2025 Nicholls Colonels football team

2025 Nicholls Colonels football
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	1–5 (1–1 SLC)
Head coach	Tommy Rybacki (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Gabe Fertitta (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Darion Monroe (1st season)
Base defense	Multiple 4–3
Home stadium	Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium
Seasons ←  2024 2026 →

2025 Southland Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 17 Lamar		2	–	0					5	–	1
Southeastern Louisiana		2	–	0					4	–	2
No. 25 Stephen F. Austin		2	–	0					4	–	2
UT Rio Grande Valley		1	–	1					5	–	1
Houston Christian		1	–	1					2	–	4
East Texas A&M		1	–	1					1	–	5
Nicholls		1	–	1					1	–	5
Incarnate Word		0	–	2					2	–	4
McNeese		0	–	2					1	–	5
Northwestern State		0	–	2					1	–	5
As of October 13, 2025 Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2025 Nicholls Colonels football team represents Nicholls State University in the 2025 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Colonels play their home games at Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium in Thibodaux, Louisiana, and compete in the Southland Conference. They are led by first-year head coach Tommy Rybacki.

Offseason

Outgoing

Player	Position	Destination
Cru Blanchard	OL	Chowan
Quincy Brown	WR	Texas State
Eli Ennis	LB	UAB
Kershawn Fisher	LB	Western Michigan
Tyler Morton	DB	Incarnate Word
Pat McQuaide	QB	Villanova
Robbie Pizzolato	OL	Tulane
Jaylon Spears	RB	Incarnate Word
Josh Wax	DB	Unknown

Incoming

Player	Position	Previous school
Damondrick Blackburn	RB	Louisiana
Allen Hamilton	QB/DB	Louisiana Christian
Tamaj Hoffman	RB	Delta State
Deuce Hogan	QB	New Mexico State
Jacob Hood	OL	Nebraska
Pax Hughes	TE	Southern Miss
Everett Hunter	TE	New Mexico
Landon Ibieta	WR	LSU
DK Kency Jr.	RB	LSU
Joey Lightfoot	DL	UTEP
Gavin Nelson	DL	Mississippi State
Jordan Okelo-Johnson	DL	Southern Miss
Elijah Sabbatini	DB	Southern Miss
Jake Scianna	LB	Louisville
Jordan Smith	WR	New Mexico State
William Stewart	LS	Memphis

^{[1] [2] [3]}

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 23	12:00 pm	No. 5 Incarnate Word		Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium Thibodaux, LA	ESPN2	W 20–6	8,779
August 30	6:00 pm	at Troy *		Veterans Memorial Stadium Troy, AL	ESPN+	L 20–38	25,546
September 6	6:00 pm	West Georgia *	No. 22	Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium Thibodaux, LA	ESPN+	L 10–34	5,456
September 20	7:00 pm	at Texas State *		UFCU Stadium San Marcos, TX (Battle for the Paddle)	ESPN+	L 3–35	31,500
September 27	5:00 pm	at Eastern Kentucky *		Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	ESPN+	L 7–27	8,239
October 4	3:00 pm	at No. 20 Lamar		Provost Umphrey Stadium Beaumont, TX	ESPN+	L 17–24	5,433
October 18	6:00 pm	at No. 25 Stephen F. Austin		Homer Bryce Stadium Nacogdoches, TX	ESPN+
October 25	3:00 pm	McNeese		Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium Thibodaux, LA	ESPN+
November 1	3:00 pm	Houston Christian		Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium Thibodaux, LA	ESPN+
November 8	5:00 pm	at UT Rio Grande Valley		Robert and Janet Vackar Stadium Edinburg, TX	ESPN+
November 15	3:00 pm	Northwestern State		Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium Thibodaux, LA (NSU Challenge)	ESPN+
November 20	6:00 pm	at Southeastern Louisiana		Strawberry Stadium Hammond, LA (River Bell Classic)	ESPN+
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[4]

Rankings

Further information: 2025 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
STATS	—	22	RV	RV	—	—	—
Coaches	—	25т	RV	RV	—	—	—

Game summaries

No. 5 Incarnate Word

See also: 2025 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team

No. 5 Incarnate Word Cardinals (0–0) at Nicholls Colonels (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 5 Cardinals	3	0	3	0	6
Colonels	10	3	0	7	20

at Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium, Thibodaux, Louisiana

• Date: August 23
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: Sunny, 88 °F (31 °C)
• Game attendance: 8,779
• Referee: James Brookhart
• TV announcers (ESPN2): Chuckie Kempf (play-by-play) and Rene Ingoglia (analyst)
• Box score, Recap

Game information

First quarter UIW – Will Farris 24-yard field goal, 11:07. Cardinals 3–0. Drive: 10 plays, 58 yards, 3:47. NICH – Gabriel Showalter 38-yard field goal, 0:48. Tied 3–3. Drive: 8 plays, 31 yards, 4:04. NICH – Ty Marsh 29-yard interception return (Gabriel Showalter kick), 0:38. Colonels 10–3. Second quarter NICH – Gabriel Showalter 43-yard field goal, 11:57. Colonels 13–3. Drive: 6 plays, 28 yards, 2:15. Third quarter UIW – Will Farris 24-yard field goal, 10:30. Colonels 13–6. Drive: 4 plays, 3 yards, 1:20. Fourth quarter NICH – Karaaz Johnson 55-yard pass from Deuce Hogan (Gabriel Showalter kick), 9:26. Colonels 20–6. Drive: 6 plays, 87 yards, 1:54.

Statistics	UIW	NICH
First downs	15	14
Total yards	204	287
Rushing yards	16	66
Passing yards	188	221
Turnovers	4	1
Time of possession	29:05	29:57

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Incarnate Word	Passing	Richard Torres	23/35, 175 yards, 3 INT
	Rushing	Jaylon Spears	15 rushes, 49 yards
	Receiving	Chedon James	5 receptions, 59 yards
Nicholls	Passing	Deuce Hogan	21/35, 221 yards, TD
	Rushing	Jordan Poole	7 rushes, 23 yards
	Receiving	Karaaz Johnson	2 receptions, 58 yards, TD

at Troy (FBS)

See also: 2025 Troy Trojans football team

Nicholls Colonels (1–0) at Troy Trojans (FBS) (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	0	10	7	3	20
Trojans (FBS)	0	7	3	28	38

at Veterans Memorial Stadium • Troy, AL

• Date: August 30, 2025
• Game time: 6:00 PM CDT
• Game attendance: 25,546
• Referee: Ted Pitts
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Will Kollmeyer (play-by-play), Ben Stanfield (analyst), and Junior Louissaint (sideline)

Game information

First quarter No scoring plays. Second quarter NICH – Gabriel Showalter 45-yard field goal, 10:42. Colonels 3–0. Drive: 5 plays, 23 yards, 3:18. NICH – Miequle Brock Jr. 3-yard run (Gabriel Showalter kick), 2:14. Colonels 10–0. Drive: 8 plays, 65 yards, 3:35. TROY – Roman Mothershed 27-yard pass from Goose Crowder (Scott Taylor Renfroe kick), 1:01. Colonels 10–7. Drive: 9 plays, 70 yards, 1:08. Third quarter NICH – Miequle Brock Jr. 58-yard pass from Deuce Hogan (Gabriel Showalter kick), 12:03. Colonels 17–7. Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:57. TROY – Scott Taylor Renfroe 24-yard field goal, 5:36. Colonels 17–10. Drive: 11 plays, 66 yards, 6:23. Fourth quarter TROY – Goose Crowder 16-yard run (Scott Taylor Renfroe kick), 14:09. Tied 17–17. Drive: 10 plays, 58 yards, 4:33. NICH – Gabriel Showalter 22-yard field goal, 10:41. Colonels 20–17. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 3:28. TROY – Tray Taylor 28-yard pass from Goose Crowder (Scott Taylor Renfroe kick), 8:13. Trojans 24–20. Drive: 7 plays, 66 yards, 2:23. TROY – Tae Meadows 47-yard run (Scott Taylor Renfroe kick), 6:08. Trojans 31–20. Drive: 1 play, 47 yards, 0:09. TROY – Ethan Conner 5-yard pass from Goose Crowder (Scott Taylor Renfroe kick), 1:56. Trojans 38–20. Drive: 5 plays, 44 yards, 2:13.

Statistics	NICH	TROY
First downs	16	23
Total yards	249	416
Rushing yards	65	272
Passing yards	184	144
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	21–27–1	14–24–0
Time of possession	29:13	30:47

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Nicholls	Passing	Deuce Hogan	21/27, 184 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Tamaj Hoffman	9 carries, 52 yards
	Receiving	Miequle Brock Jr.	6 receptions, 87 yards, TD
Troy	Passing	Goose Crowder	14/24, 144 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Tae Meadows	23 carries, 186 yards, TD
	Receiving	Roman Mothershed	2 receptions, 32 yards, TD

West Georgia

See also: 2025 West Georgia Wolves football team

West Georgia Wolves (1–0) at No. 22 Nicholls Colonels (1–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Wolves			0
No. 22 Colonels			0

at Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium, Thibodaux, Louisiana

• Date: September 6
• Game time: 6:00 PM CDT
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Jeff Palermo (play-by-play) and Wayde Keiser (analyst)

Statistics	UWG	NICH
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
West Georgia	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Nicholls	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Texas State (FBS, Battle for the Paddle)

See also: 2025 Texas State Bobcats football team and Battle for the Paddle

Nicholls Colonels (1–2) at Texas State Bobcats (FBS) (2–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Colonels			0
Bobcats (FBS)			0

at UFCU Stadium, San Marcos, TX

• Date: September 20
• Game time: 7:00 PM CDT
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Brant Freeman (play-by-play) and Keith Moreland (analyst)

Statistics	NICH	TXST
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Nicholls	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Texas State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Eastern Kentucky

See also: 2025 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team

Nicholls Colonels (1–3) at Eastern Kentucky Colonels (1–3) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Nicholls	7	0	0	0	7
Eastern Kentucky	0	7	10	10	27

at Roy Kidd Stadium, Richmond, Kentucky

• Date: September 27
• Game time: 5:00 PM CDT
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Greg Stotelmyer (play-by-play), Jim Tirey (analyst) and Maggie Davis (sideline)

Statistics	NICH	EKU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Nicholls	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Eastern Kentucky	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at No. 20 Lamar

See also: 2025 Lamar Cardinals football team

Nicholls Colonels (1–4) at No. 20 Lamar Cardinals (3–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels	14	0	3	0	17
No. 20 Cardinals	7	10	0	7	24

at Provost Umphrey Stadium, Beaumont, Texas

• Date: October 4
• Game time: 3:00 PM CDT
• TV: ESPN+

Statistics	NICH	LAM
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Nicholls	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Lamar	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at No. 25 Stephen F. Austin

See also: 2025 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football team

Nicholls Colonels (1–5) at No. 25 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (4–2) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Colonels			0
No. 25 Lumberjacks			0

at Homer Bryce Stadium, Nacogdoches, Texas

• Date: October 18
• Game time: 6:00 PM CDT
• TV: ESPN+

Statistics	NICH	SFA
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Nicholls	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Stephen F. Austin	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

McNeese

See also: 2025 McNeese Cowboys football team

McNeese Cowboys at Nicholls Colonels – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Cowboys			0
Colonels			0

at Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium, Thibodaux, Louisiana

• Date: October 25
• TV: ESPN+

Statistics	MCN	NICH
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
McNeese	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Nicholls	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Houston Christian

See also: 2025 Houston Christian Huskies football team

Houston Christian Huskies at Nicholls Colonels – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Huskies			0
Colonels			0

at Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium, Thibodaux, Louisiana

• Date: November 1
• Game time: 3:00 PM CDT

Statistics	HCU	NICH
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston Christian	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Nicholls	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at UT Rio Grande Valley

See also: 2025 UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros football team

Nicholls Colonels at UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Colonels			0
Vaqueros			0

at Robert and Janet Vackar Stadium, Edinburg, Texas

• Date: November 8
• TV: ESPN+

Statistics	NICH	RGV
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Nicholls	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
UT Rio Grande Valley	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Northwestern State (NSU Challenge)

See also: 2025 Northwestern State Demons football team and NSU Challenge

Northwestern State Demons at Nicholls Colonels – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Demons			0
Colonels			0

at Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium, Thibodaux, Louisiana

• Date: November 15

Statistics	NWST	NICH
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northwestern State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Nicholls	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Southeastern Louisiana (River Bell Classic)

See also: 2025 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team and River Bell Classic

Nicholls Colonels at Southeastern Louisiana Lions – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Colonels			0
Lions			0

at Strawberry Stadium, Hammond, Louisiana

• Date: November 20
• Game time: 6:00 PM CST
• TV: ESPN+

Statistics	NICH	SELA
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Nicholls	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Southeastern Louisiana	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Personnel

2025 Nicholls Colonels football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 1 Landon Ibieta Jr QB 2 Deuce Hogan Jr WR 3 Karaaz Johnson  So WR 6 Scrappy Osby  Jr QB 7 Jackson Firmin Fr QB 11 Ean Rodrigue  So WR 12 Jordan Smith Sr WR 13 Jackson Dufrene  So WR 14 Dany'e Brooks  Sr QB 15 Preston Welch  Fr QB 16 Christian Arceneaux  Jr WR 17 Tank McMath Sr RB 20 Carsen Hebert Fr RB 22 Miequle Brock So WR 23 Jason Barnes Jr.  Jr RB 24 Shane Lee  Fr RB 26 Jonathan Dartez Fr RB 30 Corey Warren Jr.  Sr RB 31 Dedric Lastie Fr RB 32 Jayden Milton  So WR 34 Brian McQuaide  Fr RB 35 Tamaj Hoffman Jr TE 38 Jeffrey Diedrich  Fr RB 39 Kayden Andoh Fr RB 40 Damondrick Blackburn So TE 45 Noah Onyia  Fr TE 47 Pax Hughes So TE 48 Scott White  So OL 52 Jamard Jones Jr. Fr OL 56 Justin Howard  So OL 57 Braxton Scriber Fr OL 59 Jacob Carpenter  Fr OL 60 Jordan Aaron Sr OL 62 Joe Kirby Fr OL 63 Hamza Rahman  So OL 65 Ryan Brungart Fr OL 66 Sameij Scott  Jr OL 67 Marcus Garcia  Fr OL 69 Joseph Bradford Sr OL 70 Jacob Johnson  So OL 71 Jacob Hood Jr OL 74 Preston Jones Fr OL 75 Enzo Marino  Fr OL 76 Ryan Bernard  Jr OL 77 Caleb Smith Fr OL 79 Beau Webb Fr WR 80 Amari Clayton Fr TE 81 Treylin Whaley  Jr TE 83 Everett Hunter Jr WR 84 Paxton Lafont  Fr WR 85 Christian McNees  So WR 86 Camare Hampton  Fr WR 87 Cohen LeBlanc Fr WR 88 Kylin Wheeler Fr TE 89 Jack Purser Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 0 Laurence Sullivan Jr. Sr DB 4 Ty Marsh Sr LB 7 Jake Dalmado Sr DB 8 Elijah Sabbatini Sr LB 10 Hayden Shaheen  Sr DB 12 Anthony Rogers  Fr LB 13 Kylin White  Sr DB 14 Reece Turner  Fr DB 15 Brailon Raymond  So LB 19 Cale Daigle Fr DB 23 Gavin Duplechin Fr DB 24 Braylon Noel Fr LB 25 Alec Haynes Fr DB 28 Marcus Dawson  Fr DB 29 Jamison Lindsey GS LB 30 Taylor Thibodaux  Fr LB 31 Mace Melancon Fr DB 32 Jeremie Elzy Fr DB 33 Shermar Carter  So DB 35 Ethan Lee Sr DB 36 Justin Helper  So DB 37 Hunter Addison  So DB 37 Jy'Heim Williams Fr DB 38 Allen Hamilton So DB 39 Tasmin Showers  Fr LB 41 Dominic Logiudice Jr LB 42 David Cresson Sr LB 43 Trent Santos  Fr DL 45 Alex Villavaso Sr LB 46 Keith Newsome Jr. Fr LB 49 Darrel Gibson  So LB 50 Keidrick Richardson  Fr DL 51 Joe Mason Sr LB 52 Andrew Cavalier  So LB 53 Jake Newchurch  Jr DL 56 Rasheed Lovelace  Jr LB 58 Arrington Adams  Fr LB 60 Aiden Cain  Fr DL 65 Christian Mannino  Sr DL 73 Kelvin Gray  Fr DL 90 Aidan Clements  So DL 91 Chase Chesser Fr DL 92 Josh Johnson  So DL 93 Talan Bingham  Fr DL 94 Griffin Ellis Fr DL 95 Shay Collins Fr DL 96 Gavin Nelson Jr DL 97 Jordan Okelo-Johnson  Fr DL 98 Dale Smith  Fr LB Jake Scianna  Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 16 Pharrell Harewood Fr K, P 25 Zachry Sugandi-Truitt Fr K 27 Sean Hebert Fr K 36 Gabe Showalter Sr LS 49 Josh Bellanger  So LS 53 Craig Roth  So LS 61 William Stewart Sr	Head coach Tommy Rybacki (Jacksonville State) Coordinators/assistant coaches Gabe Fertitta (Mississippi College) Offensive coordinator/qb Darion Monroe (Tulane) Defensive coordinator/secondary Webb Hamilton (Mississippi State) Special teams coordinator Logan Guerrera (Nicholls State) Tightends Collin Guggenheim (Nicholls State) Running backs Ben Mouton (Louisiana) Linebackers Sean Murphy (Millsaps) Wide receivers/recruiting coordinator Rob Snyder (LSU) Defensive line Seth Price (Arkansas State) Offensive line/run game coordinator Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

References

1. "2025 FCS-to-FBS Transfers". herosports.
2. "2025 FCS-to-FCS Transfers". herosports.
3. "2025 FBS-to-FCS Transfers". herosports.
4. "2025 Football Schedule". Nicholls State University. Retrieved February 7, 2025.