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The reigning Northeast Conference (NEC) champion Duquesne University football team has been picked to repeat as champions in 2016 according to a preseason poll of the league's seven head coaches released today.

Duquesne was tabbed as the preseason favorite with six first place votes while Sacred Heart was second with one first place vote. 2015 runner-up Saint Francis was slated third followed by Bryant, Central Connecticut, Robert Morris and Wagner.

After five straight years of being picked second in the pre-season poll, this is the first time Duquesne has been picked as the preseason favorite. In 2011, DU tied for the league title with Albany with a 7-1 record, in 2012 Duquesne tied for sixth at 3-5, in 2013, the Red and Blue again tied for first with Sacred Heart at 4-2 and in 2014 the Dukes finished fifth at 2-4. Last season Duquesne won the outright NEC Championship with a 5-1 conference record and earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Playoff.

12th-year head coach Jerry Schmitt returns 14 starters in 2016, including seven on offense, six on defense and his starting place kicker/punter.

Duquesne had a league-high six players named to the Pre-Season All-NEC Team. Senior quarterback Dillon Buechel (McKees Rocks, Pa./Montour), senior wide receiver Wayne Capers Jr., (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) and junior lineman Ben Huss (Upper St. Clair, Pa./Upper St. Clair) were named on offense while senior linebacker Christian Kuntz (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley), senior lineman Jake Radziukinas (Upper St. Clair, Pa./Upper St. Clair) and junior linebacker Nathan Stone (Scottdale, Pa/Greensburg Central Catholic) were named on defense.

A 2015 second team All-NEC pick, Buechel receives his first NEC pre-season nod. The 6-4 signal-caller enters his senior campaign second all-time at Duquesne in career completions (593), completion percentage (.583) and passing yards (7,465). He led Duquesne to its first ever NCAA FCS Playoff appearance where he threw for a career-high 423 yards and a school-record tying six touchdown passes in a 52-49 loss at William and Mary. He threw at least one touchdown pass in 11 of 12 games last year, including the last seven games of the season

Capers is the team's top returning receiver after leading the Dukes with nine touchdown grabs last season. The 2015 second team All-NEC honoree was second on the receiving corps with career highs of 51 receptions and 804 yards and had career highs of 12 receptions and three touchdowns in the season-ending playoff loss at William and Mary.

Huss made 11 starts on the offensive line last season and was named to the 2015 NEC All-Conference first team after being a second team selection as a freshman. A two-year starter, he helped the Dukes rush for over 2,000 yards and 16 touchdowns on the season and offered protection for the Dukes' aerial attack.

Kuntz enters the 2016 campaign as a preseason All-America choice by two outlets and received numerous 2015 postseason All-America accolades. The reigning NEC Defensive Player of the Year finished first nationally in tackles for a loss with 26 and was third in the country in TFL's per game. Kuntz also led the Dukes with four interceptions and was 11th in the FCS with 11 sacks.

Radziukinas started the first five games of the season at defensive end before an injury ended his junior campaign prematurely. In those games he registered 15 tackles (nine solo) as well as two sacks, including a season-high five tackles at Dayton.

Stone tallied nine sacks and 11 tackles for a loss in being named to the 2015 NEC All-Conference second team. A starter in all 12 games, he compiled 59 tackles (28 solo) on the year, including a season high eight stops at Albany. He is one of just two juniors named to the 12-man defensive team. Duquesne opens the 2016 season on Thursday, Sept. 1 at Youngstown State for a 7:30 pm ESPN3 kickoff.