Football Opens 2022 Campaign At UConn Saturday

The Central Connecticut football team opens its 2022 campaign with a short-trip across I-84 to take on UConn, Saturday at noon. The game will be played at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. The Huskies are 0-1 after falling at Utah State in Week 0 action. 

CCSU Game Notes | TV: CW 20, Fox61+ | Live Stats | Radio: UConn Network

• The road trip is the shortest one possible for the Blue Devils, travelling 8.9 miles as the bird flies.
• Central had three student-athletes named to the preseason All-NEC Team. Senior Chizi Umunakwe was named Second-Team All-NEC in 2021, after finishing second on the roster with 50.0 tackles. Senior Craig Wood anchored the Blue Devils offensive line last season, helping Central to 330 yards of total offense per game. Jonathan Cabral-Martin finished fourth on the roster with 47 tackles was second with six pass breakups, to go along with two interceptions during his rookie campaign.
• Central returns four of its top-five tacklers from a season ago, led by Jahlil Brown and his 59 tackles. Jonathan Cabral-Martin led the team with 40 solo stops
• Romelo Williams returns for his second season as the Blue Devils primary play caller. He threw for 1,452 yards a season ago, completing 56.5 percent (130-230) of his passes. Williams threw for 10 touchdowns, and ran for three more. His pass efficiency rating was 119.6, sixth-best in the NEC.
• CCSU was the NEC's top rushing defense a season ago, allowing 126.5 yards per game on the ground. The Blue Devils held Merrimack to negative 38 yards on the ground in an October 30 win. All told, five opponents were held to less than 100 yards rushing on the year.
• Nas Smith ran for 607 yards in 2021, tops on the roster. He recorded a career-best 122 yards rushing at Miami, carrying the ball 12 times in that game. He ran for 95 yards in the win over Saint Francis and recorded more than 70 yards in four games. He was seventh in the NEC at 55.3 yards per game on the ground.
• Chizi Umunakwe avearged 4.5 tackles per game, tops among returning Blue Devils and 20th in the NEC last season. He was named Second-Team All-NEC in football after his first campaign in New Britain. Umunakwe record three sacls  and four TFL's during the season.
• Jonathan Cabral-Martin ranked fifth in the NEC in passees defended last season. He intercepted a pair of passes and recorded six pass breakups.
• The Blue Devils led the FCS in time of possession in 2021, averaging 34:24 minutes a game in the course of 11 games played.