Football coaches of the Northeast Conference voted Duquesne to defend its conference title in their preseason poll Wednesday during NEC media day at MetLife Stadium.
This is the Dukes’ 14th consecutive season ranked in the top three in the preseason coaches’ poll, which includes earning at least one first place vote in 13 of the past 14. Duquesne is favored to win the NEC in the preseason poll for the first time since 2019.
St. Francis (Pa.) was chosen to finish second, its third straight season selected in the top three. Saint Francis has finished above .500 in the past three conference seasons, including a 7-0 campaign in 2022.
Robert Morris, which rejoined the conference as a football associate member for this season, landed in third. The Colonials also are eligible to earn the league’s bid to the FCS playoffs.
Duquesne senior quarterback Darius Perrantes headlined the 2024 All-Northeast Conference Football Preseason Team. The 2023 first-team all-conference selection led the NEC with 2,324 passing yards and 21 touchdowns and was first across the FCS subdivision with 17.74 yards per completion.
Teammates joining Perrantes on the preseason team are senior wide receiver Tedy Afful; senior tight end/H-back Noah Canty, a 2023 second-team NEC selection; grad student offensive lineman Vincent Lumia; grad student defensive lineman A.J. Ackerman (Elizabeth Forward); and senior linebacker Gianni Rizzo (Norwin), a second-team All-NEC pick last year.
St. Francis was represented on the preseason team by redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Mason Imbt, senior first-team defensive lineman Eddie Bierals and redshirt sophomore linebacker Mercury Swaim.
Robert Morris’ preseason honorees are senior running back Tyvon Edmonds Jr., who was a first-team All-NEC pick for Merrimack; redshirt junior wide receiver Noah Robinson; redshirt senior defensive lineman Tizlam Muhammad; and grad student linebacker Jamar Shegog (Seton LaSalle).
Mercyhurst joins the NEC this season after competing in the Division II Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference since 2008.
2024 NEC preseason poll
1. Duquesne (5 first-place votes)
2. St. Francis (1)
3. Robert Morris
4. LIU (1)
5. Stonehill
6. Wagner
7. CCSU
*Mercyhurst is ineligible for preseason All-NEC honors and the regular-season title in 2024.
