CHARLOTTE (Nc.) – The Delaware Valley University football team was ranked number seven in Street and Smith's annual college football preview publication and two Aggies were named preseason All-Americans.

DelVal football is the highest ranked team in the east region after a 2019 campaign that saw them finish 11-2 overall and reach the NCAA elite eight. The Aggies completed another perfect 8-0 slate in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) play to claim their third consecutive league title, and won a pair of road games at Bridgewater College (Va.) and Wesley before traveling to Chicago where they fell to eventual national champion North Central College (Ill.)

Junior defensive end Michael Nobile and senior cornerback Justin Harris were selected as preseason All-Americans.

Nobile is coming off back-to-back MAC Defensive Player of the Year honors and was recognized as the NCAA East Region Defensive Player of the Year for the first time last season. He led all collegiate players at every level in tackles for loss last season with 31 including 12 sacks with eight quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles, one safety, and 75 total tackles. In two seasons, Nobile as racked up 147 tackles, 64.5 tackles for loss, 27.5 sacks, and five forced fumbles.

Harris joined the squad last season as a transfer student and finished second on the team with five interceptions to go with seven pass break-ups, 30 solo tackles, 38 total tackles, and one fumble recovery. He took two of his five interceptions to the house and averaged over 30 yards per return after the interception.

The Aggies defense ranked second in Division III with just 215.2 yards per game allowed and was seventh with 12.8 points per game against. They finished second with 24 interceptions and their rush defense was the fifth best in the nation with only 63.1 yards per game permitted.

Offensively, DelVal averaged over 35 points per game and 388.3 total yards as it breezed through conference play by outscoring MAC opponents, 317-72. It was a balanced attack that averaged 237.2 yards per game through the air and 151.1 yards on the ground.

The lone blemish in the regular season came in a four overtime thriller in week two at home against #22 Wesley as the Wolverines escaped with a 24-18 victory. The Green and Gold delightfully avenged that loss with a 45-10 rout at Wesley in round two of the NCAA Playoffs. The round one matchup saw the Aggies come from behind to defeat the Eagles in Bridgewater, Virginia, 30-22.

Keith McMillan of D3Football.com said in the article while reflecting on the 2019 squad and looking ahead to the 2020 version, "the Aggies were in many ways a greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts team on a run to the national quarterfinals last season, which will help them rebound from a swath of losses to graduation. Cornerback Justin Harris, linebacker Anthony Tedesco, running back Donte Simmons and wide receivers Aaron Nelson and John Davis are the most important returnees."
DelVal is the only MAC team in the preseason rankings and ranks two spots ahead of the next east region team, #9 Salisbury. Other east region teams in the preseason top-25 include #14 Union, #17 Brockport, #18 Middlebury, and #25 Wesley.