Former HBCU standout Brandon Codrington is turning his return maestro badge on in the NFL.
In a preseason week two matchup against the Carolina Panthers, the former North Carolina Central almost returned a punt for a touchdown, before traveling 31-yards down the sideline losing his balance heading out of bounds. Coming out for the second half he returned a kickoff for 63-yards.
In an interview reported by Brian Costello for the New York Post, Jets coach Robert Saleh gave praise to the Raleigh native and HBCU standout.
“I think he was, for both teams, the most productive. He set up a couple of scoring drives. That’s what he’s here for. That’s why we brought him in, his punt return and kick return ability. I thought he did a really nice job tonight.”
Codrington is no stranger to the art of being a return man. Across three seasons with North Carolina Central, he averaged a total of 50 returns over 1,000 yards averaging 20.17 yards per carry and 1 touchdown on kickoffs. The one touchdown he returned was from the final minutes of a tied game between Delaware State on October 26, 2019. Codrington returned a kickoff 75 yards to win the game which would then earn him the MEAC Specialist of the Week award.
Codrington was a member of the 2022 Celebration Bowl Champion team and he is currently ranked 5th all-time for longest punt return, which was a 77-yard long touchdown versus Alcorn State in the MEAC/SWAC challenge in 2021.
Codrington was named MEAC Specialist of the Week after returning a punt 81 yards for a touchdown against Winston-Salem State, which is the fourth-longest punt return in NCCU history.
Over his four years at NCCU, he garnered multiple return specialist awards, all-MEAC honor and FCS All-American honors to round off his career as an Eagle. Codrington eventually signed to the New York Jets as an unrestricted free-agent after rookie mini-camp and as the regular season approaches Codrington will look to make the 53-man roster.
