No. 20 Stony Brook (5-3, 2-2 CAA Football) at Richmond (4-4, 3-1 CAA Football)
LOCATION	Robins Stadium (8,700) | Villanova, Pa.
DATE  | TIME	Saturday, Nov. 2 | 3 p.m.
COACHES	Stony Brook: Chuck Priore (UAlbany '82) 128-78  Richmond: Russ Huesman (Chattanooga '81) 73-53
RANKINGS	Stony Brook: RV AFCA Coaches/20 STATS FCS | Richmond: --- AFCA Coaches/RV STATS FCS
TV/STREAM	FloSports (Bob Black, p-x-p; Chris Anderson, anaylst; Sean Robertson, sideline)
GAME NOTES	Stony Brook | Richmond | CAA Football
COVERAGE	Live Stats | FloSports Stream
SOCIAL	@StonyBrookFB | #SeawolvesUnited | #HOWL
UP NEXT	vs. Towson, Nov. 9 | 2 p.m. | Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium | Tickets

RICHMOND, Va. -- A little over a year ago Stony Brook kicker Nick Courtney (East Meadow, N.Y./W.T. Clark) made the decision to forgo his final year of eligibility and focus on his future.
 
The then redshirt junior was scheduled to graduate in May of 2019 and had begun the process to enter the New York Police Department Academy.
 
All of that changed with one simple phone call.
 
That call came from Seawolves' head coach Chuck Priore.
 
"I had decided to stop playing for a bunch of different reasons, both personal and academic, and to be honest, a couple of weeks before the season I started to really regret it," Courtney said. "When I got the call from coach it was a blessing. I was so excited. It was a no brainer. I still had a bit of a bad taste in my mouth from the prior season.  I hadn't performed as well as I hoped so to have the opportunity to be able to come back and do better myself was a great opportunity."
 
It has been an opportunity that Courtney has certainly taken full advantage of. Since returning to the team as a redshirt senior and a graduate student, Courtney has made eight of his 10 field goal attempts, including last week's 22-yarder as time expired to knock off the fifth-ranked Villanova Wildcats on the road. He also connected on a career-long 47-yard field goal in the waning seconds to send the game against No. 2 James Madison into overtime.
 
"It is an incredible feeling. It really just comes down to confidence. Confidence in myself. Confidence in my teammates," stated Courtney.
 
The good thing for Priore and the 20^th-ranked Seawolves, who travel to Richmond (4-4, 3-1 CAA Football) this Saturday to face the Spiders in a CAA Football battle at 3 p.m. at Robins Stadium, is that after Courtney's decision last season he never abandoned his desire to kick.
 
"The captain of the NYPD Football team contacted me when he heard that I was processing and he asked if I would be interested in playing on the NYPD Football team," Courtney remembered. "So every once in a while I would keep up with the kicking. I would go kick off on my own once a week to stay loose and stay in my groove. That was helpful so when I got the call from coach Priore I wasn't cold turkey."
 
Courtney has managed to "stay loose" during his entire career at Stony Brook that included nailing all five of his field goal attempts as a redshirt freshman in 2017.
 
"The question I always get is 'Nick you had to be nervous and feeling pressure' and honestly I wasn't," Courtney added. "I know that I practice this every single day and I'm going out there and the ball is the same size, the uprights are the same distance apart, my cleats are tied the same way. There is no reason for me to feel pressure. At that point I have to have confidence in myself to get the job done."
 
As a kicker, Courtney needed that confidence to just try and get onto the field during a game.
 
"I started as a walk-on and faced a lot of adversity just to try and get on the field, let alone be successful," said Courtney. "I had to do a lot of work on my own at home and during the off-season to perfect my craft and control the things that I could control. I can't control how well the other guys are going to do. I can only control how consistent I am and how I can perform. That is the most important thing for me. I think I've done a good job with it. Every season I feel like I have progressed more than the last one. That has been the secret to my success. Just being able to hold myself responsible."

THE SERIES
This will be the sixth meeting between the two CAA Football foes. The Seawolves own a 3-2 series lead and have split the the previous two games played at Richmond. Stony Brook has won three straight in the series. (Complete series history on page 4).     

QUICK HITTERS
• QB Tyquell Fields picked up his second CAA Offensive Player of the Week honor; while RB Ty Son Lawton earned the CAA Football Rookie of the Week award.
• Stony Brook is ranked No. 6 in the the FCS  and tops in the CAA in passing yards per completion (16.56).
• The Seawolves are ranked second in CAA Football in total offense (461.6).
• Stony Brook is also ranked No. 2 in the CAA in rushing offense (225.6).
• QB Tyquell Fields is No. 1 in the FCS in passing yard per completion (17.92).
• Kicker Nick Courtney is No. 2 in the CAA in field goal percentage (.800).
• WR Andrew Trent is No. 2 in the CAA and seventh in the FCS in yards per reception (22.53).
• RB Ty Son Lawton is No. 3 in the CAA in both rushing TDs (7) and rushing yards per game (83.3).
• Head coach Chuck Priore picked up career win No. 125 on Sept. 14.
• Stony Brook's captains for the 2019 season are senior DB Gavin Heslop, senior DL Sam Kamara and senior RB Isaiah White.  

UP NEXT
Don't miss your chance to catch the Seawolves in action when they return to LaValle Stadium on Nov. 9 to face Towson at 2 p.m. (GET YOUR TICKETS NOW).