PAC Players to Watch
LATROBE, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - After winning its second consecutive Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) football championship last fall, Carnegie Mellon University was selected as the favorite in the league heading into the 2023 season.
The results of the league's annual preseason poll, voted on by PAC head coaches, sports information directors and members of the media, were announced Wednesday afternoon at PAC Football Media Day, hosted by Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania for the 16th straight year.
Carnegie Mellon received 36 first-place votes and totaled 415 points to headline the poll.
"We appreciate the recognition from the PAC on being named first in this year's preseason poll," said second-year Carnegie Mellon head coach Ryan Larsen. "This recognition is a testament to the hard work our players, coaches and administration has poured into our program over the past few years.
"With that in mind, we also understand that the competitiveness of this league week in and week out does not allow us to take any team lightly," added Larsen. "Just like last year, we will take on each opponent with a 1-0 mentality, and we look forward to preparing for our opener against Geneva College on September 2nd."
Joining Larsen at PAC Media Day Tuesday was junior wide receiver Ben Condemi (Chantilly, Va./Episcopal).
Washington & Jefferson College finished second with one first-place vote and 363 points while Westminster College was third with 326 points. Grove City College collected one first place vote and ranked fourth (312), Case Western Reserve University was fifth (283), Saint Vincent College was sixth (204), Waynesburg University came in seventh (179), Geneva College was eighth (152), Allegheny College was ninth (145), Thiel College was 10th (72) and Bethany College was 11th (57).
Media Day began with a brief welcome from PAC Commissioner Joe Onderko, which was followed by Bob Gregg and Mark Uriah being honored as this year's recipients of the Dow Carnahan Media Award. Carnahan, a longtime supporter and friend of the PAC, passed away unexpectedly on April 29, 2016. The award is presented annually to a distinguished member of the media or on-campus representative for his or her commendable service while covering and promoting the conference's student-athletes, coaches and programs.
The 2023 season will mark the 40th season that Gregg and Uriah will team up to call Washington & Jefferson College football games on WJPA radio. From the start of the 1984 season, the duo has called the action to local listeners in Washington. During this time, W&J has racked up more than 300 wins, 25 PAC titles and made 2 Stagg Bowl appearances. The 1984 season also started W&J's string of 39 consecutive winning seasons.
Both are Western Pennsylvania natives, as Gregg is a graduate of Washington High School and attended the University of Miami (Fla.) and Geneva College, while Uriah graduated from Chartiers Valley High School and Ohio State University. In addition to their work covering W&J, both gentlemen have been fixtures on the local sports scene. The duo has covered WPIAL and PIAA athletics over the last four decades, including football, basketball, wrestling, baseball and softball, as well as California (Pa.) University playoff games, the Pony League World Series in Washington, Washington Wild Things baseball and the Frontier League playoffs.
Due to their efforts, WJPA Sports is a four-time winner of the Pennsylvania Associated Press Broadcasters Association Award for Best Sports Play-by-Play. They were both inducted into the Washington-Greene Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
The 2023 football season opens on Saturday, September 2 with five conference tilts on the slate.
| 2023 PAC Football Preseason Poll (Predicted order of finish) |
| School |
Points (first place votes) |
2022 Record (PAC) |
| 1. Carnegie Mellon University |
415 (36) |
11-1 (8-0) |
| 2. Washington & Jefferson College |
363 (1) |
9-2 (6-2) |
| 3. Westminster College |
326 |
7-3 (6-2) |
| 4. Grove City College |
312 (1) |
8-3 (5-3) |
| 5. Case Western Reserve University |
283 |
6-4 (5-3) |
| 6. Saint Vincent College |
204 |
5-5 (5-3) |
| 7. Waynesburg University |
179 |
4-6 (3-5) |
| 8. Geneva College |
152 |
3-7 (3-5) |
| 9. Allegheny College |
145 |
3-7 (2-6) |
| 10. Thiel College |
72 |
1-9 (1-7) |
| 11. Bethany College |
57 |
1-9 (0-8) |
2023 PAC Football Players to Watch
| Allegheny - Media Day Interviews with Head Coach Braden Layer & WR Declan O'Brien |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown | High School |
| David Babb |
Jr. |
DB |
Pembroke Pines, Fla./Chaminade Madonna |
| Travis Dear |
Sr. |
LB |
Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder |
| Jack Johnson |
Sr. |
QB |
Hingham, Mass./Hingham/Milford Academy |
| Carson Messemer |
Jr. |
OL |
Schenectady, N.Y./Schalmont |
| Declan O'Brien |
Sr. |
WR |
Irwin, Pa./Norwin |
| Tre Worship |
Sr. |
RB |
East Cleveland, Ohio/Shaw |
| Bethany - Media Day Interviews with Head Coach Brandon Robinson & WR De'Vaughn McWhorter |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown | High School |
| Jordan Aldridge |
Sr. |
TE |
Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park |
| Tre Dean |
Jr. |
WR |
Atlanta, Ga./New Manchester |
| Rondell Lewis |
Sr. |
LB |
Beachwood, Ohio/Beachwood |
| De'Vaughn McWhorter |
Sr. |
WR |
Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park |
| Markell Ross |
Jr. |
DB |
Baltimore, Md./Carver Vocational Technical |
| Dadrick Vickers |
Sr. |
DB |
Miami Gardens, Fla./Miami Norland |
| Carnegie Mellon - Media Day Interviews with Head Coach Ryan Larsen & WR Ben Condemi |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown | High School |
| Robert Coury |
Sr. |
LB |
Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg |
| Thomas Coury |
Sr. |
LB |
Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg |
| Aryan Hegde |
Sr. |
DB |
Brambleton, Va./Rock Ridge |
| Ben Mills |
Sr. |
QB |
The Woodlands, Texas/Woodlands |
| Tre Vasiliadis |
Sr. |
RB |
Great Falls, Va./Langley |
| Adrian Williams |
Sr. |
DB |
Venetia, Pa./Peters Township |
| Case Western Reserve - Media Day Interviews with Head Coach Greg Deblejak & WR Ethan Dahlem |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown | High School |
| Nate Cikalo |
Jr. |
DB |
Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake |
| Noah Coyne |
Jr. |
WR |
Painesville, Ohio/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin |
| Riley Knurek |
Sr. |
WR |
Broadview Heights, Ohio/North Royalton |
| Jace Merritt |
Sr. |
OL |
Fort Worth, Texas/Nolan Catholic |
| Kaden Tong |
Sr. |
DL |
Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty |
| Marco Toth |
Sr. |
LB |
Mentor, Ohio/Mentor |
| Geneva - Media Day Interviews with Head Coach Gena DeMarco & TE Jared Ozias |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown | High School |
| Hilton McLain Jr. |
Sr. |
WR/KR |
Belle Glade, Fla./Royal Palm Beach |
| Kadin Mersing |
Sr. |
OL |
Rochester, Pa./Rochester |
| Nicolas Ottaviani |
Sr. |
LB |
Beaver Falls, Pa./Riverside |
| Jared Ozias |
Sr. |
TE |
Connellsville, Pa./Connellsville |
| Derrick Sneed |
Sr. |
DB |
Macon, Ga./Rutland |
| Eric White |
Sr. |
OL |
Annapolis, Md./Annapolis |
| Grove City - Media Day Interviews with Head Coach Andrew DiDonato & DB Dom Magliocco |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown | High School |
| Trevor Beck |
Sr. |
DB |
Port Matilda, Pa./State College |
| Ben Bladel |
So. |
LB |
Moon Township, Pa./Moon |
| Ryan Fleming |
Grad. |
LB |
Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette |
| Scott Fraser |
Sr. |
WR |
Butler, Pa./Knoch |
| Vinny LePre |
Sr. |
OG |
Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove |
| Logan Pfeuffer |
Jr. |
QB |
Venetia, Pa./Peters Township |
| Saint Vincent - Media Day Interviews with Head Coach Aaron Smetanka & WR Molayo Irefin |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown | High School |
| Nathan Bettwy |
Sr. |
OL |
Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg |
| C.J. Ciecierski |
Sr. |
OL |
Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional |
| Dwight Collins Jr. |
Grad. |
DL |
Orlando, Fla./Edgewater |
| Ethan Facey |
Jr. |
DB |
Gambrills, Md./Arundel |
| Molayo Irefin |
Sr. |
WR |
Bowie, Md./Archbishop Spalding |
| Ahmad Shaw |
Grad. |
DB |
Fairfax, Va./Hayfield |
| Thiel - Media Day Interviews with Head Coach Sam Bauman & DB Darnell Jordan |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown | High School |
| Jared Curcio |
Sr. |
LB |
Avonmore, Pa./Kiski Area |
| Luke Faber |
Jr. |
DL |
Greenville, Pa./Reynolds |
| Darnell Jordan |
Sr. |
DB |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Westinghouse |
| Blake Joseph |
Sr. |
WR |
Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan |
| Donny Pattison |
Sr. |
TE |
Bradford, Pa./Bradford Area |
| Chris Slaven |
Jr. |
OL |
Bridgeville, Pa./Chartiers Valley |
| Washington & Jefferson - Media Day Interviews with Head Coach Mike Sirianni & QB Jacob Pugh |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown | High School |
| Dawson Dietz |
Jr. |
DL |
Allison Park, Pa./Hampton |
| Angelo Fratini |
Sr. |
OL |
Burgettstown, Pa./Burgettstown |
| Justin Johns |
Sr. |
LB |
Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional |
| Jacob Pugh |
Jr. |
QB |
Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson |
| Jaren Thimons |
Jr. |
DL |
Valencia, Pa./North Catholic |
| Tanner Volpatti |
Sr. |
LB |
Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park |
| Waynesburg - Media Day Interviews with Head Coach Dr. Cornelius Coleman & RB Justin Flack |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown | High School |
| Brennan Boron |
Jr. |
DB |
St. Mary's, W.Va./St. Mary's |
| Frank Cortazzo IV |
Sr. |
OL |
McKeesport, Pa./South Allegheny |
| Justin Flack |
Sr. |
RB |
Derry, Pa./Derry Area |
| Dakota Romantino |
Jr. |
WR |
Charleroi, Pa./Charleroi |
| Alex Torrance |
Sr. |
OL |
Ligonier, Pa./Ligonier Valley |
| Joel Zellem |
Sr. |
DL |
Beaver Falls, Pa./Riverside |
| Westminster - Media Day Interviews with Head Coach Scott Benzel & DB Brice Butler |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |High School |
| Bryce Butler |
Jr. |
DB |
Farrell, Pa./Farrell |
| Carter Chinn |
Sr. |
DL |
Grove City, Pa./Grove City |
| Chevy Dawson |
Sr. |
TE/P |
Port St. Lucie, Fla./Centennial |
| Ryan Gomes |
Sr. |
RB |
Tampa, Fla./Walter L. Sickles |
| Tyler McGowan |
So. |
QB |
Coraopolis, Pa./Moon |
| Danny Thimons |
Gr. |
DB |
Natrona Heights, Pa./Highlands |
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