The New York Jets called up former Coastal Carolina running back De’Angelo Henderson of Summerville from their practice squad on Friday and he was in uniform during Sunday’s 29-22 loss to the Houston Texans.
Henderson remains on the team’s active roster in place of starting running back Isaiah Crowell, who was placed on injured reserve and shelved for the remainder of the season with a toe injury.
Henderson did not have a carry or catch Sunday, but will likely remain on the roster for the Jets’ final two games against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday and at the New England Patriots on Dec. 30.
He is one of three running backs on the Jets roster and is listed third on the depth chart.
The Jets also have second-year back Elijah McGuire out of Louisiana-Lafayette and rookie Trenton Cannon of Virginia State. McGuire had 42 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries Sunday, Cannon had 13 yards on 7 carries and both players had three receptions apiece.
Henderson has spent most of the season on the Jets’ practice squad after being a 2017 sixth-round draft pick of Denver. He was previously active for one game with New York in Week 8 against Chicago.
In five games with the Broncos last year, Henderson had 13 yards on seven carries and 36 yards and a TD on two receptions.
The Jets may seek help at the running back position in 2019.
According to Associated Press sportswriter Dennis Waszak Jr., Crowell isn’t a lock to return next season. He is due to make $4 million, with none of it guaranteed, and would count $5 million against the salary cap. If Crowell is cut in the offseason, the Jets would have to pay $2 million in dead money on the cap.
Postseason worthy?
Would Coastal Carolina have been selected to participate in a bowl had it achieved its sixth win of the season to become bowl eligible?
Looking at the case of fellow Sun Belt Conference member Louisiana-Monroe, which defeated Coastal 45-20 at Brooks Stadium in Conway, it’s doubtful.
For the second consecutive season, there were more bowl eligible teams in FBS than bowls. A total of 82 teams reached six wins, but only 78 teams made the cut, and Louisiana-Monroe, at 6-6 overall and 4-4 in the conference, was not one of them.
ULM, which was bowl eligible for the fifth time in program history and the first time under third-year head coach Matt Viator, closed the regular season with back-to-back losses.
In addition to ULM, Miami-Ohio (6-6), Wyoming (6-6) and Southern Miss (6-5) were also left out.
Coastal lost its final four games of the season to finish 5-7 overall and 2-6 in the conference. Even at 6-6 and just 3-5 in the conference, the Chants may have been left out.
The Sun Belt has five guaranteed bowl affiliations, and six teams were bowl eligible.
The conference has gone 10-4 in bowl games in the last three seasons, including 2-1 this year with two games remaining. Sun Belt champion Appalachian State defeated Middle Tennessee State 45-13 in the New Orleans Bowl, Georgia Southern defeated Eastern Michigan 23-21 in the Camellia Bowl, and Louisiana fell 41-24 to Tulane in the AutoNation Cure Bowl.
Troy (9-3, 7-1 Sun Belt) will face Buffalo (10-3, 7-1 Mid-American Conference) in the Dollar General Bowl on Saturday, and Arkansas State (8-4, 5-3 Sun Belt) will face Nevada in the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl on Dec. 29.
If Coastal wants to go bowling in 2019, it may need to do better than 6-6 overall and 4-4 in the Sun Belt.
A record start
The CCU women’s basketball team has matched its best start through nine games in program history despite a close loss Tuesday to Auburn in the Philanthropist.com Carolinas Challenge at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.
The 84-78 defeat ended a five-game winning streak for the Chants, who fell to 7-2, and gave Auburn (9-1) its sixth straight win.
Junior guard Caitlin Roche scored a game- and career-high 26 points for Coastal and surpassed 20 points for the fourth time in her last six games. Junior guard D.J. Williams had 25 points and junior center Naheria Hamilton tallied her first double-double of the season with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
The Chants conclude their Carolinas Challenge appearance with a game against Rice at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the convention center.
The CCU men (6-5) are back in action at 7 p.m. Friday at College of Charleston.
Earning degrees
A total of 22 CCU student-athletes took part in the 2018 fall commencement ceremony on Friday at the HTC Center, and more than 35 percent of them either graduated with honors or received a graduate degree.
The six Chanticleers who graduated with honors were Sara Boothe of volleyball (magna cum laude), Henrik Mueller of men’s soccer (summa cum laude), Adam Lawhorn and Malcolm Williams of football (cum laude), Kahlim Denmark of men’s track and field (cum laude) and Romario Piggott of men’s soccer (cum laude).
Nine graduates came from the football program, with linebacker James Heft earning his Masters in Business Administration.
