NC A&T has one of college football’s top running backs. Aggies aim to dominate Big South

North Carolina A&T football coach Sam Washington was smothered with questions during the recent Big South Conference football media day event in Charlotte.

How does he feel about his school leaving the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (of which the Aggies were a founding member) for the Big South?

Will he miss his MEAC opponents? Which conference is tougher? Is his team ready for the Big South?

Washington, who played for several years in the NFL and became the Aggies’ head coach in 2018, just smiled at the questions.

“You know, I’m just happy to be getting back onto the field,” he said.

N.C. A&T hasn’t played a football game that counts since its Celebration Bowl victory in December 2019. A lot has happened since then. The school left the MEAC for the Big South. Then COVID-19 wiped out the fall 2020 season and A&T opted out of the spring 2021 season.

“It was a roller-coaster,” he said. “It was up and down, up and down. But we stuck together as a team. When we made the decision not to play in the spring, we made it as a team.”

The Aggies open with FCS power Furman and then face Power 5 opponent Duke. Washington acknowledges that his team will have to develop quickly in August to shake off the rust, but “We expect to play at the same level.”

That “same level” produced records of 10-2 in 2018 and 9-3 in 2019. The Aggies won the MEAC both years.

But life will be tougher in the Big South.

“In this conference, there are multiple teams that are playoff-caliber,” he said. “In the MEAC, we had only one or two teams playing at that caliber.”

Defensive back Najee Reams, a product of Durham’s Hillside High, said the Aggies have spent the last few months studying Big South 101.

“We’ve been in the film room, looking at each team,” said Reams, one of eight returning defensive starters. “We’re learning what they like to do, and what they don’t like doing. We know it is a good league, but we’re excited about our new competition.”

Offensively, the Aggies could dominate games behind the running of Jah-Maine Martin, who has made several preseason all-America lists. Martin led FCS in yards per carry (7.7) and rushing touchdown (23) in 2019.

“This kid loves life,” Washington said of Martin. “He has a great attitude. And athletically, he has size and speed, and he is tenacious. He is all a coach could want.”

Can’t-miss game

▪ Monmouth, Oct. 30

The Aggies’ first three games (Sept. 4 at Furman; Sept. 10 at Duke; Sept. 25 vs. N.C. Central) are important in one way or another. But circle Oct. 30 on your football-viewing calendar. N.C. A&T hosts what it calls “The Greatest Homecoming on Earth,” and the opponent that day is Big South favorite, Monmouth.

A successful season is …

A top-two finish in the Big South and an FCS playoff berth. The Aggies might get off to a slow start, given their year off from football, but they have the talent to recover in a hurry. Beating out either Monmouth or Kennesaw State and finishing second probably will result in a playoff berth.

NC A&T top players to watch

NC A&T football schedule

This story was originally published August 25, 2021 at 9:00 AM with the headline "NC A&T has one of college football’s top running backs. Aggies aim to dominate Big South."