HBCU football 2025: WSSU looking to take next step in CIAA

At Winston-Salem State, the expectations are clear: win video games, compete for titles, and keep on the legacy of one of the vital revered names in HBCU soccer. Beginning quarterback Daylin Lee is prepared for all of it.

“If it’s a goal on our again, I invite it. We’re simply going to do what we do each Saturday,” Lee mentioned throughout CIAA Media Day.

After going 7–3 final season, the Rams know what it feels prefer to be counted out—and what it takes to bounce again. Now, they’re embracing the function of frontrunner with confidence, maturity, and starvation.

Daylin Lee Is Extra Than a Quarterback at WSSU

Lee isn’t slightly below heart—he’s on the heart of Winston-Salem State’s climb again to the highest. Head coach Robert Massey didn’t maintain again his reward.

“I believe he’s most likely the very best quarterback in all of Black faculty soccer,” Massey mentioned. He added, “You’re not the face of this system—you’re the face of the college.”

That assertion speaks volumes. Lee has grown into a pacesetter on and off the sphere. From a lanky freshman to a powerful, 6’4″, 220-pound discipline basic, his evolution has mirrored the Rams’ personal development as a contender in CIAA and HBCU soccer.

Protection Defines the Rams’ Identification

Winston-Salem State College has at all times had a defensive edge, and that received’t change in 2025. Defensive lineman Kairon Martin says the returning unit is deeper, stronger, and extra related.

“Our motto is: Cease the run, power the go, break on the brief, or break on the deep,” Martin mentioned.

WSSU additionally stands out another way: virtually none of their prime gamers entered the switch portal.

“We’ve got an awesome teaching employees who actually cares about us, an awesome surroundings on campus. Guys purchased in,” Martin added.

In an period of fixed roster turnover, Winston-Salem State is staying residence—and staying centered.

HBCU showdown looms

Massey is aware of what’s on the road. With the CIAA now working as one full league with out divisions—and with an computerized NCAA playoff bid up for grabs—the Rams are treating each Saturday prefer it’s championship week.

“This format makes us a greater convention,” Massey mentioned. “Now we’re taking part in all people, and after we get to the playoffs, we’re battle-tested.”

That battle begins early. WSSU opens the season in Alabama for a Week Zero showdown in opposition to Tuskegee. Lee says the Rams are already grinding.

“We’re understanding within the warmth now. By the point August thirty first comes, we’ll be able to go.”

WSSU Mission: End

Final season’s two losses to Johnson C. Smith and Virginia Union nonetheless sting. Lee remembers them clearly—not as losses, however as missed alternatives.

“They didn’t beat us. We beat ourselves,” he mentioned. “It was our missed assignments.”

With a full offseason to regroup and return, the Rams know they’ve the items to complete the job.

“We left plenty of factors on the board,” Lee mentioned. “We simply have to complete.”

Massey put it greatest:

“We’re going to guard the legacy—of being a winner on and off the sphere.”

At Winston-Salem State, it’s by no means simply concerning the scoreboard. It’s about delight, historical past, and persevering with the custom of excellence in HBCU soccer.

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