CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College football team will open the 2017 season on Thursday night when they travel to Georgia to face Clark Atlanta University at CAU Panther Stadium. Kick-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. (Central Time).

The Choctaws are coming off their first season of full eligibility in Division II and the Gulf South Conference in 2016, going 3-7 and picking up their first GSC win since 1995 in a 32-0 victory over Shorter. MC will look to win their third straight season-opener after a 61-6 win over Texas College (2015) and a 28-16 victory over Point University (2016).

The Panthers went 5-5 with a 3-4 record in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 2016, and they bring back the SIAC Offensive Player of the Year in Johnathon McCrary, a transfer quarterback from Vanderbilt. CAU and MC each played Shorter last season with the Panthers coming back to get a 27-23 win.
 

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WHEN MC HAS THE BALL

- The Choctaws welcome back just four starters on the offensive side of the ball and will have to replace the lost services of Marcel Newson, who left MC as one of the top receivers in school history.
- Junior running back Alizee Chubbs is the team's leading returning rusher, racking up 341 yards and three touchdowns on 76 carries.
- Junior Arik Washington was named to the Preseason All-GSC Team after catching 11 passes for 195 yards from the tight end position in 2016.
- Junior quarterbacks Ty Jobe and Khiran Williams have battled for the starting spot all preseason and both are slated to get snaps in the season opener. Jobe is a transfer from Tennessee Tech University, while Williams passed for 449 yards and two scores last season.
- Seniors Ronny Smith and Brandon Windham and junior Lawrence Guyot return to anchor an offensive line that lost three starters from a season ago. Junior Randan Knight (MS Gulf Coast CC) and sophomore EJ Hurley (Kennesaw State) are transfers that look to make an immediate impact up front.

- The Panthers will have to replace their top defensive player from a season ago in Jacob Mitchell, who led the team with 89 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, four sacks. He also piled up an interception with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
- CAU allowed 27.9 points per game, holding opponents to just 315.9 yards per contest. They were especially stingy against the pass, giving up just 167.7 yards per game through the air.
- Jaquatin Victrum comes back as the team's top defender after posting 77 tackles with 5.0 TFL and two sacks. He ranked second on the team with 49 solo tackles to go along with a fumble recovery.
- Kenneth Morgan led the team with three interceptions a season ago, while Detavion Galmer returns a team-high 10.0 tackles for loss and four sacks.
 

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WHEN CAU HAS THE BALL

- The Choctaws return eight starters on the defensive side of the ball, and seven of the team's eight leading tacklers from a season ago come back, led by senior Chris Manning, who posted 70 stops and was named to the Preseason All-GSC Team.
- MC allowed 33.9 points per game in 2016, but over head coach John Bland and defensive coordinator Michael Collins' first three seasons, they are 6-3 when allowing 29 points or fewer.
- Junior Da'Quan Lewis also comes back after tallying 46 tackles, while senior Steven Bradley recorded 44 tackles, despite missing three games with an injury.
- Sophomore Julian Charles finished 2nd on the team in 2016 with 6.5 tackles for loss, while senior Kris Reliford returns the most sacks on the team with 2.0.

- The Panthers rely heavily on the services of quarterback Johnathon McCrary, who passed for 1,903 yards and 14 touchdowns. The Vanderbilt transfer also tossed 11 interceptions and completed just 56% of his passes in 2016.
- Fullback Matt Daniels is the team's leading returning rusher after piling up 321 yards and a team-high four touchdowns. As a team, CAU rushed for just 92.4 yards per game in 2016.
- Yeshua Muata is the team's leading returning receiver after catching 19 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown last season.
 

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SPECIAL TEAMS

- The Choctaws return, arguably, the greatest punter in school history in senior Matthew Turcotte, who joined Manning and Washington on the Preseason All-GSC Team. He led the league with a 42.6 yards per punt average iin 2016, hitting seven punts over 50 yards with eight landing inside the 20-yard line.
- Senior Matt Brasher and junior Greg Nickles come back to share placekicking duties. Brasher went 5-of-7 on field goals in 2016, hitting the game-winner as time expired in a 27-26 win over Cumberland (TN). Nickles missed the final nine games of the year due to injury. Brasher is poised to handle kickoff duties, while Nickles will line up for field goals and extra points.

- The Panthers return both their punter and kicker from a season ago as Ty Woods averaged 38.0 yards per punt with six over 50 yards and five inside the 20-yard line.
- Carlos Saldana went 8-of-12 on field goal attempts with a long of 42 yards in 2016.
 

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GAME NOTES

- The Choctaws were picked to finish 8th in the Gulf South Conference preseason poll, while Manning, Turcotte and Washington were All-GSC selections.
- MC has won two straight season-openers, picking up victories over Texas College (2015) and Point (2016).
- The Choctaws are 51-50-4 in season-openers. The last time they won three straight was 2009-11 when they took down Millsaps three times. The last time they went on the road and won a season-opener was in 2010 at Millasps.
- MC's schedule is difficult in 2017 as they are scheduled to face six teams that are receiving votes in the AFCA Preseason Poll: North Alabama (6), Valdosta State (11), Southwest Baptist (18), West Georgia (RV), Florida Tech (RV) and Delta State (RV).
- This will be the first-ever meeting between MC and Clark Atlanta. The Choctaws will also face Southwest Baptist (Sept. 9) in the second week of the season as a first-time opponent.
- This will be MC's second time to play on August 31st in their history. The Choctaws defeated Central Arkansas 34-0 in the first game of the 1991 season.
- The Choctaws are 28-19-2 all-time against teams from the State of Georgia. Four of their 10 opponents in 2016 are from the "Peach State" (CAU, Shorter, Valdosta State and West Georgia).
 

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Mississippi College is a private Christian university located in Clinton, Mississippi with an enrollment of over 5,000 students. MC is recently finished their transition process back to NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference and will be competing for conference and national championships in the 2016-17 academic year.

The athletic department sponsors 17 intercollegiate athletic programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Football, Golf, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Men's and Women's Tennis, Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field, Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field and Volleyball.

For more information on Mississippi College athletics, please contact David Nichols at 601-925-3234 or nichols@mc.edu.