Football | 7/23/2015 10:15:00 AM
East Rutherford, N.J. – According to a poll of Northeast Conference (NEC) head coaches, the
Robert Morris University football team has been selected to finish seventh in the league in 2015. The poll was released as part of the league's inaugural Social Media Day, which was held at MetLifeStadium, site of Super Bowl XLVIII.
Bryant was tabbed as the preseason favorite for the first time in league history although it was a split decision as the Bulldogs claimed four first-place votes.
Immediately following the Bulldogs (8-3, 4-2 in 2014) in the poll is Duquesne (6-6, 2-4) while 2014 co-champions Sacred Heart (9-3, 5-1) and Wagner (7-4, 5-1) came in third and fourth, respectively. Saint Francis (5-6, 3-3) and Central Connecticut State (3-9, 1-5) slotted in ahead of RMU. The Dukes claimed a single first-place vote while the Pioneers nabbed two.
Robert Morris returns 15 starters and 38 letterwinners as it embarks on a second season with Banaszak at the helm.
RMU brings back leading rusher
Rameses Owens, who ran for 562 yards in seven games as a true freshman, along with each of its quarterbacks and four of its top five receivers in 2015. The Colonials also have four starters on the offensive line returning from a year ago in
Blake Chambliss,
Nick Faraci,
Max Robertson and
Josh Thiel.
On the defensive side of the ball, Robert Morris returns its top eight tacklers from a year ago, a group led by linebackers
Jake Tkach (84 tackles, 10 TFL) and
Mike Stojkovic (82 tackles, 10 TFL) and defensive back
Andy Smigiera (74 tackles, 3 INT). That octet does not even include defensive lineman
Forrest Mason, a two-time All-NEC selection who earned All-League honors a year ago despite playing in just seven games.
In total, there are 17 Colonials returning on offense that started at least one game in 2014 and 12 such student-athletes on defense.
The only other time in the past decade that the Colonials were tabbed seventh in the preseason poll came in 2006. RMU went on to defeat a nationally ranked team that year and finished the season first in the Football Championship Subdivision in total defense.
RMU's six league titles are the most among current league members and tied for the most among schools that have been a part of the NEC at any point its history.
Under Banaszak, the second head coach in program history, RMU is scheduled to report to its 22nd training camp Saturday, Aug. 8. The Colonials will commence the 2015 campaign at home Saturday, Sept. 5, against Dayton.
2015 NEC Football Preseason Coaches Poll
(First-Place Votes in Parenthesis)1. Bryant (4)
2. Duquesne (1)
3. Sacred Heart (2)
4. Wagner
5. Saint Francis
6. Central Connecticut State
7. Robert Morris
