University of Richmond Athletics
Six Named Preseason All-CAA Football; No. 3 Richmond Tabbed South Champ
July 23, 2008
BALTIMORE, Md. - When the 2008 Richmond Football season kicks off August 30 with first-year head coach Mike London at the helm, the expectations - at minimum - will include a CAA Football South Division title.
In a preseason poll of the league's head coaches and media, the Spiders were tabbed to repeat as the South Division winner and can boast a league-best six selections to the Preseason All-Conference Team. Richmond is the reigning CAA Champion, reached the NCAA National Semifinals for the first time in school history and finished with a program-record 11-3 mark in 2007.
Sophomore WR Kevin Grayson and junior OL Matthew McCracken were named on the offensive side, with senior DL Lawrence Sidbury, Jr., junior LB Collin McConaghy and sophomore LB Eric McBride getting the nod on defense. Sophomore KR Justin Rogers was selected on special teams.
The announcements were made Wednesday during the second-annual CAA Football Media Day at the ESPNZone on Baltimore's Inner Harbor.
Richmond's six selections led the conference followed by the five from Massachusetts, which was voted as the North Division favorite and the overall league champion. The Spiders' had the only three sophomores chosen to the 28-man, senior-laden team.
Grayson (offense) and McBride (defense) are the defending CAA Football Rookies of the Year, with Rogers the reigning Special Teams Player of the Year. McCracken and Rogers were each All-America picks last season, while Sidbury is regarded by some publications as the premier defensive lineman in FCS football.
The Minutemen received 17 first-place votes, compared to the 11 for the Spiders. Richmond and UMass were co-champions in 2007 and are set to meet October 18 in Amherst.
Richmond was followed by James Madison (seven first-place votes), Delaware (one), Villanova, William & Mary and Towson in the South, while UMass was trailed in the North by New Hampshire (one), Hofstra (one), Maine, Northeastern and Rhode Island.
Picked as high as No. 3 in two preseason top-25 polls, the Spiders are a top-10 pick by every major poll covering FCS football. Both anygivensunday.com and Phil Steele have the Spiders ranked third, with Lindy's taking Richmond sixth, The Sporting News and USA Today picking Richmond seventh and the SME Network choosing the Red & Blue eighth.
McCracken, Sidbury and Rogers were Preseason All-America selections in Phil Steele's college football preview edition.
Richmond's 126th season of football opens August 30 vs. Elon - ranked as high as eighth in preseason polls - at 7 p.m. in Elon, N.C. The Spiders report to preseason camp August 3.