Two of the top players from Lenoir-Rhyne’s conference championship defense, plus a four-year starting offensive lineman, have announced plans to enter the transfer portal.
Linebacker Jon Ross Maye, defensive back C’Darius Kelley and offensive guard/tackle Xavier Jennings each made the news official this week with social media posts. All three are graduate students with one year of eligibility remaining. Jennings has 41 career starts to his credit, Kelley 39 and Maye 38.
Maye, from John’s Creek, Ga., earned first-team all-South Atlantic Conference this past season, helping the Bears (13-2) reclaim the league title and advance to the Division II semifinals. He finished with a team-high 116 total tackles, including 69 solo stops. Maye, an academic All-American, made 15.5 tackles-for-loss, helping Lenoir-Rhyne mount one of the stingiest defenses in all of D2.
Kelley, from Greensboro, Ga., finished with 34 tackles in 2023, broke up seven passes, intercepted one and returned a kickoff back for a score. He boasts a 3.4 GPA and made the SAC’s All-Piedmont defensive team a year ago.
Jennings, from Shelby (Burns HS), has been all-conference twice, including first-team this past season, and also is a Don Hansen All-American.
Jennings lists offers from FBS programs like Coastal Carolina, Marshall, Georgia Southern, Old Dominion and Georgia State on his social media. He also says he’s been offered by a number of FCS schools including Campbell, North Carolina Central, Gardner-Webb, Mercer, Grambling State and Florida A&M from the FCS ranks.
Per his social media, Maye has picked up a number of FCS offers, including Western Carolina, Gardner-Webb, Missouri State, Eastern Kentucky, Samford, Hampton and Stony Brook.
“I dont always comment on guys hitting the transfer portal…..but (Maye) is one of the most talented and fun LBs I’ve seen in 15 years of SAC Football as a student-alum-columnist,” Ryan Gladwin, who covers the conference for D2Football.com, wrote in a Twitter/X post this week. “Y’all better call this young fella in a hurry.”
Kelley, likewise, has gained interest from FCS programs, according to reports. He lists offers from Mercer, Hampton, Stony Brook and Missouri State, per his social media. Mercer recently hired Lenoir-Rhyne coach Mike Jacobs to the same post.
“This the best db i ever went against… STAMPED 100!!” Lenoir-Rhyne’s DeAree Rogers wrote of Kelley.
Lenoir-Rhyne concluded its spring practice schedule last weekend with its annual spring game. Doug Socha was hired as the new head coach to replace Jacobs.
