A preseason poll, conducted among the league’s coaches and sports information personnel, was released Tuesday, with Villanova being selected as the best team in the conference.
The Philadelphia-based school, led by senior quarterback John Robertson and senior linebacker Don Cherry, received 14 of the 24 first-place votes. Robertson won the Walter Payton Award as the best player in the Football Championship Subdivision last fall, and Cherry was runner-up for the national defensive player of the year.
Robertson and Cherry were chosen the preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year in the CAA.
James Madison and New Hampshire were picked second and third, respectively, and each received five first-place votes.
William and Mary was fourth followed by Richmond, Delaware, Maine, Stony Brook, Towson, Albany, Rhode Island and Elon.
University of Maine coach Jack Cosgrove, who is in his 23rd season at the helm and led Maine to the CAA title in 2013, downplayed the poll. “It’s a pretty standard spot for us: seventh, eighth, ninth,” he said. “I don’t think it has a ton of merit.”
He said virtually his entire team has remained in Orono this summer to work out and get ready for the season, including quarterbacks Dan Collins and Drew Belcher.
Sophomore Collins won the starting job but suffered a shoulder injury six games into the season, and freshman Belcher handled the signal-calling chores the rest of the season.
“They will both compete for the starting position,” Cosgrove said. “Both guys got experience last year. In a lot of ways it was very, very good. Whether it was good or bad, it was always progressive experience and that’s something we didn’t have going into last season. They were both completely untested.”
He noted that both quarterbacks played instrumental roles in victories and said, now that they are in a better place with more experience, he expects them to be quality performers “who will make it hard on the coaching staff to decide who will be the starter.”
The Black Bears begin practicing a week from Monday, Aug. 10, and Cosgrove said the primary focus will be on “overall health and [developing] depth.
“We want to have a great depth chart. Collisions are more violent on the football field than they were five to 10 years ago. The game is played at a faster pace. It’s really important to develop your football team for those conditions. You have to have toughness. Across the board, the football team has to have a next-guy-in mentality,” Cosgrove said. “You want to keep your team as healthy as you can.”
Cosgrove said a proper training regimen and good nutritional habits are among the keys to health.
The Black Bears were 4-4 in the conference last season, 5-6 overall, and will return 20 starters, 11 on offense and nine on defense. Placekicker Sean Decloux also returns.
In all, 38 letterwinners are back in the fold led by preseason All-CAA choices Christophe Mulumba Tshimanga, a linebacker; defensive end Trevor Bates and center Bruce Johnson.
Junior Mulumba Tshimanga was a first-team All-CAA selection last fall after he led the Black Bears in tackles (95), including 42 unassisted, and had four games in which he registered at least 12 tackles.
Westbrook’s Bates, an All-CAA second-teamer in the fall, was selected the Black Bears’ Most Valuable Player after making 60 tackles, including nine for a loss and 5.5 sacks.
Johnson, a senior, was a first-teamer last fall after marshalling Maine’s offensive line. He was named the team’s top offensive lineman. Johnson and the Black Bears’ offensive line paved the way for two 100-plus yard rushers over the last three games.
Maine will open on the road with FBS opponents Boston College (Sept. 5) and Tulane (Sept. 19).
“The BC game will be a huge challenge, and we’re excited about it. We’re going down there to win the game,” Cosgrove said. “We’ll find out a lot about the team. We’ll figure out where our team is. We have a bye week before we play Tulane. It’s going to be an incredibly invigorating challenge.
“Then we’ve got to get ready for the challenge that the CAA poses,” Cosgrove added.
He said he was pleased to see Johnson, Mulumba Tshimanga and Bates recognized by the CAA’s coaches.
“They’re all quality young men and great football players,” Cosgrove said. “Bruce sets the tone for our offensive line. The other linemen really look up to him. He has given us a ton of great performances, and he provided great leadership to a young offensive line last year.
“Trevor and Christophe have the habit of not only being good when it counts, but great when it really counts,” Cosgrove said. “Christophe is a great run stopper. And Trevor turned a couple of games around for us last year. He knows how to do the right thing at the right time.”