Seven sacks power Paladins past Samford

Joshua Stoneking had two of Furman's seven sacks in the Paladins'
31-13 win at Samford Saturday. Photo courtesy of Furman

HOMEWOOD, Ala. - For the second time this season, Furman was shut out in the fourth quarter Saturday. This time, it didn't matter. Over the first three quarters, the Paladins were solid on offense and spectacular on defense as they opened Southern Conference play with a 31-13 win at Samford.

Despite seven sacks by Furman's defense, the Bulldogs actually had the statistical edge offensively as they finished with 389 total yards while the Paladins had 377. That was thanks to a fourth quarter in which Samford outgained Furman, 140-35. That final quarter reeked of the Presbyterian fiasco in week two. Unlike that day, it seemed that both teams knew the game was essentially over when Furman took a 31-7 lead to the fourth quarter Saturday.

The Paladins (3-1, 1-0 SoCon) would've certainly liked to have run the ball better, especially in the fourth quarter against what probably should've been a worn down defense on a very hot afternoon in Alabama. But the bottom line is Furman had its least stressful game this season and it's most lopsided road win since thumping VMI, 41-3, on Oct. 22, 2022.

"A bunch of guys showed up, a bunch made plays and a bunch pressured the quarterback. I think we're getting better. Offensively, we're a little inconsistent," Furman coach Clay Hendrix said. "Our guys are working hard. We've got to practice a little better. There's some things we can do there with attention to details. We're still getting our best personnel guys where they need to be.

"We've got a lot of work ahead of us, but it's nice to go home with a win. We've won here four times in a row. That's hard to do, so I'm proud of our guys."

In terms of starting and ending a half, the Paladins had their best game of the year. Furman was in danger of going three-and-out to start the game but on 3rd-and-11, Trey Hedden hit Kerry King for a 12-yard gain. Two plays later, Hedden found freshman sensation Evan James for a 34-yard gain and added another 12-yard pass to King on the next play. On 3rd-and-2 from the Samford 17, James went in motion, took a handoff from Hedden, turned the corner and raced untouched to the end zone. It was the Paladins' longest run this season.

Later in the first quarter, Gavin Hall had a pair of 14-yard runs, James had a 15-yard catch and Ethan Harris - in his first game since the opener - had a 14-yard reception. Those were sandwiched around a 4th-and-1 conversion by Jayquan Smith. That all led to Hedden's seven-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Burrell for the tight end's first score as a Paladin.

Samford got on the board midway through the second quarter on a drive in which it was gifted 30 yards to start as the SoCon tradition of horrific officiating in this series continued. On the first play, Furman defensive end Malaki Dobbins was offsides but also flagged for roughing the passer after sacking quarterback Quincy Crittendon. The official said it was "forcible contact above the shoulder." Replay showed it was not. No part of the 6-foot-3 Dobbins hit the 5-foot-11 Crittendon above the shoulder. It was a perfect form sack, although it would've been wiped out by the correct offsides call. That would've only been five yards rather than 15.

On the next play, Dobbins got to Crittendon again as did Luke McLaughlin. He was able to spin away from both though and threw it away as a flag flew in the secondary. Furman safety AK Burrell was penalized for a 15-yard personal foul facemask. There was no replay to see what happened, but you typically don't see any kind of facemask call in the secondary. Much less on a ball that's thrown away.

The Paladins still had a chance to get off the field on 4th-and-4 later in the drive, but Crittendon scrambled for seven yards. On the next play, CJ Evans turned a simple swing screen pass into a 25-yard touchdown.

Furman looked to answer on its ensuing drive, which began with a 23-yard kick return by Devin Hester who was driven several yards out of bounds with no flag. A screen pass to Hall on 3rd-and-6 resulted in a four-yard loss and the Paladins settled for a 54-yard field goal attempt. Ian Williams' kick sailed wide right ending his streak of 12 consecutive made field goals.

Defense and special teams gave the Paladins a huge boost going into halftime. With less than a minute left in the half, Furman sophomore captain Raleigh Herbert batted a pass, collected the ball and returned the interception 47 yards for a touchdown.

"We had a pressure off the edge. I went up for the play, saw the quarterback kind of staring at me while he threw it. I got a hand on it and saw it floating up in the air a little bit," Herbert said. "Thankfully I had this new set of gloves on from the equipment staff and I was able to take it home.

"I looked back and saw the quarterback kind of tailing me, so I said, 'man, I gotta kick on the burners.' I'm not too fast. When I saw him kind of tail off, I knew it was scot-free."

Samford tried to answer in those remaining 48 seconds of the half. Backup quarterback Brady Stober scrambled for 13 yards to the Furman 40. The ball moved to the 30 when cornerback Keon Jones was penalized for holding on a flag that flew at the end of Stober's run. On the final play of the half, the Bulldogs attempted a 36-yard field goal but it was blocked by Joshua Stoneking preserving Furman's 21-7 lead.

Samford got the ball to start the second half but its drive ended on 4th-and-2 at midfield when Crittendon was stopped for no gain by Marc Hernandez and McLaughin. It was the second consecutive game that McLaughlin was part of a big fourth down stop at midfield.

King caught passes for 14 and 24 yards, respectively, on Furman's ensuing possession. That led to a four-yard touchdown pass from Hedden to Ja'Keith Hamilton, pushing the lead to 28-7.

"At halftime, we made a big deal about the start of the second half," Hendrix said. "We get the stop at midfield and offense goes right down and scores. I think that was big."

The Bulldogs' next two drives were stopped thanks to sacks by Caldwell Bussey and Stoneking and their next by Stoneking dropping Crittendon for no gain on 3rd-and-2.

On Furman's ensuing possession, Hester caught a 35-yard pass but fumbled. Smith made a great hustling play to race down the ball and recover it. That led to Williams' 40-yard field goal that pushed the lead to 31-7 with 1:08 left in the third quarter.

The scoring drive was also helped by a great 21-yard catch by James, but he was injured on the play. After leaving the injury tent with his pads off, James went to the locker room. He came back out with his left arm in a sling.

"It's a shoulder deal. He's going to miss some time," Hendrix said. "How much? I don't know, but we've had worse. It will just be a matter of how quickly he can recover."

Half of Samford's 140 yards in the fourth quarter came on a 70-yard touchdown pass from Crittendon to Preston Bird with 11:49 left. There was a flag in the offensive backfield on the play, but there was no holding. A winless Samford team that allowed seven sacks and attempted 47 passes was never guilty of holding Saturday. Instead, an illegal hands the face on Furman made for a 1.5-yard two-point conversion attempt for the Bulldogs. It remained 31-13 though as Herbert and McLaughlin hammered Samford receiver Jaden Gibson short of the goal line.

The lethargic final quarter came to an end when Furman was finally able to kneel out the clock thanks to an interception by freshman defensive tackle Garrison Butler.

Hedden finished with 272 yards on 28-of-41 passing with two touchdowns and no interceptions. It was the second consecutive game with no turnovers for Hedden as Furman enjoyed a 3-0 advantage in turnovers Saturday. James had seven receptions for 88 yards along with two carries for 35 yards, while King finished with eight catches for 81. Hall led the rushing effort with 65 yards on 16 attempts.

"I play the z, x and h (receiver), so whenever a guy's tired or needs to go out, I can step into any of those roles," King said. "I just lean on those guys and we just do our thing. ... Each of us (receivers) have our unique abilities but each of us can go out and do the same thing. We can all play those different positions because of how coaches prepare us."

Stoneking, who earned SoCon Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season, finished with six tackles, including two sacks. He leads the country in tackles-for-loss (10.5) and sacks (6.5) this season. McLaughlin had a game-high 11 tackles, including one sack and a forced fumble.

"Defensive, we were really solid all day. You take a couple of plays away and they didn't get much of anything," Hendrix said. "We made some bad decisions and lost a guy (on the long touchdown) back there and we've got to clean up a few penalties. I'm kind of interested to see a few of those penalties though."

Furman returns to action Saturday when it hosts ETSU at 2 p.m.

Receivers have answered the bell for Furman

Ja'Keith Hamilton had career highs in receptions (seven) and receiving yards
(104) in Furman's 28-24 win at Campbell. Photo courtesy of Furman

Going into this football season, Furman had shoes to fill in a few areas but it felt like the most were at wide receiver. Last year's leading receiver, Colton Hinton, hit the transfer portal and is now at Coastal Carolina. Last year's second-leading receiver, Ben Ferguson, has yet to see any action in 2025 as he's dealing with a lingering back issue. Those two combined for 998 of Furman's 2,469 receiving yards last year and 83 of its 223 receptions.

John Holbrook, who averaged 14.9 yards per catch in limited action as a freshman in 2024, was lost for this season due to a knee injury suffered in the spring. The leading returning receiver healthy enough to play in the season opener was Ethan Harris, who hasn't played since that win over William & Mary due to injury.

On paper, there may have been questions surrounding the receiver position entering this season. In person, Paladins coach Clay Hendrix got all the answers he needed this offseason.

"I think I said several times in the preseason that it's a very talented group and they just continue to make plays," Hendrix said.

Three games into this season, that group has proven Hendrix right. During Furman's 28-24 win at Campbell on Sept. 13, true freshman Evan James had 10 receptions for 134 yards including a game-winning, 30-yard touchdown. Sophomore Ja'Keith Hamilton had 104 yards on seven catches, including a 28-yard effort on an inside screen pass that set up a touchdown that put the Paladins up 18-17 late in the third quarter.

James and Hamilton became the first Furman duo to have 100-plus receiving yards in the same game in 11 years. James' 10-reception effort established a new single-game record for Furman freshmen. For the season, James leads the Southern Conference and ranks 11th nationally averaging 97 yards receiving per game.

"I think there are multiple guys in that (receiving) room that could do the same. It makes my job a lot easier when you have three or four guys in a concept that are winning in their route," said sophomore quarterback Trey Hedden, who threw for a career-high 314 yards in the victory. "For Ja'Keith, it's been a long time coming. He's put in a lot of work and we've grown a lot together, so I'm really proud of him. Obviously, Evan's done a really good job winning his matchups."

Hedden's right about the group collectively. The first two plays of the Campbell game were catches of 19 and four yards by East Carolina transfer Kerry King. That led to the first points of the game on Ian Williams' 23-yard field goal. King caught a third-down pass that set up the Paladins' first touchdown and later had an eight-yard catch where it appeared he may have stretched the ball across the goal line, but was ruled down at the one. Jayquan Smith scored on the next play as Furman took an 18-17 lead.

Devin Hester had just one catch against Campbell, but it was a crucial 16-yard gain to the Camels' 30-yard line. James caught the game-winner on the next play. When it comes to targets for Hedden, Furman tight ends Joshua Burrell and Jackson Pryor can't be overlooked. Pryor was banged up and questionable for the Campbell game, but he fought through it and hauled in Hedden's first touchdown pass.

"When you have so many guys, it makes it really hard for them to key in on one or two dudes," Hedden said. "It's a lot more one-on-ones, so we can take advantage of the guys that have good matchups instead of needing to force it to one guy."

The passing game success has not helped spike rushing numbers for Furman ... yet. The Paladins are averaging 2.6 yards per carry this season, the same paltry total it averaged last season and desperately hoped to improve on this year. For a program whose heyday was built on running the ball to set up big passing plays, the opposite might be the trick for the Paladins this season.

"We've got to be better at running the football, but if people are going to pack the box against us ... we've got to take advantage of the matchups we have there," Hendrix said. "Certainly with the level that Trey's playing at and the great job he's doing of getting them the ball, we're confident in doing that. It's a little bit of the old saying of 'take what they give you.' "

On to Samford

Last Saturday's bye week was sandwiched in between Furman's longest two road trips this season as the Paladins open SoCon play at Samford Saturday at 3:30 p.m. This appears to be an ideal week to repair whatever needs fixing on offense for Furman (2-1). The Bulldogs ranks 116th nationally in total defense, surrendering 485.5 yards per game. Their run defense ranks No. 81 allowing 179 rushing yards per game and the pass defense is 119th (307.5 yards per game). Meanwhile Samford's offense has seven interceptions and six lost fumbles for a total of 13 lost turnovers. No other FCS team in the country has more than 10.

Facing preseason SoCon Offensive Player of the Year Taron Dickens, in his first game back from suspension for Western Carolina, last Saturday didn't help the Bulldogs' defensive numbers. Dickens threw for 582 yards and rushed for 42 in the Catamounts' 50-35 win.

"They've played a really challenging schedule. They've played Baylor, a Western team that's I'm sure going to be one of the top offensive teams in the country ... and a West Georgia team that's undefeated," Hendrix said. "I think a lot of their issues stem from turnovers. If they turn it over five times against us, I'd like that but I don't think you can count on that."

On the other hand, the winless start for Samford (0-4, 0-2 SoCon) also includes a 40-13 home loss to The Citadel. On that Sept. 6 afternoon, a balanced Citadel attack produced 162 yards rushing, 168 passing and averaged six yards per play for its only win this season. In Citadel's other three games, its scored just 13 points combined.

Furman's defense will have to contend with a Samford offense that finally came to life last week. The Bulldogs had 576 total yards of offense and 34 first downs in the shootout loss. Samford quarterback Quincy Crittendon threw for 456 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Despite being sacked four times, Crittendon also rushed for 53 yards.

Injury report

The bye week came at a crucial time for quite a few banged up Paladins, who should be ready to go this week. Harris should be back in the receiving mix, while every member of Furman's secondary is healthy for the first time all season.

Hendrix confirmed that linebacker Ryan Earl will likely miss the rest of the season with a torn ligament in one of his fingers. Senior Luke McLaughlin made his first career start at Campbell replacing Earl and finished with a team-high 11 tackles, including back-to-back ones for no gain on third and fourth down at midfield. That defensive stand set up the drive that ended on Pryor's touchdown catch.

"Byes are always good when you need one and we needed one desperately. We were a beat up football team. ... We've had nine defensive backs miss games this season. We'll be getting some back that haven't been able to play at all," Hendrix said. "Luke's just that guy. He's just dependable, runs really well and sees things really well. He's the classic guy that's stuck around here for five years waiting for his opportunity and did a heck of a job."

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James, Stoneking lift Paladins past Campbell

Raleigh Herbert (24), Demetrius Baldwin (93) and Joshua Stoneking (95) celebrate
 during Furman's 28-24 win at Campbell Saturday. Photo courtesy of Furman

BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Even though Furman's defensive line was hundreds of miles from home Saturday, it celebrated the Paladins' first ever meeting with Campbell by throwing a house party. "Home" is that unit's affectionate term for the opponents' offensive backfield. Furman spent much of Saturday ringing the Camels' doorbell with no answer. Whenever it was needed the most though, Joshua Stoneking metaphorically busted through the front door, raided the refrigerator and kicked his feet up on the coffee table.

Stoneking had 4.5 of the Paladins' 11 tackles-for-loss, including 2.5 sacks. The last sack came with 16 seconds left and sealed Furman's 28-24 victory.

"It's satisfying and gratifying to finish like we did," Furman coach Clay Hendrix said. "It was really big for our defense to just hang in there and what a sack on that last play."

In the Paladins' season-opening 23-21 win over William & Mary, their defense had 10 tackles-for-loss, including four sacks. The last of those four came from Stoneking on a third-down play with less than seven minutes to play and led to Ian Williams' game-winning field goal. In Furman's 39-38 overtime loss to Presbyterian a week later, the Paladins had just four tackles-for-loss and no sacks.

"Coach (Duane) Vaughn did a good job with he play call (on the last sack). It just let me go out there and play hard," said Stoneking, who earned Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors. "We got home a lot the first week and won. Last week, we didn't get home and we didn't win. The burden falls on us up front in the trenches, so we took that hard and got better throughout the week."

While a new rising star helped Furman's defense finish off the win, a new one on offense put the Paladins ahead minutes earlier. True freshman Evan James caught 10 of 11 passes thrown his way and the last one resulted in a 30-yard touchdown from Trey Hedden with 4:50 left that helped Furman take a 28-24 lead.

On a day in which James shattered the freshman single-game receiving record with 134 yards, he caught a pair of third-down passes on the game-winning drive. While the first one only gained seven yards on 3rd-and-11, Furman caught a break when 12 Camels took the field for the punt return. The penalty extended the drive and the Paladins took advantage. Four plays later, James caught an eight-yard pass into Campbell territory on 3rd-and-6. Hedden then found Devin Hester for a 16-yard gain to the 30.

On the next play, James lined up in the left slot and went straight after the snap. James faked to his right, making a Camels' safety bite that way and then went left to the end zone all by himself. He simply turned around and waited for Hedden's game-winning pass to arrive like he was fielding a punt.

Following a typical Ian Williams' touchback through the back of the end zone, Campbell quarterback Kamden Sixkiller guided the Camels down the field. Campbell didn't face a third down until it reached the Paladins' 35-yard line and on that 3rd-and-3, Sixkiller beat Furman's blitz with a screen pass to running back JJ Cowan for six yards. On 3rd-and-3 at the Furman 22, Cowan took a delayed draw handoff for seven yards.

On 4th-and-5 from the 10, Stonefield rushed to the right forcing Campbell's left tackle into the backfield. After curving his way toward Sixkiller, Stonefield shifted left and devoured the quarterback as the Paladins erupted in celebration.

"We had a bunch of guys step up. ...  We're not a finished product by any means, but we keep playing a little better each week which we will have to," Hendrix said. "I'm excited for the (bye) week because there's some things we can get better at. I think we can really have a chance to get healthy as we head into the conference schedule."

Furman found a path to victory after what was shaping up to be a frustrating first half offensively. It didn't look that way initially. On the first play of the game, Hedden hit Kerry King for a 19-yard gain. The Paladins first running play was a 10-yard carry by Gavin Hall into Campbell territory. Later on that opening drive, Hedden threw a 26-yard pass to Ja'Keith Hamilton down to the Camels' five-yard line. A false start prior to the next play pushed the Paladins back for the first time and they ended up settling for a 23-yard field goal by Williams.

Trailing 7-3 early in the second quarter, Furman had a first down at the Campbell 30. After a toss sweep to James, he pulled back to pass. King was a step ahead of his defender with nobody else between him and the end zone. James' pass went behind King though and right to the Camels' Chase Arrington for the lone turnover of the game.

That miscue could've buried the confidence of a lot of players who were playing high school football 10 months ago, but James was unfazed.

"I've got a great coaching staff and great teammates, who just uplifted me, told me to keep my head up and just go on to the next," said James, who earned Stats Perform FCS National Freshman of the Week honors. "Forget about that play and go make more plays."

The teams traded three-and-outs before a huge defensive stand by Furman gave the Paladins the ball back at midfield. On 3rd-and-2 at the Campbell 49, Cowan was stopped for one yard by senior linebacker Luke McLaughlin, who was making his first career start in place of injured starter Ryan Earl. On 4th-and-1 at the 50, Sixkiller was stopped for no gain by McLaughlin and Billy Lewis.

After disastrous final possessions of the first half that resulted in turnovers - and scoring opportunities for opponents - each of the first two weeks, Furman's offense got this one right Saturday. On 3rd-and-6, Hedden waited just long enough for tight end Jackson Pryor to get open over the middle for a 24-yard touchdown.

"We got a little lucky there. We tried to get them to jump. They didn't really jump enough to get a penalty, but Chris (Luna) snapped it anyway and we executed the play," Hendrix said. "Jackson had a high ankle (sprain) and we weren't even sure if he was going to play. He was really limited."

One of the most impactful plays of the game followed. After Campbell was flagged for offsides on the PAT, Furman's offense took the field again. With Hedden under center, 278-pound defensive tackle Demetrius Baldwin - who had one of those 11 tackles-for-loss - entered at fullback, while 310-pound noseguard Joseph Perez-Garibay came on as sort of an H-back to the left. With those two big blockers leading the way, Jayquan Smith ran for a two-point conversion as Furman took an 11-7 lead with 1:26 left in the half.

That successful two-point conversion certainly came in handy on Campbell's last possession when it had to go for it on fourth down rather than trying a game-tying or game-winning 27-yard field goal.

"The two-pointer was big the whole game because I kept thinking they might chase some points earlier on, but they didn't," Hendrix said.

Campbell did manage to steal some momentum before halftime when Alex Crabb hit a 34-yard field goal on the half's final play to cut the lead to 11-10 at the break.

The Camels took all the momentum when they opened the second-half with a 13-play touchdown drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock. After Cowan's one-yard touchdown run, Campbell kicked the PAT for a six-point lead.

Furman answered with an 84-yard drive of its own. It included a pair of third-down conversions that resulted in a 19-yard catch by James and a 28-yard gain on an inside screen pass to Hamilton. With the ball at the one, Baldwin and Perez-Garibay checked in again and Smith easily ran into the end zone behind them as Furman took an 18-17 lead with 3:36 left in the third quarter.

Campbell regained the lead on the second play of the fourth quarter when Cowan scored from seven yards out. The Camels again kicked the PAT to take a 24-18 lead. Furman cut the lead in half on its ensuing possession when Williams drilled a 28-yard field goal. The Paladins then forced Campbell to punt for the first time since early in the second quarter, which set up the game-winning drive.

"Props to our offense. There were some moments there where we'd let them score, but they'd come back and score and keep us in the game," Stoneking said. "We kept telling the offense that we were going to give them the ball back and we did in the end."

Hedden earned SoCon Offensive Player of the Week honors after finishing with a career-high 314 yards on 26-of-35 passing with two touchdowns and no interceptions. It was Hedden's first game without a turnover since the 48-7 win over Stetson last Sept. 14.

In addition to James' 134-yard day, Hamilton finished with 105 yards receiving on seven catches. It marked the first time two Paladins had more than 100 yards receiving in the same game since Jordan Snellings (118) and Andrej Suttles (103) did so on Nov. 15, 2014. On that day, PJ Blazejowski completed all 15 of his pass attempts in a 31-14 win over Wofford.

"Trey obviously had a big day and I thought we protected him great," Hendrix said. "Evan obviously had a big day as well, but Ja'Keith Hamilton really had a couple of big catches too."

McLaughlin finished with a game-high 11 tackles, while Lewis had 10 tackles, including one tackle-for-loss and a pass breakup. McLaughlin will be asked to continue to step up as Earl, who led Furman in tackles with 14 over the first two games, is out for the season with a torn ligament in a finger. The nature of the injury was such that Earl needed immediate surgery to avoid the tear becoming more serious.

The Paladins were also without starting safety Caleb Williams due to injury. AK Burrell made his first career start and saw his first action since 2023 after missing all of last season and spring practice this year because of a knee injury.

Stoneking had six tackles and also forced a fumble. The sophomore ranks second in the country in tackles-for-loss (8.5) and third in sacks (4.5). The only players ahead of Stoneking have played one more game than him.

Furman (2-1) has a bye this week and will open SoCon play at Samford on Sept. 27 at 3:30 p.m.

Catastrophic turnovers return, doom Paladins

Furman's Gavin Hall had 64 yards rushing and two touchdowns before an injury forced
him out after the first series of the third quarter Saturday. Photo courtesy of Furman

Among the many things Furman was looking to fix from last football season, turnovers were at the top of the list. Namely, ones that Paladins coach Clay Hendrix described as "catastrophic." In the 2025 season opener, Furman's only giveaway hampered things but didn't reach a catastrophic level as the Paladins pulled out a win.

The victory over William & Mary was a redeeming one in many ways and may have given hope that all the stink of 2024 had washed away. That hope only grew stronger last Saturday at Paladin Stadium when Furman raced out to a 21-point lead over Presbyterian. But three catastrophic turnovers dashed those hopes. Two of those giveaways started an epic collapse by the Paladins and the third helped cap it as the Blue Hose rallied for a 39-38 win in overtime in a game that had a near two-hour lightning delay midway through the fourth quarter.

"It's certainly a disappointing end to a long day. Congratulations to Presbyterian. They just outcoached us and outplayed us," Hendrix said. "Offensively, we couldn't do anything in the second half after controlling the whole first half. ... Our kids fought and played hard. All those things, but that's no good if you don't execute at a high level and we're just not doing that."

After the teams traded touchdowns in the first quarter, Furman had three consecutive touchdown drives in the second quarter to take a 28-7 lead with 5:01 left in the first half. After forcing a three-and-out, the Paladins were looking for more. On a third-and-five play at midfield, Trey Hedden's wide receiver screen pass was batted at the line of scrimmage and picked off by PC nosetackle Terry Mikell at the Furman 41. Hedden had completed 18 of his first 19 passes prior to that pick.

Two pass plays from Collin Hurst to tight end Nathan Levicki followed. The second of those was a great one-armed catch in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown as the Blue Hose cut the lead to 28-14 going into halftime.

"The way we ended the half with the turnover was just a big-time disappointment," Hendrix said. "To not only not score, but also give up points."

In the first half a week earlier, Furman led William & Mary 14-7 and drove to the Tribe's 18-yard line with 37 seconds left. Hedden was strip sacked and the fumble recovery was made 23 yards up the field. William & Mary proceeded to march to the Furman 10-yard line, but missed a 28-yard field goal on the final play of the half. Despite the miss, the momentum stayed with William & Mary as it scored touchdowns on each of its first two drives in the second half.

On Saturday, Furman looked to snatch momentum back when it drove to the PC 33 to open the second half. But on a third-down play, Hedden held the ball too long as a rusher came right at him. He was hit as he threw and the wounded duck landed in the arms of PC linebacker Jason Briones at the 26.

Hurst returned the favor on the next play when Billy Lewis had to likely make history as the only Paladin ever to have an interception on the opponents' first play of each half. Lewis returned the pick to the Blue Hose 12-yard line and once again Furman was in prime position to help begin putting the game away. But after a four-yard run by Gavin Hall was wiped out by an illegal formation penalty, Hedden was sacked for a loss of six on the next play. Hall was dropped for a loss - and knocked out of the game - on the next play and Furman ended up settling for a 34-yard field goal by Ian Williams and a 31-14 lead with 9:43 left in the third quarter.

Unfortunately for the Paladins, that was a sign of things to come offensively. The "R" part of the RPO had issues all day anyway. Without Hall, who accounted for 64 of Furman's 107 yards on the ground, Furman's offense simply vanished for the rest of the half. After 17 first downs and 274 yards of total offense in the first half, Furman had two first downs and 42 yards on that opening drive of the second half. For the rest of regulation, the Paladins had no first downs and a total of 29 yards on 18 plays.

"Gavin had a thigh contusion. He might have been able to go back, but we felt a little better off with other guys going," Hendrix said. "But we certainly missed having him in there because he had a really good first half. I thought he was finally starting to feel it again."

In the midst of all Furman's three-and-out shenanigans, the lightning that had caused delays at Georgia and Clemson reached Paris Mountain. That delay came with Furman leading 31-21 with 6:45 remaining in the fourth quarter and PC facing 2nd-and-6 at the Paladins' eight-yard line. As we sat in the press box for the next hour and 41 minutes, it was hard not to wonder if all of that 6:45 remaining would've already been gone had Furman taken a 28-, 31- or 35-7 lead into halftime as it appeared it was going to do.

It was eerily reminiscent of the team's last meeting 11 years ago in Clinton when the kickoff of that game was delayed for an hour and 47 minutes.

Unfortunately for the Paladins, it got even more like that last meeting once play resumed. Furman's well-rested defense held the Blue Hose to a 25-yard field goal with 6:25 left to cut the lead to 31-24. Less than two minutes later, Furman's defense was right back out there as freshman tailback CJ Nettles could never tuck away a handoff and PC recovered the fumble at the Paladins' 12-yard line.

On the next play, former Christ Church receiver BJ Atkins made a terrific catch falling down along the side of the end zone for a touchdown to help tie the game with 4:31 left. In that 2014 meeting that set offensive football back about 50 years, PC recovered a Furman fumble midway through the fourth quarter and drove for the game-winning touchdown in a 10-7 victory.

"If you score 31 points in regulation, you probably should win but those two (second half) turnovers were killers," Hendrix said. "I think if we punt the football those two times, we probably win the game. That's been a nemesis that we just kind of keep doing."

After the game-tying score Saturday, Furman answered with another three-and-out capped by a two-yard pass completion from Hedden to Joshua Burrell on 3rd-and-3. The Blue Hose' ensuing drive reached Furman's 41 before they took consecutive delay of game penalties on fourth down to run out the clock and force overtime.

In OT, Furman's offense finally woke up. A 12-yard run by Jayquan Smith set up a two-yard touchdown run by Smith. PC had an immediate response though as Hurst threw a 22-yard pass on the first play and then a three-yard touchdown pass - Hurst's fifth - to Levicki. The Blue Hose went for two and the win and Levicki came through with a spectacular diving catch to secure the 39-38 victory.

Saturday's 21-point blown lead tied for the second-biggest one in a Furman loss since 1973. The Paladins led the Citadel 21-0 in 1998 before falling, 25-24. Those were second to Furman's 28-6 third-quarter lead that evaporated at the 1985 Division I-AA national championship as Georgia Southern rallied for a 44-42 win.

"We've got to have better answers in some cases and that goes back to me. That's where it all starts," Hendrix said. "This group has some talent. I just wish our growth was a little faster than where we are right now."

In addition to his team-high 64 yards on 15 carries, Hall also had two touchdowns for Furman (1-1). Hedden finished with 263 yards on 29-of-40 passing with one touchdown. Evan James caught eight of those passes for 89 yards. After spending much of the previous Saturday in William & Mary's backfield, the Paladins' defense never sacked Hurst despite 41 pass attempts - and 275 yards passing. Joshua Stoneking led Furman with eight tackles, including a tackle-for-loss and a pass breakup.

The Paladins will try to get back on track this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. when they face Campbell in Buies Creek, N.C. It will be the first ever meeting between Furman and the Camels.

Faith powers Furman's Smith back to gridiron

Jayquan Smith (28) runs for the game-sealing first down in Furman's
victory over William & Mary. Photo courtesy of Furman

Among the final moments of Furman's season opening win over William & Mary last Saturday, one seemed like it was out of a Disney movie. With the Paladins needing one more first down to seal the victory, they turned to running back Jayquan Smith.

Playing for the first time in 22 months, Smith had three carries earlier in the game but this was different. This was Furman coach Clay Hendrix and his staff believing a young man, who fought back from a devastating knee injury that required three separate surgeries to rebuild, had what it took to put the game away.

With William & Mary fully aware of what was coming, Smith carried to his left on first down and powered through a couple of tacklers to fall forward for six yards. On second down, he gained one. On third-and-three, Smith took his third consecutive handoff. After finding nowhere to go immediately ahead of him, Smith bounced to the right and found daylight. There was only one Tribe defender straight ahead of him, but another dove in from the side and grabbed his right ankle - just inches below the brace that protects his surgically repaired knee.

While the tackle prevented an even bigger gain for Smith, the eight yards he got were plenty. His longest gain of the day moved the chains and allowed the Paladins to run out the clock.

"I just said, 'God, let your will be done.' Playmakers make plays," Smith said. "My team needed a first down and I just said, 'let me take care of it.' "

While Hendrix said it was kind of a "heartwarming" thing to see, that's certainly not the reason they had Smith out there. Smith earned his way there through everything he showed coaches in preseason camp. Hendrix believes he's a nice compliment to starting running back Gavin Hall. While both are really strong, Smith is a little bigger.

"When we started August practice, I thought Jayquan had a really good spring and was really ahead of where I thought he'd be," Hendrix said. "And he had a really good summer, but he's still not out there getting tackled yet. Then (once tackling started) he's been really productive in the fall.

"In that situation on Saturday it wasn't a slight on Gavin at all. It was just more of a feeling of trust in the old guy. ... It wasn't like we were trying to do some sentimental moment."

Irony abounded in that moment. It was a bit similar to that fateful October day in 2023 when Smith was trying to help Furman run out the clock in the fourth quarter of a 28-14 win over The Citadel. On a third down carry with less than five minutes remaining, he went for five yards. He was stood up by one defender before another came in low to finish off the tackle.

While Smith immediately grabbed his knee, it didn't look nearly as bad as it turned out to be at first glance. All of his knee ligaments were torn and the knee itself was dislocated. Just like that this promising redshirt freshman, who had shown signs of becoming Furman's next standout back, was done for the season. As the weeks went by and more surgeries were needed, some might have wondered if he was done for good.

It was also ironic Saturday that Furman coaches had faith in Smith to get the job done because Smith's faith is a big reason he was back on that field. It was a long, arduous rehab, but Smith never lost faith that he would play again. 

"Some days looked better than others. Some days you have doubts. But in all God commands faith from his people, so I kept it and kept working," Smith said. "I trusted him with the outcome, so I'm very thankful that this day was that outcome."

Hendrix said Smith remained positive throughout those long months off from football. He said even though Smith couldn't participate, he'd show up at every practice. As it turns out, trying to get a Furman education can also serve as a big distraction from rehabbing an injury.

"He's a terrific student who wants to go to med school," Hendrix said. "He just has a lot of things going for him that he works hard at. He did a good job of keeping himself busy during that time away."

While Smith's faith remained strong, the anticipation of that first carry last Saturday made him nervous and excited at the same time. Things quickly got back to normal though.

"After that first carry, I was like, 'Alright, I've been doing this since I was four years old," Smith said with a smile. "I'm back."

Furman pulls out gutsy, team win over Tribe

Ian Williams hits the game-winning field goal in Furman's 23-21
win over William & Mary Saturday. Photo courtesy of Furman

Saturday's rematch with William & Mary offered a perfect opportunity for Furman to exorcise some demons from its devil of a 2024 season. Nobody who took the field at William & Mary last year and at Paladin Stadium in the season opener wanted that opportunity more than Ian Williams.

Now in Williams' fourth season of kicking for Furman, the all-American has missed two field goals of 30 yards or less in his career. Both came in that 34-24 loss in Williamsburg, Va. last September. On Saturday, Williams aced every shot he was given to bury that night in the past. Williams accounted for all of the Paladins' scoring in the second half with three field goals. The last of those gave Furman the lead with 2:43 left and the Paladins held on for a 23-21 win.

Saturday was a tale of redemption for some, resolve for others and nothing but guts for the entire team.

"I thought the strength of their team was clearly up front on both sides of the ball and that was obvious for much of the day ... but man, I thought we won the fourth quarter. That fourth quarter completely changed," Furman coach Clay Hendrix said. "Some many guys made plays, but Ian Williams. ... I've said he's the best (kicker) in the country and he is. We just trust in him.

"I'm just really proud of our team. That's about as much of a team win as I've been a part of in a long time."

The "team win" talk wasn't just cliche. It was literally true on the scoreboard as the Paladins got a defensive touchdown, an offensive touchdown and those three field goals on special teams. While all three phases were critical to winning, special teams was the most consistent part throughout the game.

In the first half, Furman had just 95 yards of total offense including seven rushing. Those numbers were a bit skewed by a pair of fumbles that netted 35 lost yards, but still a pretty paltry total. However, the Paladins held a 14-7 lead at the half thanks to Taylen Blaylock's 43-yard interception return less than two minutes into the game and Trey Hedden's four-yard touchdown pass to Evan James midway through the second quarter.

That touchdown was set up by Devin Hester's 75-yard kickoff return following William & Mary's lone score of the first half.

"That was a big, big-time return," Hendrix said.

Furman was poised to take a bigger lead into halftime when it put together its longest drive. The Paladins marched from their own 15 to the William & Mary 18 before disaster struck. Hedden was hit from behind as he was going to throw and the fumble was recovered by the Tribe 23 yards back up the field. It was the second time in which Hedden fumbled on a play where his arm could've possibly been going forward, but neither went to a video review. After Furman was flagged for pass interference, possibly on purpose with just a few seconds left, it avoided an extremely tough pill to swallow when William & Mary missed a 28-yard field goal on the final play of the half.

It was a different story in the third quarter. A questionable lack of a pass interference call on third down helped end Furman's opening drive of the second half. After the punt, the Tribe's first play resulted in a questionable pass interference call that was made. William & Mary quarterback Tyler Hughes threw the same deep ball again on the next play and this one was hauled in by Deven Thompson for a gain of 46 yards. That led to Hughes' quarterback sneak to help tie the game.

After a three-and-out by Furman, Hughes went on the attack again. He completed 4-of-5 passes on the next drive, including a nine-yard touchdown throw to Sean McElwain to put the Tribe ahead 21-14 with 5:26 left in the third quarter.

Honesty compels me to report that it was at this moment that I turned to a colleague in the press box and said, "this reeks of a 31-14 final."

Silly me.

Too many memories of last season for me I suppose. While this is still a young team and many on it went through some hard growing pains here last season, quite a few key parts of the 2025 Paladins are new to Greenville.

One of those is James, the true freshman, whose 19-yard reception on a third-down play on Furman's ensuing possession got the ball to the Tribe 34. That's well within Williams' range and he drilled a 50-yard field goal to cut the lead to 21-17 going into the fourth quarter.

"Opening up the season with a 50-yard field goal is definitely a fun thing to do," said Williams, who was Saturday's game captain in addition to the three season-long captains. "I give credit to Riley (Smith) and (Gray) Gitter. That was their first field goal snap and first hold, so congrats to them too."

After getting outgained 326-154 over the first three quarters, something just clicked and the Paladins dominated the final quarter. It started on the second play of the quarter. Furman freshman defensive end Malakai Dobbins, who had been grabbed, twisted and turned by William & Mary's offensive line much of the day, finally drew a flag for holding against the Tribe. On second-and-19, sophomore defensive end Joshua Stoneking had a sack and William & Mary punted one incompletion later.

On Furman's next possession, James caught another key pass to get into Williams' range. His 12-yard catch led to Williams' 42-yard field goal, which sliced the lead to 21-20 with 10:55 left.

William & Mary's ensuing possession ended when Dobbins swatted down Hughes' second-down pass and Stoneking sacked Hughes for a loss of nine on the next play. The Paladins outgained the Tribe, 83-26, in the fourth quarter and much of that success was due to the disruptive chaos caused by Furman's defensive line.

"I think it goes back to Coach (Duane) Vaughn and the preparation he put in with showing a bunch of different looks to the offense and confusing the offensive line," said Stoneking, who finished with another tackle-for-loss in addition to the two sacks.

After an eight-yard punt return by Blaylock, Furman's next possession began at its own 43. On the first play, Hedden threw deep to Hester for a gain of 24 to get back into Williams' range. All of a sudden, those running lanes that were clogged all day saw some daylight as Tribe defenders looked tired. It appeared that Furman was on its way for touchdown before a false start on third-and-two nixed that. Perhaps it was fitting that it left it up to Williams to drill the 32-yard game-winning field goal.

"It's a great feeling. ... The boys fought hard today. They're the ones out there fighting all game, so I just have to go in and do my job of putting the ball through the uprights," said Williams. "Going back to the offseason, this was a big game circled for me and I feel like it was for everybody. ... I wanted this one for sure.

"I love the guys on this team. They're the reason I came back another year. ... Plus I didn't feel like last year was the one to end on."

While the Paladins had the momentum, the Tribe still had a shot. On third-and-one on their ensuing possession, Blaylock provided a bit of a knockout for Furman. The grad transfer went untouched on a safety blitz and lit up William & Mary's Rashad Raymond for a four-yard loss. On fourth-and-five, it was the Paladins who finally got a benefit of the doubt on a close interference non-call when Blaylock broke up the pass.

"That (safety blitz) was all on Coach Vaughn just having the trust to make that great play call for us," Blaylock said. "He made the call, so we had to go make the play."

Furman still needed one first down to completely seal the win and this is where the "resolve" part of Saturday's victory came. Jayquan Smith, who was competing for the first time since suffering a horrific knee injury in October of 2023, was called on for that final drive. He ran for six yards on first down and one yard on second. On third-and-three, he took the handoff and powered his way for an eight-yard gain and victory formation followed.

"Just watching our team today, they are who I thought they were. I thought they we're going to be tough group, that's going to hang in there and has some ability," Hendrix said. "We're nowhere near where we've got to be, but I'm just really proud of how they hung in there and played. We stayed positive. The sideline was that way the whole day in all areas. We just kept making plays to give ourselves a chance."

Hedden completed 21-of-29 passes for 179 yards. He had no interceptions after throwing two at William & Mary last year. His favorite target was James, who finished with seven catches for 68 yards in his collegiate debut.

"In warmups before the game, I was a little nervous. As I got into the game, I got more comfortable though," James said. "When the ball came to me, I just made the plays that I knew I could make."

Ryan Earl had a team-high eight tackles for Furman, while Blaylock and Raleigh Herbert each had six. Five of those were solo stops for Blaylock, who had two tackles-for-loss in addition to his interception and pass breakup on the final defensive play. Herbert and Caleb Williams each had one sack.

Williams will probably need to make room on his trophy case for Southern Conference or national special teams honors this week. In addition to his 3-for-3 showing on field goals, he averaged 46.6 yards per punt with a long of 61. Five of his six kickoffs sailed through the end zone for touchbacks. The only one returned only reached the William & Mary 19.

Paladins confident entering 2025 season

Furman hosts William & Mary in the season opener Saturday at Paladin
Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Photo courtesy of Furman

At long last, the 2025 college football season has arrived. For Furman, it's been a long offseason literally and figuratively. After 10-win seasons that stretched into December in 2022 and 2023, all of the Paladins' gear was packed up by Thanksgiving last year after a disappointing 3-8 season. It was Furman's worst record since going 3-8 in 2016.

Three hallmarks of Furman football seemingly forever have been running the ball, stopping the run and protecting the ball. The Paladins didn't really do any of those things last season. Of course, as Furman coach Clay Hendrix has bluntly assessed about the 2024 season, "we just weren't very good at anything." A mix of inexperienced youth had a lot to do with that and injuries just compounded it.

"We've looked at all those things on both sides of the ball and made a lot of changes," Hendrix said at SoCon Media Day just before preseason camp opened the last week of July. "I think the average person may not see us look very different, but we are doing a lot of things different that will help us."

Furman kicks off its 120th season of football at 2 p.m. Saturday at Paladin Stadium. It will be trying to avenge one of those tone-setting losses from last year. By the time the Paladins arrived at William & Mary in week four last year, chaos had already ensued.

Losing your two starting safeties to season-ending injuries just before facing an SEC semi-pro team is less than ideal. Furman found that out in its 76-0 season-opening loss at Ole Miss. That loss would shake the most headstrong player and the Paladins seemed to still be in a daze a week later when they had four turnovers in a home loss to Charleston Southern.

Things seemed to get back to normal the next week. Furman soundly defeated Stetson, 48-7, behind a big game from senior captain Joshua Harris that earned him Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors. But when the Paladins made the trip to Williamsburg days later, Harris wasn't with them. Little did anyone know then that Harris' days as a Paladin were done - as an athlete and student.

That distraction didn't seem to faze Furman as it jumped out to a 14-0 lead. But the Paladins somehow couldn't manage to hit 100 yards rushing as a team that evening, while the Tribe ran wild. William and Mary had 384 yards rushing as it rallied for a 34-24 win. To go along with the other oddities of that game, all-American kicker Ian Williams missed field goal attempts of 27 and 29 yards, respectively. Those two kicks, which Williams seemingly tried to boot out of the stadium, are the only ones 30 yards or less that he's missed in his career.

The following week, Furman's problems were put in perspective when the devastation of Hurricane Helene hit. It cancelled the Paladins' home game against Samford as an abnormal season only grew stranger. That probably cost Furman a win as the Bulldogs seemingly beat good teams and lost to bad ones on their way to a 4-7 season.

When it comes to bouncing back this year, history is on Furman's side. Hendrix is about to begin his 40th season as an assistant or head coach. During those four decades, he only experienced back-to-back losing seasons once and those came at Air Force in 2012 and 2013. Of course, a key there is to not have many losing seasons to begin with. In 31 years as a player and coach on the Furman sideline, he's only been through four of those - one of which was the seven-game schedule in the spring of 2021.

"I'm really pleased with where we are. ... I'm pleased with the progress of some things we changed. I think we've got a little more team speed than I remember having around here in a long time," Hendrix said earlier this week. "I'm not sure it's ever perfect, but we're pretty healthy. ... We've been putting our guys in the best position they can be to go execute. Execution has been our main focus."

Offense

Furman is confident that memories of last season have been left in the past. A quarterback's biggest improvement often is found in the transition from his freshman to sophomore season and Hendrix has been thrilled to watch Trey Hedden's work this offseason. He said Hedden's lost weight, but gotten stronger.

"Trey continues to get better and better and (backup) Carson (Jones) has had the best fall he's ever had.," Hendrix said. "Trey was ahead of the game mentally for a guy his age as a baby-faced freshman a year ago, but he wasn't quite ready for what he got into. That's really how our whole team kind of was. ... I did a poor job of the adjustments we should've made."

Hendrix said it's been "heartwarming" to witness the return of running back Jayquan Smith, who's been sidelined since October of 2023 with a horrific knee injury. If he has just a fraction of the explosiveness he showed as a freshman, it should help a Furman team that averaged 2.6 yards a carry last season. Sophomore Gavin Hall, who came on strong down the stretch in 2024 and averaged 5.0 yards per carry, is slated to be make his first career start on Saturday.

"Jayquan's maybe ahead of where I thought he'd be," Hendrix said. "I haven't really seen anything that makes me think he's not ready to go. ... He's big and strong and has done a great job on special teams."

Paving the way for Hall and Smith and protecting Hedden will be four returning starters on the offensive line: left tackle Eli Brashier, left guard Luke Petit, center Chris Luna and right guard Ryan Lamb. Jaydon Collins, a grad student from Wake Forest and a Greer native, is set to start at right tackle. Also back at tight end are Jackson Pryor and Joshua Burrell, who started the first two games before his season ended due to an injury suffered four plays into the Charleston Southern game.

"Joshua and Jackson give us two guys who are truly hybrid kind of guys," Hendrix said. "They can stretch the field."

Perhaps the biggest unknown going into this season is the wide receiver group. Hendrix is excited about some of the playmakers that the group has though, even with the loss of Colton Hinton, who transferred to Coastal Carolina. While Ben Ferguson is the leading returning receiver, he's dealing with a lingering back injury. Slated as starters on the depth chart this week are sophomores Devin Hester and Ja'Keith Hamilton, and freshman Evan James. East Carolina Kerry King should also see plenty of work at receiver.

Anyone who's been a casual observer of Furman football over the years knows that if a true freshman is listed as the starter in a season opener, coaches think that is a special player.

"Evan James is going to play this year," Hendrix said with a smile. "Kerry and Devin are probably two of the fastest guys on our team. ... I just really, really like that group."

Defense

Hendrix believes some of the defensive issues last year came from doing the same things Furman had successfully done in the past when that side of the ball had a deeper well of talent.

"We got so used to rolling three deep the previous couple of years," Hendrix said. "We probably tried to do some of that last year and it was just too big of a drop. Some of it was out of necessity."

While technically listed as a 3-4 defense, Furman is essentially going to have a 4-2-5 this season. Tackle Caldwell Bussey and noseguard Ty Kauserud are returning starters on the interior line. They'll be flanked by defense end Joshua Stoneking and bandit Dylan Chiedo, who are each slated to make their first career starts.

Furman has a pair of returning starters at inside linebacker in sophomores Raleigh Herbert and Ryan Earl. They will have to step up in place of graduated all-American linebacker Evan DiMaggio, who had 120 tackles last season.

The Paladins have two returning starters in the secondary in safety Caleb Williams and spur Brandt Babin. They look to be joined in the starting lineup by a trio of grad transfers: safety Taylin Blaylock (Division II Lindenwood) and cornerbacks Keon Jones (Prairie View A&M) and AJ Seay (North Alabama).

"The corner position is not even close to where we were a year ago," Hendrix said. "Then we were really inexperienced. Now we've got some guys that have played a lot of football."

While Furman's defense struggled to stop the run much of last season, it's pass defense also had issues. That was typically due to allowing big plays. The results last season have motivated the Paladins in the spring and preseason.

"We want to make sure there's no satisfaction in where we're ever at. It's never good enough," Williams said. "It's always 'where can we get better?' and 'what areas can we improve to make sure that we don't have any sort of replication of last year.' "

Special teams

Williams is back for his fourth season of placekicking and kickoffs and second as punter. He's coming off an all-American season in which he made 14-of-20 field goals, including a school record 57-yarder - twice. Of his 49 kickoffs, 43 went for touchbacks and he averaged 40.6 yards per punt with 17 downed inside the 20.

"He's the best kicker in the country," Hendrix said. "I mean, just the fact that guy's back. That kid could've gone anywhere. ... What a difference maker he is."

Long and short snapper Riley Smith is back this season and if you don't think that's an important position, check out what Julian Ashby is up to these days down below. Punter Gary Gitter will be the holder. Hester and Blaylock will be the kick returners and Blaylock will also return punts.

Captains

As voted on by teammates, Petit, Williams and Herbert have been selected as team captains. Petit and Williams are seniors, while Herbert is a sophomore. 

After having his 2023 season cut short by a knee injury, Petit returned last season to start all 11 games - six at left guard, four at center and one at left tackle. He earned All-SoCon second team honors. Williams had 53 tackles, including 4.5 tackles-for-loss, five pass breakups and two interceptions last season.

Not many Paladins can say they were a season captain as an underclassman, but Herbert can. As a freshman last year, he had 30 tackles and made the SoCon's All-Academic Team and Academic Honor Roll.

Pros

Former Paladins Ryan Miller, Micah Robinson, Julian Ashby and Mason Pline have made NFL rosters this season.

After catching 12 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns last season, Miller is back for his third year with Tampa Bay. Williams, who appeared in 42 games with the Paladins before spending last season at Tulane, is a cornerback on Green Bay's 53-man roster after being drafted in the seventh round.

During his four years at Furman, Ashby was a long snapper and an incredible student who earned the Dr. John M. Block Academic Award, which is annually presented to the male student with the highest GPA. After spending his final playing season at Vanderbilt last year, Ashby is now a snapper for New England.

Pline played tight end for Furman in 2023 after transferring in from Ferris State.  He spent last season on San Francisco's practice squad before signing with New Orleans this offseason. He's currently on injured reserve after suffering a season-ending injury in a preseason game.