RICHMOND, Va.—A pair of preseason All-Americans headlined four Villanova selections to the CAA Football Preseason All-Conference Team which was announced in conjunction with the league's annual virtual media days on Wednesday morning. Fifth year offensive lineman
Jake Picard (Hope, R.I.) and senior linebacker
Shane Hartzell (Perkasie, Pa.) earned preseason all-conference honors along with sophomore running back
David Avit (Frederick, Md.) and fifth year defensive lineman
Obinna Nwobodo (Wilmington, Del.).
CAA Football kicked off its two-day virtual media day with the results of its annual preseason coaches' poll, including the Preseason All-Conference Team and the predicted order of finish in the 14-team league for the 2025 season. Villanova received two first-place votes and ranked third in the poll with 139 total points. In addition to the four preseason All-CAA selections from the Wildcats, senior offensive lineman
Stephane Voltaire (Randolph, Mass.) and sophomore cornerback
Zahmir Dawud (North Brunswick, N.J.) were named preseason honorable mention.
Villanova is coming off a 10-win season in 2024 which included a 6-2 regular season conference record and a second round appearance in the FCS playoffs. It was the fourth playoff appearance in the last six seasons for the Wildcats, who are one of just six FCS teams to have won 10 or more games in at least three of the last four seasons. Villanova is 36-15 overall during the four-year stretch and returns 13 starters from last year, led by its entire offensive line and eight offensive starters returning in total.
Picard and Hartzell were each chosen for the Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America Team earlier this month, with Picard earning a first team selection. It is the first time in his career that he has earned a national honor, but the well-deserved accolade comes after he was named to the CAA Football First Team Offense as a senior last season. Picard was part of an offensive line which helped the Wildcats average 312.5 yards of total offense per game in 2024, including better than 150 rushing yards (154.3) per contest to go along with 26 rushing touchdowns.
Hartzell was named to the CAA Football First Team Defense last season when he led the Wildcats with five sacks and recorded a team-high 67 solo tackles. He wound up second on the team with 121 total tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss. After a career day against New Hampshire in which he recorded 20 total stops, Hartzell was named the Stats Perform FCS Defensive Player of the Week and was also the CAA Football Defensive Player of the Week. He reached double digits in tackles four times during the season and had seven or more stops 10 times in 14 games.
Avit was the CAA Football Offensive Rookie of the Year as a true freshman last season and was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award which is presented to the top freshman in the FCS. He played in all 14 games during his rookie campaign and rushed for a team-high 923 yards while leading the Wildcats with nine rushing touchdowns. Avit had a career day against Stony Brook when he ran for 183 yards and four touchdowns on just 13 carries. It was part of a two-game stretch in which he amassed 343 yards and five scores. Later in the year, Avit scored in four consecutive games from November 2-23.
Nwobodo is a prime example of a player who has steadily developed within the Villanova system over the course of his collegiate career. He has emerged as a top-notch defensive lineman and will be one of the key returnees to the defense in 2025. Nwobodo started all 14 games a year ago and recorded six tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks among his 40 total stops on the year. He we registered 18 solo tackles and 22 assisted stops while being credited with two pass breakups, three quarterback hurries, one forced fumble and a blocked kick.
Voltaire has started 30 of the 37 career games he has played on the Villanova offensive line, including all 27 games over the past two seasons. Last year the offensive line helped the Wildcats record just 14 turnovers all season and finish the year with a plus-five turnover margin. Dawud played in all 14 games last season and earned four starts at corner. He totaled 47 tackles for the season, including 31 solo stops to go along with two interceptions, two forced fumbles and a pass breakup.
Rhode Island finished first in the CAA Football predicted order of finish with eight first-place votes and a total of 163 points. The vote was a close one with each of the seven teams in the top half of the poll totaling more than 100 points. Following Rhode Island in second place were Monmouth (four first-place votes, 142 points) and Villanova (two first-place votes, 139) to round out the top three. The other teams in the top half of the poll were Stony Brook (125), New Hampshire (119), Towson (108) and William & Mary (104). Monmouth quarterback Derek Robertson and Rhode Island linebacker A.J. Pena were named the CAA Football Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, respectively.
Villanova opens the 2025 season at home on Saturday, September 6 against Colgate with a 6 p.m. kickoff.
2025 CAA Football Predicted Order of Finish
(Selected by a vote of Head Coaches)
- Rhode Island (eight first-place votes, 163 points)
- Monmouth (four first-place votes, 142)
- Villanova (two first-place votes, 139)
- Stony Brook (125)
- New Hampshire (119)
- Towson (108)
- William & Mary (104)
- Elon (98)
- Maine (71)
- Campbell (53)
- Hampton (50)
- UAlbany (47)
- Bryant (32)
- North Carolina A&T (23)
2025 CAA FOOTBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
(Selected by a vote of Head Coaches)
OFFENSE
Name, School Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown
Derek Robertson, Monmouth Gr. QB 6-2 200 Hartsdale, N.Y.
David Avit, Villanova So. RB 6-0 220 Frederick, Md.
Roland Dempster, Stony Brook Gr. RB 6-0 225 Staten Island, N.Y.
Trey McDonald, William & Mary Sr. FB/HB 6-6 230 Kinnelon, N.J.
Jack Neri, Monmouth Gr. TE 6-3 245 Doylestown, Pa.
Marquis Buchanan, Rhode Island Jr. WR 6-4 175 Providence, R.I.
Josh Derry, Monmouth Jr. WR 5-9 175 Towson, Md.
TJ Speight, Monmouth Sr. WR 5-11 170 Fort Meade, Md.
Tre Alexander, Rhode Island Gr. OL 6-5 320 Queens, N.Y.
Brock Bethea, Rhode Island Gr. OL 6-2 304 Irwin, Pa.
JT Cornelius, Monmouth 6
th OL 6-6 290 Toms River, N.J.
Niko Papic, Stony Brook Sr. OL 6-4 300 Portsmouth, Va.
Jake Picard, Villanova Gr. OL 6-4 310 Hope, R.I.
Korion Sharpe, North Carolina A&T Sr. OL 6-4 315 Charlotte, N.C.
DEFENSE
Name, School Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown
Davin Dzidzienyo, William & Mary Sr. DL 6-4 295 Northwest, D.C.
Rodney Faulk, Stony Brook Sr. DL 6-3 250 Washington, D.C.
Obinna Nwobodo, Villanova Gr. DL 6-3 295 Wilmington, Del.
Michael Otty, Bryant Gr. DL 6-1 292 Brooklyn, N.Y.
Luke Banbury, William & Mary Gr. LB 6-2 235 Pittsburgh, Pa.
Shane Hartzell, Villanova Sr. LB 6-0 230 Perkasie, Pa.
A.J. Pena, Rhode Island Sr. LB 6-2 243 Montclair, N.J.
AJ Roberts, Stony Brook Gr. LB 6-0 230 Staten Island, N.Y.
Myles Brodie, Towson Gr. CB 6-2 175 Hyattsville, Md.
Jalen Jones, William & Mary Sr. CB 6-0 190 Chesapeake, Va.
Deuce Lee, Monmouth Jr. S 5-11 195 Silver Spring, Md.
Xavier Terry, Towson Sr. S 5-10 190 Washington, D.C.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Name, School Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown
Trevin Ewing, Maine Sr. KR 5-11 190 Elkton, Md.
TJ Speight, Monmouth Sr. KR 5-11 170 Fort Meade, Md.
Carson Jenkins, William & Mary Jr. PR 5-10 175 Gate City, Va.
Enda Kirby, Stony Brook Sr. PK 6-2 220 Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Jeff Yurk, Elon Sr. P 6-2 224 Southern Pines, N.C.
Jonathan Ward, Hampton Sr. SPEC 5-10 240 Durham, N.C.
CAA FOOTBALL PRESEASON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Derek Robertson, QB, Monmouth
CAA FOOTBALL PRESEASON DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: A.J. Pena, LB, Rhode Island
Honorable mention: Devin Farrell, QB, Rhode Island;
Carter Peevy, QB, Maine;
Rodney Nelson, RB, Monmouth;
Dylan Magazu, FB/HB, Elon;
Sean McElwain, TE, William & Mary;
Caleb Burke, WR, UNH;
John Dunmore, WR, Towson;
Ryan McKenna, OL, William & Mary;
Stephane Voltaire, OL, Villanova;
Kahmari Brown, DL, Elon;
Ty Gordon, DL, William & Mary;
Anthony Ferrelli, LB, Stony Brook;
Rodney Roane, LB, Towson;
Christian Thomas, LB, Maine;
Jamaree Gibson, CB, Maine;
Brandon Guzman, CB, Campbell;
Ayinde Johnson, CB, Rhode Island;
Zahmir Dawud, S, Villanova;
Will Hicks, S, Hampton;
Thomas Joe-Kamara, S, UAlbany;
Devin Vaught, S, Maine;
Aaron Harris, KR, North Carolina A&T
