2023 Patriot League Preseason Poll, and Player Honors

August 3, 2023 by patriotleague.org

Four-time defending champion Holy Cross ranked atop the 2023 Patriot League Football Preseason Poll when the League office announced preseason honors. Crusaders’ senior quarterback Matthew Sluka and fifth-year linebacker Jacob Dobbs claimed preseason offensive and defensive player of the year honors, respectively.

All of the polling was completed by Patriot League football head coaches and sports information directors from the seven League schools. They could not vote for their team or their own players.

2023 Patriot League Football Preseason Poll
1. Holy Cross, 72 points (12 first-place votes)
2. Fordham, 62 (2)
3. Colgate, 51
4. Lafayette, 39
5. Lehigh, 32
6T. Bucknell, 19
6T. Georgetown, 19

Holy Cross (12-1, 6-0 PL) collected 72 points and 12 first-place votes after advancing to the quarterfinal round of the FCS Championship last season. Fordham (9-3, 5-1 PL) garnered 62 points and the remaining two first-place votes after earning a berth in the FCS Championship last season.

Colgate (3-8, 2-4 PL) enters the 2023 season as the third-ranked team with 51 points, while Lafayette (4-7, 3-3 PL) ranks fourth with 39 points. Lehigh (2-9, 2-4 PL) checks in with 32 points in fifth place, with Bucknell (3-8, 2-4 PL) and Georgetown (2-9, 1-5 PL) tying for sixth place.

Sluka and Dobbs highlight the Crusaders’ League-high 11 student-athletes on the 33-member preseason All-League team. Reigning Patriot League Coach of the Year Bob Chesney’s Holy Cross squad finished with seven selections on offense, two on defense and two on special teams. Joe Conlin’s Rams placed seven on the preseason squad with four on offense, including the League’s leading returning receiver, MJ Wright (1,156 rec. yards in ’21).

Five Colgate student-athletes were voted onto the team, with Stan Dakosty’s squad placing two on offense, two on defense and one on special teams. Lafayette and Georgetown had three selections apiece, and Bucknell and Lehigh each posted two honorees.

2023 Patriot League Football Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Matthew Sluka, Holy Cross, Sr., QB, Locust Valley, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial
2022 Stats: 13 GP, 153-for-266 for 2,489 yards, 26 TDs, 4 INTs, .580 comp. pct., 1,234 rush yards, 11 rush TDs
*Sluka is a two-time All-Patriot League selection, earning first-team accolades in 2022 and being a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, presented to the FCS offensive player of the year. He was also the 2020 Patriot League Rookie of the Year. 
*The senior signal-caller finished 11th among FCS quarterbacks with 26 touchdown passes, eighth in points responsible for (222) and second in passing yards per completion (16.27). 
*For the third time in his career, Sluka led the Patriot League in rushing yards (1.234). He is the only QB to lead the Patriot League in rushing. 
*Sluka has combined for 528 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 512 rushing yards, and three rushing touchdowns in four FCS Playoff games, including 213 rushing yards against No. South Dakota State’s top-ranked rush defense in 2022. 

2023 Patriot League Football Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Jacob Dobbs, Holy Cross, 5th, LB, Macomb, Mich./De La Salle Collegiate
2021 Stats: 13 GP, 75 solo, 137 total tackles, 17.5 TFLs for 74 yards, 9.5 sacks, 3 passes deflected
*Dobbs is a three-time All-Patriot League selection, earning first-team honors twice while receiving Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year and Academic All-Patriot League recognition in 2021. 
*The Macomb, Mich. native was a consensus All-America honoree in 2021, earning first-team honors from the Associated Press. 
*He was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, presented to the FCS defensive player of the year, finishing in the top 10 in voting in addition to being named the ECAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021 after compiling 137 tackles, 17.5 TFLs and 9.5 sacks. 
*Dobbs enters the 2023 season among the FCS active leaders in tackles (309), TFLs (34.5) and sacks (16.5). 

2023 Preseason All-Patriot League Football by the Numbers (2022 Stats)
Twenty-Two 2022 All-Patriot League Football Selections Make Preseason Team
Overall, 22 of last season’s All-Patriot League selections made the 2023 Preseason All-Patriot League Football Team, including 11 first-team honorees. Sluka is joined by senior WR and teammate Jalen Coker and offensive linemen C.J. Hanson, Luke Newman and Eric Schon. Crusaders’ senior Devin Haskins made the preseason squad as a defensive back and the special teams non-specialist after making the All-League first-team in both spots in 2022. Lafayette senior TE Mason Gilbert and fifth-year LB Marco Olivas, Fordham junior LB James Conway and Colgate junior P Shelby Pruett were all first-team selections last season.

Both of the preseason team’s running backs, Fordham junior Julius Loughridge and Holy Cross junior Jordan Fuller were among the 11 second-team selections from the 2022 postseason team. Fordham WRs Wright and senior Mekai Felton made the preseason offense along with Holy Cross fifth-year TE Sean Morris, Colgate senior OL Bardhyl Gashi and Fordham senior OL Luke Portes. Raiders’ fifth-year LB Tyler Flick and Lehigh senior LB Mike DeNucci claimed preseason honors along with Rams’ graduate student DB Stephen Williams II and Georgetown sophomore DB Wedner Cadet.

Dobbs is a three-time postseason All-League honoree but did not make the 2022 squad after being limited to four games. Lehigh sophomore wide receiver Geoffrey Jamiel was the 2022 Patriot League Rookie of the Year.

Preseason All-Patriot League Football Team by Class
The 2023 Preseason All-Patriot League Football Team is led by 11 seniors and nine players entering the season as fifth-years or graduate students. Nine juniors made the preseason squad, including Colgate quarterback Michael Brescia, the 2021 Patriot League Rookie of the Year. Four sophomores, highlighted by Jamiel, the reigning rookie of the year, and a pair of Hoyas’, including DB Wedner Cadet, DL and DL Mateen Ibirogba, made earned honors.

League’s Rushing Touchdown Leaders Back for 2023
Four of the Patriot League’s top five rushing touchdowns leaders will be back in the fold for the 2023 season. Colgate’s Brescia and Holy Cross’s Fuller tied for the League lead with 13 rushing touchdowns apiece. Sluka placed third with 11 and Fordham’s Loughridge tied for fourth with eight. Holy Cross finished sixth in the FCS in rushing offense (245.1 yds./gm.) and figures to excel on the ground with preseason All-League offensive linemen Hanson, Newman and Schon all back.

Dobbs and Olivas Aiming for Patriot League Career Tackles Record
Linebackers Olivas and Dobbs return for their fifth seasons of Patriot League football with 310 and 309 career tackles, respectively. The two linebackers had finished among the League’s single-season tackles leaders since their rookie season in 2019 when Dobbs posted 93, and Olivas recorded 86. Dobbs had a League-high 137 tackles in 2021, while Olivas was third that season with 117 and sixth in 2022 with 92. Both could overtake the League career record (425) held by Lee Picariello (Lehigh ’92) and David Streeter (Holy Cross ’97) by matching their respective career highs in total tackles.

Three of Four 2022 First Team Special Teams Honorees Return
Three of four All-Patriot League First Team special teams’ honorees return for the 2023 season. Colgate’s Pruett ranked 23rd in the FCS with a 41.8 yards per punt average to earn first-team All-League honors last season. Holy Cross junior wide receiver Justin Shorter finished 20th in the FCS averaging 24.9 yards per kickoff return. Haskins broke the Patriot League single-season record with four blocked punts.

2023 Patriot League Football Preseason Major Awards
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year – Matthew Sluka, Holy Cross, Sr., QB
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year – Jacob Dobbs, Holy Cross, 5th, LB

2023 Patriot League Football Preseason All-League Team
OFFENSE (15)*
QB: Matthew Sluka, Holy Cross, Sr.
QB: Michael Brescia, Colgate, Jr. (at-large)
RB: Julius Loughridge, Fordham, Jr.
RB: Jordan Fuller, Holy Cross, Jr.
WR: Jalen Coker, Holy Cross, Sr.
WR: MJ Wright, Fordham, Gr.
WR: Mekai Felton, Fordham, Sr.
WR: Geoffrey Jamiel, Lehigh, So.
TE: Sean Morris, Holy Cross, 5th
TE: Mason Gilbert, Lafayette, Sr.
OL: Bardhyl Gashi, Colgate, Sr.
OL: Luke Newman, Holy Cross, Sr.
OL: Eric Schon, Holy Cross, Sr.
OL: C.J. Hanson, Holy Cross, 5th
OL: Lucas Portes, Fordham, Sr.

DEFENSE (14)*
DL: Tyler Alston, Bucknell, Sr.
DL: Matt Jaworski, Fordham, Jr.
DL: Ibri Harrell, Georgetown, Jr.
DL: Mateen Ibirogba, Georgetown, So.
LB: Tyler Flick, Colgate, 5th
LB: James Conway, Fordham, Jr.
LB: Jacob Dobbs, Holy Cross, 5th
LB: Marco Olivas, Lafayette, 5th
LB: Mike DeNucci, Lehigh, Sr.
DB: Owen Goss, Colgate, Sr.
DB: Devin Haskins, Holy Cross, 5th
DB: Wedner Cadet, Georgetown, So.
DB: Stephen Williams II, Fordham, Gr.
DB: Saiku White, Lafayette, Jr.

SPECIAL TEAMS (4)
PK: Matt Schearer, Bucknell, So.
P: Shelby Pruett, Colgate, Jr.
Return Specialist: Justin Shorter, Holy Cross, Jr.
Special Teams Non-Specialist: Devin Haskins, Holy Cross, 5th

*Denotes additional players selected to offense and defense due to ties in voting