Draft Scout Middle Tennessee Player News, College Football: Middle Tennessee

2023 CFB/2024-2027 Draft Scout

- Draft Scout Front Page - 2024 NFL Draft Tracker/Results - 2024 Pro Timing Days/Results - 2024 Pro Timing Day Risers by Position - 2024 Pro Timing Day Fallers by Position - 2024 NFL Combine - Josh Buchanan's 2024 Top 100 Small School Prospects - End of Season Risers - End of Season Fallers - 2024 NFL Draft Underclassmen - 2024 Senior Bowl - 2024 East-West Shrine - 2024 Hula Bowl - 2024 HBCU Legacy Bowl - 2023 CFB Bowl Games/Playoffs - CFB Player News & Notes 12/03 Final CFB Playoff Top 12
- #1 Michigan - #2 Washington - #3 Texas - #4 Alabama - #5 Florida State - #6 Georgia - #7 Ohio State - #8 Oregon - #9 Missouri - #10 Penn State - #11 Mississippi - #12 Oklahoma - 2023-2027 FBS/FCS Team Lists/Rosters - CFB's Best Player Names By Year/Position - Draft Scout Player Directory A-Z - Players by School/College List A-Z - Draft Scout Rokfin Football Channel - Draft Scout Weekly - Phil Steele/Draft Scout - Contact Draft Scout Player Rankings by Conference: -ACC- | -American Athletic- | -Big 12- | -Big Ten- | -Conference USA- | -Independent- | -Mid-American- | -Mountain West- | -Pac-12- | -SEC- | -Sun Belt-

NFL Draft Scout History

- 1997 Coach Bill Walsh Draft Insider (First/Early NFL Draft Scout) - 2023 NFL Draft Tracker/Results - 2023 Undrafted by Position - 2023 Pro Timing Days/Results - 2023 Pro Timing Day Risers by Position - Draft Scout Evolve: Player Rating Changes - 2023 NFL Combine - Draft Scout CFB Risers - Draft Scout CFB Fallers - 2023 NFL Draft Underclassmen - 2023-26 #1 Georgia Bulldogs - 2023-26 #3 TCU Horned Frogs - 2022-23 CFB Bowl Schedule - EA College Football Game Pushed Back to 2024 - CFB Schedule/Roster/News Links - CFB Player Injury News & Notes - CFB Injuries by Year/Position

2022 Draft Scout

- 2022 NFL Draft Tracker - 2022 Pro Timing Days/Results - 2022 Pro Timing Day Risers by Position - 2022 NFL Combine/Results - 2022 NFL Combine Risers by Position - 2022 NFL Draft Underclassmen - 2021 Draft Scout Top 100

Draft Scout by Conference

2023 Draft Scout Offense

2023 Draft Scout Defense

2022 Draft Scout Offense

2022 Draft Scout Defense

Draft Scout College Football Player News: Middle Tennessee

Previous 15 Notes

Next 15 Notes

11/27/21 - DQ Thomas, rSr/2022, Middle Tennessee + More +

Mike DiLiello ran for one touchdown and passed for another and Middle Tennessee scored 24 unanswered points to earn a 27-17 come-from-behind win over Florida Atlantic on Saturday to become bowl eligible. The victory was Rick Stockstill's 100th as head coach of the Blue Raiders (6-6, 4-4 Conference USA). N'Kosi Perry threw two first-half touchdown passes, hitting Je'Quan Burton from 48 yards out and John Mitchell on a 32-yard strike to put Florida Atlantic up 14-0. Morgan Suarez kicked a 23-yard third-quarter field goal to put the Owls up 17-3 with 9:13 left in the third quarter.

DiLiello, who came on in relief of starting quarterback Nick Vattiato and got the Blue Raiders into the end zone, punching over from the 1 to cap a six-play, 75-yard drive, then put them ahead, 21-17 with a 6-yard pass to Zaylin Wood with 4:41 left. The Owls (5-7, 33-5) drove to the Middle Tennessee 22, but Perry was hit by a blitzing DQ Thomas and fumbled. Jordan Ferguson scooped up the loose ball and returned it 71 yards for the game's final touchdown. DiLiello finished 12 of 19 for 131 yards and ran for another 43 to lead the Blue Raiders. Perry finished 32 of 49 for 328 yards and two touchdowns for Florida Atlantic. LaJohntay Wester caught 14 passes for 95 yards. - Middle Tennessee/AP College Football

rSr/2022

OLB DQ Thomas, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Middle Tennessee/AP College Football
Share/Comment: Here

11/13/21 - Nicholas Vattiato, rJr/2026, Middle Tennessee + More +

Nick Vattiato threw two touchdown passes and Middle Tennessee rolled to a 50-10 victory over Florida International on Saturday. Vattiato was 20-of-24 passing for 147 yards with touchdown passes to Jimmy Marshall and Yusuf Ali. Martell Pettaway had 11 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown for Middle Tennessee (5-5, 3-3 Conference USA). Frank Peasant and Jaylin Lane each added a touchdown run. Quincy Riley had a 45-yard pick-6. Pettaway ran untouched along the right sideline for a 57-yard touchdown that stretched the Blue Raiders' lead to 43-3 with about 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter. Max Bortenschlager was 9-of-20 passing for 68 yards for FIU (1-9, 0-6). Maleek Williams had an 8-yard touchdown run with 6:08 remaining. - Middle Tennessee/AP College Football

rJr/2026

QB Nicholas Vattiato, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Middle Tennessee/AP College Football
Share/Comment: Here

11/03/21 - DQ Thomas, rSr/2022, Middle Tennessee + More +

NOV 1 CONFERENCE USA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Middle Tennessee LB DQ Thomas scored Middle Tennessee's second defensive touchdown of the game when he picked off a Southern Miss pass and took it 43 yards to the house in the third quarter. It highlighted a monster day for Thomas, who had a team-high 10 tackles, including two tackles for loss, to go with two quarterback hurries and the interception. Thomas played in his 55th career Blue Raider game in the 35-10 win over Southern Miss, which ties Jovante Moffatt (2015-19) for the most games played in school history. - Conference USA Football

rSr/2022

OLB DQ Thomas, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Conference USA Football
Share/Comment: Here

10/31/21 - Tra Fluellen, rSr/2024, Middle Tennessee + More +

Backup quarterback Mike DeLiello ran for 77 yards and a pair of touchdowns and the Middle Tennessee defense had five takeaways as the Blue Raiders defeated Southern Mississippi 35-10 on Saturday. In addition to DeLiello's touchdown runs of 6 and 14 yards, Middle Tennessee (4-4, 2-2 Conference USA) scored off a blocked punt, a fumble recovery and an interception. The Blue Raiders entered the game tied with Iowa for the national lead with 20 forced turnovers.

DeLiello, who came on in the first quarter for the injured Chase Cunningham (lower body), completed eight of 12 passes for 78 yards. DeLiello had attempted just three passes this season. Trailing 7-0, DeLiello converted a fourth-down pass to DJ England-Chisolm on the way to his 6-yard TD run to knot the score at 7-7. Less than a minute later, Tra Fluellen scooted 18 yards to score after a blocked punt and Middle Tennessee led the rest of the way. Jordan Branch added a 29-yard return of a fumble recovery as the Blue Raiders led 21-7 at halftime. DeLiello added a second touchdown and DQ Thomas a 43-yard interception return for a TD in the second half. Jake Lange threw for 166 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted twice and sacked seven times for Southern Miss (1-7, 0-4). Frank Gore carried 20 times for 83 yards. - Middle Tennessee/AP College Football

rSr/2024

SS Tra Fluellen, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Middle Tennessee/AP College Football
Share/Comment: Here

10/22/21 - Chase Cunningham, rSr/2023, Middle Tennessee + More +

Chase Cunningham passed for 297 yards and four touchdowns, Middle Tennessee scored in every quarter and defeated UConn 44-13 on Friday night. Cunningham had racked up 182 yards and three touchdowns in the first half - including scoring strikes of 25 and 18 yards to Izaiah Gathings and Jimmy Marshall, respectively, on Middle Tennessee's final two possessions before halftime to lead 24-13 at the break. UConn (1-8) had scrapped into a 10-10 tie on a short pass from Steven Krajewski to tight end Brandon Niemenski and a career-long 47-yard field goal by freshman Joe McFadden on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter.

After Middle Tennessee (3-4) broke away with two unanswered touchdowns in less than three minutes, the lead was never threatened again. Cunningham threw completions to 10 receivers, Yusuf Ali led with five catches for 80 yards. Marshall had two TDs on four catches for 61 yards. UConn scored its final points in the final seconds of the first half, settling for a 21-yard McFadden field goal as time ran out after two straight passes from the 4-yard line were broken up in the end zone by Middle Tennessee's Teldrick Ross. Middle Tennessee came into Friday's game third nationally forcing 17 turnovers and had three takeaways against the Huskies, turning them into 12 points. Krajewski completed 21 of 37 passes for 237 yards with a touchdown but was intercepted twice. - Middle Tennessee/AP College Football

rSr/2023

QB Chase Cunningham, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Middle Tennessee/AP College Football
Share/Comment: Here

10/05/21 - Reed Blankenship, rSr/2022, Middle Tennessee + More +

OCT 4 CONFERENCE USA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Middle Tennessee S Reed Blankenship was all over the field against the Herd Saturday with seven tackles, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and a pass break-up. With Middle Tennessee leading, 28-14, the Herd was threatening to pull within a score before Blankenship picked up a fumble and raced 90 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter. It was the second defensive score of his career to go with a 100-yard interception return (2018 at Old Dominion). - Conference USA Football

rSr/2022

FS Reed Blankenship, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Conference USA Football
Share/Comment: Here

10/03/21 - Chase Cunningham, rSr/2023, Middle Tennessee + More +

Chase Cunningham threw two touchdown passes and Middle Tennessee beat Marshall 34-28 on Saturday night. Cunningham was 12-of-21 passing for 105 yards. Chaton Mobley ran 15 times for 132 yards that included a 41-yard touchdown run for Middle Tennessee (2-3, 1-2 Conference USA) early in the second quarter. Reed Blankenship recovered a fumbled ball and ran untouched 91 yards into the end zone to stretch the Blue Raiders' lead to 34-14 with 2:33 left in the third quarter. Rasheen Ali had a 2-yard touchdown run for Marshall (2-3, 0-1) with 9:44 remaining. The Thundering Herd capped the scoring with 1:12 to play when Grant Wells threw a 17-yard TD pass to Shadeed Ahmed. Wells was 31-of-47 passing for 321 yards. Ali finished with 113 yards rushing on 19 carries and three touchdowns. - Middle Tennessee/AP College Football

rSr/2023

QB Chase Cunningham, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Middle Tennessee/AP College Football
Share/Comment: Here

08/22/21 - Reed Blankenship, rSr/2022, Middle Tennessee + More +

Middle Tennessee head coach Rick Stockstill announced recently the permanent captains for the Blue Raiders in 2021. Safety Reed Blankenship, defensive end Jordan Ferguson, wide receiver Jarrin Pierce, linebacker DQ Thomas and wide receiver CJ Windham, were honored as the 16th group of permanent captains in the FBS era at Middle Tennessee. The team voted on the five captains, and Coach Stockstill made the announcement during a team meeting. It marks Blankenship's third straight year as a captain, matching former quarterback Brent Stockstill for the most in the Rick Stockstill era. Ferguson, Pierce and Thomas are captains for the second straight year. - Middle Tennessee Football

rSr/2022

FS Reed Blankenship, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Middle Tennessee Football
Share/Comment: Here

07/30/21 - Kyle Ulbrich, rSr/2023, Middle Tennessee + More +

The Augusta Sports Council has announced the pre-season watch list for the 2021 Ray Guy Award, which honors the nation's top collegiate punter and Middle Tennessee's Kyle Ulbrich is on the prestigious list for the second year in a row. Ulbrich, a redshirt junior, was recently named to the C-USA Preseason Watch List after averaging a career-best 43.8 yards a punt. Along with a 75-yard boot last year, Ulbrich registered 13 punts of 50 or more yards. The 51 candidates on the list incorporate a broad spectrum of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) punters. The 2021 watch list was compiled based on the 2021 Ray Guy Award Semifinalist List, the top ten NCAA Punters from 2020, the 2020 All-Conference teams, the 2020 All-American Teams, the 2021 pre-season All-Conference Teams and punters on the 2020 watchlist. - Middle Tennessee Football

rSr/2023

P Kyle Ulbrich, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Middle Tennessee Football
Share/Comment: Here

07/28/21 - Bailey Hockman, rSr/2022, Middle Tennessee + More +

Definitely the highest profile transfer addition to the Blue Raiders roster this offseason, Hockman is a quarterback with experience in two ACC programs, most recently NC State, where he started nine games last season, tossing the ball for 2,088 yards and 13 touchdowns. "Bailey is super talented," Brent Stockstill said. "He can throw it all over the field." "(Hockman) can spin it," Polly said. "When you see it come out of his hand, it looks like it's supposed to." As Polly notes, the quarterback job is there for the taking, and Chase Cunningham, who's shown flashes in relief of former QB Asher O'Hara in recent years, and Mike DiLiello, who's likely the best rushing threat of the three, will certainly have the opportunity to make the starting job there.

But Hockman, with his cannon of a left arm, is already impressing just from a distance on the practice field. "He makes us a better team just by being here and bringing what he brings to our unit, to our team," Polly said. "For us up front, protecting him sitting in the pocket and going through his reads, him and the other guys competing with him, it was a really fun spring." - Middle Tennessee Football

rSr/2022

QB Bailey Hockman, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Middle Tennessee Football
Share/Comment: Here

07/21/21 - Reed Blankenship, rSr/2022, Middle Tennessee + More +

The Maxwell Football Club today announced its watch list for the 27th annual Chuck Bednarik Award and Middle Tennessee's Reed Blankenship made the prestigious list for the third year in a row. The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1995. Chuck Bednarik, former standout at Penn and with the Philadelphia Eagles, is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame's Class of '69 and the NFL Hall of Fame's Class of '67. Blankenship, a senior, returned from an injury in 2020 but still led the Blue Raiders with 76 tackles to earn a spot on the third team. He enters the 2021 season with 309 total stops and is on pace to become the all-time leader. - Middle Tennessee Football

rSr/2022

FS Reed Blankenship, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Middle Tennessee Football
Share/Comment: Here

07/21/21 - Jarrin Pierce, rSr/2022, Middle Tennessee + More +

Conference USA released the 2021 preseason watch list, as selected by the league's 14 head coaches on Monday. Five student-athletes from each of the conference's 14 member institutions are recognized as key players to watch ahead of the 2021 season. The Blue Raiders making the Watch List were wide receiver Jarrin Pierce, center Jordan Palmer, defensive end Jordan Ferguson, safety Reed Blankenship, and punter Kyle Ulbrich. The Blue Raiders will report for fall camp on Aug. 5 with the first practice set for Aug. 6. The 2021 season opener is set for Sept. 4 at home against Monmouth. - Middle Tennessee Football

rSr/2022

WR Jarrin Pierce, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Middle Tennessee Football
Share/Comment: Here

06/23/21 - Jarrin Pierce, rSr/2022, Middle Tennessee + More +

Phil Steele's Preseason All-Conference USA team was announced today and Middle Tennessee had seven players honored by the highly popular football magazine. The Blue Raiders had four on defense and three on defense. On offense the Blue Raiders were represented by wide receiver Jarrin Pierce, quarterback Bailey Hockman and offensive lineman Netori Johnson. Pierce, a first team selection, was an honorable mention All-C-USA pick last year after leading MT with 59 receptions for 584 yards and three touchdowns. The senior started all nine games and had seven or more catches in a game four times. - Middle Tennessee Football

rSr/2022

WR Jarrin Pierce, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Middle Tennessee Football
Share/Comment: Here

06/22/21 - Alex Usry, rSr/2023, Middle Tennessee + More +

Middle Tennessee head football coach Rick Stockstill announced today two more transfers into the program who will be eligible immediately. The Blue Raiders have added placekicker Alex Usry and defensive end Joseph Honeysucker. Honeysucker (6-3, 240) signed with Memphis in 2019 but did not see any action as a freshman and left the Tigers prior to the 2020 campaign. He was a three-star prospect coming out of Nashville's Hillsboro High School where he helped them to three straight winning seasons and playoff berths. Honeysucker ended his career with 37 sacks and earned all-state and all-region honors. Usry (5-10, 185) served as Charleston Southern's primary kicker for the previous three years where he was the 2019 Big South Special Teams Player of the Year and a sophomore All-American. He made 20 of 28 field goals during his career while also connecting on a school record 52 yarder. - Middle Tennessee Football

rSr/2023

K Alex Usry, Middle Tennessee
News Source: Middle Tennessee Football
Share/Comment: Here

06/20/21 - Izaiah Gathings, rSr/2023, Middle Tennessee + More +

Middle Tennessee State announced this week it added two transfers to its football program, among them Statesville native Izaiah Gathings. Gathings committed in May. A school official said then that no announcement regarding the transfer would be made until he enrolled. Middle Tennessee State is a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and competes in Conference USA, a league that includes the Charlotte 49ers. "All I needed was a opportunity. I won't disappoint," Gathings wrote on Twitter. His post was accompanied by a picture of him in the Middle Tennessee State stadium sporting Blue Raiders paraphernalia. A 6-foot-4, 225-pound receiver, Gathings arrives in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, having excelled for three seasons at Gardner-Webb, a member of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). During his stint with Gardner-Webb, Gathings recorded 101 receptions for 1,341 yards and 14 touchdowns. In 2019, he led the Runnin' Bulldogs with 71 receptions for 1,046 yards and 11 touchdowns. - Charlotte Observer

rSr/2023