University of Delaware Athletics
Delaware Football No. 6 in CAA Pre-Season Poll; Woodson, Enderson, Curtis Honored
7/28/2015 6:03:00 PM | Football
• CAA Media Day Coverage
• Video Interviews
On Tuesday at the annual Colonial Athletic Association Football Media Day held at M&T Bank Stadium, the young Blue Hens got a glimpse of where they might stand - at least to start the season - as they continue to develop in Brock's third year at the helm.
In a poll of the league head coaches and sports information directors, the Blue Hens were the No. 6 pick in the pre-season standings, equally the team's pre-season prediction from the 2014 season when Delaware finished 6-6 and tied for fifth in the league standings with a 4-4 mark. Delaware lost three games by a touchdown or less, including a last minute setback to rival and NCAA Tournament quarterfinalist Villanova in the season finale.
Villanova was the pre-season favorite, earning 14 first place votes, while James Madison (5 first place votes), New Hampshire (5), William & Mary, and Richmond rounded out the top five. Delaware was sixth followed by Maine, Stony Brook, Towson, Albany, Rhode Island, and Elon in the 12-team league.
The CAA also announced its pre-season all-conference team and Delaware placed three members on the team, including senior offensive tackle Ben Curtis, sophomore defensive tackle Blaine Woodson, and junior punter Eric Enderson.
Woodson was the 2014 CAA Defensive Rookie of the Year when he collected 8.5 sacks while Enderson earned All-American honors after ranking fourth in the NCAA with a 44.9-yard average. Curtis has started 29 career games at tackle for the Blue Hens.
“There are no gimmies in this league, top to bottom it is the best conference in the country,” said Brock, whose team will open pre-season camp Aug. 8 with the season opener set for Sept. 4 vs. Jacksonville (Fla.) University at Delaware Stadium. “It's hard to win in this league, especially on the road. If you come out of this league you'll be battle-tested. You have to earn it every Saturday.”
As Brock has also stated many times, the goal at Delaware is to make the NCAA Tournament every year. This year the Hens will be looking to return to the championships for the first time since the 2010 advanced to the national title game. The CAA consistently places three or more teams in the NCAA Tournament each year.
“When you are at Delaware, the only expectation is to be a playoff team,” said Brock, whose team returns 13 starters from last year's squad. “We've fallen short the last two years, and that's disappointing, but that is our goal and it won't change. Offensively we feel we can be a physical, run-first operation that can control the football. We got great production from (running backs) Jalen Randolph and Wes Hills last year and expect that to continue, we have a good competition at quarterback, and good skill players. Defensively we have a ton of people back and signed nine more (recruits). We are young, but we will be exciting to watch and full of energy, which is what you need on defense. Our guys are really hungry and we've seen so much growth and development. It's a lot of fun to coach this team.”
In addition to the pre-season rankings and all-conference team, Villanova quarterback John Robertson and linebacker Don Cherry were named the CAA pre-season Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week respectively.
Great deals are still available on season tickets, group tickets, and hospitality packages by calling the UD Season Ticket Office at 302-831-2257 or online at www.bluehens.com and clicking on “Tickets” at the top of the page. Single game tickets will go on sale in August.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Scott Selheimer | selheime@udel.edu | Office: 302-831-8007 | Cell: 302-562-5129
