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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Media Selects Princeton To Finish Fourth In Annual Preseason Poll
August 11, 2015 | Football
The Princeton football team was picked fourth in the preseason media poll, which was announced Tuesday during the annual Ivy League Media Day. Reigning champion Harvard was picked first, one spot ahead of Dartmouth.
The preseason poll mirrored the final 2014 standings in each of the top six spots, with only Cornell and Columbia flipping places from the previous year; the biggest change from either team came in the form of head coach Al Bagnoli, who took the Columbia position months after retiring after a successful tenure at Penn.
Princeton followed its 2013 Ivy League championship performance with a 4-3 Ivy record last season (5-5 overall), but it returns several key starters on both sides of the ball. On the offensive side, the Tigers will return two All-Ivy starters on the line (Britt Colcolough and Spenser Huston), as well as a pair of dynamic playmakers in co-captain Seth DeValve and 2013 All-Ivy running back DiAndre Atwater. Both dealt with significant injuries last season, but will enter the 2015 preseason healthy and ready for bounceback seasons.
The biggest question surrounding the offense will be at the quarterback position, where Princeton will need to replace 2013 Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year Quinn Epperly and Connor Michelsen, both of whom placed themselves all over the offensive record book during their time at Princeton. Junior Chad Kanoff was injured all of last season, but he was named Legacy Bowl MVP in the spring and will compete with senior Kedric Bostic and sophomore John Lovett, among others, for the starting spot.
The defense returns even more experience, including three-year All-Ivy defensive back Anthony Gaffney and co-captain Matt Arends, both of whom have started at least 25 games in their careers. Princeton returns every starter on its defensive line, including All-Ivy standout Ty Desiré, as well as a deep set of linebackers, including second-team All-Ivy starter Rohan Hylton.
Princeton will open its preseason camp Thursday, August 27, and will play its season opener Sept. 19 at 6 pm against Lafayette at Fisher Stadium.
2015 IVY LEAGUE FOOTBALL PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
First-Place Votes in Parentheses
| Rank | School | Points |
| 1 | Harvard (11) | 130 |
| 2 | Dartmouth (4) | 116 |
| 3 | Yale (1) | 98 |
| 4 | Princeton | 82 |
| 5 | Brown (1) | 80 |
| 6 | Penn | 51 |
| 7 | Columbia | 29 |
| 8 | Cornell | 26 |