By Andy Walter

NEWARK — Considering the amount of production that Delaware lost from last year’s football team, any prediction for the Blue Hens this fall is an educated guess.

With that in mind, the Coastal Athletic Association coaches have decided that Delaware is the fourth-best team in the league this season.

The Hens came in behind favorite William & Mary, New Hampshire and Richmond in the coaches’ poll that was unveiled this morning.

Keep in mind that there now 15 teams in the CAA for football. The conference also made the name change from ‘Colonial.’

Delaware opens the season on Aug. 31 with a CAA game at Stony Brook, which was predicated to place No. 14 in the poll.

UD had three players named to the preseason All-Conference team, including two of the Hens’ new kicking specialists.

Receiver Jourdan Townsend had 61 receptions for 698 yards and six touchdowns a year ago when he was named All-CAA second team. Townsend has 91 career receptions for 1,001 yards and 11 touchdowns and also earned All-CAA second-team honors in 2021.

Kicker Alex Schmoke joins the Blue Hens from Saint Francis, where he was a two-time All-NEC first-team selection. For his career, he is 33-of-39 in field goal attempts, making a career-long of 50.

He is also 73-of-79 on PAT attempts for his career, converting on 25-of-27 in 2021 and 48-of-52 in 2022. He ranks third in all of FCS in active career field-goal percentage at 84.6 percent.

Punter Ryan Kost, a transfer from Monmouth, was a first-team All-CAA punter in 2022. He also received HERO Sports FCS Preseason All-America third team after averaging 48.1 yards per punt to lead the CAA and FCS.

Kost also earned first-team All-Big South honors in 2021 and was a first-team All-ECAC selection. During the 2020-2021 year, he was a second-team All-Big South selection.

Delaware’s Braden Brose, Fintan Brose, and Chase McGowan received preseason honorable mention honors.

CAA FOOTBALL POLL

1-William & Mary (13 first-place votes) 195
2-New Hampshire (1 first-place vote) 179
3-Richmond 159
4-Delaware (1 first-place vote) 149
5-Elon 146
6-Rhode Island 135
7-Villanova 129
8-Monmouth 94
9-Towson 85
10-North Carolina A&T 70
11-UAlbany 64
12-Campbell 62
13-Maine 40
14-Stony Brook 38
15-Hampton 30

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached at awalter@iniusa. Follow on Twitter at @DSNSports.