Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
COLUMN — “I'm glad Middle Tennessee gave me a shot.”
11/20/2022 5:36:00 PM | Football, BRAA
In their final game at Floyd Stadium, the senior class of 2022 showed up
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Rick Stockstill couldn't help but smile after his team's win on Sunday. It's hard not to, when you're recalling your defensive end having an explosive play running the football in a crucial situation.
Stockstill hadn't seen the pictures I had seen of the play, where I could see Jordan Ferguson's grin shining through his mouthguard as he looked to make yet another Owl miss on his way to the redzone. His teammates hollering on the sideline in the background.
"The main objective was to walk off that field a winner," Stockstill beamed. "And hopefully, all your seniors played well."
Going through the box score last night, what stuck out to me most about MTSU's 49-21 win over FAU was just how much of a role the senior class played in that win. There were only 12 Blue Raiders honored before the game on Saturday, and nearly every single one played a role in how MTSU took what appears to be the final game in the FAU-MTSU series for a number of years, with the Owls moving to the AAC this offseason.
The most obvious senior that showed up likely is Chase Cunningham, who earned a helmet sticker on College Football Final last night after just missing the school record for yards thrown with 448 yards on 40-for-54, including five touchdowns. The first of those touchdowns? A great endzone jump and catch from senior Izaiah Gathings, who finished with five catches on the afternoon.
In the backfield, Darius Bracy was key, averaging 5.4 yards per carry, scoring both on the ground and through his receiving skill. Center Jordan Palmer returned to the lineup, helping that unit give plenty of time for Cunningham to find his man downfield. Yusuf Ali was effective in the slot again, racking up 21 of his 26 receiving yards after catch.
Defensively, Ferguson and Ja'Kerrius Wyatt continued to be a part of a very special front seven for the Blue Raiders, combining for five tackles and 0.5 TFLs. Christian Dixon was his usual, full of energy self, leading the team in total tackles with eight and finishing second the team with 1.5 TFLs. He forced a fumble on N'Kosi Perry as well, helping MTSU win the turnover battle.
On special teams, Kyle Ulbrich only had to punt twice, but both punts went over 50 yards, with one inside the 20. And of course, Ferguson had that 49-yard run on the direct snap fake to set up another MTSU score. The large margin of victory meant that folks like Preston Rice and Aran Mohamad-Ali got to take offensive snaps as the clock rolled down to end the game as well.
Objective met, on both counts, Coach Stockstill.
What stuck with me after the game, however, was how some of the senior we spoke to after the game responded when we asked how Senior Day felt in the moment. The response of Chase Cunningham, a sixth-year senior captain that started in the program as a walk-on, did not surprise me.
"I thought I wasn't really going to be emotional, or anything like that," Cunningham said. "But once I shook Coach Stock's hand, it kind of all just hit me. I got a little teary-eyed, watching my mom too."
Chase is a guy who's given so much to this program, to this university, along with his fellow sixth-year captains. I'm not surprised the weight of all of that finally being over hit.
But I was even more moved by Darius Bracy's response to that question. He's in his sixth year of college ball, but only one of those years has been in Murfreesboro, after being road blocked much of his career at Central Michigan. He competed early here, found his way into the rotation, but battled injuries throughout the year that kept him off the field.
Still, he's been effective when available and clearly valued as a teammate. But I must confess, I'm not sure how one year in a place can affect a person. Thankfully, it's clear that one year in Murfreesboro affected Bracy greatly.
"I thought I was going to be alright," Bracy began similarly. "But when I got on that field and shook Coach Stock's hand and talked to the president and looked the right and my mom was right there, and emotions took over then.
"Because this is a game that we all loved as a kid," Bracy said. "We're very blessed to even play college football, and a lot of people are blessed to go to the next level. At the end of the day, I'm just glad I took advantage of the opportunity and I'm glad Middle Tennessee gave me a shot."
The end is never easy, particularly for a lot of these guys that have been playing football as long as they can remember. Bracy remarked how quickly the year has gone by for him, that Senior Day was the marker to make that ending feel real.
With the win, MTSU reached bowl eligibility for the 12th time in 17 seasons. I'm thankful that Bracy's, and the rest of the 2022 seniors' career will end with a couple more games after Senior Day.
Stockstill hadn't seen the pictures I had seen of the play, where I could see Jordan Ferguson's grin shining through his mouthguard as he looked to make yet another Owl miss on his way to the redzone. His teammates hollering on the sideline in the background.
"The main objective was to walk off that field a winner," Stockstill beamed. "And hopefully, all your seniors played well."
Going through the box score last night, what stuck out to me most about MTSU's 49-21 win over FAU was just how much of a role the senior class played in that win. There were only 12 Blue Raiders honored before the game on Saturday, and nearly every single one played a role in how MTSU took what appears to be the final game in the FAU-MTSU series for a number of years, with the Owls moving to the AAC this offseason.
The most obvious senior that showed up likely is Chase Cunningham, who earned a helmet sticker on College Football Final last night after just missing the school record for yards thrown with 448 yards on 40-for-54, including five touchdowns. The first of those touchdowns? A great endzone jump and catch from senior Izaiah Gathings, who finished with five catches on the afternoon.
In the backfield, Darius Bracy was key, averaging 5.4 yards per carry, scoring both on the ground and through his receiving skill. Center Jordan Palmer returned to the lineup, helping that unit give plenty of time for Cunningham to find his man downfield. Yusuf Ali was effective in the slot again, racking up 21 of his 26 receiving yards after catch.
Defensively, Ferguson and Ja'Kerrius Wyatt continued to be a part of a very special front seven for the Blue Raiders, combining for five tackles and 0.5 TFLs. Christian Dixon was his usual, full of energy self, leading the team in total tackles with eight and finishing second the team with 1.5 TFLs. He forced a fumble on N'Kosi Perry as well, helping MTSU win the turnover battle.
On special teams, Kyle Ulbrich only had to punt twice, but both punts went over 50 yards, with one inside the 20. And of course, Ferguson had that 49-yard run on the direct snap fake to set up another MTSU score. The large margin of victory meant that folks like Preston Rice and Aran Mohamad-Ali got to take offensive snaps as the clock rolled down to end the game as well.
Objective met, on both counts, Coach Stockstill.
What stuck with me after the game, however, was how some of the senior we spoke to after the game responded when we asked how Senior Day felt in the moment. The response of Chase Cunningham, a sixth-year senior captain that started in the program as a walk-on, did not surprise me.
"I thought I wasn't really going to be emotional, or anything like that," Cunningham said. "But once I shook Coach Stock's hand, it kind of all just hit me. I got a little teary-eyed, watching my mom too."
Chase is a guy who's given so much to this program, to this university, along with his fellow sixth-year captains. I'm not surprised the weight of all of that finally being over hit.
But I was even more moved by Darius Bracy's response to that question. He's in his sixth year of college ball, but only one of those years has been in Murfreesboro, after being road blocked much of his career at Central Michigan. He competed early here, found his way into the rotation, but battled injuries throughout the year that kept him off the field.
Still, he's been effective when available and clearly valued as a teammate. But I must confess, I'm not sure how one year in a place can affect a person. Thankfully, it's clear that one year in Murfreesboro affected Bracy greatly.
"I thought I was going to be alright," Bracy began similarly. "But when I got on that field and shook Coach Stock's hand and talked to the president and looked the right and my mom was right there, and emotions took over then.
"Because this is a game that we all loved as a kid," Bracy said. "We're very blessed to even play college football, and a lot of people are blessed to go to the next level. At the end of the day, I'm just glad I took advantage of the opportunity and I'm glad Middle Tennessee gave me a shot."
The end is never easy, particularly for a lot of these guys that have been playing football as long as they can remember. Bracy remarked how quickly the year has gone by for him, that Senior Day was the marker to make that ending feel real.
With the win, MTSU reached bowl eligibility for the 12th time in 17 seasons. I'm thankful that Bracy's, and the rest of the 2022 seniors' career will end with a couple more games after Senior Day.
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