After a 6-7 finish last season, the Old Dominion Monarchs are still searching for their first winning season in the Sun Belt, with a 9-16 record since joining the conference ahead of the 2022 season.
Who are the Monarchs’ top 10 returning players in 2024?
Old Dominion Monarchs Top 10 Returners in 2024
Analyzing the returning players at every school is a difficult task in the transfer portal era. As such, we’ve included transfer-portal athletes that were included on each team’s roster page to open fall camp in addition to the rostered players from last year.
10) Ethan Sanchez, K
Ethan Sanchez has been ODU’s primary kicker the last two seasons, starting as a true freshman in 2022. He is 24-34 on field goal attempts with a long of 49, while remaining perfect on extra points, 64-64.
9) Amorie Morrison, DE
An All-CUSA Freshman Team selection in 2021, Amorie Morrison missed most of 2022 with an injury before making a comeback last season. He registered 21 tackles, 4.5 for a loss, and a sack in five starts last season.
8) Mario Thompson, LB
In eight starts last season, Mario Thompson brought down 42 tackles, 5.5 for a loss, two sacks, and two pass breakups as a true freshman. Playing along one of the best linebacking units in the conference, Thompson’s production is expected to elevate in 2024.
7) Kris Trinidad, DE
A two-year starter that has appeared in each game the last two seasons, Kris Trinidad notched 36 tackles, three for a loss, and two sacks last season. For his career, he has 58 tackles, seven for a loss, and 5.5 sacks.
6) Isiah Paige, WR
Starting 10 games, Isiah Paige led the Monarchs in receptions with 43 along with 445 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 10.3 yards per catch. In three years at ODU, he has 86 catches for 833 yards and five scores.
5) Kelby Williams, WR
After spending the 2022 season at Trinity Valley Community College, Kelby Williams broke into ODU’s receiver rotation last year. He hauled in 26 catches for 451 yards and two touchdowns, averaging a staggering 17.3 yards per catch.
4) Santana Saunders, OT
A three-year starter and a All-CUSA Freshman Team selection in 2021, Santana Saunders has been a steady anchor at tackle for the Monarchs.
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The 6’5″, 300-pound senior started at left and right tackle last season, with 17 career starts his first three years in Norfolk.
3) Denzel Lowry, DL
A two-year starter with two years left, Denzel Lowry is entering his fourth season, having started every game in the last two years. He has 85 career tackles, 10 for loss, and seven sacks, earning a 2023 All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention nod after registering 46 tackles, five for a loss, and three sacks last fall.
2) Grant Wilson, QB
After spending his first two seasons at Fordham (2021-2022), Grant Wilson emerged as ODU’s starter last season and had a respectable first campaign at the FBS level. In 11 starts behind center, Wilson tossed for 2,149 yards, 17 touchdowns, eight picks, while rushing for another 126 yards and two scores.
1) Jason Henderson, LB
On the verge of his true senior season, Jason Henderson is not just in the running for best linebacker in the conference; he’s in the running for best linebacker in the country and best overall player in the Sun Belt.
A tackling machine with 434 tackles in three years, he is currently tied for 26th all-time, and is 154 tackles away from Carlton Martial’s NCAA record of 578 while at Troy (2018-2022). Henderson is also 98 tackles away from Luke Kuechly’s all-time, 4-year tackle record of 532 at Boston College (2009-2011).
His last two seasons are in the top 10 for most all-time tackles in a year — 186 in 2022 (second most) and 170 in 2023 (ninth most). He was one tackle away last year from leading the country in tackles for consecutive seasons despite playing in two fewer games than the leader, Iowa’s Jay Higgins (171 tackles).
Henderson averaged 145 tackles a year in his first three seasons – 178 in the last two years – putting him on pace to break Martial’s and Kuechly’s records. He’ll be without his fellow Monarch LB Wayne Matthews III, who committed to Michigan State after finishing second in the conference with 135 tackles.
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