Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell's Page, Pechin Make Preseason All-Patriot League Team
7/30/2019 11:00:00 AM | Football
Pechin, an All-American punter, made his third career Preseason All-Patriot League Team. Page, a two-time All-Patriot League selection, earned his first nod to the preseason squad.
In 2018, Page started Bucknell's first seven games at a hybrid defensive lineman/linebacker position before losing the season to injury. At the time, he was the team leader in tackles for a loss (9.0) and sacks (4.5) and stood fifth among Bison with 38 tackles (20 solo). Despite missing the final four games, he led the team in sacks, finished second in forced fumbles (2) and placed third in tackles for a loss. He will enter his junior campaign with 13.5 career sacks, just three away from cracking Bucknell's top 10.
Page was previously named to the 2018 All-Patriot League First Team as a defensive lineman and the 2017 All-Patriot League Second Team as a linebacker. Under new head coach Dave Cecchini, Page will transition into a more traditional linebacker role; he made the 2019 Preseason All-Patriot League Team as a linebacker.
A rare two-time captain, Pechin returns in 2019 after being granted an extra year of eligibility due to a season-ending injury suffered in his sophomore season's second game. A year ago, he was the lone Patriot League student-athlete honored on Athlon Sports's All-America squad. It was his sixth All-America award of his senior campaign; he was also recognized on the STATS, Phil Steele and Hero Sports All-America First Teams and the AP and AFCA All-America Second Teams. He was Bucknell's first specialist to garner All-America laurels from the AFCA and AP.
Pechin's awards haul in the 2018 off-season was impressive. In addition to his six All-America awards, he earned All-Patriot League First Team accolades for the third time and All-ECAC First Team laurels for the second time. One of the finest punters in Bison history, he finished first in the FCS in punts (81) and punting yards (3,606) and fourth in punting average (44.5) in 2018.
Pechin owns the school record in career punting average (43.7) and the program's top-three single-season averages of 45.1 (2017), 44.5 (2018) and 42.1 (2015); he also booted the third- (71) and fifth- (70) longest punts in school history over the course of the 2018 campaign. In 2017, he captured STATS Third Team All-America accolades on the strength of his 45.1 punting average, which ranked third in the FCS.
In the Patriot League preseason poll, which was also voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors, Bucknell was picked to place seventh. Colgate was predicted to take first, securing 12 of 14 first-place votes, while Holy Cross and Georgetown rounded out the top three.
The Bison, who went 1-10 (1-5 Patriot League) a year ago, will host five games at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium during their 134th season of competition. Their challenging slate includes FBS program Temple and four teams that appeared in the FCS's top 10 over the course of the 2018 campaign. The 2019 season will be their first under Cecchini, who was announced as the 27th Bob Odell Head Football Coach at Bucknell on February 6, 2019. Most recently the head coach at Valparaiso, he has a long track record of building explosive offenses at elite academic institutions. Previously the offensive coordinator at Lehigh, The Citadel and Harvard, his offenses have shattered school records at his every stop, propelling his teams to a combined seven conference championships. An All-American wide receiver at Lehigh during his playing days in the early 1990s, Cecchini spent 13 of his 24 seasons as a coach at his alma mater.
2019 Patriot League Football Preseason All-League Team
Offense
QB: Grant Breneman, Colgate (Jr.)
RB: Alex Mathews, Colgate (Sr.)
RB: Domenic Cozier, Holy Cross (Sr.)
FB: Isaac Schley, Georgetown (Sr.)
WR: Michael Dereus, Georgetown (Sr.)
WR: Nick Pearson, Lafayette (Sr.)
WR: Jorge Portorreal, Lehigh (Jr.)
TE: Nick Diaco, Colgate (Sr.)
OL: Jack Badovinac, Colgate (Jr.)
OL:Â Jovaun Woolford, Colgate (Sr.)
OL: Brett Boddy, Holy Cross (Sr.)
OL: Brian Foley, Holy Cross (Jr.)
OL: Jake Marotti, Lafayette (Sr.)
Defense
DL: Nick Wheeler, Colgate (Sr.)
DL: Duval Paul, Georgetown (Jr.)
DL: Khristian Tate, Georgetown (Sr.)
DL: Malik Hamm, Lafayette (So.)
LB: Simeon Page, Bucknell (Jr.)
LB: Nick Ioanilli, Colgate (Sr.)
LB: Glenn Cunningham, Fordham (Jr.)
LB: Wes Bowers, Georgetown (Jr.)
DB: Abu Daramy-Swaray, Colgate (Sr.)
DB: Jesse Bramble, Fordham (Jr.)
DB: Ahmad Wilson, Georgetown (Jr.)
DB: Yasir Thomas, Lafayette (Sr.)
Special Teams
PK: Chris Puzzi, Colgate (Sr.)
P: Alex Pechin, Bucknell (5th)
Return Specialist: Abu Daramy-Swaray, Colgate (Sr.)
Non-Specialist Player: Ahmad Wilson, Georgetown (Jr.)
