CONTACT: Steve Mullen (518) 629-8063
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Three starters at NCAA Division I-A universities and the leading rusher in two NCAA Division I-AA are just some of the highlights of former Hudson Valley Community College football players that are competing for NCAA institutions.
Darnell Stapleton is in his second year as the starting center at Rutgers University and has helped the Scarlet Knights produce one of the most potent running attacks in college football. Stapleton is on the Dave Rimington Award watch list, which is given annually to the nation's best center, and the Lombardi Award watch list, which is awarded to the top interior lineman.
Jonal Saint-Dic recently cracked the starting lineup at defensive end for Michigan State University. He had four tackles in each of the Spartans last two games against the University of Michigan and Ohio State University. Saint-Dic, who is a junior because he received a medical redshirt after suffering an injury last year, has 10 tackles on the season.
J.J Nesheiwat is the starting tight end at Syracuse University. He has caught six passes for 28 yards and a touchdown this year.
Former NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year Emmanuel Marc leads the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with 115.3 rushing yards per game. The Delaware State University running back is averaging 7.2 yards per carry. He rushed for 167 yards on 19 carries in the Hornets' 37-21 win over Bethune-Cookman College last week.
Dane Samuels made his first start at running back for Iona College last week against Columbia University but has received enough time to lead the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in rushing at 61.7 yards per game. He also has 108 receiving yards and leads the conference with 104.7 all-purpose yards per game.
Three other former Vikings are also making contributions at Iona this year. Reggie Dorsainvil has been playing both ways, collecting 22 tackles on defense and catching four passes for 64 yards. Wide receiver Demarcus White has caught 11 passes for 130 yards and tight end Juan Chamba has caught 10 passes for 145 yards.
Other former Vikings that are making contributions at NCAA Division I-AA schools include Shonda Faulkner, who has 32 tackles and two sacks for Indiana State University, Lamar Gordon-Holmes, who has 15 tackles for Central Connecticut State University, and Rashad Howard, who is averaging 25.5 yards per punt return and 20.2 yards per kick return for Norfolk State University.