PAC announces player lineup for 2015 Football Media Day in Latrobe

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GREENVILLE, Pa. (pacathletics.org) – The 2015 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Football Media Day will be held Wednesday, August 5 in Latrobe, Pa. The PAC has also announced which student-athletes will be in attendance at Media Day alongside their respective head coach.

Saint Vincent College will host PAC Football Media Day for the ninth-straight year. The annual event serves as the PAC's kickoff to the football season, with each of the league's 11 football coaches and student-athletes representatives addressing the media and previewing the upcoming season.

The third annual PAC Kickoff Classic is scheduled for Saturday, September 12 (1 p.m.) and will feature Saint Vincent hosting Waynesburg University at Chuck Noll Field. This season marks the 61st year of PAC football.

Following a brief welcome and 2014 recap by PAC commissioner Joe Onderko at 12:30 p.m., the conference's football coaches and student-athlete representatives will answer questions about the upcoming year. Each head coach and student-athlete representative will also be available for individual interview sessions following the general Q&A session (approx. 2:15 p.m.).

Media members in attendance, along with each institution's head coach and sports information director, will participate in a preseason poll to determine the projected conference finish for the 2015 season. Full poll results will be released at the conclusion of the event and will be available at pacathletics.org.

Members of the media interested in attending PAC Football Media Day, an invitation-only event, should contact PAC assistant commissioner/director of communications Kevin Fenstermacher at 724-456-7897 or fenstermacher@pacathletics.org.

Below are the coaches and student-athletes scheduled to appear at this year's PAC Football Media Day:

Bethany College
 Bill Garvey
Head Coach
Eric Blinn
Wide Receiver
Senior
Beaver, Pa. / Western Beaver
Bethany (6-5, 5-3 PAC in 2014): Coach Garvey is entering his third year as the head coach of the Bison program … Last year’s 6-5 record was the program’s best since 2001 (6-3, 2-2 PAC) ... Bethany returns 18 starters from its 2014 campaign ... The Bison made their first postseason appearance since 1980 last season, falling to Stevenson University in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Southwest Bowl Championship in Owings Mills, Md. on November 22 ... Senior WR Eric Blinn is Bethany’s career leader in receptions (251) and receiving yards (3,125) ... Heading into the 2015 season with 23 career touchdown catches, Blinn needs three scores to surpass Matt Cruse (25, 2006-09) for the school’s all-time mark ... Blinn needs 19 catches and 79 yards to pass W&J’s Alex Baroffio (2010-13) as the PAC’s all-time receptions and receiving yards leader.

Carnegie Mellon University
 Rich Lackner
Head Coach
Nico Comsa
Outside Linebacker
Senior
Connellsville, Pa. / Connellsville Area
Carnegie Mellon (4-6, 3-5 PAC in 2014): Coach Lackner returns for his 30th season leading the Tartans ... Lackner has the most wins in school history (188) and his winning percentage (.643) is second only behind Chuck Klausing (.830), who coached at Carnegie Mellon from 1976-85 ... The Tartans have a winning record against seven of their opponents this season: Bethany (31-7), Case Western Reserve (26-18), Chicago (20-7), Geneva (14-9-1), Grove City (35-19-2), Thiel (28-11-2) and W&J (32-27-5) ... Carnege Mellon returns 21 starters from its 2014 campaign ... Senior OLB Nico Comsa, a First Team All-PAC selection in 2014, totaled a team-high 97 tackles (fourth in the PAC), 12.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and a pair of interceptions last season.

Case Western Reserve University
 Greg Debeljak
Head Coach
Gavin Sandidge
Inside Linebacker
Senior
Pittsburgh, Pa. / Central Catholic
Case Western Reserve (3-7, 3-5 PAC in 2014): Coach Debeljak is entering his 12th year as the head coach of the Spartans ... Case returns 20 starters from last season ... The Spartans are 61-18 in their last 79 regular season games and 30-10 in their last 40 road games (dating back to 2007) ... Senior ILB Gavin Sandidge, a First Team All-PAC selection in 2014, finished the year with 80 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack and a forced fumble.

Geneva College
 Geno DeMarco
Head Coach
Thomas Benyo
Defensive Back
Senior
Berlin Center, Ohio / Western Reserve
Geneva (3-7, 2-6 PAC in 2014): Coach DeMarco returns for his 23rd season leading the Golden Tornadoes ... DeMarco has the most wins (136) in Geneva program history ... Geneva returns 17 starters from its 2014 campaign ... Senior DB Thomas Benyo, a 2014 All-PAC Honorable Mention selection, finished second on the squad with 72 total stops while adding three interceptions and 1.5 tackles for loss ... Sophomore DB Nate Cannon, named a 2014 First Team All-PAC selection and the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III South Newcomer of the Year, led the league with seven interceptions, was second in passes defended (15) and finished second in punt return average (15.6 yards/return) ... He totaled a PAC-best 359 yards on 23 punt returns, including a 95-yard return for a touchdown in Geneva's 2014 season opener.

Grove City College
Chris Smith
Head Coach
Bobby Tuttle
Inside Linebacker
Senior
Upper Saint Clair, Pa. / Upper Saint Clair
Grove City (0-10, 0-8 PAC): Coach Smith is entering his 32nd year as the head coach of the Wolverines ... The 2015 season will be the final season as head coach for Smith ... Offensive coordinator Andrew DiDonato will take over as head coach, effective with the 2016 season ... Smith is the all-time wins leader (122) at Grove City ... The Wolverines return 18 starters from its 2014 campaign ... Senior ILB Bobby Tuttle, a 2014 All-PAC Honorable Mention selection, was second on the squad with 76 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks last season.

Saint Vincent College
 Ron Dolciato
Head Coach
Renny LaRue-Holloman
Defensive Back
Senior
Pittsburgh, Pa. / Fox Chapel
Saint Vincent (4-6, 4-4 PAC in 2014): Coach Dolciato begins his second season leading the Bearcats ... Saint Vincent returns 20 starters from last year’s squad ... Senior DB Renny LaRue-Holloman, a three-time All-PAC selection (Second Team honors in 2013 and 2014), was fourth on the Bearcat squad with 48 tackles in 2014 ... He also chipped in with an interception, a forced fumble and a pair of fumble recoveries ... Junior RB Shavonta Craft, a 2014 All-PAC Second Team selection, finished the 2014 season fifth in the PAC in both rushing yards (813) and all-purpose yards (1,121). 

Thiel College
 Kurt Reiser
Head Coach
Reily Shane
Defensive Lineman
Senior
Tarentum, Pa. / Highlands
Thiel (4-6, 3-5 PAC in 2014): Coach Reiser is entering his seventh season as the head coach of the Tomcats ... Thiel will bring back 13 starters from last season ... Senior DL Reily Shane, an All-PAC Honorable Mention selection in 2013 and 2014, posted the fifth-most stops for the Tomcats in 2014 (44) ... His 16.0 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks were program highs ... Junior QB Ryan Radke, an All-PAC Honorable Mention pick last season, racked up 2,946 yards (2,042 pass, 904 rush) of total offense in 2014, a single-season best for the Tomcats … Radke’s 904 rushing yards were also a single-season PAC high by a quarterback.

Thomas More College
 Regis Scafe
Head Coach
Jake Henderson
Offensive Lineman
Senior
Fort Wright, Ky. / Covington Catholic
Thomas More (8-2, 7-1 PAC in 2014): Coach Scafe enters his first season as the head coach of the Saints ... Scafe spent 14 seasons (1998-2012) as the head coach at John Carroll University, compiling an overall record of 88-56 ... His 88 wins are second-most in John Carroll program history ... Thomas More enters the season ranked 15th on The Sporting News Division III Preseason Top 25 and 23rd on the D3football.com Preseason Top 25 ... Senior OL Jake Henderson, a three-time All-PAC selection (First Team honors in 2013 and 2014), helped pave the way for Thomas More’s all-time leading rusher, Domonique Hayden (5,466 career rushing yards), over the previous three seasons ... The Saints led the PAC in scoring offense (45.0 points per game), total offense (533.8 yards per game) and rushing offense (275.2 yards per game) in 2014 ... Thomas More won a share of its sixth PAC title in the last seven seasons in 2014.

Washington & Jefferson College
 Mike Sirianni
Head Coach
Zack Crossey
Offensive Lineman
Senior
Irwin, Pa. / Penn-Trafford
W&J (10-2, 7-1 PAC in 2014): Coach Sirianni returns for his 13th season as the head coach of the Presidents ... W&J enters the 2015 season ranked fourth on The Sporting News Division III Preseason Top 25, ninth on Lindy's Division III Preseason Top 25 and 15th on the D3football.com Preseason Top 25 ... The Presidents claimed a share of their league-leading 24th PAC championship in 2014 and earned the program's 24th NCAA Division III playoff appearance by securing the league’s automatic qualifying bid ... The school’s 24 national playoff appearances are second-most in Division III history (behind the University of Mount Union) ... W&J will welcome back 18 starters from its 2014 squad ... Senior OL Zack Crossey, a unanimous Preseason First Team All-America selection, helped lead the way for the nation’s seventh-ranked offense a season ago, rolling up more than 500 yards of total offense per game (504.3) and going over the 500-yard plateau eight times, highlighted by 701 yards in its November 8 win at Thiel.

Waynesburg University
 Rick Shepas
Head Coach
Willie Leavell
Running Back
Senior
Midland Heights, Ohio / East Liverpool
Waynesburg (8-3, 6-2 PAC in 2014): Coach Shepas is entering his 11th season as the head coach of the Yellow Jackets ... Senior RB Willie Leavell, named a 2014 All-PAC First Team selection as an all-purpose player, ranked fourth in the league in all-purpose yards (1,449; 131.7 yards per game) last season ... Waynesburg brings back nine starters from last season's squad ... Junior DL Zach Machuga, a 2014 All-PAC Honorable Mention selection, posted a team-best 13.0 tackles for loss in 2014 ... He finished the season with 47 total stops and 4.0 sacks ... Waynesburg accepted a bid to an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Bowl Championship for a fourth-straight year in 2014, falling at home to Buffalo State on November 22.

Westminster College
 Scott Benzel
Head Coach
Richard Ellebie
Defensive End
Senior
New Wilmington, Pa. / Kennedy Christian
Westminster (4-6, 4-4 PAC in 2014): Coach Benzel enters his second season as the head coach of the Titans ... Westminster brings back 20 starters from its 2014 squad ... Senior DE Richard Ellebie, a two-time All-PAC selection (First Team honors in 2014), finished second on the squad with 65 total stops in 2014 ... He also chipped in with 8.0 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks ... Sophomore QB Paul Columbo, a 2014 All-PAC Honorable Mention selection, finished third in the league in passing touchdowns (21) and fourth in total offense (2,541 yards) and passing yards (2,197 yards) ... The Titans finished the 2014 season ranked fifth in the PAC in scoring offense (26.0 points per game), scoring defense (26.1 points per game) and total offense (370.8 yards per game).