Lynell Suggs
Courtesy Stony Brook Sports Information
Senior quarterback Josh Dudash may be the fuel that keeps the Stony Brook offensive fire burning, but junior wideout Lynell Suggs provides the spark to ignite it. The 6-foot-2, 177-pound Suggs is the Seawolves’ top deep threat and was the team’s top-scoring receiver last season. The 21-year-old caught 38 balls for 594 yards and seven touchdowns in 2006, including highlight reel scores of 68 and 41 yards.
Suggs made a name for himself as a redshirt freshman in 2005 when he reeled in a 10-yard touchdown pass that pushed Stony Brook over Central Connecticut State for their first ever Northeast Conference Championship. The Bronx native celebrated the one-year anniversary of his championship-winning score by stretching the C.C.S.U secondary for nine catches, 159 yards, and two touchdowns last November. He wears No. 84 in honor of his idol, Randy Moss, and will look to do his best impersonation of the New England Patriots’ all-Pro when the lights come on Saturday evening on Long Island.
Chevar Rankins
Courtesy Stony Brook Sports Information
Chevar Rankins approached his first year at Stony Brook with his usual no-holds-barred intensity. Coming off a season in which he amassed 50 tackles, two forced fumbles and 1.5 tackles for a loss, Rankins returns as an intimidating force at outside linebacker. His jersey number may have changed – Rankins wore No. 40 his freshman year but will don No. 32 for his sophomore campaign – but he shows no signs of letting up.
There’s a reason Head Coach Chuck Priore calls his linebacking corps his defense’s strength and lists Rankins as the unit’s top playmaker. Last season, in only his fourth college game, Rankins scorched UMass for five tackles and forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. For an encore performance, the Middletown , Conn., native notched nine tackles in Stony Brook’s 30-20 win over St. Francis last October. Rankins and fellow outside ‘backer Andre Jean Pierre – aside from having two of the coolest names in college football – team up to form a lethal combo of speed and strength off the edge.
