*** 2019 Honors Candidate ***

Career: Custer returns for his senior season in 2019 with 21 starts in 35 games played. His 21 starts are fourth among offensive players and tied for fourth on the team overall. He now has 1,817 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns in his career, and also has 556 receiving yards on 64 catches and 499 on kickoff returns for a total of 2,872 all-purpose yards (82.1 per game). He needs just 183 rushing yards to become the 16th Eastern player to hit the 2,000-yard mark. His career 23.8 average returning kickoffs is currently 11th in school history and he's scored a total of 27 touchdowns as an Eagle to currently rank 15th all-time at EWU. He has had six 100-yard rushing performances, including a trio as a junior, two as a sophomore and one as a freshman.
 
2019: Listed as a starter at running back on the preseason depth chart, and is also listed as one of three potential kickoff returners.
 
2018: Earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors (as selected by the league’s head coaches). Custer finished his junior season with 613 yards and eight scores in 11 games played (56.8 per game and 6.4 per carry). All five EWU running backs averaged at least 6.4 per carry, helping EWU set school records for average yards per rush (6.62), yards (3,839) and rushing touchdowns (41). Eastern’s average per rush ranked only behind Davidson's 7.44 average in FCS. The Eagles averaged 528.4 yards on offense to rank third in FCS, including 255.9 rushing to rank 10th. Missing EWU’s first three games, Custer made his 2018 debut versus Cal Poly (9/22/18) after suffering a preseason hamstring injury.  He scored on runs of 62 and 43 yards versus Cal Poly, 2 and 13 yards against Southern Utah (10/6/18) and a pair of 1-yard TD plunges versus UC Davis (11/10/18). Eastern had the second-most rushing yards in school history with 441 versus Cal Poly, with Custer finishing with 133 on just eight carries (16.6 per rush). Eastern set new school and Big Sky Conference records in the process with an average of 14.7 yards per carry. The Eagles have had a 100-yard rusher in 11 of their last 17 games dating back to 2017, including four by Custer. He had an even 100 in a 372-yard outing versus UC Davis (11/10/18) and one game earlier finished with 122 on a 308-yard day for the Eagles versus Northern Colorado (11/3/18). Custer was selected to the preseason All-Big Sky team. Rushed for a 59 yards in three spring scrimmages, and caught four passes for another 107 yards.

2017: Received honorable mention from Hero Sports on its Sophomore All-America Team. Earned second team All-Big Sky honors (as selected by the league’s head coaches). Custer was also selected as EWU’s Offensive Player of the Year. Started 10 games as a running back and played in a total of 11. He finished 42nd in FCS and fifth in the Big Sky with an average of 70.5 yards per game (776 total), and his 10 rushing touchdowns ranked him 25th in FCS and third in the league. Custer finished his sophomore season with 776 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, to go along with 21 receptions for 276 yards and two more scores. His average of 107.0 all-purpose yards per game ranked seventh in the league and 52nd in FCS. Custer had what was then a career-best 147 rushing yards and two touchdowns in EWU’s 31-19 victory over Montana State (10/14/17). It eclipsed the 141 he had as a true freshman in 2016 against Idaho State, and were the most for an Eagle in 29 games since Jabari Wilson had 188 versus Montana State early in the 2015 season. Custer then ended the year with a career-high 177-yard effort with three touchdowns on 24 carries against Portland State (11/18/17), scoring on runs of 6, 28 and 27 yards. He also had between 70 and 81 yards in three other games, including 14 carries for 81 yards and a TD versus Sacramento State (9/30/17). He also had 76 yards and TD versus Weber State (11/4/17) and 70 in EWU’s next game at North Dakota (11/11/17). Three times he was honored as the team’s offensive player of the week after the Sac State, Montana State and Weber State games. Custer had 67 yards in the Red-White spring game to give him a team-high 88 in three scrimmages.

2016: As a true freshman, Custer started six games and played in a total of 13 for the Eagles. He rushed for 416 yards and caught another 27 passes for 187 yards and a score. He also was a standout kickoff returner, with a 26.7 average on 14 returns with a TD. Although Custer didn’t have enough returns to qualify individually, Eastern’s 21.7 average as a team ranked fourth in the Big Sky and 25th nationally. He made big plays all season, finishing his debut season with 977 all-purpose yards and a pair of Big Sky Conference Player of the Week accolades. Making the first collegiate start of his career, Custer scored the first touchdown of the season for the Eagles on a pass from Gage Gubrud in Eastern’s thrilling 45-42 win at Washington State (9/3/16). Two games later versus Northern Iowa (9/17/16), he had a 93-yard kickoff return (16th longest in school history) for a touchdown to open the second half against Northern Iowa. Trailing Northern Iowa by 17 at halftime, Custer’s TD sparked EWU’s come-from-behind 34-30 win over the Panthers and earned him his first Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honor. He was also EWU’s special teams player of the week, as his TD return was the first by an Eagle since Hill had a 90-yarder against Portland State on Nov. 21, 2014. Hill, EWU’s all-time leader in kickoff returns and yards, actually provided three blocks down the sideline during Custer’s TD return. In the last 20+ seasons (1996-2016), Eastern has returned 37 total kicks for touchdowns while allowing just 17. Custer also provided a third quarter spark for the Eagles in EWU’s 63-30 win over UC Davis (10/1/16). He opened the third quarter with a 55-yard return this time, leading to a short touchdown drive as part of EWU’s 35-point onslaught in that period. The resulting TD pulled EWU within 23-21, and the lead quickly changed hands twice before the Eagles scored the final 35 points of the game. His 55-yarder was just his second return as an Eagle, and then he followed that with a 16-yard return versus the Aggies. He ended the regular season by returning four kickoffs for a 26.8 average in a Big Sky Conference title-clinching 35-28 victory against Portland State (11/18/16). He had a long of 35, which sparked EWU’s nine-play, 61-yard drive that knotted the game at 28 in the fourth quarter. En route to a season-high of 185 all-purpose yards, he also rushed for a team-high 69 yards on 13 carries (5.3 per carry), giving him 210 yards in his last two regular season games of the season. He had the first 100-yard rushing game of his career, and first of the season for the Eagles in EWU’s 48-17 win over Idaho State (11/12/16) to earn team offensive player of the week honors. He finished with 141 yards on 12 carries, including an 83-yard touchdown in the second quarter which equals the ninth-longest in school history. It was the first 100-yard rushing performance by an Eagle in EWU’s last 15 games dating back to Jalen Moore’s 128-yard performance at Northern Colorado. His 141 were the most for an Eagle in 19 games since Jabari Wilson had 188 versus Montana State earlier in the 2015 season. While EWU’s offense ended up with four turnovers and had to punt three times, the Eagles had excellent balance with 281 on the ground and 276 through the air. Eastern finished with a total of 557, including 209 in the third quarter. It was the first time in 23 games the Eagles had more rushing yards than passing yards, dating back to a playoff win over Montana on Dec. 6, 2014, when the Eagles had 212 on the ground and 182 through the air. He missed the Northern Colorado game (10/8/16) with a concussion, but was also very productive in a 42-21 win at Cal Poly (11/5/16) when he had 145 all-purpose yards -- 64 yards rushing, 39 on three catches and 42 on two kickoff returns to earn team offensive player of the week honors.

HS: Graduated from De La Salle HS in 2016. Rated as a three-star recruit by Scout.com and 247Sports, and a two-star recruit according to Rivals.com and espn.com. He was also rated as the 84th best running back prospect in the nation by 247sports.com. In both his junior and senior seasons he was one of only 30 players selected from all classifications in the entire state of California to the CalHiSports.com All-State team (running back as a junior, multi-purpose as a senior). He rushed for 4,429 yards (103.0 per game and 10.3 per carry) and scored 66 total touchdowns while helping his team compile a 41-2 record in three seasons, with a pair of state titles and a runner-up finish. He finished with 5,965 all-purpose yards in his career, with 26 receptions for 503 yards. He scored 53 touchdowns rushing, four receiving and nine on returns and recoveries. He averaged an incredible 42.3 yards per kickoff return (14 returns) in his career with three touchdowns, and a 14.1 average on 25 punt returns with another score. As a senior, Custer was named by CalHiSports.com as a first team All-State multi-purpose player (all schools, all classifications) and was its recipient of the North Central Section All-Around Athlete of the Year. Also a full-time player on defense, he was the East Bay Player of the Year as selected by the Contra Costa Times. He earned first-team All-East Bay Athletic League honors for the second-straight season. Custer rushed for 1,339 yards (9.8 yards per carry) and 15 touchdowns to lead De La Salle to a 13-1 record. He also caught eight passes for 154 yards and a touchdown, and had 2,060 total all-purpose yards and 21 total touchdowns. He scored twice on interception returns, twice on kickoff returns and scored a TD via a punt return. He also had 37 tackles with three total interceptions (107 return yards). The Spartans lost only to Euless Trinity in Texas early in the year, then won its last 13 games to repeat as CIF Open Division champions with a 28-21 victory over previously undefeated Centennial. Custer closed his illustrious career with touchdown runs of 4 and 63 yards to finish with 117 in the game. He also had key pass broken up to force an incompletion on fourth down. De La Salle finished ranked No. 1 in the nation by Max Preps after being rated No. 1 at the beginning of the season. In his junior season, Custer was named by CalHiSports.com as a first team All-State running back (all schools, all classifications). He earned All-North Coast Section Player of the Year honors from prep2pre.com. In addition, he was the East Bay Player of the Year as selected by the San Jose Mercury News and was the East Bay Athletic League MVP. Custer finished the season with 1,949 rushing yards (10.5 per carry) and 24 touchdowns, despite being pulled early from a majority of the Spartans’ lopsided victories, and getting fewer than 10 touches in six of the team’s 14 games. He also caught five passes for 141 yards and a touchdown, and had 2,314 total all-purpose yards and 26 total touchdowns (scored once on a kickoff return). He also had 23 tackles with 1 1/2 sacks on defense. He had 353 all-purpose yards, including 268 yards rushing and four touchdowns, in a 63-42 win over Centennial in the CIF title game. His total also included an 82-yard kickoff return and a 73-yard TD run. He also ran for over 200 yards against Servite and in the North Coast Section title game against Pittsburg. The Spartans finished a perfect 14-0. He was his team’s sophomore of the year in 2013, rushing for 1,141 yards and 14 touchdowns in his first of three seasons as a starter. He also caught 13 passes for 208 yards (16.0 average) and two TD’s. He also averaged 26.5 yards on two kickoff returns and 27.0 yards on seven punt returns with one touchdown. Defensively, Custer had 20 total tackles, two passes defensed and one fumble recovery. Including return yards, he had 1,591 all-purpose yards and scored 19 total TDs. De La Salle finished 14-1, with its lone loss coming 20-14 at the hands of St. John Bosco Bellflower in the CIF championship game. He also had offers from Washington State, Wyoming and San Jose State. At De La Salle he wore the No. 28 jersey previously worn by his cousin, the late Terrance Kelly, a former De La Salle star who was slain in 2004 just days before he was set to leave his Richmond home for a scholarship at Oregon. The number is semi-retired and to wear it a player must embody Kelly’s team-first spirit and have a connection to him. The 2014 movie When the Game Stands Tall is about the program’s 151-game winning streak, which was broken by Bellevue (Wash.) High School on Sept. 4, 2004.

Personal: Communications studies major. Born 1/16/98 in Oakland, Calif. Mother is Sonya Bates and his father is Antoine Lee-Dempsey Custer Sr. Nickname is “P-Rico.” First name is pronounced “an-twawn.”

 

Year	GP	Car	Yds	Hi	Apc	Apg	TD	Lg
2016	13	98	416	141	4.2	32.0	5	83t
2017	11	157	776	177	4.9	70.5	10	36
2018	11	97	625	133	6.4	56.8	8	62
Totals	35	352	1817	177	5.2	51.9	23	83t

           

Year	GP	PC	Hi	Yds	Apr	Apg	TD	Lg
2016	13	27	4	187	6.9	2.1	1	26
2017	11	21	5	276	13.1	1.9	2	43t
2018	11	17	4	93	5.5	8.5	0	12
Totals	35	65	5	556	8.6	15.9	3	43t

Kickoff Returns: 2017/7-125-17.9 (long of 25), 2016/14-374-26.7 (long of 93t), Totals/21-499-23.8 (long of 93t).
 
ANTOINE CUSTER JR Top Rushing Performances (6 with 100+)
24 catches, 177 yards, 3 TD – Portland State – 11/18/17
27 carries, 147 yards, 2 TD – Montana State – 10/14/17
12 carries, 141  yards, 1 TD – Idaho State – 11/12/16
7 carries, 137 yards, 2 TD – Cal Poly – 9/22/18
16 carries, 122 yards, 0 TD – Northern Colorado – 11/3/18
15 carries, 100 yards, 2 TD – UC Davis – 11/10/18
 
ANTOINE CUSTER JR Top Receiving Performances (1 with 100+)
5 catches, 115 yards, 1 TD – Sacramento State – 9/30/17
 
Antoine Custer Jr. Long Plays of 40+ Yards (7)
93 yard kickoff return (TD) - Northern Iowa - 9/17/16 . . . #17 longest in EWU history
83 yard rush (TD) – Idaho State – 11/12/16 . . . #10 longest in EWU history
55 yard kickoff return - UC Davis - 10/1/16
62 yard rush (TD) – Cal Poly – 9/22/18
43 yard rush (TD) – Cal Poly – 9/22/18
44 yard rush – Northern Colorado – 11/3/18
43 yard reception (TD from Gage Gubrud) – Fordham – 9/16/17