Football Preview 2015 21
Ponte Vedra Recorder · August 27, 2015
Dolphins will be road warriors to begin season
1st home game is Oct. 3
Mike Bonts
Special to the Recorder
With a balanced roster of veterans
and newcomers Jacksonville University will begin the 2015 football
campaign on Friday, Sept. 4, at
Delaware.
The Dolphins will try to improve
on last season’s 9-2 record. (7-1
PFL). JU won the Pioneer Football
League (PFL) title on the field last
season but had a self-imposed ban
invoked by the school that relinquished the championship.
“We’ve had a very productive
summer. I really like our older group
here. We’ve got a lot of returning
veteran guys who have played a lot
of snaps,” said head coach Kerwin
Bell. “This offseason I’ve changed
a little bit of the way we’ve done
things because of the veteran leadership and the number of reps that our
guys have got.”
Five Dolphins were selected for
the All-Pioneer Football League preseason team.
Quarterback Kade Bell and offensive lineman Kevin Battle represent JU on offense while linebacker
Grady Redding and defensive back
Terrance Bryant were named on the
defensive side. Place kicker Brandon
Behr was selected for special teams.
A 2014 First Team All-PFL pick
last year, Bell returns for his senior
campaign after throwing for 3,181
yards and 31 touchdowns last season. He led the league with a 152.3
pass efficiency rating ranking him
ninth among FCS quarterbacks.
Battle was also a 2014 First Team
All-PFL selection. Battle has started
all 32 games he has played in over
the past three seasons, and brings a
streak of 24 consecutive starts.
Redding led the team in tackles
last year with 82 (45 solo, 37 assists),
Photos by JU Sports Information
JU’s offensive line will benefit from size and experience as the Dolphins return last year’s top
rusher in Ulysses Bryant. He rushed for over 1,000 yards and scored seven TDs.
had two interceptions, three sacks
and eight tackles for losses. The junior also forced two fumbles.
Bryant, a senior, had 60 tackles
(32 solo, 28 assists), an interception
and 2.5 tackles for losses. He also
had six pass breakups and a sack
and returned nine punts.
A junior this season, Behr, led the
league in scoring by kickers and was
tied for first in the PFL in field goals
last year. He ended with 85 points
and had 31 touchbacks on kickoffs.
He tied a school record twice by
kicking three field goals in a game.
JU’s offensive line will benefit
from size and experience. The largest group in the program’s history
will also have recorded over 50
starts during their JU careers.
The Dolphins return last year’s
top two rushers in Ulysses Bryant
and Frantz Caudio. Bryant rushed for
over 1,000 yards and scored seven
TDs. Caudio ran for 407 yards and
five scores.
Jacksonville returns another outstanding receiver in Andy Jones. As
a junior, he started 11 games, caught
46 passes (tied for a team-best) for
684 yards (which led the team) and
scored seven times.
TJ Jenkins, in his fifth year with
the defensive line, is again slated to
anchor down a spot at defensive end
He earned Honorable Mention AllPFL last year with five tackles for a
loss and 3.5 sacks.
The secondary played a big role
in the school-record 24 picks last
season.
The Dolphins return safeties in
Dallas Jackson and Terrance Bryant.
Bryant recorded 60 tackles, one interception, and 2.5 tackles-for-a-loss.
Jackson picked off five passes which
tied a school-record. He started 10
games, made 48 tackles, and earned
Honorable Mention league honors.
They will be on the road for the
first three games of the season before opening at home Oct. 3 against
Morehead State on ESPN3. On Oct.
17 they host Edward Waters College
in the Jacksonville Classic.
In the off season the Pioneer
Football League concluded a review
of the football program’s use of financial aid. In addition to accepting
the school’s voluntary removal from
its 2014 championships, the league
imposed a one-year ban on postseason play for this season.
JU QB Kade Bell returns for his senior
campaign after throwing for 3,181 yards
and 31 touchdowns last season.
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