Christopher Newport University football team poised to rebound as it turns 20
Christopher Newport University football turns 20 this year and, from the stunning conference title and NCAA playoff appearance that first season of 2001, it has known mostly success.
The program experienced a rare bump in an injury-riddled 2019, going 2-8 after winning seven of nine games the season before. But the Captains, limited to a pair of glorified scrimmages in the spring because of COVID-19 concerns, are poised to get back on track as the 2021 season opens at 6 p.m. on Saturday, when Washington and Lee visits TowneBank Stadium.
“I wouldn’t put us first, yet, and we certainly need some time before we get into what it will take to get into the playoffs, but I feel good about the talent we have,” said fifth-year head coach Art Link, whose Captains were voted New Jersey Athletic Conference “darkhorse” and picked to finish fourth of seven teams.
One reason for optimism is the addition of Chris Cosh as defensive coordinator. His experience at that position for eight FBS schools included stints as DC for Lou Holtz (at South Carolina) and current Alabama coach Nick Saban (at Michigan State).
Link said Cosh, most recently defensive coordinator at Delaware, moved to the area during the height of the pandemic to be near his wife Mary’s home in Chesapeake and to be near son Billy Cosh — the offensive coordinator at VMI. Cosh decided to stay on after working as a volunteer for the Captains in the spring.
“When you take a guy like him and put him in the coordinator’s role, and he starts inserting his principles of running to the football and using the terminology Nick Saban uses at Alabama, we’re lucky to have him,” Link said.
Linebacker Conner Ryan, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound senior who had seven sacks in 2018, is among a number of pieces missing in 2019 that Cosh will have to work with. Defensive back DJ Wright, who has been out since nabbing six interceptions and earning all-conference honors in 2018, is also back.
The linebacker corps is the strength of the defense. Along with Ryan, all-conference pick Sean Wilkinson (67 tackles in ‘19), three-year player Jason Massengill and Hickory High product Michael Evans are all back, while fourth-year player Jack Parsons returns after missing the 2019 season.
Luke Nitowski anchors the defensive line after averaging 4½ tackles in the two spring games. Cox graduate Deionte Curry and Bruton grad Josh Uvodich join Wright in a defensive backfield where former Ocean Lakes all-state selection Shawn Hamilton should again shine.
Link is excited to have 23 offensive linemen in the program after navigating the 2019 season with only 13. He thinks veterans Drew Knott, Nick Norman (from York High) and Josh Hartley (Woodside) could all earn all-conference honors.
Three players were competing for the quarterback position, but Matt Dzierski, a 5-10, 174-pound sophomore, emerged as the likely starter against W&L. Dzierski threw for more than 5,700 yards and 70 touchdowns for South County, which he led to an upset victory over Oscar Smith in the 2019 VHSL Class 6 state championship game.
Dzierski will have an inviting target in all-conference wide receiver Garrision Mayo, who had a 112-yard receiving game in 2019 on his way to all-conference honors. Link said that explosive Aeron Williams, a 5-7, 210-pound freshman who was Bayside High’s MVP in the spring, could be the running back to watch.
Numbers are higher in the program, Link said, so the Captains won’t be caught short on depth. The schedule gives the Captains the opportunity to jell, as none of the games against the NJAC favorites — Salisbury, Montclair State and Rowan — comes before Week 7.
“We have more pieces and better pieces than we’ve had in the past, so I don’t think we’ll get in trouble with injuries,” Link said. “We’ve got some things to clean up on both sides of the ball, and we have to build chemistry, but I’m excited about this team.”
Marty O’Brien, 757-247-4963, mjobrien@dailypress.com
