Three Mountain Hawks named preseason all-league as PL holds annual Media Day
8/4/2015 2:41:00 PM | Football
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – All three of Lehigh's returning All-Patriot League selections were named to the preseason all-league squad as the Patriot League held its annual football media day Tuesday at Green Pond Country Club. The three Mountain Hawks named to the preseason all-league team were senior punter Austin Devine, junior linebacker Colton Caslow and sophomore wide receiver Troy Pelletier.
Caslow, junior quarterback Nick Shafnisky and head coach Andy Coen represented Lehigh at media day as head coaches and select student-athletes from the seven league schools were in attendance to chat with media members and discuss the upcoming season.
The Mountain Hawks will be looking to bounce back from a 3-8 season in 2014 and reclaim the success that saw Lehigh go 39-9 with a pair of Patriot League titles from 2010-2013.
"I'm looking forward to it," said Coen, who begins his tenth season. "It's been a long offseason for us and all our players. I'm really excited with the energy these guys are bringing. We had a great summer of workouts. Our strength and conditioning coaches had nothing but good things to say about the men that were here. At points we had 40 kids or so working out and bonding with each other, which is really what you're looking for heading into the start of the season."
"I can't wait and I know all the guys can't wait too," Shafnisky added. "It's a different aspect coming back off a 3-8 season so I know a lot of the guys are back with a chip on their shoulders to change and bring what Lehigh football is all about back."
(8/4/2015) 2015 Patriot League Football Media Day
Lehigh was picked fifth in the Patriot League preseason poll announced Tuesday with 31 points. Defending league champion Fordham topped the poll with 66 points and ten of a possible 14 first place votes. Bucknell was three points behind and claimed the remaining four first place votes. Colgate was picked third with 48 points, followed by Lafayette (44) and then the Mountain Hawks. Holy Cross was picked sixth in the poll followed by Georgetown.
"For a long time people were chasing after us and now we're chasing after everybody else," Coen said. "We're going to put our cleats on and run as hard as we can to catch them."
Devine was named first team all-league in 2014 after ranking 15th nationally in punting average in his first season as Lehigh's punter. He averaged 42.2 yards on 47 punts and placed 21 kicks inside the opponents' 20 yard line.
Caslow garnered second team all-league recognition last year after ranking second on the Mountain Hawks in tackles with 67. He had 12 tackles and 1.5 tackles-for-loss in a win at Georgetown and established a career-high with 13 stops against Lafayette.
"We had a great summer together," Caslow said. "We had a lot of guys up here, a lot of freshmen especially. We were all working hard in our lifting program and getting all the extra activities done that we needed to do in order to come out this fall and show people what we're made of."
Caslow will be one of the leaders of a defense that must improve on the heels of a challenging 2014 season.
"We sat down at the end of last season and decided to make a scheme change," Coen said. "I liked how that looked in the spring. The players really took to it. They're very excited about the system they're going into. We recruited guys that can play to this system. We're going to be able to do things better in this system then we did a year ago."
Pelletier's breakout freshman campaign earned him a spot on last year's second team and this season's preseason all-league team. A finalist for the Jerry Rice Award given to the nation's top first year player, Pelletier led the Mountain Hawks with 815 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on 49 catches. He was a two-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week.
"Nick is the healthiest he's been since he got on campus," Coen said. "I'm very excited about that. He's a little more limber and more flexible which will help him throw a lot better. He knows the offense better. The passing game will be a strength of our team. Troy (Pelletier) can be a dominant player and we have some other guys who haven't really hit the field yet who are going to be impact guys for us as well."
Coen inherits a significantly younger team than in previous years as well. Lehigh will open camp with 32 freshmen on the roster and more than half of the Mountain Hawks' roster consists of first or second year student-athletes.
"I'm excited that we have all these young guys," Coen said. "I'm excited that we have 17 great seniors. All these guys are committing to fixing what happened last year."
Fordham captured both major preseason awards with running back Chase Edmonds and linebacker Stephen Hodge earning the league's Preseason Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year awards, respectively.
The preseason poll, awards and all-league team were voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors, who are not permitted to vote for their own teams or student-athletes.
Lehigh reports for preseason camp on Wednesday with its opening practice set for Thursday evening.
"We've been waiting for this all summer," Caslow said. "We're ready for it. I can't wait to get into meetings tomorrow to start installing for practice on Thursday. We always start out with a night practice and it's going to be a lot of fun."
The Mountain Hawks will open the 2015 season on Friday, September 4 at Central Connecticut State with kickoff set for 7 p.m. Lehigh's home opener is set for September 19 when the Penn Quakers visit Goodman Stadium. Tickets for all Lehigh home games can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME or by visiting LehighTickets.com.
2015 Patriot League Football Preseason Poll
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Chase Edmonds, Fordham, RB
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Stephen Hodge, Fordham, LB
Preseason All-Patriot League Team
Offense
QB Peter Pujals, Holy Cross (Jr.)
RB Chase Edmonds, Fordham (So.)
RB C.J. Williams, Bucknell (Jr.)
WR Will Carter, Bucknell (Jr.)
WR Troy Pelletier, Lehigh (So.)
WR Jake Wieczorek, Holy Cross (Jr.)
TE John Quazza, Colgate (Sr.)
OL Julie'n Davenport, Bucknell (Jr.)
OL Ramy Kased, Bucknell (Sr.)
OL Garrick Mayweather, Fordham (Sr.)
OL Connor Staudle, Lafayette (Jr.)
OL John Weber, Colgate (Sr.)
OL Nick Zataveski, Lafayette (Sr.)
RS Matt Smalley, Lafayette (Sr.)
PK Jonah Bowman, Colgate (Jr.)
Defense
DL Abdullah Anderson, Bucknell (So.)
DL Marlin Crook, Fordham (Jr.)
DL Victor Steffen, Colgate (Sr.)
DL Justin Vaughn, Fordham (Jr.)
LB Colton Caslow, Lehigh (Jr.)
LB Kyle Diener, Colgate (Jr.)
LB Mark Dodd, Lafayette (Sr.)
LB Stephen Hodge, Fordham (Gr.)
DB Clayton Ewell, Bucknell (Sr.)
DB Jared Roberts, Lafayette (Sr.)
DB Ettian Scott, Georgetown (Sr.)
DB Matt Smalley, Lafayette (Sr.)
P Austin Devine, Lehigh (Sr.)
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – All three of Lehigh's returning All-Patriot League selections were named to the preseason all-league squad as the Patriot League held its annual football media day Tuesday at Green Pond Country Club. The three Mountain Hawks named to the preseason all-league team were senior punter Austin Devine, junior linebacker Colton Caslow and sophomore wide receiver Troy Pelletier.
Caslow, junior quarterback Nick Shafnisky and head coach Andy Coen represented Lehigh at media day as head coaches and select student-athletes from the seven league schools were in attendance to chat with media members and discuss the upcoming season.
The Mountain Hawks will be looking to bounce back from a 3-8 season in 2014 and reclaim the success that saw Lehigh go 39-9 with a pair of Patriot League titles from 2010-2013.
"I'm looking forward to it," said Coen, who begins his tenth season. "It's been a long offseason for us and all our players. I'm really excited with the energy these guys are bringing. We had a great summer of workouts. Our strength and conditioning coaches had nothing but good things to say about the men that were here. At points we had 40 kids or so working out and bonding with each other, which is really what you're looking for heading into the start of the season."
"I can't wait and I know all the guys can't wait too," Shafnisky added. "It's a different aspect coming back off a 3-8 season so I know a lot of the guys are back with a chip on their shoulders to change and bring what Lehigh football is all about back."
Lehigh was picked fifth in the Patriot League preseason poll announced Tuesday with 31 points. Defending league champion Fordham topped the poll with 66 points and ten of a possible 14 first place votes. Bucknell was three points behind and claimed the remaining four first place votes. Colgate was picked third with 48 points, followed by Lafayette (44) and then the Mountain Hawks. Holy Cross was picked sixth in the poll followed by Georgetown.
"For a long time people were chasing after us and now we're chasing after everybody else," Coen said. "We're going to put our cleats on and run as hard as we can to catch them."
Devine was named first team all-league in 2014 after ranking 15th nationally in punting average in his first season as Lehigh's punter. He averaged 42.2 yards on 47 punts and placed 21 kicks inside the opponents' 20 yard line.
Caslow garnered second team all-league recognition last year after ranking second on the Mountain Hawks in tackles with 67. He had 12 tackles and 1.5 tackles-for-loss in a win at Georgetown and established a career-high with 13 stops against Lafayette.
"We had a great summer together," Caslow said. "We had a lot of guys up here, a lot of freshmen especially. We were all working hard in our lifting program and getting all the extra activities done that we needed to do in order to come out this fall and show people what we're made of."
Caslow will be one of the leaders of a defense that must improve on the heels of a challenging 2014 season.
"We sat down at the end of last season and decided to make a scheme change," Coen said. "I liked how that looked in the spring. The players really took to it. They're very excited about the system they're going into. We recruited guys that can play to this system. We're going to be able to do things better in this system then we did a year ago."
Pelletier's breakout freshman campaign earned him a spot on last year's second team and this season's preseason all-league team. A finalist for the Jerry Rice Award given to the nation's top first year player, Pelletier led the Mountain Hawks with 815 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on 49 catches. He was a two-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week.
"Nick is the healthiest he's been since he got on campus," Coen said. "I'm very excited about that. He's a little more limber and more flexible which will help him throw a lot better. He knows the offense better. The passing game will be a strength of our team. Troy (Pelletier) can be a dominant player and we have some other guys who haven't really hit the field yet who are going to be impact guys for us as well."
Coen inherits a significantly younger team than in previous years as well. Lehigh will open camp with 32 freshmen on the roster and more than half of the Mountain Hawks' roster consists of first or second year student-athletes.
"I'm excited that we have all these young guys," Coen said. "I'm excited that we have 17 great seniors. All these guys are committing to fixing what happened last year."
Fordham captured both major preseason awards with running back Chase Edmonds and linebacker Stephen Hodge earning the league's Preseason Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year awards, respectively.
The preseason poll, awards and all-league team were voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors, who are not permitted to vote for their own teams or student-athletes.
Lehigh reports for preseason camp on Wednesday with its opening practice set for Thursday evening.
"We've been waiting for this all summer," Caslow said. "We're ready for it. I can't wait to get into meetings tomorrow to start installing for practice on Thursday. We always start out with a night practice and it's going to be a lot of fun."
The Mountain Hawks will open the 2015 season on Friday, September 4 at Central Connecticut State with kickoff set for 7 p.m. Lehigh's home opener is set for September 19 when the Penn Quakers visit Goodman Stadium. Tickets for all Lehigh home games can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME or by visiting LehighTickets.com.
2015 Patriot League Football Preseason Poll
| Team (# of first place votes) | Points |
| 1. Fordham (10) | 66 |
| 2. Bucknell (4) | 63 |
| 3. Colgate | 48 |
| 4. Lafayette | 44 |
| 5. Lehigh | 31 |
| 6. Holy Cross | 29 |
| 7. Georgetown | 13 |
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Chase Edmonds, Fordham, RB
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Stephen Hodge, Fordham, LB
Preseason All-Patriot League Team
Offense
QB Peter Pujals, Holy Cross (Jr.)
RB Chase Edmonds, Fordham (So.)
RB C.J. Williams, Bucknell (Jr.)
WR Will Carter, Bucknell (Jr.)
WR Troy Pelletier, Lehigh (So.)
WR Jake Wieczorek, Holy Cross (Jr.)
TE John Quazza, Colgate (Sr.)
OL Julie'n Davenport, Bucknell (Jr.)
OL Ramy Kased, Bucknell (Sr.)
OL Garrick Mayweather, Fordham (Sr.)
OL Connor Staudle, Lafayette (Jr.)
OL John Weber, Colgate (Sr.)
OL Nick Zataveski, Lafayette (Sr.)
RS Matt Smalley, Lafayette (Sr.)
PK Jonah Bowman, Colgate (Jr.)
Defense
DL Abdullah Anderson, Bucknell (So.)
DL Marlin Crook, Fordham (Jr.)
DL Victor Steffen, Colgate (Sr.)
DL Justin Vaughn, Fordham (Jr.)
LB Colton Caslow, Lehigh (Jr.)
LB Kyle Diener, Colgate (Jr.)
LB Mark Dodd, Lafayette (Sr.)
LB Stephen Hodge, Fordham (Gr.)
DB Clayton Ewell, Bucknell (Sr.)
DB Jared Roberts, Lafayette (Sr.)
DB Ettian Scott, Georgetown (Sr.)
DB Matt Smalley, Lafayette (Sr.)
P Austin Devine, Lehigh (Sr.)
Players Mentioned
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