NORFOLK, Va. – Hampton University senior linebacker Julio Sanchez was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Preseason Defensive Player of the Year on Friday at the conference's preseason media luncheon.

 

Sanchez (Miami, Fla.) was also one of two Pirates to earn Preseason First Team All-MEAC honors. Sanchez was a First Team All-MEAC selection in 2009 after leading the team and finishing second in the MEAC in tackles with 98 tackles. He had 51 solo tackles on the season, and he recorded a career-high 16 tackles in an overtime win at Winston-Salem State.

 

Senior defensive lineman Kenrick Ellis (West Palm Beach, Fla.) also earned Preseason First Team honors, a year after he finished fifth on the team with 51 tackles. Ellis, who was also a First Team All-MEAC selection in 2009, was second on the team with 15.0 tackles for loss on the season.

 

Redshirt-senior offensive lineman Michael Ola (Riverdale, Ga.) was named Preseason Second Team All-MEAC, as were redshirt-senior linebacker Brandon Peguese (Greensboro, N.C.) and redshirt-senior defensive back Ricardo Silva (Baltimore, Md.).

 

Peguese was a Second Team All-MEAC selection in 2009 after totaling 53 tackles (20 solo, 33 assisted) on the season. He also led the Pirates and the MEAC with 7.5 sacks on the season, as well as 16.0 tackles for loss.

 

Silva was third on the team in tackles with 66 (36 solo, 33 assisted), tying for the team lead with two interceptions.

 

South Carolina State quarterback Malcolm Long was named the MEAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, as the Bulldogs were picked to win their third straight MEAC football championship. South Carolina State topped the preseason poll as voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors, tallying 15 first-place votes and 315 points.

 

Hampton was picked to finish fourth with 167 points, picking up one first-place vote. Florida A&M, with two first-place votes, was picked to finish second with 268 points, while Norfolk State tallied 190 points to come in third in the poll.

 

The Pirates will open the 2010 season on Thursday, Sept. 2, when they head to Mount Pleasant, Mich. to take on Central Michigan in the school's first-ever contest against a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision opponent. For more information on Hampton University football, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.