About a year ago, former College of the Canyons defensive back Bryan Mills finished the 2018-19 season ranked No. 22 on the football team with 12 tackles to close out his sophomore year.
This past Saturday, Mills, who is now a junior cornerback for North Carolina Central University, made national headlines as one of 30-plus active SCV alumni playing college football.
In a 27-17 conference win over Morgan State, Mills earned himself the title of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week after intercepting three passes, two of which were on throws in the end zone, and added two tackles.Â
Mills is the first Eagle to record three interceptions since 1996 and after the highlight performance, is now tied for second place among NCAA D1 FCS players and leads the MEAC with three interceptions so far this year.
Through five games, Mills has tallied 10 tackles (nine solo) and three interceptions for the Eagles.
San Jose State junior safety Bobby Brown II, who played with Mills at Canyons in 2017, has also been a ball hog this year. He intercepted two passes in his only appearance of the season against Arkansas. Brown II finished the game with seven tackles.
Arkansas State redshirt junior defensive end Noel Iwuchukwu, also a former Cougar, has appeared in five games this season, recording 10 tackles and one tackle for loss.
Two former Hart quarterbacks are having memorable years as Brady White of Memphis has led the Tigers to an undefeated 4-0 record, sitting atop the American Athletic Conference, West Division.
Starting in all four games, White was completed 66-of-90 pass attempts for 914 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions. White had his best game of the season in a 55-24 win over Southern University in which he threw for 337 yards and two touchdowns on 17-of-21 completions.
After starting the season 0-2, the Tennesse Volunteers picked up their first win against the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. Adding to the excitement, Indians alumnus J.T. Shrout made his collegiate debut, completing 3-of-9 passes for 23 yards.
Auburn University running back and Valencia grad Jay Jay Wilson has caught six catches for 43 yards in three games this year.
University of Massachusetts quarterback Andrew Brito, a Canyons grad, has made four appearances for the Minutemen, passing for 315 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions on 40-of-68 completions.
Bowling Green wide receiver RB Marlow, a teammate of Brito while at Canyons, has caught nine passes for 94 yards.
Two Southern Utah University defensive players and former Canyons players, safety AJ Stanley and cornerback Khalid Taylor have made names for themselves to begin the season.Â
Stanley has totaled 27 tackles on the season, 14 (12 solo) of which came against Cal Poly a week ago, while Taylor has 10 tackles and one interception.
Lockdown defensive back and Hart grad Michael Colangelo didn’t waste any time making an impact for Claremont McKenna College in his collegiate debut against the University of Puget Sound, picking off one of his two interceptions on the year and recording two tackles.Â
So far in 2019, Colangelo has two interceptions and seven tackles.
Middle Tennessee State wide receiver Jarrin Pierce, a three-star recruit coming out of Canyons, has appeared in four games and caught 16 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns.
Kicker Colton Dolder, a Saugus alumnus, has impressed in his freshman season at Chadron State. He has made 2-of-3 field goals with a long of 35 yards, made 10-of-13 PATs and has 722 yards on 12 kickoffs with seven touchbacks.
Indiana State punter and redshirt junior Travis Reiner, a Canyons grad, has punted the ball 14 times for 564 yards with five punts being downed inside the 20-yard line for the Sycamores.
