Aug. 21, 2008

It is an exciting time of the year for Dayton athletics as fall sports get underway. Rick Chamberlin is set to make his debut as head football coach, and he has plenty of talented players returning, according to nationally acclaimed writer Phil Steele.

Steele honored six Flyers in his recently-released 2008 College Football Preview. His selections for preseason first team All-Pioneer League on defense included UD seniors Scott Vossler (defensive end), Steve McDonald (strong safety), and Kalen Hemmelgarn (defensive tackle).

Senior safety Corey Vossler and sophomore cornerback Joe Castaneda were named second team All-Pioneer on defense. Steele wrote that the Flyers have "the best D in the league with 8 of their 10 top tacklers back."

Senior offensive guard Patrick McCormick also made the list as a second team All-Pioneer selection on offense.

Steele projected Dayton to finish second in the league behind San Diego. He cited the loss of seniors, the retirement of veteran coach Mike Kelly, and a road trip to San Diego as reasons why the Flyers were not projected first.

With these nationally acclaimed predictions, the Flyers are set to kick off the season August 31, 2008 at 5 p.m. against Central State University.