WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (June 11, 2014) — Although the start of the 2014 season is still more than two months away, the William and Mary football team is already generating some excitement by earning preseason national rankings from multiple organizations. The Tribe is ranked 12th by Lindy's, 15th by Athlon and 23rd by Sporting News.
W&M returns 17 starters (eight offense/eight defense/one kicker/punter) from last season's team that rose as high as 16th in the national rankings and posted wins against three top-20 teams. Highlighting the large contingent of outstanding returners is a pair of All-Americans in senior defensive end Mike Reilly and senior wide receiver Tre McBride, as well as six other players who earned all-conference honors in 2013.
Led by Reilly, four of the returning all-conference players line up on the defensive side and were part of last season's dominant unit that ranked second nationally in scoring defense (14.0) and eighth in total defense (305.5).
McBride will provide the offense with one of the country's most dynamic playmakers, while all-conference junior tailback Mikal Abdul-Saboor and all-league senior fullback Darnell Laws will lead the rushing attack.
The Tribe will open the 2014 season at Virginia Tech on Aug. 30, while its 12-game slate will also include home games against Norfolk State (Sept. 13), Lafayette – Family Weekend (Sept. 20), Villanova – Homecoming (Oct. 18), Delaware (Oct. 25), Elon (Nov. 8) and Richmond (Nov. 22). Season tickets are available by clicking here.
