Yellow Jackets Picked Fifth in RMAC Football Preseason Coaches’ Poll - Black Hills State University Athletics (2024)

Football 7/31/2024 12:03:00 PM

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) announced the 2024 Football Preseason Coaches' Poll on Wednesday morning, which featured Black Hills State University voted fifth by the league with 49 points. Posting a 6-5 (5-4 RMAC) record a year ago, the Yellow Jackets notched back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in the program's DII history, while it also marked the first time the team had a winning record in consecutive seasons since 2005-10. BHSU returns four starters on offense and ten on defense from a team that ranked top-25 nationally in four statistical categories, ranking 13^th in kickoff returns (24.08), 16^th in team passing efficiency (158.72), 19^th in red zone offense (0.872), and 20^th in passing offense (252.8). The 2024 Yellow Jacket football season gets underway at the friendly confines of Lyle Hare Stadium on September 7, as BHSU plays host to Southwest Baptist for a 12 p.m. kickoff.

2024 RMAC Football Preseason Poll

KEY RETURNERS
On the offensive side of the ball the top returner will be redshirt-junior wide receiver, TJ Chukwurah. He was an All-RMAC Honorable Mention selection in 2023, ranking top-10 in the league and top-50 in NCAA Division II in receiving yards (783), receiving yards per game (72.2), and receiving touchdowns (7). Additionally, the Arlington, Texas, native ranked second nationally in 2023 with 23.73 yards per reception. Chukwurah enters the year with career marks of 48 receptions, 1,130 receiving yards, 51.36 receiving yards per game, and 11 receiving touchdowns.

In a very experienced defensive unit, redshirt-senior safeties and twin brothers, Nicc Quinones and Doodles Quinones lead a group of six players that recorded 40 or more total tackles a year ago that return for BHSU. Nicc tallied 62.0 total tackles while Doodles notched 52.0 and added six pass breakups. Doodles, along with Kellen Collier, Zecheriah Rodriguez-Brown, and Aaron Thiele are among the key returners on defense who earned All-RMAC Honorable Mention accolades in 2023. Collier was a force on the defensive line who collected 10.5 tackles-for-loss and 4.0 sacks, while Rodriguez-Brown also made his presence known in the secondary with ten pass breakups.

IMPACT NEWCOMERS
With the graduation of Tanner Clarkson at quarterback, Black Hills State brings in a pair of transfers at the position that look to compete for time early and make an impact as redshirt-junior Luke Duby (Cornell University) and sophom*ore Dayton Tafoya (El Camino College) join the squad. Duby appeared in 11 games during his three seasons with the Big Red, completing 33-of-50 passes for 352 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, while Tafoya played one year with the Warriors as he passed for 1,811 yards and 15 touchdowns. Additionally, Nasjzae Bryant-Lelei looks to add a boost to the running back room as the redshirt-senior transfers in from the University of Hawai'i where he appeared in 18 games over three years, rushing for 336 yards and three touchdowns for the Rainbow Warriors.

Highlighting a deep and talented class of freshmen defense backs are players such as Joshua Faulkner, AvynGore, and Dimitri Lovio. Faulkner, who ended his prep career as a 2-time Orange League Back of the Year honoree, totaled 202 total tackles and seven interceptions during his time at Western High School in Lynwood, California. Gore, who was a state champion at Ridgeline High School in Logan, Utah, recorded 163 tackles and seven pass breakups while being a 2-time All-Region selection and an All-State honoree his junior season. Lovio, a cornerback from West Jordan, Utah, was a 2-time All-Region First Team selection and 2-time All-State Second Team selection as he posted 13 interceptions and 25 pass breakups during his prep career.