Raleigh Webb 7-yard run (Godek kick) CIT 21–17 4 7:50 CIT Webb 28-yard pass from Allen (Godek kick) CIT 28–17 4 5:15 ETSU Jajuan Stinson 4-yard run (Austin Herink pass to Kobe Kelley for two-point conv.) CIT 28–25 4 2:17 CIT Godek 46-yard field goal CIT 31–25

at Samford

1 2 3 4 Total No. 8 Bulldogs (CIT) 0 7 7 0 14 • No. 25 Bulldogs (SAM) 28 7 0 0 35 Date: September 30, 2017 Location: Seibert Stadium, Homewood, AL Game start: 3:00 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 2:58 Game attendance: 9,233 Game weather: 79°F • NE 6 • Clear and sunny Referee: Jerry Welmaker TV announcers (ESPN3): Curt Bloom, Chad Pilcher, Hattie Breece

Scoring summary 1 14:00 SAM Kelvin McKnight 8-yard pass from Devlin Hodges (Jordan Weaver kick) SAM 7–0 1 11:56 SAM Yassar El-Amin 70-yard pass from Hodges (Weaver kick) SAM 14–0 1 9:40 SAM Moise Satine 10-yard run (Weaver kick) SAM 21–0 1 4:!9 SAM Devlin Hodges 1-yard run (Weaver kick) SAM 28–0 2 10:39 SAM T.D. Marshall 63-yard pass from Hodges (Weaver kick) SAM 35–0 2 6:55 CIT Jordan Black 1-yard run (Jacob Godek kick) SAM 35–7 3 8:41 CIT Brandon Rainey 8-yard run (Godek kick) SAM 35–14

Mercer

1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 7 7 7 3 24 No. 17 Bulldogs 0 0 0 14 14 Date: October 7, 2017 Location: Johnson Hagood Stadium, Charleston, SC Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3:21 Game attendance: 9,969 Game weather: 85°F • Calm • Partly cloudy Referee: Edwin Lee TV announcers (ESPN3): Kevin Fitzgerald, James Riley

Scoring summary 1 9:19 MER CJ Leggett 1-yard run (Cole Fisher kick) MER 7–0 2 4:29 MER Tee Mitchell 16-yard run (Fisher kick) MER 14–0 3 2:57 MER Mitchell 2-yard run (Fisher kick) MER 21–0 4 13:17 CIT Dominique Allen 1-yard run (Jacob Godek kick) MER 21–7 4 3:59 MER Cole Fisher 29-yard field goal MER 24–7 4 2:33 CIT Brandon Berry 2-yard run (Godek kick) MER 24–14

Wofford

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 5 Terriers 0 7 7 6 20 No. 23 Bulldogs 7 7 2 0 16 Date: October 14, 2017 Location: Johnson Hagood Stadium, Charleston, SC Game start: 6:00 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3:03 Game attendance: 8,549 Game weather: Low 80s • Calm • Mostly clear Referee: Thomas Graham TV announcers (ESPN3): Kevin Fitzgerald, James Riley

Scoring summary 1 7:28 CIT Dominique Allen 7-yard run (Jacob Godek kick) CIT 7–0 2 8:24 WOF Brandon Goodson 1-yard run (Luke Carter kick) 7–7 2 0:11 CIT Rod Johnson 2-yard run (Godek kick) CIT 14–7 3 13:15 WOF Jason Hill 59-yard pass from Brandon Goodson (Luke Carter kick) 14–14 3 8:07 CIT Team 2-yard Safety CIT 16–14 4 1:10 WOF Andre Stoddard 3-yard run (Lennox McAfee rush failed) WOF 20–16

at Chattanooga

1 2 3 4 Total • Bulldogs 0 7 6 7 20 Mocs 7 7 0 0 14 Date: October 21, 2017 Location: Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, TN Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 2:44 Game attendance: 7,521 Game weather: 74°F • SE 3 • Partly cloudy Referee: B. Johnson TV announcers (ESPN3): Chris Goforth, B.J. Coleman

Scoring summary 1 0:17 CHA Darrell Bridges 61-yard run (Victor Ulmo kick) CHA 7–0 2 11:15 CIT Josh LeBlanc 25-yard pass from Dominique Allen (Jacob Godek kick) 7–7 2 4:09 CHA Bridges 1-yard run (Ulmo kick) CHA 14–7 3 10:05 CIT Godek 45-yard field goal CHA 14–10 3 1:51 CIT Rod Johnson 4-yard run (Godek kick) CIT 17–14 4 11:39 CIT Godek 34-yard field goal CIT 20–14

VMI

Homecoming

1 2 3 4 Total Keydets 3 0 0 0 3 • Bulldogs 14 0 0 7 21 Date: October 28, 2017 Location: Johnson Hagood Stadium, Charleston, SC Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3:00 Game attendance: 11,609 Game weather: High 70's • Mostly cloudy Referee: Edwin Lee TV announcers (7C/ESPN3): Kendall Lewis, James Riley

Scoring summary 1 10:59 VMI Grant Clemons 37-yard field goal VMI 3–0 1 10:01 CIT Grant Drakeford 71-yard run (Jacob Godek kick) CIT 7–3 1 0:10 CIT Dominique Allen 1-yard run (Godek kick) CIT 14–3 4 2:45 CIT Lorenzo Ward 45-yard run (Godek kick) CIT 21–3

Western Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 24 Catamounts 7 10 7 7 31 Bulldogs 0 10 9 0 19 Date: November 4, 2017 Location: Johnson Hagood Stadium, Charleston, SC Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST Television network: ESPN3

Scoring summary 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 –

at Furman

1 2 3 4 Total Bulldogs 0 0 14 6 20 • No. 21 Paladins 14 21 14 7 56 Date: November 11, 2016 Location: Paladin Stadium, Greenville, SC Television network: 7C

Scoring summary 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 –

at Clemson

1 2 3 4 Total Bulldogs 0 0 0 3 3 • No. 4 (FBS) Tigers 21 17 20 3 61 Date: November 18, 2017 Location: Memorial Stadium, Clemson, SC

Scoring summary 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 –

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
5–31–1	2013	L 6–52

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS	16	14	13	10	8	17	23	RV	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR
Coaches	12	13	13	10	11	17	22	RV	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR

References

1. "Wofford Picked by Media to Win Football Title". Southern Conference. July 18, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
2. "SoCon Coaches Pick Wofford, Select All-Conference Teams". Southern Conference. July 18, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
3. "Five In-State Games Highlight 2017 Schedule". The Citadel Bulldogs. September 12, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
4. "2017 Football Schedule". The Citadel Bulldogs. December 21, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
5. "CITADEL-PC FOOTBALL GAME MOVED TO CLINTON, SC; KICKOFF AT NOON ON SAT". The Citadel Bulldogs. September 6, 2017. Retrieved September 7, 2017.