2017 Duquesne Football Prospectus

PITTSBURGH â€" Duquesne, winner of a share of four of the past six Northeast Conference Football League titles, has been picked to finish first in 2017 in the annual preseason poll of the league's seven head coaches released today.

The Dukes, who have finished atop the league standings in 2011-co, 2013-co, 2015 and 2016-co, will be looking be become the second school in conference history to win three consecutive titles. The only school to accomplish the feat is Robert Morris, which won a share of the first five championships in NEC history (three outright) from 1996 through 2000.

Duquesne, which returns 13 position starters from last year's 8-3 (5-1 in NEC) team, received four first place votes. Saint Francis U, which was the NEC FCS Championship representative last year by virtue of a regular-season win over DU, was picked to finish second with two first place votes. Wagner, the third-place pick, received the other first place vote.

Central Connecticut State, Sacred Heart, Bryant and Robert Morris were picked fourth through seventh respectively.

This is the seventh-straight year Duquesne has been picked first or second in the NEC's preseason poll.

Duquesne has won more overall games (43) and more conference games (26) and posted more winning seasons (4) in league play than any other NEC school over the past six seasons.

Thirteenth-year head coach Jerry Schmitt returns five starters on offense and eight on defense in 2017.

Six Dukes were named to the NEC preseason team: senior offensive lineman Ben Huss (Upper St. Clair, Pa./Upper St. Clair), senior linebacker Nathan Stone (Scottdale, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic), senior defensive lineman Andy Struttmann (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville North), junior offensive lineman Matt Fitzpatrick (Pennsauken, N.J./Bishop Eustace), junior defensive back Abner Roberts (Pittsburgh, Pa./University Prep) and sophomore running back A.J. Hines (Wilson, N.C./Fike).

All six earned All-NEC honors in 2016, with Huss, Stone and Hines - the 2016 STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award winner and NEC Offensive Rookie of the Year - first team picks. Struttmann, Fitzpatrick and Roberts were all earned second team All-NEC honors last season.

Duquesne, which opens fall camp on July 26, kicks off the 2017 season at South Dakota State at 8:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, Aug. 31.


2017 Northeast Conference Football League Preseason Poll
First place votes in parentheses

1. DUQUESNE (4)
2. Saint Francis U (2)
3. Wagner (1)
4. Central Connecticut State
5. Sacred Heart
6. Bryant
7. Robert Morris