GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Hampton University football team will hit the road on Thursday night, squaring off against the Aggies of North Carolina A&T at 7:30 p.m. at Aggie Stadium. The game will be televised live on ESPNU.
 
Radio: WHOV 88.1 FM (Richie Summerville, Donovan Rose, and Jay Lang on the call).
TV: ESPNU/ESPN3.com.
 
Last Time Out: The Pirates (1-4, 0-1 MEAC) dropped their conference opener on Sept. 27, falling 17-10 at home to South Carolina State. Senior running back Jorrian Washington (Los Angeles, Calif.) led the Pirates offensively with a career-high 176 rushing yards on 18 carries, including a 57-yard touchdown run.
 
Aggies' Last Game: The Aggies (4-2, 1-1 MEAC) fell 13-0 to South Carolina State in the Atlanta Football Classic this past Saturday. North Carolina A&T only had 156 yards of total offense in the loss.
 
The Series: The Pirates are 26-15-2 all-time against North Carolina A&T, having won each of the last eight meetings – including a 31-26 decision at Armstrong Stadium last season. Since 1996, after Hampton's transition to Div. I, the Pirates are 12-4 against the Aggies. North Carolina A&T last defeated Hampton in 2003; the Pirates are 6-2 against the Aggies in games recorded to have been played in Greensboro, N.C.
 
Pirates on the Road: Hampton went 1-6 on the road last season, with that win coming at Norfolk State – where the Pirates beat their rivals 27-17. The Pirates are 0-2 on the road so far this season, having dropped their season opener at Old Dominion, 41-28, on Aug. 30 and fallen 42-17 at Richmond on Sept. 13.
 
Against the MEAC: The Pirates are 198-170-6 all-time against schools currently competing in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) after going 4-4 in the conference last season. Hampton is 9-10 against Bethune-Cookman; 25-14 against Delaware State; 8-13 against Florida A&M; 47-42-1 against Howard; 24-37-2 against Morgan State; 25-25-1 against Norfolk State; 26-15-2 against North Carolina A&T; 18-6 against North Carolina Central; 5-0 against Savannah State; and 11-8 against South Carolina State.
 
The Coaches: Connell Maynor is in his first season at the helm at Hampton after four years at Winston-Salem State – where he went 45-6 and made three straight trips to the NCAA Div. II Playoffs. Rod Broadway is in his fourth season at the helm at North Carolina A&T, and he came into the 2014 season with a 19-14 record with the Aggies.
 
Coach Maynor Says: "We had a chance to get a couple days off (with the bye week) … we didn't get a complete week off, because we play on Thursday, so it was kind of a short open week. I think we went back to the basics and some fundamentals … trying to break down ourselves, some of our tendencies, things of that nature."
 
Coach Maynor on N.C. A&T: "They're very athletics, they've got a lot of talent, a lot of speed. Offensively, they've been scoring points … even though they got shut out last week, a lot of that probably had to do with being without their starting quarterback. They're playing great on both sides of the ball, so we've got to be ready to play."
 
Williamson with a Strong Start: Junior quarterback Jaylian Williamson (Chesapeake, Va.) had a record day at Old Dominion on Aug. 30, throwing for a school-record 407 yards against the Monarchs. He did so in completing 32 of his 45 passes, throwing for three touchdowns – including a 75-yard catch-and-run connection with Washington. Williamson's performance marked the first time since Herbert Bynes in 2008 that a Pirate has thrown for 400 yards in a game – and it's only happened three times in program history. He followed that up on Sept. 6 with 335 passing yards against William and Mary, completing 23 of 34 passes. Williamson didn't eclipse the 200-yard mark in 2013, and he's already broken the 300-yard barrier twice this season. His 253.0 passing yards per game lead the MEAC, and he is second in the MEAC in total offense (248.5 yards per game) and third in pass efficiency (136.2).
 
Bailey Takes Advantage: Bailey got the start on Sept. 20 against Miles College, and he responded by throwing for a career-high 267 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Pirates to their first win of the season. Bailey completed 20 of his 31 passes against the Golden Bears, as he helped the Pirates rack up 411 yards of total offense.
 
Strong Receiving Corps: Through this past Saturday's action, three Pirate wide receivers rank in the top 10 in the MEAC in both receiving yards, while two rank in the top 10 in receptions per game. Junior Rayshad Riddick (Portsmouth, Va.) leads the MEAC in receptions with 5.6 per game, and his 53.4 receiving yards per game are sixth in the conference. Redshirt sophomore Rashawn Proctor (Hampton, Va.) has 5.0 receptions per game to rank third in the MEAC, and he is ninth in the conference with 47.0 receiving yards per game. Washington is fifth in the MEAC with 53.6 receiving yards per game.
 
Pirates Land Six on Preseason MEAC Squads: The Pirates landed six players on the conference's preseason teams, headlined by junior defensive lineman Miles Grooms (Richmond, Va.) and sophomore kicker Anthony Prevost (Chesterfield, Va.) – both of whom were named Preseason First Team. Three Pirates were named Preseason Second Team All-MEAC: junior linebacker Joshua Thorne (Oxon Hill, Md.), senior defensive back Khambrel McGee (Miami, Fla.), and junior punter Christian Faber-Kinney (Williamsburg, Va.). Washington was named Preseason Third Team All-MEAC.
 
Pirates Land Four on CFPA FCS Watch List: Four Pirates are on the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) FCS Watch List: Washington, Faber-Kinney, Grooms, and Prevost. The CFPA is entering its seventh year of recognition, and the 2014 CFPA award winners will be announced on Jan. 14, 2015.
 
Washington a Threat Everywhere: Washington did his damage on Aug. 30 at Old Dominion as a receiver, catching four balls for 99 yards and a score – a 75-yard catch-and-run in the fourth quarter. On Sept. 6 against William and Mary, he had 250 all-purpose yards – including 113 receiving yards and a touchdown (a 50-yard catch-and-run in the second half). Against Miles on Sept. 20, Washington rushed for 92 yards on 14 carries, averaging 6.6 yards per rush and scoring once. On Sept. 27 against South Carolina State, he rushed for a career-high 176 yards and a score. Washington leads the MEAC with an average of 204.0 all-purpose yards per game, and his 74.8 rushing yards per game are fifth-best in the conference.
 
Grooms Raking in the Awards: Grooms turned a lot of heads in 2013, ranking second in the MEAC in both sacks and tackles for loss en route to earning First Team All-MEAC honors. Because of that, Grooms comes into the 2014 season on the CFPA FCS Watch List, and he is a Preseason First Team All-MEAC selection. Grooms tallied 9.5 sacks last season to lead the team, and his 18.5 tackles for loss amounted to 88 yards. He recorded 3.5 sacks against Delaware State on Oct. 26 of last season, and he had 3.0 tackles for loss at Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 16. Grooms was sixth on the team with 57 total tackles in 2013. He recorded his first sack of 2014 against William and Mary on Sept. 6. He added five tackles on Sept. 20 against Miles, and he led the team with three quarterback hurries.
 
Prevost an All-American: Prevost wasn't just a First Team All-MEAC honoree last season; he was named an SBN Sports Black College All-American and an FCS Honorable Mention All-American by the Beyond Sports Network. All of this after hitting 17 of 19 field goals and tying for second in the conference in scoring among kickers last season. Prevost is a Preseason First Team All-MEAC selection coming into this season, and he is on the CFPA FCS Watch List. In addition, Prevost – who hit three field goals against Delaware State last season – has been named a Preseason First Team All-American by Beyond Sports Network, while the Sports Network named him a Preseason FCS Second Team All-American.
 
For more information on Hampton University football, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.