DURHAM – Established stars and emerging talent shined in the Elon University football team's opener against the Duke Blue Devils on Thursday night. Beginning the season in Durham for the second straight year, the Phoenix went toe-to-toe with an ACC opponent, leaving the team and its fanbase optimistic about what could be a promising 2025 campaign.
Head coach Tony Trisciani saw promise in all three phases of the game. While the team couldn't close out what would've been a monumental upset, he saw many areas the team could build off of as it transitions back to FCS competition.
"I'm incredibly proud of our players for how we came out and played and executed for the most part of the game," Trisciani said. "This was a great opportunity for us to play the best team we're going to play all year. And now, it's all about going back and teaching and coaching and growing from every snap we got out here today."
The biggest story of the game was the impressive debut of quarterback Landen Clark, who made his first career start. The lights were not too bright for the redshirt freshman, the first freshman to start at signal caller at Elon since Davis Cheek in 2017. Clark showed confidence and poise well beyond his years throughout the entire game, tapping into his dual-threat abilities to convert in key moments and keep drives alive for the Phoenix.
Clark's biggest moment came midway through the second quarter. Trailing 10-3 after a Duke touchdown, the Phoenix needed a response. On second-and-seven at midfield, Clark launched a ball downfield, connecting with redshirt sophomore wide receiver Zimere Winston, who made a perfect over-the-shoulder adjustment to get Elon into the redzone. A few plays later, the Phoenix faced third down at the 2-yard line. Clark sent Winston in motion, faking a handoff off of him before tucking the ball and leaping into the endzone for his first career touchdown.
"Landen Clark, he is a dog," Trisciani said. "He is a talented athlete. He's got a lot of arm talent. He's a relentless competitor, and I'm really proud of him for the job he did in this environment tonight."
Clark was a major catalyst for the Phoenix offensively, especially with his legs. He finished the game as Elon's leading rusher while also throwing over the century mark. Despite dominating the statsheet, it was the maroon and gold's top two running backs who helped kickstart a pair of scoring drives.
Sophomore back TJ Thomas Jr. made his return to the gridiron after a season-ending injury last season, picking up right where he left off. Thomas Jr., who was named a Freshman All-American last season, made his best play late in the first quarter when he turned a draw play on third-and-20 into a 44-yard pickup. The big gain helped set up a field goal to get Elon on the board. In the third quarter, Thomas Jr. made a big play on special teams as well, using his speed to take a kickoff return to midfield.
Junior running back Jimmyll Williams also made some noise in his first game with the Phoenix. The Virginia State transfer broke loose a 28-yard run to open the drive that Clark scored on, making several defenders miss to set up the offense in good field position. Despite receiving only six touches, Williams made the transition from Division II to Division I look easy.
"I'm proud of our running backs for getting north and south, and our quarterback for doing the same thing," Trisciani said. "It feels good to be able to establish a run game, especially in these FBS games."
The run game came up clutch at a decisive point in the game. The Phoenix trailed by two touchdowns early in the fourth quarter. Pressed to make a play, the call came from coach Trisciani to go for it on fourth down from the three yard line. After showing motion all game, Elon finally put it in the hands of redshirt junior wide receiver Landyn Backey, who took the sweep handoff and used his momentum to barrel into the endzone for a touchdown. The score silenced the Duke crowd, making it a one score game and energizing the sideline.
On defense, Elon's relentless physicality at all three levels kept Duke within reach throughout the entire game.
Elon's biggest breakout on the defensive side of the ball was redshirt sophomore linebacker Brodie Carroll. The Shepherd transfer recorded seven total tackles on the night, his best being late in the second quarter. Duke had driven inside the 15-yard line and threatened to break the tie before halftime. That was until Carroll timed up his blitz to shoot through the line as the ball was snapped, firing into the backfield as the ball was being exchanged and forcing a fumble that ended up under the wings of the Phoenix.
"The sky's the limit for Brodie Carroll," Trisciani said. "He's a great kid and a great football player. He makes our team better as a leader. I'm real proud of him to be able to step up and have that kind of moment out here against an ACC opponent."
On the other end of that fumble was redshirt junior edge rusher Dillon Pardue. Also making his first start, Pardue's recovery secured a huge stop for the Phoenix. He then followed that play up with a massive sack on the subsequent drive, tracking down Duke's quarterback from the backside and bringing him to the ground. The play ran out the clock in the first half and gave Elon momentum heading into the locker room.
Elon's secondary also wasn't afraid to come up and lay the boom. A year after posting his career high in tackles against the Blue Devils, junior safety DJ James-Hamilton made his return from injury and had a career night, recording 11 tackles on the back end.
"DJ came up and hit some people," Trisciani said. "Pound for pound, you know he's going to bring it. He's going to play behind his pads. And he did."
Despite the loss, Trisciani was encouraged by the product his team put on the field and the energy that created.
"What a great opportunity it was for them, and for some of our depth, to be able to get in and play in this atmosphere and play in this game," Trisciani said. "They knew we could compete and have a chance to win this football game and be in a one score game in the fourth quarter against Duke. That was awesome."
Elon now turns its attention to its matchup against the Davidson Wildcats on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 6 p.m. at Rhodes Stadium. Trisciani said he is hoping this impressive start will translate into the team's first win of 2025.
"If we continue to play hard one snap at a time with each other together, we can win a lot of football games," Trisciani said.
'Rising Phoenix' is a student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on X (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Sydney Spencer at sspencer9@elon.edu.
