By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
Last fall, William & Mary nearly ran the table in winning the CAA football championship. So it was a foregone conclusion, especially with 17 starters returning, that the Tribe would be everyone's pick to repeat this season.
Sure enough, when the preseason coaches' poll was announced Tuesday morning, W&M had received 13 of the 15 first-place votes. Since coaches cannot vote for their own team, it was really 13 of 14. National polls have had the Tribe (11-2 last season) as high as fourth
All of which is nice, especially for a program that was projected 11th only two years ago. But expectations don't matter nearly as much as actual results.
"You look at what's going on, what has gone on, and you appreciate those things," W&M coach
Mike London said during the CAA virtual media day. "But it's not how you start, it's how you finish. Our mindset is based on being hungry and being humble.
"There's a lot of unfinished business. We're not celebrating anything right now. It's a new season and a new team. We're not satisfied with how we ended. That's what you're remembered for. We want to be remembered for winning that last game and holding the trophy."
Not that anyone needs reminding, but last season ended with a 55-7 loss at Montana State in the FCS quarterfinals. Starting from the conditions — 19 degrees at kickoff with ice on the field — nothing went right that night.
You can say the players still remember. The screenshot on defensive end
Nate Lynn's phone is a picture of the scoreboard that night.
"I'm not a guy who holds grudges, but that hasn't set with me well," Lynn said. "I can say that as a team, that left a bad taste in everybody's mouth, top to bottom."
"I can echo that," running back
Bronson Yoder said. "Bad taste."
Linebacker
John Pius, who had 11.5 sacks for 71 yards last season, was named the CAA's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Seven Tribe players made first-team all-conference: offensive lineman
Charles Grant, Yoder, linebacker
Isaiah Jones, cornerback
Jalen Jones, cornerback
Ryan Poole, Pius and Lynn.
The Tribe returns nine starters from an offense that led the conference in rushing yards (265.8 per game) and was second in total yards (448.8) and scoring (33.5 per game). Yoder was third in rushing at 104.6 yards per game. Junior quarterback
Darius Wilson led the CAA in pass efficiency at 158.6.
Three words can sum up
Christian Taylor's offense: Innovative, unpredictable and explosive.
"
Christian Taylor is a great coach and a great mind," Yoder said. "He does come up with a lot of wrinkles in our offense that allows us to get our explosive players the ball and get them out in space and get them running. We'll keep utilizing that unpredictability."
W&M has eight starters back on defense, including the five who were chosen for the preseason team. The Tribe lost defensive coordinator Vincent Brown, who was hired as head coach at North Carolina A&T. W&M elevated secondary coach
Ras-I Dowling and inside linebackers coach
Bo Revell to co-coordinator status.
"It's been smooth sailing," said Lynn, the 2022 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. "With them coming up through the program and having been in the building … Bo recruited me out of high school.
"Those are guys we have full confidence in. There are a lot of veteran guys, and I think we feel that on defense."
If there's a question mark, it's the kicking game.
Ethan Chang, the starting kicker the last three seasons (counting the spring of '21), graduated. Among those vying for the job are seniors
Will Whitehurst (also the punter) and
Caden Bonoffski, sophomore
Andrew Piercy and redshirt freshman
Bryson Harvey.
Bonoffski, a graduate transfer from Davidson, is the only one of the four who have attempted a field goal in a college game. He made 21-of-28 field goals in four years with the Wildcats, including 4-of-5 from beyond 40 yards last fall.
In addition to its new name, the Coastal Athletic Conference has 15 members with the addition of Campbell and North Carolina A&T from the Big South. W&M will open its season against the Camels in Buies Creek, N.C., on Aug. 31.
High expectations are always better than the alternative. Losing teams don't tend to generate a buzz. But London, who has been on both sides of this, knows how to handle it.
"Every year, your team's identity is reborn," he said. "We acknowledge all these things. I'm happy for the players and the preseason accolades, but what matters to us is the end of the season. That's what we're focused on."
2023 CAA FOOTBALL PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
(Selected by a vote of Head Coaches)
- William & Mary (13 first-place votes) - 195
- New Hampshire (1 first-place vote) - 179
- Richmond - 159
- Delaware (1 first-place vote) - 149
- Elon - 146
- Rhode Island - 135
- Villanova - 129
- Monmouth - 94
- Towson - 85
- North Carolina A&T - 70
- UAlbany - 64
- Campbell - 62
- Maine - 40
- Stony Brook - 38
- Hampton - 30
PRESEASON ALL-CAA TEAM
OFFENSE
Name, School
QB - Max Brosmer, New Hampshire
RB -
Bronson Yoder, William & Mary
RB - Dylan Laube, New Hampshire
RB - Jaden Shirden, Monmouth
HB - Johncarlos Miller III, Elon
TE - Kyle Lepkowski, New Hampshire
WR - Jaaron Hayek, Villanova
WR - Dymere Miller, Monmouth
WR - Jourdan Townsend, Delaware
OL - Ryan Coll, Richmond
OL - Michael Corbi, Villanova
OL - Nick Correia, Rhode Island
OL - Mike Edwards, Campbell
OL -
Charles Grant, William & Mary
OL - Tairiq Stewart, North Carolina A&T
DEFENSE
Name, School
DL - Marlem Louis, Richmond
DL -
Nate Lynn, William & Mary
DL - Dylan Ruiz, New Hampshire
DL - Josiah Silver, New Hampshire
LB -
Isaiah Jones, William & Mary
LB -
John Pius, William & Mary
LB - Qwahsin Townsel, Hampton
LB - Tristan Wheeler, Richmond
CB
Jalen Jones, William & Mary
CB -
Ryan Poole, William & Mary
CB - Karon Prunty, North Carolina A&T
S - Aaron Banks, Richmond
S - Bo Sanders, Elon
SPECIAL TEAMS
Name, School
KR - D'Ago Hunter, Towson
PR - Dylan Laube, New Hampshire
PK - Alex Schmoke, Delaware
P - Ryan Kost, Delaware
SPEC - Chandler Brayboy, Elon
CAA FOOTBALL PRESEASON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jaden Shirden, RB, Monmouth
CAA FOOTBALL PRESEASON DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: John Pius, LB, William & Mary
Honorable mention: Kasim Hill, QB, Rhode Island; Reese Poffenbarger, QB, UAlbany;
Darius Wilson, QB, William & Mary; Jalen Hampton, RB, Elon; Braden Brose, TE, Delaware; Joey Corcoran, WR, New Hampshire; Kahtero Summers, WR, Rhode Island; Greg Anderson, OL, Monmouth; Fintan Brose, OL, Delaware; Lorenzo Thompson, OL, Rhode Island; Jabril Williams, OL, Elon; Jesus Gibbs, DL, Towson; Jeremiah Grant, DL, Richmond; Anton Juncaj, DL; UAlbany; Chase McGowan, DL, Delaware; Aidan Kaler, LB, Stony Brook; Dylan Kelly, LB, UAlbany; Evan Stewart, LB, Rhode Island; CJ Tillman, LB, Campbell; Kahzir "Buggs" Brown, CB, Maine; Robert Javier, CB, Towson; Mike Reid, CB, Monmouth;
Marcus Barnes, S, William & Mary; Jalen Goodman, S, Villanova; Bryson Parker, S, Richmond; Caleb Dowden, PK, Campbell; Matt Mercurio, PK, Villanova;
Will Whitehurst, P, William & Mary; Taymon Cooke, KR, North Carolina A&T
