GREENSBORO - North Carolina A&T head coach believes he has a solid foundation.
That was confirmed on Saturday when junior running back Mike Mayhew and junior kick returner Justin Ferrell earned first-team All-MEAC honors.
The conference recognized Ferrell twice on Saturday. He was also named second-team All-MEAC as a defensive back. Sophomore punter Alex Grubb was also a second-team selection.
"Both those young men did an outstanding job," said N.C. A&T head coach Alonzo Lee about Ferrell and Mayhew. "There is an old saying that goes, 'If you go to the Kentucky Derby with horses you have a chance to win. If you go there with donkeys, you don't.'''
"Those are two horses we have coming back,'' Lee continued. "So, we feel like we have a chance to turn around this 1-10 season."
Mayhew put together one of the best seasons for a running back in school history.
Over a seven-game span from Sept. 18-Oct. 28, he never rushed for fewer than 89 yards. Included in that slate of games were six 100-yard performances. He went over the 1,000-yard rushing plateau against Bethune-Cookman on Oct. 28 as he finished the game with a career-high 211 yards.
He left the game against Florida A&M on Nov. 6 in the second quarter after sustaining a high ankle sprain. The injury may have cost him the MEAC rushing title. Still, he finished the season with 1,082 yards and seven touchdowns on 221 carries.
He is just the sixth running back in school history to go over 1,000 yards in a season, joining James White, Milton Shaw, Maurice Smith, Maurice Hicks (He is the only N.C. A&T running back to go over 1,000 yards twice) and Michael Ferguson.
"He had an incredible season,'' said Lee. "For him to pick up 1,000 yards in the ninth game of the season means he was really doing some great things for our offense."
Ferrell, who was a first-team all-conference defensive back in 2009, got off to a torrid start as a kick returner in 2010.
He returned three kickoffs for touchdowns in the first six weeks of the season and led the nation in kickoff return yardage per game over the first six weeks. He currently ranks 14th in that category. Only two other players in the country have as many kickoff returns for touchdowns.
As a defensive back, Ferrell made 78 tackles and had two pass deflections. On five different occasions, he had double figures in tackles.
Grubb averaged 36.8 yards per punt. He had three punts of 50 yards or more. He also placed 11 of his 56 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line.
