FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The Concord University football team was polled to finish in a tie for seventh in the Mountain East Conference as the MEC Preseason Coaches' Poll was released Friday afternoon.
THE POLL
| Place |
Team (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. |
Frostburg State (8) |
64 |
| 2. |
Charleston (1) |
57 |
| 3. |
Fairmont State |
41 |
| 4. |
West Virginia State |
39 |
| 5. |
Wheeling |
36 |
| 6. |
Glenville State |
32 |
| T-7. |
Concord |
22 |
| T-7. |
West Liberty |
22 |
| 9. |
West Virginia Wesleyan |
11 |
2025 REVIEW
Concord finished last fall with a mark of 4-7—tied for the second-most wins for the program over the last decade. It was the first season for head coach
Cody Edwards on the Callaghan Stadium sidelines as he guided the Maroon and Gray to wins over UVa.-Wise, West Liberty, West Virginia Wesleyan and Ferrum. The defense finished top three in the MEC in rushing and passing yards allowed while being top five in points allowed. On the offensive side of the ball, CU possessed the second-best passing offense (262.6) in the league. Particularly, the offensive line was a strong unit as they surrendered seven sacks—the only team in the MEC with single-digit sacks allowed.
2026 SCHEDULE
The Mountain Lions open up the season in less than two weeks when they play at Davidson August 27—it will be CU's first game against a Division I opponent since the 2012 season. The home opener comes September 5 versus Bluefield State. Charleston visits Callaghan Stadium September 17 in what will be Concord's first Thursday night home game since 2018. The Maroon and Gray closes out September at West Liberty. MEC preseason favorite and 2025 conference champion Frostburg State comes to Athens October 3 before a trip to West Virginia State October 10. Homecoming is slated for October 17 versus Glenville State. CU goes to West Virginia Wesleyan October 24, and the month wraps up with a Halloween home date against Wheeling. The final conference game is at Fairmont State November 7. The season closes at home versus non-conference foe Ferrum.
THE RETURNERS
Concord returns six starters on either side of the ball. For the offense, two wide receivers, sophomore
Dom Collins and junior
Que Moore, highlight the skill players. Collins hauled in 24 passes for 579 yards and seven touchdowns in just five games before injury cut his 2025 season short. Moore was top five in the MEC in receptions (37) and touchdowns (eight) as he landed on the All-MEC Second Team. Moore finished with 649 receiving yards. Senior
Headley Isnadin started all 11 games at tight end as he piled up 11 receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown. Highlighting the returners on the offensive line are seniors
Aidan Parsons,
Antonio Smith and
Bishop Madukafi. Parsons was limited to eight games at left guard in 2025, but is the most-experienced CU player as he has made 26 starts as a Mountain Lion. Smith started all 11 games in his first season at Concord last fall. And likewise, Madukafi started all 11 games in 2025 with 10 of those starts comes at center.
On defense, senior linebacker
Jonathan Williams highlights the returners for second-year defensive coordinator
Dante Johnson. Williams was third on the team on tackles with 49 stops last year. Junior defensive back
Ar'Terrian Godfrey was one tackle behind Williams' pace with 48 to go with three interceptions. Senior defensive back
Ean Ryans notched 22 tackles to go with an interception while junior defensive back
Stanley Horn Jr. finished 2025 with 21 tackles and seven pass break-ups, second on the team. Also in the defensive backfield, sophomore
Berlin Campfort was a part-time starter as he tallied two interceptions. The only returning starter to the defensive line is junior
Jayden McCurdy who started in nine games.
THE NEWCOMERS
Though Edwards' defensive staff remained mostly intact from the 2025 season, the offensive staff has been rebuilt with
Benton Duby coming aboard in the spring to be the offensive coordinator. He is joined on that side of the ball by assistant coaches:
LV Bunkley (wide receivers) and
Jordan Johnson (offensive line).
Among the newcomers is a familiar face to Concord. Defensive lineman Jacorey Jackson is back at CU after spending the 2025 season at UT-Martin. In 2024, Jackson was All-MEC Honorable Mention as a freshman for the Mountain Lions after racking up 39 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss. Other transfers include Jayden Williams (West Virginia Wesleyan) who rushed for nearly 500 yards last year, Michelot Sine (Gardner-Webb) who went through spring ball, Cameron Smith (Western Carolina), Elija Jackson (Waynesburg) and Ethan Jackson (Wheeling).
Edwards and the coaching staff welcome more than 20 players from the state of West Virginia with five coming from the Class AAA State Champions, Princeton: Riley Bell, Wyatt Cline, Landon Cline, Zayden Neely and Kolton Shockley. Other players from regional high schools include the PikeView tandem of Brayden Mullins and Owen Underwood who helped PVHS to its first playoff berth in 15 years, the Chapmanville pair of Preston Kovach and Trey Ward who were members of the Tigers' 12-1 season, Greenbrier East wide receiver Nate Suttle and Woodrow Wilson lineman Tyrez Jones.
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