(From DavidsonWildcats.com and Pioneer-Football.org) – Three senior linemen from Davidson have been named to the Pioneer Football League’s preseason all-conference team, released Wednesday.
Gilbert Deglau (Sr. / OL), Beck Kipperman (Sr. / OL) and Jonathan Hammond (Sr. / DL) joined a list of 30 players recognized by the FCS conference.
Deglau and Kipperman started every game in 2022, anchoring an offensive line that helped the Wildcats to the nation’s top rushing attack for the third consecutive season and fourth time in head coach Scott Abell‘s five-year tenure.
The Wildcats averaged 331.5 rushing yards per game a year ago – nearly 20 yards more per contest than runner-up Montana State in that category.
Deglau, 6-5 and 285 pounds, hails from Richmond. Kipperman, 6-3 and 270 pounds, is from Round Rock, TX. Both Deglau and Kipperman have appeared on the Pioneer League’s Academic Honor Roll multiple times.
Hammond was named the PFL’s Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2020-21 and first-team all-conference as a sophomore, He finished last season with 10 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks, moving into seventh (32.5) and fifth (19.0) in school history, respectively.
In the Wildcats’ 48-14 win at Drake, Hammond tied a single-game school record with five tackles for a loss and picked up three sacks, earning PFL Defensive Player of the Week. Hammond, 6-3 and 225 pounds, is from Dunwoody, Ga. He, too, is a PFL Academic Honor Roll honoree.
All three Wildcats honored this week were second-team all-conference selections a year ago.
Entering his sixth season as head coach, Abell has guided the Wildcats to a 34-19 overall record and 28-13 conference mark, while capturing two PFL titles. Just one of four teams to make the last three FCS Playoffs, Davidson finished the 2022 season with its fifth straight winning season, marking just the fourth time in program history to accomplish that feat.
A year ago, the Wildcats were also just one of four FCS teams to finish in the top 20 nationally in both total offense and defense.
Davidson opens the new season Sept. 2 against VMI. The PFL conference race starts Sept. 16 when The ‘Cats travel to Marist.
Wildcats Picked To Finish 2nd In PFL
Davidson finished a close second to the University of St. Thomas in the Pioneer Football League preseason coaches poll, released Tuesday.
St. Thomas, the defending champions, edged out the Wildcats 98-92 for the top spot in the voting (100 points maximum). Dayton and San Diego, perennial league favorites, were picked to finish third and fourth, respectively.
St. Thomas grabbed eight of the 11 first-place votes. Davidson had two first-place votes and eight second-place tallies. San Diego received the other first-place ballot.
Four of the PFL’s five major preseason individual award winners from 2022 return for the 2023 season, led by reigning PFL Offensive Player of the Year quarterback Bret Bushka of Butler. He is joined on the preseason team by Butler’s punter and kicker Luka Zurak, who returns after claiming PFL Special Teams Player of the Year last season.
Drake defensive lineman Finn Claypool also earned a Preseason All-PFL nod after earning Freshman Defensive Player of the Year recognition in 2022. Stetson quarterback Brady Meitz also returns after claiming Freshman Offensive Player of the Year honors but was not selected to the Preseason All-PFL squad.
The upcoming 2022 season marks the 31st year of the Pioneer Football League. The league will feature 11 teams each playing an eight-game schedule to determine the league champion and recipient of the automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Championship.
St. Thomas, transitioning up from Division III, is ineligible for the playoffs this season. The Pioneer Football League is the only non-scholarship, football-only NCAA Football Championship Subdivision conference.
2023 Preseason Coaches Poll
- St. Thomas (8) 98
- Davidson (2) 92
- Dayton 75
- San Diego (1) 73
- Butler 68
- Valparaiso 52
- Marist 45
- Drake 38
- Stetson 31
- Morehead State 22
- Presbyterian 11
Complete all-PFL Preseason All-Conference Team
| 2023 Preseason All-Pioneer Football League Team | ||||||
| (as selected by PFL head coaches) | ||||||
| Pos. | Player | School | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. | Hometown |
| OFFENSE | ||||||
| WR | Solomon Davis (1) | Valparaiso | 6-1 | 180 | RSr. | Brighton, Tenn. |
| WR | Dominic Kibby (2) | Presbyterian | 6-1 | 175 | So. | Catsonville, Md. |
| WR | Andrew McElroy (1) | St. Thomas | 6-3 | 184 | Jr. | Bolingbrook, Ill. |
| QB | Bret Bushka (1, PotY) | Butler | 5-9 | 200 | RSr. | Lombard, Ill. |
| RB | James Louis (2) | Morehead State | 5-8 | 185 | Jr. | Hillside, N.J. |
| RB | Shawn Shipman (2) | St. Thomas | 6-0 | 204 | Jr. | Brooklyn Park, Minn. |
| FB | Eli Stewart (H) | Drake | 6-2 | 228 | Sr. | Blue Springs, Mo. |
| A-P | Re-al Mitchell (1) | San Diego | 6-0 | 210 | RSr. | Eastvale, Calif. |
| TE | Evan Jernegan (H) | Valparaiso | 6-1 | 225 | RSo. | Altadena, Calif. |
| OL | Gilbert Deglau (2) | Davidson | 6-5 | 285 | Sr. | Richmond, Va. |
| OL | Beck Kipperman (2) | Davidson | 6-3 | 270 | Sr. | Round Rock, Texas |
| OL | Alec Rasmussen (2) | St. Thomas | 6-7 | 299 | Jr. | Wayzata, Minn. |
| OL | Jimmy Poremba (2) | Drake | 6-3 | 290 | Grad. | Wildwood, Ill. |
| OL | David Tkatch (1) | Dayton | 6-2 | 291 | Grad. | Harmony, Pa. |
| DEFENSE | ||||||
| DL | Will Buck (2) | San Diego | 6-0 | 285 | RSr. | Sacramento, Calif. |
| DL | Finn Claypool (1, FRotY) | Drake | 6-1 | 240 | RSo. | Des Moines, Iowa |
| DL | Jonathan Hammond (2) | Davidson | 6-3 | 225 | Sr. | Dunwoody, Ga. |
| DL | Sam Schadek (1) | Dayton | 6-3 | 270 | Grad. | Columbus, Ohio |
| LB | Mike Arrington (1) | Marist | 6-0 | 213 | Grad. | Ashburn, Va. |
| LB | Nate Arthur (2) | Dayton | 5-11 | 222 | Grad. | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| LB | Jonathan Bunce (1) | St. Thomas | 6-3 | 239 | Jr. | Edina, Minn. |
| LB | Chase Lyons (2) | San Diego | 6-4 | 225 | Sr. | Aurora, Colo. |
| DB | Rassie Littlejohn (1) | Stetson | 6-1 | 173 | RSr. | Gainesville, Ga. |
| DB | Yusef Leak (2) | St. Thomas | 6-0 | 178 | Jr. | Orlando, Fla. |
| DB | Cole Hildebrand (H) | Dayton | 6-4 | 194 | RJr. | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| DB | Cooper Krezek (H) | Morehead State | 6-0 | 200 | RJr. | Kansas City, Mo. |
| SPECIAL TEAMS | ||||||
| PK | Luka Zurak (1, PotY) | Butler | 6-0 | 188 | RSr. | Cleveland, Ohio |
| P | Luka Zurak (1, PotY) | Butler | 6-0 | 188 | RSr. | Cleveland, Ohio |
| RS | Andrew McElroy (2) | St. Thomas | 6-3 | 184 | So. | Bolingbrook, Ill. |
| LS | Justin Iaccio (1) | Marist | 6-0 | 208 | RSr. | Mullica Hill, N.J. |
| Previous season’s honor(s) received in parentheses: 1 – First Team All-PFL selection; 2 – Second Team All-PFL selection; H – Honorable Mention selection; PotY – was a Player of the Year honoree (Offense, Defense, or Special Teams); FRotY – Freshman of the Year honoree (Offense of Defense). | ||||||
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