NJAC Preseason Poll

PITMAN, N.J. – The TCNJ football team received a first-place vote in the NJAC preseason poll released Monday morning by the conference office.

The Lions placed third in the preseason prognostication of the league's head coaches, behind only reigning champion Christopher Newport (four of the seven first-place ballots) and Salisbury (two).

Rowan was selected as the conference's 'dark horse' and took fourth in the poll, while Montclair State (fifth), William Paterson (sixth), and Kean (seventh) rounded out the table.

The Lions finished 5-5 a year ago and were one of five teams with a chance to claim the NJAC's regular-season title and automatic NCAA berth on the final weekend of play, but saw their hopes dashed with a tight 27-21 loss to CNU as the Captains took the crown solo.

TCNJ is raring for another run at the title this fall, stocked with a talented roster headlined by eight returning all-conference selections.

Fifth-year quarterback Trevor Bopp (second team All-NJAC in 2023) is back for a final season as starting signal-caller on the heels of a campaign in which he was the league's runaway leader in almost every passing category, including yards (2,180), completions (180), and touchdowns (14). The completions and yards were both second in TCNJ history for a single-season, and Bopp's 3,530 career passing yards are already good for sixth all-time.

Bopp will have several of his top weapons back, including fifth-year tight end Thomas Burke, a two-time first team All-NJAC and two-time all-region honoree. Burke led the team and tied for second in the NJAC with six touchdowns last season, and has exactly 1,000 career receiving yards to his name.

Fifth-year wide receiver Malin Jasinski, a two-time All-NJAC performer, was second on the team in yards (362) and touchdowns (4) in 2023, and junior Ryan Gill is set to build on a breakout season in which he paced the pride in receptions (45) and yards (636), posting a pair of games with at least 10 catches and 100 yards.

Senior running back Jayson Schmidt was a second team All-NJAC honoree a year ago, when he ranked third in the conference with 594 rushing yards and six touchdowns, averaging 4.8 yards per carry.

Starting center Joe Matone (second team All-NJAC) anchors an offensive line that also features returning starters Jack Centrelli and Pete Sodano and paved the way for the Lions to lead the NJAC in total offense (362.0 YPG) and passing offense (241.6 YPG). 

On the defensive side, senior linebacker Dominick Nocero was a first team all-conference star a year ago, when he racked up 65 tackles to rank second on the team; six of those went for a loss, placing him third among Lion defenders. He also tallied a pair of interceptions and a sack.

Junior defensive lineman Dylan Patscher made his first All-NJAC team after a strong campaign in which he tied for second on the team with 4.5 sacks among 5.5 tackles for loss. His 41.0 total tackles were good for fourth on the team. Classmate Jameson Sessa, who racked up 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks, received All-NJAC honorable mention, and senior Brandon Kuse started every game at defensive end.

Steven Cassidy (37 tackles, 3.5 TFL), Bill Westerby (31 tackles, 1 sack), Patrick Frawley (28 tackles, 3 sacks), Dave Giulian (26 tackles, 3.5 sacks), Brayden Messinger (25 tackles, 4 sacks), Christian Bennett (19 tackles), and Justin Kurc (19 tackles) are all back after holding down steady defensive roles in 2023.

Junior corner Jack Young (second team All-NJAC) headlines the secondary; Young tied for the NJAC lead with five interceptions, placing him among the top-25 in all of Division III and running his career total to eight. Two of those picks came in a shutout win at Kean, after which he was named NJAC Defensive Player of the Week. He's joined in the secondary by returning starter Amir Vick.

TCNJ kicks off the 2024 season at Eastern on Saturday, September 7. The Lions play Franklin & Marshall the following Saturday (9/14) in their home opener.