2022 Shepherd Rams football team explained
The 2022 Shepherd Rams football team represented Shepherd University as a member of the East Division of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) during the 2022 NCAA Division II football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Ernie McCook, the Rams compiled an overall record of 13–2 with a mark of 7–0 in conference play, winning the PSAC East Division title. Shepherd lost the PSAC Championship Game to West Division champion . The Rams advanced to the NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs, where they beat in the first round, in the second round, and IUP in the quarterfinal, before falling to Colorado Mines in the semifinals. The team played home games at Ram Stadium in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The 2022 season was the third for the Rams as a member of the PSAC after joining the conference in 2019.[1]
Offseason
Coaching changes
The following coaches left the football program:
- Defensive line coach Ramal Faunteroy left for a position at Morgan State.
The following coaches joined the football program:
- Levern Belin was hired as the defensive line coach.
Additions
Recruiting class
| Player | Pos. | Height | Weight | Hometown | High school |
|---|
| Derick Adames | DB | 5 ft 11 in | 170 lbs | | Northwest High School |
| Ryan Adams | DL | 6 ft 3 in | 290 lbs | | Gar-Field Senior High School |
| Riley Ambrose | WR | 6 ft 2 in | 180 lbs | | Fork Union Military Academy |
| Jaden Bacon | RB | 6 ft 0 in | 180 lbs | | DeMatha Catholic High School |
| Matthew Benny | OL | 6 ft 2 in | 300 lbs | | Archbishop Spalding High School |
| Kelvon Bethea | DL | 6 ft 4 in | 220 lbs | | Oscar F. Smith High School |
| James Bozek | K | 6 ft 3 in | 195 lbs | | Hayfield Secondary School |
| Tylek Bright | RB | 6 ft 0 in | 185 lbs | Germantown, MD | Seneca Valley High School |
| Dominic Busky | FB | 6 ft 2 in | 230 lbs | | DeMatha Catholic High School |
| Cameron Dorner | WR | 6 ft 2 in | 180 lbs | | Oakdale High School |
| Trey Duke | DB | 5 ft 10 in | 160 lbs | Alexandria, VA | St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School |
| Jahmal Edwards | RB | 6 ft 0 in | 185 lbs | | Theodore Roosevelt High School |
| Will Ennis | WR | 6 ft 0 in | 180 lbs | Severn, MD | Old Mill High School |
| Vince Flook | DL | 6 ft 5 in | 220 lbs | | Middletown High School |
| Amir Frye | DL | 6 ft 3 in | 230 lbs | | Walter Johnson High School |
| Daryl Harper | WR | 6 ft 2 in | 170 lbs | | Northwest High School |
| Robert Hart | DB | 6 ft 0 in | 180 lbs | | DeMatha Catholic High School |
| Tyler Hove | OL | 6 ft 5 in | 316 lbs | | Frederick High School |
| Brian Jester | TE | 6 ft 4 in | 245 lbs | Baltimore, MD | St. Frances Academy |
| Mujahid Johnson | DB | 6 ft 0 in | 185 lbs | Frederick, MD | Northwest High School |
| Sekou Kamara | DB | 6 ft 1 in | 180 lbs | | Quince Orchard High School |
| J. T. Yao Kouame | LB | 6 ft 0 in | 210 lbs | | Westfield High School |
| Caysen Lanza | TE | 6 ft 5 in | 220 lbs | | Jefferson High School |
| Daniel McPherson | DL | 6 ft 0 in | 265 lbs | | Howard High School |
| Lucas Michael | OL | 6 ft 2 in | 265 lbs | | Williamsport High School |
| Marcus Nicholson | DB | 6 ft 1 in | 175 lbs | Baltimore, MD | Dundalk High School |
| Kaylen Perez | LB | 6 ft 0 in | 220 lbs | | St. Mary's Ryken High School |
| Nehemiah Phillips | DB | 6 ft 0 in | 180 lbs | Washington, D.C. | Theodore Roosevelt High School |
| Elijah Queen | DL | 6 ft 2 in | 230 lbs | | Wilde Lake High School |
| Sammy Roberts | QB | 6 ft 2 in | 205 lbs | | Jefferson High School |
| Jason Robertson | DL | 6 ft 4 in | 220 lbs | Baltimore, MD | Archbishop Spalding High School |
| Jalil Singleton | DB | 5 ft 10 in | 170 lbs | Woodbridge, VA | Gar-Field Senior High School |
| Christian Slack | DL | 6 ft 0 in | 260 lbs | Martinsburg, WV | Martinsburg High School |
| Colby Strange | TE | 6 ft 6 in | 215 lbs | | South River High School |
| Omari Terry | DB | 5 ft 10 in | 185 lbs | Baltimore, MD | St. Frances Academy |
| Gavin Whittington | RB | 5 ft 11 in | 195 lbs | | Northern High School |
| Antonio Wilkins | DB | 5 ft 11 in | 160 lbs | Washington, D.C. | Theodore Roosevelt High School |
| Jayson Williams | OL | 6 ft 2 in | 295 lbs | Waynesboro, VA | Stuarts Draft High School | |
Incoming transfers
Departures
Preseason
Media day
| Media poll (East Division) |
| Predicted finish | Team (1st place votes) |
| 1 | Shepherd (4) |
| 2 | Kutztown (4) |
| 3 | West Chester |
| 4 | Shippensburg |
| 5 | East Stroudsburg |
| 6 | Bloomsburg |
| 7 | Millersville |
| 8 | Lock Haven | |
Game summaries
at No. 10 Colorado Mines (NCAA Division II Semifinals)
Statistics
Individual statistics
Offense
| Passing statistics |
|---|
| Player | GP | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg |
|---|
| 2 | | 15 | 400 | 572 | 69.9 | 4,580 | 8.0 | 41 | 8 | 158.1 |
| 16 | Christian Etchison | 5 | 4 | 4 | 100.0 | 85 | 21.3 | 1 | 0 | 361.0 |
| 18 | Lek Powell | 1 | 3 | 4 | 75.0 | 23 | 5.8 | 0 | 0 | 123.3 |
| Team | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Totals | 15 | 407 | 582 | 69.3 | 4,688 | 8.1 | 42 | 8 | 158.7 |
| Opponents | 15 | 284 | 492 | 57.7 | 3,325 | 6.8 | 26 | 18 | 124.6 | |
| Rushing statistics |
|---|
| Player | GP | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Y/G |
|---|
| 30 | | 15 | 219 | 1,863 | 8.5 | 85 | 19 | 124.2 |
| 8 | Blake Hartman | 11 | 52 | 379 | 7.3 | 80 | 4 | 34.5 |
| 6 | Avaughn Holley | 11 | 40 | 221 | 5.5 | 53 | 2 | 20.1 |
| 10 | Nazhir Russell | 4 | 9 | 91 | 10.1 | 53 | 2 | 22.8 |
| 2 | | 15 | 79 | 71 | 0.9 | 28 | 5 | 4.7 |
| 16 | Christian Etchison | 5 | 4 | 28 | 7.0 | 19 | 0 | 5.6 |
| 9 | Ryan Beach | 11 | 4 | 13 | 3.3 | 8 | 0 | 1.2 |
| 76 | | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
| Team | 14 | 12 | –20 | –1.7 | 0 | 0 | –1.4 |
| Totals | 15 | 419 | 2,650 | 6.3 | 85 | 32 | 176.7 |
| Opponents | 15 | 449 | 1,278 | 2.8 | 80 | 8 | 85.2 | |
| Receiving statistics |
|---|
| Player | GP | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Y/G |
|---|
| 13 | Marlon Cook | 14 | 68 | 1,030 | 15.2 | 70 | 8 | 73.8 |
| 87 | Brian Walker | 15 | 63 | 799 | 12.7 | 36 | 5 | 53.8 |
| 30 | | 15 | 56 | 589 | 10.5 | 73 | 5 | 39.3 |
| 3 | Rodney Dorsey | 15 | 35 | 487 | 13.9 | 71 | 4 | 32.5 |
| 9 | Ryan Beach | 11 | 51 | 411 | 8.1 | 35 | 5 | 37.4 |
| 1 | E. J. Morgan | 11 | 25 | 308 | 12.3 | 31 | 2 | 28.0 |
| 81 | Cameron Dorner | 14 | 34 | 299 | 8.8 | 29 | 3 | 21.4 |
| 0 | Alphonso Foray | 15 | 25 | 293 | 11.7 | 47 | 4 | 19.5 |
| 23 | Max Fisher | 8 | 20 | 168 | 8.4 | 23 | 0 | 21.0 |
| 7 | Kenny Edelin | 12 | 15 | 158 | 10.5 | 41 | 2 | 13.2 |
| 83 | Daryl Harper | 5 | 7 | 115 | 16.4 | 60 | 1 | 23.0 |
| 86 | Ethan Krolow | 3 | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 11 | 0 | 3.7 |
| 8 | Blake Hartman | 11 | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 6 | 0 | 0.7 |
| 47 | Michael McCook | 12 | 4 | 7 | 1.8 | 4 | 3 | 0.6 |
| 10 | Nazhir Russell | 4 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | 1.3 |
| Totals | 15 | 407 | 4,688 | 11.5 | 73 | 42 | 312.5 |
| Opponents | 15 | 284 | 3,339 | 11.8 | 64 | 26 | 222.6 | |
Special teams
| Kickoff statistics |
|---|
| Player | GP | KO | Yds | Avg | TB | OB |
|---|
| 34 | Jacob Haynie | 15 | 93 | 5,007 | 53.8 | 16 | 1 |
| 69 | James Bozek | 4 | 9 | 444 | 49.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 15 | 102 | 5,451 | 53.4 | 16 | 1 |
| Opponents | 15 | 57 | 3,292 | 57.8 | 17 | 2 | |
| Kicking statistics |
|---|
| Player | GP | XPM–XPA | XP% | FGM–FGA | FG% | Lng | Pts |
|---|
| 34 | Jacob Haynie | 15 | 67–75 | 89.3 | 10–16 | 62.5 | 44 | 97 |
| Totals | 15 | 67–75 | 89.3 | 10–16 | 62.5 | 44 | 97 |
| Opponents | 15 | 0–0 | 0.0 | 0–0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Punting statistics |
|---|
| Player | GP | Punts | Yds | Avg | Lng | TB | In20 |
|---|
| 66 | Ryan Barrick | 15 | 41 | 1,488 | 36.3 | 50 | 3 | 10 |
| 2 | | 15 | 3 | 128 | 42.7 | 45 | 2 | 1 |
| Totals | 15 | 44 | 1,616 | 36.7 | 50 | 5 | 11 |
| Opponents | 15 | 79 | 2,895 | 36.7 | 63 | 4 | 14 | |
| Kick return statistics |
|---|
| Player | GP | Ret | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD |
|---|
| 30 | Ronnie Brown | 15 | 19 | 546 | 28.7 | 100 | 1 |
| 0 | Alphonso Foray | 15 | 9 | 172 | 19.1 | 38 | 0 |
| 8 | Blake Hartman | 11 | 1 | 23 | 23.0 | 23 | 0 |
| 5 | Klayton Batten | 15 | 2 | 22 | 11.0 | 20 | 0 |
| 88 | Dustin Fisher | 12 | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 |
| 44 | Jack Rosnage | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 15 | 33 | 770 | 23.3 | 100 | 1 |
| Opponents | 15 | 73 | 1,131 | 15.5 | 60 | 0 | |
Awards and honors
National awards and honors
Regional awards and honors
| + style="" | Super Region One Individual Yearly Awards |
| Awards | Player | Position | Date awarded | Ref. |
|---|
| D2CCA Regional Offensive Player of the Year | Tyson Bagent | QB | December 1, 2022 | |
| AFCA Regional Coach of the Year | Ernie McCook | HC | December 6, 2022 | |
| + style="" | Super Region One All-Regional Team |
| Team | Player | Position | Class | Ref. |
|---|
| First | Tyson Bagent | QB | Senior | |
| First | Ronnie Brown | RB | Junior | |
| First | Brian Walker | TE | Senior | |
| First | Joey Fisher | OL | Senior | |
| First | Kyle Smith | DL | Graduate | | |
Conference awards and honors
| + style="" | PSAC Individual Yearly Awards |
| Awards | Player | Position | Date awarded | Ref. |
|---|
| PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Year | Tyson Bagent | QB | November 16, 2022 | |
| PSAC East Coach of the Year | Ernie McCook | HC | November 16, 2022 | |
| PSAC Champion Scholar | Adam Stilley | OL | November 15, 2022 | | |
| + style="" | PSAC All-Conference Honors |
| Team | Player | Position | Class | Ref. |
|---|
| First | Tyson Bagent | QB | Senior | |
| First | Ronnie Brown | RB | Junior | |
| First | Ryan Beach | WR | Sophomore | |
| First | Marlon Cook | WR | Junior | |
| First | Brian Walker | TE | Senior | |
| First | Joey Fisher | OL | Senior | |
| First | Ty Lucas | OL | Freshman | |
| First | Malik Holloway | DL | Sophomore | |
| First | Kyle Smith | DL | Graduate | |
| First | DeWayne Grantham | LB | Junior | |
| First | Klayton Batten | DB | Sophomore | |
| First | Keyshawn Hailey | DB | Junior | |
| First | Ronnie Brown | RS | Junior | |
| Second | Chandler Brown | OL | Freshman | |
| Second | Wyatt Pellicano | OL | Sophomore | |
| Second | Adam Stilley | C | Graduate | |
| Second | Solomon Alexander | DL | Graduate | |
| Second | Jurnee Dunbar | DL | Sophomore | | |
| + style="" | PSAC Weekly Honors |
| Honors | Player | Position | Date Awarded | Ref. |
|---|
| PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Week | Tyson Bagent | QB | September 5, 2022 | |
| PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week | Dewayne Grantham | LB | September 5, 2022 | |
| PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Week | Ronnie Brown | RB | September 12, 2022 | |
| PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week | Malik Holloway | DE | September 12, 2022 | |
| PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Week | Tyson Bagent | QB | September 19, 2022 | |
| PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Week | Tyson Bagent | QB | September 26, 2022 | |
| PSAC East Special Teams Athlete of the Week | Ronnie Brown | KR | September 26, 2022 | |
| PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Week | Ronnie Brown | RB | October 3, 2022 | |
| PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week | Donte Harrison | DB | October 17, 2022 | |
| PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Week | Tyson Bagent | QB | October 24, 2022 | |
| PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week | Dewayne Grantham | LB | October 24, 2022 | |
| PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Week | Tyson Bagent | QB | October 31, 2022 | |
| PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Week | Tyson Bagent | QB | November 7, 2022 | | |
All-Star Games
Notes and References
- Web site: Shepherd University to Join PSAC in 2019–20 .
