Twenty-three of 24 players selected to this year’s team earned postseason first or second team all-NEC honors last season. Twelve players garnered first team all-NEC accolades in 2005, while twelve others were selected to the second team.

Saint Francis (PA) senior Anthony Doria (Pittsburgh, PA/Seton LaSalle) is the coaches’ pick at quarterback after earning NEC Offensive Player of the Year honors a year ago. Doria has emerged statistically as one of the top quarterbacks in league history. In 2005, he took home the Red Flash’s first NEC major postseason award since 1999 after completing a league-best 61.6 percent of his pass attempts (252-409), while throwing for 2,895 yards and 21 touchdowns. He averaged 289.5 yards per game in the air and was intercepted only 10 times in more than 400 attempts. The Pittsburgh, PA native guided the Red Flash to a league-high 407.2 total yards per game and posted a passing efficiency rating of 133.1. The 6-1 signal caller enters his final season with 6,673 passing yards, which ranks second in conference annals behind Tim Levcik’s 7,255 yards compiled at Robert Morris from 1998-01.

The preseason all-NEC backfield consists of Saint Francis (PA) senior Todd Harris (Duquesne, PA/Duquesne) and Central Connecticut State junior Jo Jo Freeman (Lowell, MA/Pomfret School). Harris was a first team all-NEC selection in 2005, while Freeman took home second team honors. Harris was one of only two backs in the NEC last season (along with Sacred Heart’s Ed Pricolo) to rush for more than 1,000 yards and finished second in the conference with 1,052 yards in a pass first offense. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry and 95.6 yards per game, while posting seven rushing touchdowns. He also caught 39 passes for 303 yards to lead all NEC running backs. Freeman, playing in his first collegiate season for the Blue Devils, finished third in the NEC with 801 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. A capable receiver, Freeman snared 17 passes for 145 yards and one touchdown.

Much like last season, a bevy of wide receivers will battle it out for all-NEC honors in 2006. In the preseason, the coaches have chosen the Saint Francis (PA) senior duo of Michael Caputo (Bethel Park, PA/Seton LaSalle) and Luke Palko (Imperial, PA/West Allegheny) as the favorites at that position. The most prolific receiving tandem in league history enters the 2006 campaign looking to shatter even more records. Caputo comes off one of the greatest offensive seasons in NEC history in 2005, setting NEC records for receptions (92) and receiving yards (1,433). Caputo’s 1,433 yards were 276 more than the previous league-high of 1,157 set by Sacred Heart’s DeVeren Johnson in 2001 and his 92 catches were 10 more than Palko’s short-lived record established a year prior. Four times last season Caputo collected 10 or more catches - including 14 receptions twice - and also caught 12 touchdowns. Surprisingly, last year’s all-NEC second team award for Palko was his first on any list, despite establishing the NEC’s career pass receptions mark in just three seasons. In another big gridiron campaign, the Imperial, PA product tallied 85 receptions, which topped his then-NEC single-season record of 82 established in 2004. Palko also finished with 812 yards and seven touchdowns on the year and holds the league’s career receptions mark with 209.

Wagner junior Joe Kinard (Kingston, NY/Kingston) earns preseason accolades at tight end. In 2005, the first-team NEC all-star and Mid-Major All-American led all league tight ends with 46 catches for 504 yards, while collecting a touchdown. Kinard posted one 100-yard game with seven receptions and 112 yards versus Stony Brook.

The five members of an experienced preseason all-NEC offensive line consist of four seniors and one junior. All five captured postseason NEC honors last season, including one on the first team and four on the second. The first team all-NEC holdover is Albany’s Jacob Anderson (West Seneca, NY/West Seneca West). Joining Anderson is junior teammate Sam Pagano (Schenectady, NY/Colonie Central). The pair of Great Dane linemen helped Albany finish third in the NEC in rushing offense at 146.6 yards per game. The remaining selections are Monmouth senior Matt Connolly (Hewitt, NJ/West Milford), Saint Francis (PA) senior Bill Holter (Elkton, MD/Northeast) and Central Connecticut State senior Rich Ranglin (Yonkers, NY/Saunders). Last year, Central Connecticut State was first in the NEC in rushing offense and Monmouth was second, while Saint Francis (PA) topped the league in total offense.

The preseason all-NEC defense begins with the defensive line. Three all-NEC first team selections - Albany senior Andre Colemen (Buffalo, NY/Burgard), Central Connecticut State senior Devon Douglass (Baltimore, MD/Calvert Hall) and Wagner junior Thomas Davis (Syracuse, NY/Henninger) - are joined by second team honoree Michael Dungey (Rochester, NY/Irondequoit), a junior from Albany. Coleman was a vital cog on a Great Dane unit which led the league in scoring defense (17.6 ppg). He collected 32 total tackles (12 solo), 9.0 tackles-for-loss, 4.5 sacks and two pass breakups. Douglass, a two-time all-NEC award winner, totaled 44 tackles (24 solo), 6.0 tackles-for-loss and 2.5 sacks. Davis recorded 70 tackles (22 solo), 8.0 tackles-for-loss, 1.0 sack, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. Dungey collected 39 total tackles to go along with 6.5 tackles-for-loss and 3.5 sacks.

The preseason linebacker corps begins with reigning NEC Defensive Player of the Year and Mid-Major All-American Colin Disch (North Plainfield, NJ/North Plainfield), a junior, and includes two other veterans, Monmouth senior Mike Castellano (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Township) and Sacred Heart senior Jon Corto (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park). Disch has quickly established himself as an elite player in just two seasons at Albany. Last year he finished with 112 stops, which ranked third in the NEC, after leading the league in tackles in 2004. Disch finished 2005 with 11.5 tackles-for-loss, including 4.5 sacks, while adding an interception, three pass breakups and a forced fumble. Remarkably, the North Plainfield, NJ native has posted double-digit tackle games 17 times in his short career. Castellano finished second on the Monmouth team with 70 tackles, while leading the Hawks in sacks (6.0) and tackles-for-loss (12.0). Despite posting huge numbers for the Pioneers, Corto did not earn all-NEC plaudits last season due in large part to the wealth of talent at the position in the conference. Corto compiled 100 tackles (4th in NEC), 13.5 tackles-for-loss, 7.5 sacks, two interceptions, seven pass breakups and five forced fumbles.

The defensive backfield consists of three players from Central Connecticut State and one from Wagner. CCSU seniors Nigel Monge (Roxbury, MA/Catholic Memorial) and Farod Muhammad (Buffalo, NY/Hutchinson Central Tech) were named first team all-NEC last season and they are joined by teammate Anthony Wilson (Bridgeport, CT/Brien McMahon), a junior who took home NEC Defensive Rookie of the Year and second team honors. Wagner junior Al Phillips (Hialeah, HI/American), a 2005 Mid-Major All-American, rounds out the group. Monge finished second on CCSU in 2005 with 84 total tackles and three forced fumbles. Muhammad complemented Monge by adding 64 tackles and three interceptions. Wilson, from his cornerback slot, finished fourth on the Blue Devils with 64 tackles on the season, including 33 solo, and tied for the league lead with five picks. Phillips, who is the only player on this year’s list to be named at two different positions (defensive back and return specialist), was the Seahawks’ pass stopper, tying CCSU’s Wilson for the league lead with five interceptions, while registering 49 total tackles and a league-best 14 pass breakups. An outstanding athlete, Phillips also averaged a league-best 8.5 yards per punt return.

The preseason special team selections include Phillips and the second team all-NEC kickers from 2005 - Saint Francis (PA) junior placekicker Adam Sciulli (Pittsburgh, PA/Catholic Central) and Wagner junior punter Piotr Czech (Keyport, NJ/Keyport). Sciulli converted 9-of-11 field goals and 28-of-28 point-after-attempts in 2005. Sciulli also helped Saint Francis (PA) control field position with several well-placed kickoffs, which resulted in touchbacks. Czech, who doubles as Wagner’s placekicker, averaged 37.9 yards per punt last year.