WACO, Tex. – Coming off their ninth straight winning season, the IUP football program is receiving votes in the preseason edition of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II Coaches' Top 25 Poll, released Monday morning.
The Crimson Hawks are one of six teams from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) ranked inside the top 25 or receiving votes.
Defending Division II national champion Valdosta State received 29 of the 32 first place votes and is the overwhelming preseason favorite at No. 1. Ferris State received the remaining three first place votes and sits at No. 2 with Minnesota State at No. 3, Notre Dame (Ohio) at No. 4 and Ouachita Baptist at No. 5.
The rest of the top 10 includes Northwest Missouri State, Tarleton State, Lenoir-Rhyne, Colorado State-Pueblo and Slippery Rock, respectively.
2019 IUP outlook
The Crimson Hawks return 17 starters from last year's 8-3 team that finished in a tie for second in the PSAC West at 5-2.
Nine of those starters can be found on the offensive side, including four linemen and a pair of running backs who have helped IUP average 242 rushing yards per game over the last three seasons. Senior
Samir Bullock and junior
Justice Evans have combined for more than 4,400 yards and nearly 40 touchdowns on the ground and are both former all-league performers.
Defensively the Crimson Hawks return seven starters, including senior linebacker and 2017 All-American
Damon Lloyd. Senior edge rusher
Dondrea Tillman (12 sacks last year) and senior corner
JR Stevens (2017 All-American) also return.
"We have 17 returning starters and 11 of them are going to be seniors, so we have a very experienced group coming back," said Tortorella. "We've got a lot of good players back who have performed. We have 14 guys on the roster who played two years ago in the national semifinal game, so we do have a lot of experience playing in big games and we're a veteran team."
IUP kicks its 2019 season off September 7 at home against New Haven.
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For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP football on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPfootball.
