Football Opens 2025 Home Slate Hosting LIU Saturday

Football vs LONG ISLAND
Date	Saturday, Sept. 6 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	'The Factory' at Rynearson Stadium \| Ypsilanti, Mich.
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF) \| Media Guide (PDF) \| Press Conference Video
Game Theme	EMU Block Party
Watch \| Stats	ESPN+ \| Media Stats
Listen	WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM) \| The Varsity Network App \| SiriusXM \| Eastern Insider Podcast
Follow Us On X	@EMUFB \| @EMUAthletics
Purchase Tickets	GET YOUR TICKETS HERE

YPSILANTI (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University football team is set to play its home opener Saturday, Sept. 6, as the Eagles welcome the Sharks of Long Island University inside 'The Factory' at Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti. The first meeting between EMU (0-1) and LIU (0-1), which is being dubbed the EMU Block Party and presented by Michigan Rose Construction, will kick off on Crosby Field at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ with Dan Gutowsky and Ryan Cavanaugh on the call while Tom Helmer (play-by-play), The Voice of the Eagles, Rob Rubick (analyst), and Elena Davis (sideline) have the radio call on WEMU (89.1 FM) and The Varsity Network app.

HOME LIFTING LIDS
Dating back to 1891, Eastern Michigan carries an all-time record of 81-46-5 in its home opener and has been victorious in such contests in four consecutive seasons, including a thrilling 37-34 double overtime defeat of Jacksonville State (Sept. 14) last year. The Eagles, who are 9-2 in their home opener under Chris Creighton, are also 2-0 against current members of the Northeast Conference, including wins of 33-15 over St. Francis in 2021 and 34-29 over Central Connecticut State in 2019. The four consecutive home-opening wins are tied for the longest streak under Creighton, whose teams also won four in a row from 2016-19. When removing the loss to Toledo in 2020 when EMU played a limited MAC-only slate because of the COVID pandemic, EMU has won eight consecutive home openers, which would stand as the second-longest in team history behind the 14 consecutive wins from 1925-38. EMU also has posted six consecutive victories in both 1951-56 and 1985-90.

EMU BLOCK PARTY
Fans are encouraged to come early and celebrate with their fellow Eagles at the EMU Block Party where they will be treated to an atmosphere that feels more like a festival than a football game. With live music, campus partner booths, interactive games, food trucks, and family zones, the stadium concourse will transform into a celebration of all things Eastern. It's the perfect opportunity for students to kick off the school year and for families to enjoy a Saturday of affordable entertainment that goes beyond the gridiron.

NO. 134 IN THE 734
Eastern Michigan is currently playing its 134th season of football with the program first playing in 1891. Tied with NC State and Iowa State for 29th on the all-time ledger in seasons played, the Eagles are third in the Mid-American Conference behind newcomer UMass (143rd season) and Miami (137th). Along with Miami, the only other team on this year's schedule that has played more seasons is Kentucky (135th).

NIFTY 50
The 2025 season will mark the 50th for Eastern Michigan as a member of the Mid-American Conference after joining the league in 1976. Ten years removed from its last conference game as a member of the Presidents Athletic Conference and playing as an independent, Eastern joined the MAC an opened its 1976 season with a home game against Ohio. Since then, the Eagles captured the 1987 MAC Championship and shared the 2022 MAC West Division crown. While the Eagles celebrate their 50th season, the 2025 campaign also will mark the last for Northern Illinois as well as the return of UMass.

THE EASTERN 500
Following its season-opening loss at Texas State (Aug. 30), Eastern holds an all-time record of 495-631-47, leaving it five wins shy of 500. The Eagles are one of four teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) that could reach 500 wins this season, including Temple (498), Rice (497), and Wake Forest (497), who each won in Week 1 with victories over UMass (42-10), Louisiana (14-12), and Kennesaw State (10-9), respectively.

KNOW THE FOE: LONG ISLAND
Long Island enters the week 0-1 following its season-opening 55-0 loss at No. 15 Florida in Gainesville, Fla. Offensively, wide receiver Deion Richardson was a bright spot for LIU, hauling in two receptions for 37 yards. He turned in the biggest offensive play of the night for the Sharks as he hauled in a 28-yard fourth-quarter pass from Luca Stanzani, who was one of three quarterbacks called upon by LIU head coach Ron Cooper. Defensively, Rafael Fasolino led LIU with nine tackles, including four tackles for loss, while Elijah Casey followed with eight tackles, including the Sharks only sack of the game.

IN THE SERIES: LONG ISLAND
The Eagles and Sharks are meeting for the first time. The game will mark back-to-back weeks LIU is facing an opponent for the first time after playing at No. 15 Florida one week earlier.

EMU AGAINST THE NEC
The Eagles have played four previous games against current members of the Northeast Conference (NEC), including a 36-0 win last year over visiting St. Francis. Eastern is 3-0 all-time against the Red Flash and 1-0 against Central Connecticut State.

LAST MEETING WITH THE NEC
The last time the Eagles played a member of the NEC came last year as Eastern defeated visiting St. Francis (Pa.), 36-0, Sept. 21, 2024, inside Rynearson Stadium. The Eagles' shutout victory got off to a strong start with David Carter Jr. returning a fumble 99-yards for a touchdown before Jesus Gomez scored three field goals. Delbert Mimms III ran in a 1-yard touchdown before Kendrick Nowling recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for EMU's second defensive score of the contest. Finally, Jeremiah Salem hit Zyell Griffin for an 89-yard touchdown to cap the scoring.

THE EMPIRE STATE
The game with Long Island will mark just the third different New York institution the Eagles have faced as Eastern holds a 7-6-0 mark against the Empire State that includes a 7-5-0 record against MAC foe Buffalo and an 0-1-0 mark against Syracuse. Eastern also stands 4-3-0 when playing host to a New York team with all seven previous contests coming in MAC play with Buffalo.

CLOSE CONNECTIONS: LONG ISLAND
The Sharks are led by Ron Cooper, who was hired as the head coach at LIU in 2022, marking his fourth head coaching job in college football with his first coming at Eastern Michigan in the 1993 and 1994 campaigns before being hired away to Louisville. Cooper, who also was the head coach at Alabama A&M, has served on numerous staffs, including Wisconsin, Mississippi State, South Carolina, LSU, South Florida, FIU, Texas A&M, Arkansas, and Alabama, while also spending one season with the Tampa Buccaneers in the NFL.

SAME STADIUM, DIFFERENT SIDELINE
The game with LIU will mark just the second time in program history that a former EMU head coach will lead his team into Rynearson Stadium as the head coach of another program as Ron Cooper guided EMU in the 1993 and 1994 campaigns. The first instance came Nov. 6, 1982, when Eastern scored a 9-7 win over visiting Kent State, who was led by Ed Chlebek, the EMU head coach for the 1976 and 1977 seasons.

MAKING DEBUTS • TRANSFERS
The game at Texas State saw 26 newcomers play their first snaps for the Eagles with 17 transfers playing for the Block E for the first time, including: Kadin Bailey, Caleb Coley, Nathan Dibert, Tavierre Dunlap, Makhi Gilbert, Nick Harris, James Jointer Jr., Noah Kim, Tanner Lemaster, Joshua Long, Ja'Quel Mack, Andrew Marshall, James Monds III, Marco Patierno, Juan Salas Jr., and Warren-Stevens Tayou.

MAKING DEBUTS • FRESHMEN
The nine freshmen that took the field for Eastern included: Quincy Byas, Antonio Floyd, Hector Gonzalez, Rudy Kessinger, Harold Mack Jr., Jaylin Monds, Noah Patterson, Donmiel Rogers, and Everett Small. Of those rookies seeing their first action, Small was the only to also earn his first start.

ON THE STARTING LINE
Speaking of starts, in the season opener at Texas State, nine Eagles earned their first starts with the program, including Dodji Dahoue, Nick Deveraux, Noah Kim, Bryce Llewellyn, Joshua Long, Jason Marshall, Sterling Miles, Benson Prosper, Porter Rooks, and Terrance Saunders. Additionally, Carter Evans made his third career start and his first since two starts in 2022.

OFFENSE STARTS STRONG
Through Week 1, the Eagle offense ranks among the best in the MAC as Eastern is currently ranked second in four categories, including scoring (27.0 points), total offense (391.0 yards), passing (248.0 yards), and first downs (23.0). Additionally, the Eagles are tied for first place in the MAC and the FBS with a perfect conversion rate on fourth down after going 2-of-2 at Texas State.

GOING GREEN IN THE RED ZONE
Eastern and Ohio lead the MAC in red zone offense as both teams are a perfect 5-for-5 in red zone chances in 2025. The Eagles scored three touchdowns and added a pair of field goals on their five trips inside the 20 yard line at Texas State.

KIM LEADS THE WAY
Noah Kim earned the starting nod at quarterback in the season-opening game and finished 23-of-34 passing for 248 yards and one touchdown and zero turnovers. The 248 yards stand as the third-highest in his career after throwing for 292 against Richmond (Sept. 9, 2023) and 279 against Central Michigan (Sept. 1, 2023) while playing for Michigan State while his 23 completions are second only to his 25 connections made at Iowa (Sept. 30, 2023) that same year. Overall his 248 yards and 138.6 efficiency rating stand second in the MAC.

SPREADING IT AROUND IN THE AIR
To reach his passing numbers, Noah Kim spread the ball around as he connected with 10 different receivers, something that hasn't happened since the 2019 season at EMU. Despite the Eagle quarterbacks finding nine different receivers in two different games in 2024 (home against Miami and Toledo), the last time EMU had 10+ receivers in the same game was Oct. 5, 2019, at Central Michigan where 11 players hauled in at least one pass.

GOING LONG
Joshua Long was on the receiving end of Noah Kim's first passing touchdown with the Eagles as he hauled in a 16-yard strike in the second quarter. Long is no stranger to the end zone as he caught six scoring passes in 2024 while playing for El Camino College, marking his scoring play with EMU his first NCAA Division I scoring play. Long finished with three grabs for 31 yards on the day.

KIM'S CONNECTIONS
With his passing touchdown at Texas State, Noah Kim has now recorded at least one score through the air in four consecutive seasons while playing for three schools. He tallied three passing touchdowns in 2022 and six more in 2023 while playing at Michigan State before adding four more last year at Coastal Carolina.

LOCKETT CONTINUES TO LEAD
Selected to wear The Deuce as the team's top senior receiver, Terry Lockett Jr. finished the game at Texas State as the team's leader as he pulled down five catches for 62 yards, the most in both categories for the Eagles. The five grabs helped him run his streak to nine consecutive games with at least one reception.

ROOKS RETURNS
Porter Rooks started and saw his first game action for the Eagles after sitting out the 2024 season with an injury. In his first game back since Nov. 25, 2023, when he played for NC State against North Carolina, Rooks pulled in three passes for 13 yards. Additionally, Rooks appeared in his 50th collegiate contest, which ranks 25th among all active FBS players in 2025.

ROOM TO RUN
The running game also put together a strong showing as six players carried the ball 33 times for 143 yards and two touchdowns with Joey Mattord and Tavierre Dunlap collecting the scores. The 143 yards stand as the most in a season-opening game for EMU since the 2021 team put up 221 yards against St. Francis (Pa.) in Ypsilanti. Against Texas State, Dontae McMillan returned from a season-ending injury in 2024 to carry the ball nine times for 78 yards while Mattord recorded a career-high 38 yards and Dunlap added 33 yards on 10 rushes. Benson Prosper and James Jointer Jr., each finished with two carries and four yards each.

WAITING A SECOND
Both Joey Mattord and Tavierre Dunlap scored rushing touchdowns in the game at Texas State while both marking their second career scores. Mattord recorded his first career touchdown at home against Toledo (Nov. 2, 2024) while Dunlap, who played the last four years at Michigan, scored his first against Northwestern (Nov. 23, 2024).

FLIPPING FIELDS
In the game at Texas State, Mitchell Tomasek punted five times for 262 yards, an average of 52.4 yards per boot. His first three punts all traveled over 50 yards with his second going for 62 and his third for 63, which ties for eighth-longest punt as an Eagle.

PULLING OUT THE DRIVER
Mitchell Tomasek has hit 49 of his 169 career punts for 50+ yards, including 16 over 60 yards, while recording just 15 touchbacks. For his career, Tomasek has recorded a best of 72 yards at Jacksonville State (Sept. 23, 2023) while hitting a 70-yarder at home against Ball State (Oct. 7, 2023). He has recorded at least three punts of 62 yards or better in all three seasons he has played for the Eagles and is one away already from making four consecutive years after recording boots of 63 and 62-yards at Texas State.

ABOVE AVERAGE
Mitchell Tomasek averaged 52.4 yards per punt at Texas State (5-for-262) which ranks highly both this season and in school history. Nationally, Tomasek is second among NCAA FBS punters by average with only UMass' Keegan Andrews (57.0) ahead of him. The 52.4 yards per punt also made Tomasek the first Eagle to post a single-game average of 51.5+ as his work in San Marcos ranks as the best average (minimum four punts) in program history, surpassing the 51.4 average Jake Julien tallied, Sept. 11, 2021, at Wisconsin.

STAYING ACTIVE
With his numbers at Texas State, Mitchell Tomasek continues to climb the NCAA's active career ledgers as the EMU punter is now among the top five of all current FBS players in two categories. Tomasek's 7,438 total yards currently ranks him third while his career 44.5-yard average ranks fifth. Additionally, those totals rank him ninth and first, respectively, in EMU career history.

KESSINGER KICKS
Rudy Kessinger, a redshirt freshman, was called upon for placekicking duties and was perfect in the game at Texas State as he finished 2-of-2 on field goals (24 and 37 yards) and 3-of-3 on extra points. Tied for the MAC and FBS leads with a perfect 100 percent field goal percentage, Kessinger currently ranks fifth in the MAC in scoring with nine points.

BLAIRING INTO THE BACKFIELD
Messiah Blair recorded his first TFL, sack, and forced fumble in the first half of the game with all three coming on the same play. With 3:56 remaining in the opening stanza, Blair rushed the Texas State quarterback and sacked him for a 9-yard loss. While bringing him down, he knocked the ball loose, but the Bobcats recovered the ball and continued their possession. He is currently tied for the MAC lead and third nationally with 1.0 forced fumbles per game.

SCORIGAMI
The 52-27 final in San Marcos against Texas State marked the 511th Scorigami in the program's 1,173-game history. It also marked the 13th time a game involving Eastern Michigan has ended with the winning team scoring 52 points in the contest.

UPPER HALF
Since 2016, Eastern has posted 54 wins, which ranks as the sixth-most victories of any team in the MAC.
72 • Toledo
69 • Ohio
60 • Western Michigan, Miami
55 • Buffalo
54 • Eastern Michigan
52 • Northern Illinois
49 • Central Michigan
40 • Ball State
37 • Bowling Green
31 • Kent State
26 • Akron
* updated through 2025 Week 1 games

BACK ON THE LANES?
After missing out on a bowl game in 2024 by one victory, the Eagles will look to return to the postseason in 2025 and claim their seventh appearance under Chris Creighton. For the 2025 season, the MAC has affiliation with four games: former Bahamas Bowl (vs. Conference USA), Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl (vs. Mountain West), Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (vs. MWC), and GameAbove Sports Bowl (vs. Big Ten). Additionally, the MAC could send teams to two of the following: 68 Ventures Bowl (vs. Sun Belt), Boca Raton Bowl (vs. Group of Five), Camellia Bowl (vs. ACC/Sun Belt), Cure Bowl (vs. Group of Five), Frisco Bowl (vs. Group of Five), Myrtle Beach Bowl (vs. ACC/SBC), and New Mexico Bowl (vs. CUSA).

BOWL APPEARANCES
Since 2016, 12-of-13 current MAC teams have played in at least one bowl, with the Eagles appearing in six, which ranks tied for third-most with Miami while Ohio and Toledo lead the way with seven.
7 • Ohio, Toledo
6 • Eastern Michigan, Miami
5 • Buffalo, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan
4 • Central Michigan
3 • Bowling Green
2 • Ball State, Kent State
1 • Akron
0 • UMass (only bowl was 1964)

FLYING THE FLAG
When a MAC team defeats a member of a "Power Four" conference, they celebrate by hoisting a black flag with the MAC logo placed above cross bones, something the Eagles have done four times since 2017 with victories over Rutgers, Purdue, Illinois, and Arizona State. Dating back to the start of the 2006 season, at least one member of the MAC has flown the flag with the conference accumulating 47 wins in that stretch of 18 consecutive seasons, including 32 against the Big Ten. All told, the MAC has posted wins against foes from the Big Ten (32), SEC (2), Big 12 (5), the former Pac-12 (2), the ACC (4), and one over Notre Dame.

Overall, in the Eagles' four wins ties for the fifth-highest total in the MAC with Ohio, Ball State, and Western Michigan while Northern Illinois leads the way with nine, both Bowling Green and Central Michigan have six, and Toledo has five.

In 2025, the MAC will 24 chances to add to the total and bring the streak to 19 consecutive years with half of those games (12) set to come against the Big Ten. Week 1 games against the "Power Four" for the MAC includes Ohio at Rutgers, Buffalo at Minnesota, Miami at Wisconsin, Western Michigan at Michigan State, Ball State at Purdue, and Toledo at Kentucky.

CREIGHTON CLIMBING
Head Coach Chris Creighton is entering his 12th year at the helm of the Eastern program and has accumulated 57 wins with the Eagles, the second-most in program history behind the 114 secured under Elton J. Rynearson, for whom the Eagles' home venue is named, sported 196 career wins, leaving him four away from 200. The third-longest tenured coach in program history behind Rynearson (26 years) and Fred Trosko (13) and one of just four men to lead the program for 10+ seasons, Creighton currently ranks fifth among active FBS coaches in career victories, trailing only Brian Kelly at LSU (292), K.C. Keeler at Sam Houston (271), Kirk Ferentz at Iowa (216), and Willie Fritz at Houston (212).

STABILITY IS THE NAME OF THE GAME
In his 12th season in Ypsilanti, Chris Creighton is the ninth-longest-tenured Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) head coach. While they are both in their 12th season, respectively, Creighton is technically the second-longest tenured head coach in the conference by hiring date, falling just three days short of Miami's Chuck Martin. While Creighton and Martin will meet in Oxford, Oct. 18, another meeting of top-10 tenured coaches will take place before that as Creighton and the Eagles will travel to face Mark Stoops, who is sixth on the list, at Kentucky, Sept. 13, in Lexington.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS UNDER CREIGHTON
Since the start of the 1976 season, Eastern Michigan has won 55 games in non-conference play with 43.6 percent of those victories (24 wins) coming in the past 11 seasons under Chris Creighton, an average of two non-conference wins per season.

In that same span, 14 of those wins have come on the road with a Creighton-led squad capturing nine wins (64.3 percent), including wins at Big Ten Conference opponents Rutgers (16-13, Sept. 9, 2017), Purdue (20-19, Sept. 8, 2018), and Illinois (34-31, Sept. 14, 2019), while adding a 30-21 win at Arizona State (Sept. 17, 2022), a then-member of the Pac-12 (currently Big 12).

WINNING IN THE MAC
There have been 20 coaches that have captured 50+ wins while guiding a MAC program with three names on the list still active at those respective institutions, including Chris Creighton, whose 57 wins rank 18th on the ledger. The other two MAC coaches include Jason Candle at Toledo (73) and Chuck Martin at Miami (65).

THEY HAVE THE TOUCH
Over the past 11 seasons (2014-24), the Eagles' 26 blocked kicks have them tied for third-most among all teams in the MAC as Eastern, Miami, and Toledo are one off the pace set by both Central Michigan and Northern Illinois, who each have 27. Over that span, Eastern has tallied at least one block in nine consecutive years (20 blocks) with Akron next with six consecutive years (8). Additionally, EMU is one of three schools (CMU and Toledo) that has recorded at least one block in 10-of-11 seasons during the current span.

NO KICKING ZONE
Since taking over the program in 2014, Chris Creighton's teams have blocked 26 kicks, including at least one in each of the past nine consecutive years. In 2024, the Eagles blocked four kicks, the second-highest total for the team under Creighton behind only the six blocks tallied in 2014. Last year, Eastern blocked one punt and one point-after try at Washington (Sept. 7), blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown at home against St. Francis (Sept. 21), and blocked a 31-yard field goal attempt at Ohio (Nov. 13). The four blocks tied for the MAC lead with Northern Illinois while ranking sixth among all NCAA FBS teams.

Overall, in the 11 seasons under Creighton, EMU has blocked 10 field goal attempts, 10 punts with five being returned for touchdowns, and six extra-point attempts with one returned for a two-point defensive score.

SAFE TO ASSUME IT WILL BE CLOSE
Since 2016, Eastern Michigan has played 109 contests recording a 54-55 record in those games. The margin has been razor thin with the contests decided by a combined 65 points. EMU has scored 2,968 points (27.2 ppg), while giving up 3,063 points (28.1). EMU's point differential is the fifth-fewest in the FBS over that span.
1. UCLA - 10 (3097 Pts / 3087 PtsO)
2. South Carolina - 22 (2900 Pts / 2878 PtsO)
3. Louisiana Tech - 26 (3293 Pts / 3267 PtsO)
4. Navy - 31 (3024 Pts / 2993 PtsO)
5. Eastern Michigan - 65 (2971 Pts / 3011 PtsO)
6. Indiana - 43 (2907 Pts / 2864 PtsO)
7. Northern Illinois - 48 (2868 Pts / 2916 PtsO)
8. Georgia Southern- 54 (3109 Pts / 3163 PtsO)

SINGLE SCORES
Since the start of the 2016 season, Eastern ranks third nationally with 57 one-score games played, sitting behind Northern Illinois (63) and Texas (58).
1. Northern Illinois - 63 (31-32)
2. Texas - 58 (26-32)
3. Eastern Michigan - 57 (28-29)
t-4. Iowa State - 55 (24-31)
t-4. Nebraska - 55 (16-39)
6. Kansas State - 53 (26-27)
7. North Carolina - 52 (22-30)
8. Oklahoma State - 50 (31-19)
9. Tulsa - 49 (22-27)

AYE, AYE CAPTAINS!
The Eagles will be led by six captains in the 2025 season. Following a vote of the current roster, the players selected Jefferson Adam, Tavierre Dunlap, Dramarian McNulty, Noah Kim, Zach Mowchan, and Mickey Rewolinski to serve as captains this season.

ON THE HORIZON
Eastern Michigan returns to the road Saturday, Sept. 13, when the Eagles travel to Lexington, Ky., to take on the University of Kentucky out of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game at Kroger Field is slated for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff and will air live on ESPNU. Fans can also listen to the game live on WEMU (89.1 FM) and the Varsity Network app with Tom Helmer (play-by-play), Greg Steiner (analyst), and Elena Davis (sideline) calling all the action from the Bluegrass State.

PREVIOUSLY NOTED
DONNING THE DEUCE: LOCKETT, JR.
Most jersey numbers hold special meanings to the players who wear them. At EMU, there is one number that holds a special meaning: 'The Deuce'. Make no mistake, this jersey is special. It cannot be selected by a player through conventional means, such as requesting it through the equipment staff. Rather, the selection is made by a player through his actions on the field and off. He earns 'The Deuce' by demonstrating he possesses the integrity, character, and selflessness of EMU's football student-athletes and representatives strive to build within themselves. For Eastern football, 'The Deuce', must be earned in remembrance of wide receiver Demarius Reed, who passed away on Oct. 18, 2013. Put back into circulation in 2017 with the blessing of Reed's family and former teammates, his number once again graces the field at Rynearson Stadium on the back of the squad's best senior pass catcher. In a team meeting, held Aug. 21, Head Coach Chris Creighton announced Terry Lockett Jr. had earned the honor to wear the jersey emblazoned with the No. 2.

GRIDIRON GRADUATES
The 2025 roster features 23 players that have earned their undergraduate degrees, including 16 that have graduated from Eastern Michigan and seven from other NCAA Division I institutions. The list of EMU graduates include Jefferson Adam, Solomon Bell, Tyrell Deener, Carter Evans, Terry Lockett Jr., Chris Mayo, Dontae McMillan, Dramarian McNulty, Sterling Miles, Zach Mowchan, Mickey Rewolinski, Joshua Scott, Isaac Smith, Owen Snively, Jesse Vasquez, and Jamarien Wheeler with Caleb Coley (Michigan State), Tavierre Dunlap (Michigan), Donovan Green (Northwestern State), Zyell Griffin (UNLV), Nick Harris (UConn), Noah Kim (Michigan State), and Porter Rooks (NC State) having earned their degrees before transferring to EMU.

ON THE LIST
Ten different Eagles found their names on the All-MAC Preseason lists by Athlon Sports and/or Phil Steele ahead of the 2025 season with five players appearing on both. The Eastern players appearing on both lists included Jefferson Adam (4th team Athlon/4th team Steele), Terry Lockett Jr. (1st/1st), Zach Mowchan (3rd/4th), Mickey Rewolinski (1st/3rd), and Mitchell Tomasek (2nd/3rd). Three other players were named to the Athlon list, including Bryce Llewellyn (4th), Dontae McMillan (4th), and Joshua Scott (2nd) while Mack Indestad (3rd) and Tyrell Martin (4th) made the Phil Steele list.

ADAM ON WATCH LISTS
Jefferson Adam not only was named to a pair of athletic-related preseason lists, but he also landed on a pair of national watch lists based on his excellence in community service and academics to go along with his athletic success. Ahead of fall camp, Adam was named as one of 197 student-athletes nominated for the 2025 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team before also earning one of 116 nominations nationally to the 2025 Allstate Wuerffel Trophy Watch List. Both awards are highly regarded as college football's premier awards for community service. In hist time at Eastern, Adam has tallied over 31 hours of service and has been a central figure in EMU's Bright Futures Program, especially at Perry Early Learning Center, where he volunteers regularly. Additionally, he spearheaded the organization of a children's book drive as part of EMU's 2024 Spring Game that brought in 500 books for Ypsilanti Public School and Bright Futures libraries.

PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS
Ahead of the season, the Eagles were voted to finish eighth in the 13-team MAC standings as they received 68 points to place them one position above their final showing in 2024 (ninth). Toledo (135 points/7 FPV) was narrowly selected to win the title with Miami (131/3) trailing by just four points. Ohio (123/3), Buffalo (115), and Northern Illinois (94) round out the top five.

LOCKETT IN
Terry Lockett Jr., who was selected to wear 'The Deuce', Aug. 21, entered the 2024 season with no 100+ yard receiving games in his career and exited with two after having pulled down three grabs for 100 yards and two touchdowns at home against Central Michigan (Oct. 19) before reeling in 122 yards and two scores on eight catches against Buffalo (Nov. 20). The team's leader in yardage with 660 yards on 46 grabs and team-best five touchdowns, Lockett Jr. also became just the seventh Eastern player to record 100 yards receiving on three or fewer catches. The last time it happened was Sept. 24, 2022, when Tanner Knue caught three passes for 106 yards and one score at home against Buffalo. Additionally, four of the seven instances have come since Chris Creighton began his tenure at EMU in 2014.

IMPACTS TO THE MAXX
In April 2025, Maxx Crosby continued his impact on the Eastern program as he was named EMU Football Assistant General Manager as well as Special Assistant to the Athletic Director on fundraising, alumni relations, and student-athlete support. As an assistant GM, Crosby will assist with evaluating high school and transfer portal prospects and help manage the team's NIL/revenue share budget. He also spearheaded the Maxx Match in May 2025, in which he matched the $100,000 in donations the department received that month.

"There is no place more important to my personal and athletic development than Eastern Michigan University," Crosby said. "It truly is an honor for me to not only be named the Assistant GM of the EMU program, but together, with my wife Rachel, make another donation aimed at creating opportunities for other athletes to be impacted by the EMU program, community, students, and alumni."

CROSBY ON NFL 100 LIST AGAIN
For the fourth consecutive year, Maxx Crosby found a place on the annual NFL 100 list, this year coming in at No. 22. Despite being limited to 12 games in 2024 because of an injury, Crosby continued to torment opposing offensives as he tallied 45 tackles, 17.0 TFLs, 7.5 sacks, and 20 quarterback hits. A four-time Pro Bowl selection, Crosby recently signed a three-year extension to remain in Las Vegas with the Raiders.

WELCOME TO YPSILANTI
The 2025 roster features 50 newcomers to the program, including 31 transfers and 19 freshmen. The rookie class features players from 11 different states, including Colorado, Florida (3), Georgia, Indiana (3), Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio (3), and Pennsylvania, and one each from Canada and Mexico. Of the 31 transfers, 15 come to town from FBS programs, including eight from 'Power 4' institutions (Kentucky, LSU, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse). The transfers also include six different FCS programs, one NCAA Division II school, and six junior colleges.

NEW TO THE CREW
Ahead of the 2025 season, Chris Creighton added three new coaches to his staff, including Cornell Brown (defensive tackle), Sean Dugan (Alphas), and Chris Wiesehan (offensive line).
• Brown, a 2000 and 2006 graduate of Virginia Tech, brings 20 years of experience to Ypsilanti. A member of the Super Bowl XXXV Champion Baltimore Ravens, Brown has held coaching positions in the college ranks with Bowling Green, Tarleton State, Marshall, Norfolk State, and Virginia Tech while also having coached players with the New Orleans Breakers (USFL), Calgary Stampeders (CFL), Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe) and Cologne Centurions (NFL Europe).
• Although he is entering his first season as an assistant coach working with the Alphas, Dugan is no stranger to the program after working as a defensive analyst with the Eagles the past two seasons. Prior to his arrival, Dugan coached at Austin Peay, Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and Alvernia after his playing days at Millersville came to a close.
• Wiesehan, like Brown, brings a wealth of experience that has seen him work with players a 11 colleges and three professional teams. Most recently at Temple, he has also coached at Georgia Tech, Hawaii, UCLA, Syracuse, James Madison, Northern Arizona, Buffalo, Notre Dame, Purdue, and Fort Hayes State, while the professional teams included the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL).

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS CHRIS CREIGHTON?
In his head coaching career, Chris Creighton has racked up the frequent flyer miles, coaching games in seven different countries. Creighton added the Bahamas to that list in 2016 when he led the Eagles to the Bahamas Bowl after it already consisted of the United States, Sweden, Austria, Panama, Tanzania, and Germany.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Jefferson Adam

Kadin Bailey

Solomon Bell

Messiah Blair

Quincy Byas

David Carter Jr.

Caleb Coley

Dodji Dahoue

Nathan Dibert

Tavierre Dunlap

Carter Evans

Antonio Floyd

Makhi Gilbert

Hector Gonzalez

Donovan Green

Zyell Griffin

Nick Harris

Mack Indestad

James Jointer, Jr.

Rudy Kessinger

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Terry Lockett Jr.

Joshua Long

Harold Mack

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Andrew Marshall

Jason Marshall

Tyrell Martin

Joey Mattord

Chris Mayo

Dontae McMillan

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Sterling Miles

Delbert Mimms III

James Monds III

Zach Mowchan

Marco Patierno

Noah Patterson

Mickey Rewolinski

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Juan Salas

Jeremiah Salem

Terrance Saunders

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