James Madison Favored To Win CAA Football Championship In 2021
Rob Washburn
RICHMOND, Va. (July 27, 2021) – James Madison, which is coming off a 7-1 season and its fourth trip to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs in five years, is favored to capture the CAA Football title in 2021 according to a vote of the league’s head coaches and media relations directors.
The Dukes, who were ranked No. 3 nationally last spring, got 15 first-place votes and 231 points in the poll. Delaware, which also went 7-1 last season and advanced to the semifinals of the FCS playoffs for the first time since 2010, received seven first-place votes and finished second with 222 points. Villanova placed third with 194 points, and Richmond, which picked up two first-place tallies, was fourth with 169 points. New Hampshire finished fifth in the poll, followed by Rhode Island, Towson, UAlbany, Maine, Stony Brook, William & Mary and Elon.
JMU returns most of its top performers offensively, including quarterback Cole Johnson, All-America running back Percy Agyei-Obese and leading receivers Kris Thornton and Antwane Wells, Jr. On defense, the Dukes feature All-America defensive end Mike Greene, leading tackler Kelvin Azanama and All-CAA safety MJ Hampton. Also back is senior kicker Ethan Ratke, who already owns the conference record for made field goals with 72 and is three field goals shy of the FCS all-time mark.
Delaware was ranked No. 4 in last spring’s final FCS national polls and is coming off its best campaign in a decade. Back to lead the offense are quarterback Nolan Henderson, running back Dejoun Lee and wide receiver Thyrick Pitts, who all earned first-team all-conference accolades in 2020. The Blue Hens were among the nation’s top teams defensively last season and return three first-team All-CAA performers in safety Kedrick Whitehead, cornerback Nijuel Hill and linebacker Johnny Buchanan.
Villanova finished last spring with a 2-2 mark and a No. 16 national ranking. The Wildcats have plenty of experience returning on offense with quarterback Daniel Smith, running back Justin Covington and receivers Jaaron Hayek and Rayjoun Pringle. Villanova’s defense features a trio of first-team all-conference performers in defensive tackle Malik Fisher, linebacker Forrest Rhyne and cornerback Christian Benford.
Richmond was ranked No. 14 nationally after completing its spring campaign with a 3-1 mark. Quarterback Joe Mancuso returns to direct the Spiders’ offense, which also includes running back Aaron Dykes and All-CAA tight end John Fitzgerald. Richmond’s defense features All-America defensive tackle Kobie Turner and a pair of first-team All-CAA linebackers in Tyler Dressler and Tristan Wheeler.
CAA Football is looking to continue its tradition of success in 2021. The conference has had a team in the FCS championship game 11 times since 2003, a squad in the semifinals of the playoffs for the past eight seasons and a team in the quarterfinals every year since 1991. Eleven of the CAA’s 12 teams have participated in the FCS playoffs since 2015, a feat unmatched by any other conference.
CAA Football also announced its preseason all-conference team. Delaware led all schools with eight players honored while JMU had seven. JMU’s Percy Agyei-Obese was named the preseason Offensive Player of the Year, and the Dukes’ Mike Greene was chosen as the preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
2021 CAA FOOTBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
(Selected by a vote of Head Coaches and Media Relations Directors)
OFFENSE
Name, School Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Nolan Henderson, Delaware Jr. QB 6-1 195 Smyrna, Del./Smyrna
Percy Agyei-Obese, James Madison Sr. RB 6-0 204 Frederick, Md./Oakdale
Dejoun Lee, Delaware Sr. RB 5-7 185 Springfield, Va./Lake Braddock
Karl Mofor, UAlbany Sr. RB 5-9 225 Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt
Joey Kenny, Rhode Island Sr. FB 6-2 253 Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills
Andre Miller, Maine Gr. WR 6-2 220 Old Town, Maine/Old Town
Thyrick Pitts, Delaware Jr. WR 6-3 200 Manassas, Va./Forest Park
Kris Thornton, James Madison Jr. WR 5-8 179 Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park
John Fitzgerald, Richmond Gr. TE 6-4 250 Baltimore, Md./The Gilman School
Michael Corbi, Villanova Jr. OL 6-3 295 Arnold, Md./Mount Saint Joseph
Liam Fornadel, James Madison Sr. OL 6-5 310 Wyckoff, N.J./Don Bosco Prep
David Kroll, Delaware Sr. OL 6-7 315 Reston Va./South Lakes
Clayton McConnell, Richmond Sr. OL 6-4 290 Foley, Ala./Foley
Kyle Nunez, Stony Brook Sr. OL 6-2 340 East Islip, N.Y./East Islip
DEFENSE
Name, School Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
Malik Fisher, Villanova Sr. DL 6-4 255 New York, N.Y./Xavier
Mike Greene, James Madison Sr. DL 6-3 285 Richmond, Va./Highland Springs
Chase McGowan, Delaware So. DL 6-1 240 Stafford, Va./North Stafford
Kobie Turner, Richmond Sr. DL 6-3 285 Clifton, Va./Centreville
Johnny Buchanan, Delaware Jr. LB 6-0 230 Brick, N.J./St. John Vianney
Tyler Dressler, Richmond Gr. LB 6-3 245 Covington, Va./Covington
Forrest Rhyne, Villanova Sr. LB 6-1 225 Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro Area
Tristan Wheeler, Richmond So. LB 6-2 228 Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom
MJ Hampton, James Madison Sr. S 6-0 196 Fredericksburg, Va./Stafford
Evan Horn, New Hampshire Sr. S 6-0 220 Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest
Kedrick Whitehead, Delaware Jr. S 5-11 195 Middletown, Del./Middletown
Christian Benford, Villanova Jr. CB 6-1 190 Randallstown, Md./Randallstown
Nijuel Hill, Delaware Sr. CB 5-10 185 Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall
SPECIAL TEAMS
Name, School Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School
D’Ago Hunter, Towson Jr. KR 5-8 160 Culpeper, Va./Eastern View
Tre’Von Jones, Elon So. PR 6-0 166 Warrenton, N.C./Trinity Christian
Bronson Yoder, William & Mary Jr. PR 5-11 190 Nappanee, Ind./Northwood
Ethan Ratke, James Madison Sr. PK 5-10 178 Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee
Harry O’Kelly, James Madison Sr. P 6-1 180 Wynnum, Queensland, Australia/Iona
Anthony Del Negro, Stony Brook Sr. SPEC 6-2 230 Bohemia, N.Y./Connetquot
CAA FOOTBALL PRESEASON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Percy Agyei-Obese, RB, James Madison
CAA FOOTBALL PRESEASON DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Mike Greene, DL, James Madison
Honorable mention: Davis Cheek, QB, Elon;
Daniel Smith, QB, Villanova;
Jeff Undercuffler, QB, UAlbany;
Justin Covington, RB, Villanova;
Gene Coleman II, WR, Delaware;
Ivory Frimpong, WR, Rhode Island;
Antwane Wells, Jr., WR, James Madison;
Bryce DeMaille, TE, Delaware;
Andrew Trainer, OL, William & Mary;
Will Kiely, DL, William & Mary;
Niko Kvietkus, DL, New Hampshire;
Jared Verse, DL, UAlbany;
Kelvin Azanama, LB, James Madison;
Danny Damico, LB, UAlbany;
Christian Dixon, LB, Towson;
Cole Coleman, S, Elon;
Aaron Dykes, KR, Richmond;
Shane McDonough, P, Towson;
Bryce Colee, SPEC, Maine
2021 CAA FOOTBALL PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
(Selected by a vote of Head Coaches and Media Relations Directors)
- James Madison (15 first-place votes) 231
- Delaware (7 first-place votes) 222
- Villanova 194
- Richmond (2 first-place votes) 169
- New Hampshire 135
- Rhode Island 121
- Towson 115
- UAlbany 114
- Maine 99
- Stony Brook 73
- William & Mary 61
- Elon 50