Coastal Carolina honors NFL star Josh Norman with a number ceremony

Josh Norman’s Coastal Carolina No. 24 will forever be a fixture at Brooks Stadium.

CCU made the star cornerback’s number the first in the football program to be honored on Saturday, unveiling a plaque of his number between the first and second quarters Saturday of CCU’s 38-17 win over Monmouth.

The plaque is displayed on the brick wall that lines the front of the bleachers in the corner behind the west side end zone, and Norman was there to accept the honor.

“It’s sweet. It’s awesome to come back and be shown love,” said Norman, whose Washington Redskins are on a bye this weekend. “It’s very respectful. I’m really taken back by it. I’m humbled by it. I thank everybody who had a hand in making it happen. It’s pretty surreal. I’m looking forward to doing bigger and better things. Coastal Carolina is one of my homes. It’s one of the places I’ve been. And coming back and seeing this happen is awesome.”

Norman played at CCU from 2008-11, was a two-time FCS All-American and played in a couple postseason college all-star games before being drafted by the Carolina Panthers. He was an All-Pro last year before signing with Washington in the offseason.

Norman said he was surprised to be the first Chanticleer to have his number honored in such a way.

“I didn’t expect it. I didn’t ask for it,” he said. “Me being the first guy to go up there is pretty big, man. I’ve seen a lot. Been through a lot. To have that there speaks volumes. It really does. It shows how much they really do care. I’m sure other people will be there, but they can’t say they’ve been the first. It’s pretty cool.”

Athletic director Matt Hogue said the number honoring was a project by the university’s Office of Philanthropy, and there will likely be more. Hogue hopes the upcoming stadium expansion project includes a place to display the numbers of honored players. “I think this is obviously a tradition we’re establishing going forward,” Hogue said. “We’d like to have a really special place to showcase and recognize Coastal Carolina’s best players.”

Despite being in just its 14th season, the CCU football program is quickly building an alumni legacy. Other candidates to have their numbers honored are running back Mike Tolbert, wide receiver Jerome Simpson, quarterback Tyler Thigpen and defensive back Quinton Teal, who have all played at least five years in the NFL; running back Lorenzo Taliaferro, a three-year member of the Baltimore Ravens; and linebacker Quinn Backus, the only three-time Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Year who finished his career 14th in FCS history in tackles with 414.

Norman visited the Chanticleers at their pregame meal and gave a short pep talk. “That really roused people up and stuff, and makes us realize that even at the small level we are right now, though we’re moving up, people can still make it and still make a name, so people are going to ball out as best they can,” linebacker Alex Scearce said.

More carnage

On consecutive plays in the first quarter, the already injury-riddled Chants lost senior tackle Chase Tidwell to a recurring knee injury, then junior quarterback Tyler Keane to a right ankle injury. Keane sported crutches on the sideline for the remainder of the game.

Redshirt freshman Austin Bradley and true freshman Ryan Lee entered on the next two plays and shared time the remainder of the game.

Keane was 3-for-3 for 32 yards before leaving the game, and the Chants went 2-for-6 for 22 yards for the remainder of the first half without him – Lee completing his only pass for 17 yards and Bradley going 1-for-5 for 5 yards.

The Chants completed their only three passes in the second half, as Lee completed two for 27 yards and a score and receiver Ky’Jon Tyler completed a 40-yard pass. Lee also rushed for 121 yards and two TDs on 16 carries in the game and Bradley gained 23 yards on five carries with a TD.

Three CCU quarterbacks have already been lost for the season, and Keane may be the fourth to lose a start to injury if he can’t go next week against Bryant.

“It’s not like this has never happened to us before,” CCU head coach Joe Moglia said, referencing the earlier injuries. “You’re only one play away from getting hurt. You’ve always got to make sure you’ve got a contingency plan ready to go. We always have that contingency plan. To be able to kind of get it moving takes a little bit of time. It takes a little bit of time, too, for guys like Austin and Ryan to frankly kind of get used to what’s going on on the field. They’ve got to get into a little bit of a rhythm and tempo, as well.”

Chameleon defense

The Chanticleers run a base 4-3 defense on paper, with four down linemen, three linebackers and four defensive backs.

But first-year defensive coordinator Mickey Matthews won’t hesitate to change the defense depending on the opponent. Last week against Presbyterian, the Chants went with three down linemen and four linebackers in the starting lineup.

For the second time in three weeks, the Chants started five defensive backs and two linebackers Saturday as junior Nicholas Clark got his first start at safety and joined Anthony Chesley, Samson Baldwin, C.J. Thompson and Kamron Summers in the starting defensive backfield. Senior safety Richie Sampson was kept out of his second consecutive game with a knee injury.

Monmouth entered the game throwing 43.5 percent of the time on offense, and it threw 44 passes compared to 25 rushing attempts Saturday. The defense intercepted three passes in the fourth quarter to ice the win.

“I want our system across the board to be flexible. And what you’ve got to have is a system . . . that’s sophisticated enough that you have answers for any type of team that you might have to play, but simple enough that you can execute,” Moglia said. “We are a 4-3 team, but based on personnel, we could very well have three linemen in there, we could have five defensive backs, we could have six defensive backs, it depends on what we want to do in a particular game.”

The Hawks drove 69 yards in five plays to score in less than two minutes to open the game, and took advantage of a couple turnovers to take a 17-3 lead. But they were held to 65 yards in the second half. “It took us a little while to kind of get it down, but when we got it down we were effective,” Moglia said.

Mapp catches up

Senior receiver Bruce Mapp continued his streak for consecutive games with a catch in style Saturday, extending the streak to 19 games with a 6-yard touchdown reception from Austin Bradley in the third quarter. It was his only catch of the game.

Mapp has 163 career catches and has been consistent this year, with just 22 receptions but at least one in all nine games and touchdowns in six games.

Hawks’ bizarre week

Monmouth had an unusual week of preparation for its game against Coastal Carolina.

The school’s West Long Branch, N.J., campus was put on lockdown Tuesday night after an incident on or near campus at around 9:20 p.m. that involved a member of the football team.

Freshman lineman Keith Williams, 18, of Baltimore is accused of approaching two female students with a weapon and demanding their cell phones, according to the Asbury Park Press, citing a statement from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. The students fled and the school was put on lockdown.

Williams was arrested in a dormitory and the weapon turned out to be a fake gun, and a $100,000 bond was set for Williams, according to the report.

The campus was on lockdown for about an hour before authorities announced they had found the suspect.

This story was originally published November 5, 2016 at 9:12 PM with the headline "Coastal Carolina honors NFL star Josh Norman with a number ceremony."