The Woodman era begins: Eagle Football looks forward to the home start of the 2024 season

Record against Central State: 0-1
First meeting: 09/08/73 CSU won 31-24 in Ashland, Kentucky.
Last meeting: The same
Eagles record in Morehead: 0-0
Eagles record in Wilberforce, Ohio: 0-0
Neutral record: 0-1

GAME NOTES
• Woodman has worked on teams led by or with notable coaches Jimbo Fisher (Florida State/Texas A&M), Les Miles (LSU) and Nick Saban (LSU).

• Redshirt junior defensive back Jihad McCall and Senior Wide Receiver Ryan Upp are on the official preseason All-Pioneer League team. McCall tied for the MSU and FCS national lead with six interceptions, including two against Davidson. He had 36 total tackles. Upp amassed 833 receiving yards and scored nine touchdowns, ranking among the top five in MSU season history.

• Nine Eagles were named to Phil Steele’s preseason All-PFL teams. First-team honors went to Ryan Upp And Jihad McCall. The winners of the second team are Jaxson Spears, Noah Benza And Brady McKnight. The winners of the third team are Carter Cravens, James Louis, Luke Bauer And Kip Warren.

• MSU brings back top quarterback Carter CravensBefore missing the final two games, Cravens had 2,074 passing yards and 13 touchdowns with just six interceptions. He completed 51 percent of his throws and averaged 230.4 yards per game.

• Carter Cravens only needs 278 passing yards to reach 3,000 in his career.

• Carter Cravens finished 18th in the FCS in total offense (257.4/game) last season.

• Morehead State’s defense ranked 4th nationally among all FCS teams with 17 interceptions in 2023.

• Ryan Oops The nine touchdowns scored last fall were the fourth-best single-season performance in program history. Upp ranked ninth nationally in receiving touchdowns.

• The defense returns four of the top seven tacklers from 2023. Linebacker Andre Nolan-White leads with 71 stops last year, including six for losses. Zane Porter (51), Noah Benza (37) and Jihad McCall (35) complete the top seven.

• Defender Noah Benza recorded double-digit stops behind the opposing line of scrimmage last year with 10. He also led the team with 4.5 sacks.

• The 2024 squad includes 40 new additions who were not part of the program last season.

• With Jason Woodman’s arrival as Eagles coach, it also meant a completely new coaching staff. Here are the new faces overseeing the Eagles program: Travis Everhart, assistant head coach/offensive line/run game coordinator; Wil Truelove, defensive coordinator; Roland Brady, defensive line; Laurence Treadaway, defensive backs/special teams; Kyle Weiss, wide receiver/recruiting coordinator; Austin Schmidt, running backs; Joey Kiernan, outside linebacker; Tom Keane, tight ends; and Donald Dice, field coordinator/equipment

• Defensive line coach Roland Brady is on the Eagles’ staff for the second time. He was linebackers coach in 2021 when MSU had one of its best seasons at 7-4. He coached Vincent Winey to first-team All-PFL. Winey is now embarking on a professional wrestling career with WWE.