ELON, N.C. -- In its first season under head coach Paul Hamilton, the Elon football team tallied a 3-8 overall record and a 2-5 ledger in Southern Conference play. The program’s second season in the SoCon saw the Phoenix finish in a tie for fifth place in the league standings.

Elon will look to up its victory total in the second season under Hamilton. The 2005 squad returns seven players who started on the offensive side of the ball and eight that were starters on defense from a year ago.

Four teams on the 2005 slate finished the 2004 season ranked in the NCAA I-AA top-25 by The Sports Network – conference rivals Furman (5th), Georgia Southern (10th) and Wofford (18th) and non-conference opponent Coastal Carolina (24th). The other four SoCon foes (Appalachian State, Chattanooga, The Citadel and Western Carolina) will also present challenges for the Phoenix. Filling the non-conference dates on the schedule will also be North Carolina A&T, Presbyterian and Savannah State.

“We’re looking forward to playing another competitive schedule in the Southern Conference along with the addition of an outstanding Coastal Carolina team coming here for our opener,” said Hamilton. “Having the opportunity to play four of the first five games at home will hopefully be a plus along with having an open date at the end of the year going into our last two games.”

On Offense
Most of Elon’s experience on the offensive side of the ball lies on the offensive line. In 2004, the line helped lead the Phoenix to an average of 137.1 rushing yards per game. The group lost All-American center Brandon Mason, but the five projected starters started a combined 27 games a year ago while one of the five saw no action due to an injury.

Tackle Bob Cooke (Princeton, N.C. - pictured right) and guard Jamie Ownbey (Belton, S.C.), both seniors in 2005, started all 11 contests for Hamilton’s offense last year. Sophomore guard Marty Redden (Gibsonville, N.C.) recorded the othe six starts on the line. Returning to the line in ‘05 will be Michael Patram (Wallace, N.C.) who sat out ‘04 due to injury, but saw action in all 12 games in 2002. The newcomer to the line will be red-shirt freshman Desuan Lindsey (Erie, Pa.) who is projected to start at center this season.

Juniors Hunter Jenks (Wake Forest, N.C.) and Michael Moody (Laurinburg, N.C.), sophomores Charles Hairston (Rocky Mount, Va.), Demario Reid (Farmville, N.C.), Ruben Lawrence (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Charles Porterfield (Jonesville, Va.) as well as red-shirt freshmen Ricky Durham (Norfolk, Va.) and Johnathan Hatch (Charlotte, N.C.) will all factor into the rotation on the offensive line. Jenks, Lawrence and Moody each saw time in at least five games a season ago.

Gone from a year ago is 1,069-yard rusher John Taylor, the first Elon back to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season since Steven Ferguson in 1999. Hamilton will turn to sophomores Reggie Hall (Charlotte, N.C.) and Kevin Bailey (Richmond, Va.) for most of the carries from the halfback position in 2005.

Last season, Hall notched 61 yards on 11 carries before suffering a season-ending injury while Bailey made 12 tackles while playing on the defensive side of the ball. Hall’s prep credentials include amassing 4,732 all-purpose yards and 38 touchdowns for his career. Bailey was a first-team all-district selection as a prep.

Leading the way through the holes for Hall and Bailey will be sophomore Jarrett Meadors (Pembroke, N.C.) and red-shirt freshman Jeremy Barrett (Charlotte, N.C.). Meadors notched one carrry for one yard a year ago in his lone appearance of the season.

Sophomore Kye Hamilton (Johnson City, Tenn. - pictured left) returns at the quarterback position. Hamilton became the first Elon quarterback to pass for more than 1,000 yards in a season since Maurice Blakeney threw for 1,323 yards in 1993. Hamilton logged 1,093 yards through the air, completing 57.3 percent of his pass attempts, including nine touchdown tosses.

Behind Hamilton will be sophomore Daniel Barrow (Goldsboro, N.C.) and red-shirt freshman Shayne Milligan (Raleigh, N.C.). Barrow made one appearance in 2004, completing his lone pass attempt for 13 yards.

On the receiving end of the passes from Hamilton and company will be juniors Casey Hall (Gretna, Va.) and Jimmy Hartstein (Laurel, Del.) as well as sophomores Michael Mayers (Norfolk, Va.) and Stephen Gibbs (Goose Creek, S.C.).

Mayers is the top returning receiver after grabbing 19 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns as a true freshman a year ago. Hall hauled in three balls for 12 yards in 2004. Both Hartstein and Gibbs enter the year looking for their first collegiate catches.

Senior Kyle Belkoski (Rockingham, N.C.) enters his final season at Elon as the projected starter at tight end. As a junior, Belkoski made five receptions for 53 yards and one score. Joining Belkoski at tight end will be sophomore Matt Kelleher (Simpsonville, S.C.) and red-shirt freshman Anthony Barcel (Johnson City, Tenn.). Kelleher made 10 appearances last year and, at 6’6” tall, Barcel will provide a large target for the quarterback.

On Defense
The Phoenix defense boasts nine returning players who were starters in 2004, including all-conference picks Chad Nkang (Hyattsville, Md.) and Dwayne Ijames (Winston-Salem, N.C.). Last year’s defensive unit recorded 14 interceptions, forced 12 fumbles and tallied 18 sacks and 116 tackles for loss.

Seniors Emerson Fazekas (Greensburg, Pa.), Jesse Heller (Chapel Hill, N.C.) and Mark Jetton (Charlotte, N.C.) are projected to be the starters up front in Elon’s 3-4 defense in 2005. Those three combined for 89 tackles, including seven sacks, a year ago and will be relied upon to produce more of the same this season. Jetton’s four sacks last season were the second highest total on the team and the most for a returning player.

Juniors Travis Wetzel (Sarasota, Fla.) and Nicholas Campbell (Elm Grove, La.), sophomores Robbie Goins (Laurinburg, N.C.) and Thomas Blair (Newport News, Va.), red-shirt freshman Marvin Price (Richmond, Va.) and true freshman Andrew Bright (Acworth, Ga.) – who joined the team in January – are all expected to contribute on the defensive front during this campaign.

Of those, only Wetzel (11 games) and Goins (10 games) saw action on the defensive line in 2004. Wetzel made 27 tackles while Goins recorded 14 stops for the Phoenix last year.

Nkang (pictured right), the squad’s leading tackler a year ago with 135, will help anchor the corps of linebackers. An All-South Region pick by Don Hansen’s National Weekly Football Gazette, Nkang, a junior, also recovered three fumbles and picked off one pass.

Senior Mike Sheley (Greensboro, N.C.) returns to the gridiron after an injury sidelined him after five games a year ago. He ended the season with 58 tackles, including 10 for a loss, the fifth-highest total on the team.

Juniors Mark Hatch (Charlotte, N.C.), Todd Lindgren (Titusville, Fla.), Tommy Hill (Escondido, Calif.) and Jason Lotz (Washington Township, N.J.) and sophomores Danny Boback (Fort Myers, Fla.), Mark Ewing (Charlotte, N.C.), Cody Scoggins (Armuchee, Ga.), Tim Applegate (High Point, N.C.), Sidney Fitz-Coy (Salisbury, Md.) and Wes Pope (Jamestown, N.C.) all should figure into the mix at the four linebacker spots throughout the year.

Hatch moves to outside linebacker after notching 51 tackles on the defensive line last year. Lindgren made 34 stops a year ago, playing in all 11 contests. Hill transferred to Elon in January from Palomar Junior College in California where he was a First Team All-Valley League performer. Lotz saw time in nine games a year ago while Boback recorded 17 stops in 11 games. Ewing made four stops over 10 appearances, Scoggins 25 in 10 games, Applegate one in one outing and Fitz-Coy 45 in nine games. Pope has made the move to the defensive side of the ball after serving as the number two quarterback in 2004 where he completed 31 passes for 268 yards and one touchdown.

Ijames (pictured left), a senior cornerback, was one of two Phoenix players to grab four interceptions last year and will look to lead the Elon secondary in 2005. Ijames also finished third on the team with 76 tackles.

Slated to start at the other corner is senior Jacobi Jones (Greenville, S.C.). Jones made 15 tackles in 10 games during his junior campaign.

Sophomores Matt Madeo (Toms River, N.J.), Greg Abbott (Etters, Pa.) and Nathan Trott (Hewitt, Texas) are all expected to contribute at the corner spots in 2005. Of the three, Trott was the only one to see action last year, playing in two games.

The other four-interception player for the Phoenix last season was Anthony Harris (Chesapeake, Va.) who returns for his senior season and is projected to start at free safety. Along with his four INT’s, Harris made 69 tackles, the fourth-best mark on the squad in ‘04. His four interceptions were returned for 111 yards.

Behind Harris, true freshman Brandon Poling (Jacksonville, N.C.) – another January addition – and junior Chase Martin (Morehead City, N.C.) will battle for playing time. Martin appeared in six contests and made two tackles in 2004.

Led by Chris Bland (Shallotte, N.C.), three sophomores will look to hold down the strong safety position this year. Todd Davey (Asheville, N.C.) and Chris Myers (Sanford, N.C.) will compete with Bland for action in the defensive backfield. Bland, also a member of the Phoenix baseball team, made eight stops over 10 games as a true freshman in 2004.

On Special Teams
Elon will field both a new placekicker and punter in the 2005 campaign as William Rawls and Anthony Turowski both graduated from the Phoenix program after last season.

Handling the kicking duties will be Andrew Wilcox (Richmond, Va.), a sophomore. Sophomore Ryan Kinahan (Midlothian, Va.) and red-shirt freshman Austin Toman (Greensboro, N.C.) will also challenge for time as a placekicker.

Pope enters the year as the squad’s punter, replacing Turowski.

Junior long snapper Sean Lawson (Charlotte, N.C.) also returns to handle the snaps on special teams.

-- ELON --