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The 2021 North Carolina A&T Aggies football team will represent North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This will mark the 98th season for the program, and will be led by fourth-year head coach Sam Washington. The Aggies play their home games at Truist Stadium, and will be first-year members of the Big South Conference.

Previous season
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MEAC suspended the 2020 football season. The Aggies finished the 2019 season with a record of 9–3, 6–2 in MEAC play, capturing their eleventh conference title. The Aggies also earned an invitation to the Celebration Bowl where they defeated Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Alcorn State, earning their seventh black college football national championship.

Before the season
At the conclusion of the 2019 football season, the Aggies lost key players such as...

2021 NFL draft
The 2021 NFL Draft was held on April 29– May 1 in cleveland, Ohio. The following A&T players were either selected or signed as undrafted free agents following the draft.

2021 CFL Draft
The 2021 CFL Draft took place on May 4, 2021. The following A&T players were either selected or signed as unrestricted free agents following the draft.

Recruiting
Prior to National Signing Day in February 2021, seven recruits signed their national letter of intent during the early signing period, with ??? players enrolling for the spring semester in order to participate in spring practice. On National Signing Day, A&T signed ??? additional players out of high school that completed the 2021 recruiting class. Of the class, ??? players were from North Carolina, including three players from Greensboro.

Jacksonville State
This game marks the 3rd meeting between the Aggies and Ohio Valley Conference opponent Jacksonville State. last season, both the Aggies and Gamecocks went undefeated in their respective conferences and finished in the top 10 of the NCAA FCS Coaches Poll last season with the Aggies finishing at #6 and JSU at #10. Going into the game, The Gamecocks have a 2-0 record against against A&T, with wins in 1994 & 1995.

Statistics
Considered by most the best team statistically in the program's history, the 2017 Aggie football team reached a number of historical benchmarks and set new records for the program. The team broke the program's record for wins and is the first team to finish their regular season undefeated in 74 years. The team's 12-0 record made them the first team in the history of the MEAC conference to finish the season undefeated. Performances from players such as Quarterback Lamar Raynard, offensive lineman Brandon Parker and return specialist Kris Gardin broke a number of records during the season. Raynard's 2017 performance saw him break the program's single-season records in yards passing with 2,707; completions with 186; touchdown passes with 26; touchdowns responsible for with 29 and total offense with 2,875 yards. Nationally, Raynard ranked 3rd in passing efficiency (171.6), 4th in yards per pass attempt (9.50) and 10th in passing yards per completion (14.55) and completion percentage (65.3). Brandon Parker's stingy defense at the left tackle position resulted in 0 sacks by his opponents. In addition to his 2017 performace, Parker never allowed a single sack in his entire career at A&T. Khris Gardin, who set the FCS single-season record in punt return yardage as a sophomore, finished his senior season with 29 returned punts for 371 yards and a touchdown, including an 88-yard punt return for touchdown in the season opener against Gardner-Webb.

Scores by quarter
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Post season
Following the victory over Grambling for the HBCU national championship, the team returned to Greensboro on the afternoon of December 17, greeted by a host of family, friends, and members of the local media. In recognition of the national championship, the team was sent out on a 5 stop victory tour to celebrate the historic accomplishment. On January, 15th, the team served as grand marshals of the Greensboro Martin Luther King Day parade. The following day, the team was recognized by the Greensboro City Council with a resolution honoring the season's accomplishments. On January 19, the team was invited to meet with the Governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, in a reception at the North Carolina Executive Mansion. At the reception, Governor Cooper signed a proclamation recognizing the team and was presented with a gift from the University by A&T's Chancellor Harold Martin. On January 27, the team was again recognized during halftime of the basketball game against arch rival North Carolina Central. Lastly, on January 30, the university held a pep rally inside Corbett Sports Center, celebrating the team and their accomplishments. ---

Rod Broadway's retirement
As the season concluded, many media outlets speculated the Rod Broadway was contemplating retirement. It was reported by media sources that as of the end of the regular season, Broadway had yet to sit down with A&T's Athletic Director Earl Hilton & Chancellor Harold Martin to renew his contract. According to Brant Wilkerson-New of the Greensboro News & Record, when asked about the retirement rumors, Brodway responded by saying “We’re going to sit down and discuss the direction of the program and go from there...It’s in a pretty good place; We’ve taken some giants steps forward and still have a lot of room for improvement. That’s the goal, and we’re going to sit down and talk about all those things in January. ” On January 8, Broadway held a press conference confirming that he is retiring from coaching. Athletic Director Earl Hilton also announced that assistant coach Washington has been named as Broadways's successor. Broadway served out the remainder of his contract as a special assistant to the Athletic Director.

Awards
In the weeks following the finale of the 2017 MEAC regular season, many organizations began to announce finalists and winners of various post-season awards and honors. Coach Rod Broadway, in addition to several players for the Aggies, were honored with postseason awards and accolades including Redshirt Junior quarterback Lamar Raynard and Senior Offensive Lineman Brandon Parker.

Coach Broadway was named MEAC Coach of the year for the first time his 7 seasons as head coach of the Aggie program. In addition to Broadway, Quarterback Lamar Raynard was named MEAC Offensive player of the year. Raynard was presented with the award at the 60th annual National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame press conference in New York City. He is the first Aggie Quarterback to win the award since Connell Maynor, who won in 1991. Offensive lineman Brandon Parker earned the MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Year award, becoming the first player to win the award in 3 consecutive seasons. His performance also earned him 1st team FCS All-America honors. In addition to Parker Freshman Defensive Back Franklin "Mac" McCain III and Return Specialist Khris Gardin also earned FCS All-America honors, gaining third team recognition. Gardin ranks second in all of FCS with with 1,594 punt return yards, behind Marquay McDaniel of Hampton University.

The following A&T players were also named to the All–MEAC First, Second, and Third Teams:

2018 NFL Draft
The 2018 NFL Draft was held on April 26–28, 2018 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The following A&T players were either selected or signed as undrafted free agents following the draft.