CANTON, Ohio - The Capital University football was picked fourth by the media and fifth by the coaches in the Ohio Athletic Conference Preseason Polls released Tuesday at the annual OAC Media Day hosted at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
In the media poll, Mount Union was a unanimous selection with all 32 first place votes and 320 points overall. The Purple Raiders were followed by Otterbein (280) and Baldwin-Wallace (217) in second and third place respectively. Capital was in fourth position with 212 points with Ohio Northern (209) coming in fifth place and John Carroll (182) in sixth place.
Mount Union and Otterbein were first and second respectively once again the coaches poll with the Purple Raiders earning a maximum nine first place votes and Otterbein picking up the other. Ohio Northern was third while Baldwin-Wallace with fourth with 58 and 51 points each. Capital followed closely with 49 points and John Carroll was sixth with 43 points.
In the D3football.com Preseason Poll, which was released on Aug. 5, CU was among the "Others Receiving Votes" with 56 points. Capital had the 31st most points of any school and third most among Ohio Athletic Conference members.
Overall, Capital will return 54 letterwinners and 19 starters from last season including seven players that were selected to the 2009 OhioCollegeFootball.com Preseason All-Ohio Team.
The Crusaders will return 10 starters on offense including four offensive lineman. Among those returning in the trenches are 2009 All-OAC Second Teamer Kyle Koblinski (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Butler HS) and Honorable Mention pick Cory Dutcher (Orient, Ohio/Teays Valley HS). Another 2009 All-OAC Second Team selection Matt White (Mason, Ohio/Mason HS) will bc back at wide receiver along with Honorable Mention designee Evan Blake (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm HS) to lead a solid receiving corps. Senior All-OAC Honorable Mention pick Marty Assmann (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Hartley HS) will be back in the backfield once again for the Crusader offense.
Capital will also return eight starters on the defensive side of the ball. Linebacker will once again be the strength of the defense, spearheaded by Matt Heagen (New Concord, Ohio/John Glenn HS) and junior Sam Jacobs (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson HS) while senior Brad Pickens (Norwalk, Ohio/ Western Reserve) will anchor a solid defensive backfield.
In addition, the CU returns all of its key perfomers on special teams led by senior punter Tom Gantner (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Bishop Hartley HS).
Capital finished with a 5-5 overall record in 2008 under the direction of first-year head coach Jim Bickel. The Crusaders placed fifth in an Ohio Athletic Conference that sent two teams to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season. CU has produced eight straight non-losing seasons and a 62-25 (.713) overall record along with 22 All-America selections since 2001.