The countdown to the 2018 college football season is on. Four FCS teams are in action Aug. 25 as Duquesne takes on UMass, Prairie View faces Rice and North Carolina A&T and Jacksonville State square off in ESPN’s FCS Kickoff.
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HERO Sports is going to count down each day by highlighting the best player in FCS football who wears the jersey number of the number of days to kickoff. You can find the running list of top players here.
*Note: Jersey numbers are from the 2017 season.
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48: Jesse Nemerowicz, junior linebacker – Bryant
Bryant has itself an abundance of talent in its linebacker group. Thomas Costigan, the reigning NEC Defensive Player of the Year, will strap up for the Bulldogs once again this fall, and so will his under-the-radar teammate, Jesse Nemerowicz.
Nemerowicz has had an intriguing first couple of years in Smithfield. One year after setting a school record with 91 tackles during his freshman season, he wasn't able to start the 2017 season on time. While he was gone, Bryant went 2-3 and allowed over 42 points per game.
Nemerowicz returned in October, recording 16 tackles in his first game back. That set a new career single-game record; it also became the second-most tackles to ever be recorded by any player in Bryant history.
Nemerowicz finished his junior season by recording 61 tackles (2.5 TFL's) in six games. Over that span, his team only gave up 28 points per game.
While Costigan was rightfully named the NEC's Defensive Player of the Year, Nemerowicz was snubbed from the list altogether, thanks to the five games he missed during the first part of the season. He didn't receive any postseason accolades from the NEC during his freshman year, either, though we did give him an honorable mention on our Freshman All-America list.
We think Costigan and Nemerowicz should both own all-conference spots here in a few months. Bryant will have the best group of linebackers in the NEC.
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FCS Kickoff Countdown: The Best Player in FCS Who Wears Each Number, 1-99
CFB Countdown: The Best Player in FBS Football, 1-99
