Trio of Camels picked for preseason all-CAA team

(From GoCamels.com) – Three Campbell football players have been named to Preseason All-Coastal Athletic Association teams, while the Camels have been picked 12^th in the league’s preseason poll, announced Tuesday at the CAA’s 2023 virtual football media day.

Offensive tackle Mike Edwards was named Preseason All-CAA, while kicker Caleb Dowden and linebacker CJ Tillman collected honorable mention accolades.

Tillman, along with quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams and head coach Mike Minter joined the call at the CAA’s virtual football media day.

Heading into its first season as a CAA member, Campbell was picked 12^th in the preseason poll with 62 points, just behind UAlbany’s 64. Preseason favorites William & Mary tallied 195 points, garnering 13 of a possible 15 first place votes. New Hampshire also earned a first place vote, coming in second with 179 points, while Richmond picked up 159.

Delaware recorded the final remaining first place nod with 149 total points, followed by Elon (146), Rhode Island (135), Villanova (129), Monmouth (94), Towson (85) and North Carolina A&T (70). Maine (40), Stony Brook (38) and Hampton (30) rounded out the poll.

A graduate student, Edwards – featured HERE in a recent NC Football News post – is coming off an All-American campaign for the Camels, earning second team honors from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and third team accolades from Phil Steele in 2022.

A Hope Mills native, Edwards was also named First Team All-Big South following the 2022 season, anchoring the left side of an offensive line that helped CU set a single season passing yards record for the second straight year. Edwards started Campbell’s first nine games before being lost due to injury, pushing the Camels to 500 or more yards or total offense four times.

Tillman led the Camels with 82 tackles in 2022, ranking sixth in the Big South, on the way to second team all-league honors. The linebacker tallied 7.5 stops for loss with two sacks, an interception, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and two pass breakups, logging 10 or more tackles four times on the year, including a career high 16 stops with 2.0 tackles for loss in CU’s season finale win at Delaware State.

Tillman was a two-time Big South Defensive Player of the Week, first posting 11 tackles with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in a win over The Citadel, when he also earned an honorable mention FCS defensive player of the week nod, again earning conference weekly honors after gathering 12 tackles with a TFL in a win over Charleston Southern.

Also earning Second Team All-Big South honors in 2022, his first season in Buies Creek, Dowden tied for the conference lead and set a Campbell record with 14 field goals made last season, connecting on 14-of-16 tries while making 39-of-40 point after attempts to lead the Camels with 81 points. The Statesboro, Ga. native was named Big South Special Teams Player of the Week after converting all three of his field goal tries against The Citadel, including a 36 yarder, making all six of his tries inside 30 yards, as well as a 42 yard field goal in a win over Robert Morris, and a 40 yard try in a win over Charleston Southern.

Monmouth running back Jaden Shirden was named the CAA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while William & Mary linebacker John Pius was named CAA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

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