Coming off their first winning season since 2007, the Eagles will be led by Dwayne Foster following the firing of head coach Henry Frazier just a week before the start of the season. Foster, who joined Frazier’s staff in 2011, hopes to help the Eagles improve on their 6-5 record from last season.
The Eagles return six offensive starters from last season, including four of five starting offensive linemen. They are led by redshirt senior quarterback Jordan Reid who went 5-3 as a starter last season and set a program record completing 62.3% of his passes. The Eagles also carry a lot of depth at running back with leading scorer Andre Clarke back and Idreis Augustus returning after missing last season.
On the defensive side, where they were particularly strong last season, N.C. Central must look to rebuild, after losing eight starters from last season. Those eight starters include all three defensive linemen, a unit which helped the Eagles have the second-best run defense in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Despite key losses in these areas, N.C. Central defense is anchored by a strong linebacker core, led by senior Tazmon Foster, who averaged 10.0 tackles per game last season.
An area where the Eagles should be particularly strong in is special teams, where they finished No. 1 among FCS teams in punt return average. Returner Adrian Watkins averaged 19.2 yards per punt return and 22.4 yards per kickoff return last year. N.C. Central also brings back Oleg Parent, the No. 1 scoring kicker in the MEAC last year.
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