2017 The Citadel Bulldogs football team

American college football season

2017 The Citadel Bulldogs football

Conference	Southern Conference
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
Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

2017 Southern Conference football standings
v t e
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 Poll

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.

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

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^[3]	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 (rivalry)	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 Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[4]^[5]

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 Coordinator
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^[3]
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				–

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received 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	—	—	—	—
Coaches	12	13	13	10	11	17	22	RV	RV	RV	—	—	—	—

References

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

v t e The Citadel Bulldogs football
Venues	College Park Stadium (c. 1905–1926) Johnson Hagood Stadium (original) (1927–1947) Johnson Hagood Stadium (1948–present)
Bowls & rivalries	1960 Tangerine Bowl Furman VMI: Military Classic of the South Wofford
Culture & lore	The Regimental Band and Pipes
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024