BALTIMORE – Quarterback Tom Flacco has been selected as the 2019 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Preseason Offensive Player of the Year as the league announced its preseason all-conference teams during its annual media day.
 
Flacco is one of several Tigers to earn 2019 CAA Preseason All-Conference Team distinction.  Shane Simpson (RB), Shane Leatherbury (WR), Robert Heyward (LB) and Aidan O'Neill (K) were also placed on the preseason all-conference team while Jabari Allen (WR), Aaron Grzymkowski (OL), Bryce Carter (DL) and Keon Paye (LB) earned honorable mention.
 
In addition, Towson was predicted to finish second in the CAA in the preseason poll, picking up three out of a possible 24 first-place votes.  This ties the highest predicted finish for Towson since 2012; Towson was predicted to finish first in 2012 and second in 2013.
 
The preseason all-conference teams and the predicted order of finish were voted on by the league's head coaches and media relations directors then announced during the annual CAA Media Day at M&T Bank Stadium.
 
Towson is coming off a 2018 season where the Tigers were ranked in the top-20 for the final eight weeks of the year, tying for third in the CAA at 5-3 and 7-5 overall.  The Tigers made the NCAA FCS Playoffs for the first time since 2013 with victories over three then-ranked top-15 opponents: Elon, Stony Brook and Villanova.  In the early preseason polls, Towson is at No. 10 in the HERO Sports poll and No. 11 in the Athlon Sports poll.
 
Flacco is the reigning CAA Offensive Player of the Year, finishing fifth in the Walter Payton Award voting last season.  He was third in FCS in total offense and fifth in passing yards, leading the CAA with 270.9 passing yards a game and 332.8 yards of total offense a game, tying a program record with 28 touchdowns.  The redshirt senior accumulated 3,251 passing yards and 742 rushing yards in 12 games, each team-highs.
 
Simpson earned First Team All-America honors from four publications last season plus was the CAA Special Teams Player of the Year.  He was a three-time All-CAA player in 2018: first team at running back, second team at kick returner and third team on punt returner.  The redshirt senior was second in all of FCS with 171.5 all-purpose yards a game in 2018, totaling 2,058, including 711 yards on the ground with six touchdowns.
 
Leatherbury was a First Team All-CAA wide receiver in 2018, being top-30 in all of FCS in receptions per game and receiving yards.  Entering his redshirt senior season, he caught 67 passes last year, tying for third in Towson single season history, accumulating 885 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 73.8 per game.
 
O'Neill was selected as an All-American by four publications in 2018 plus was the All-CAA First Team kicker.  The senior is Towson's all-time leader in field goals plus set the program single season record last year with 22 field goals converted, being second in FCS in field goals per game with 1.83 and seventh in points scored per game at nine.  He went 22-for-29 on field goals (75.9%) and 42-for-43 on extra points (97.7%).
 
Heyward earned a Second Team All-CAA selection last season after being Towson's top tackler, tallying 99 on the season.  The senior linebacker recorded at least seven tackles in nine games, including double digits in four contests, finishing with 10.5 for loss and having a pair of forced fumbles.
 
Allen finished in the top-10 in the CAA in each receiving yards per game and receptions per game, also being Towson's leader in receiving touchdowns with eight, having at least one score in seven of the final eight games played.  The junior tallied up 751 yards off 53 catches last season, finishing with at least 65 yards in six games.
 
Grzymkowski started all 12 games at left guard for Towson last year, earning 2018 All-CAA Third Team recognition.  Coming in as a redshirt junior, last season he helped block for an offensive unit that ranked first in the CAA in each points per game and total offense.
 
Carter was Towson's leader in each tackles for loss with 14 and sacks with 6.5, being 10^th in the CAA in the latter category.  Coming into his redshirt junior season, Carter started all 12 games on the defensive line last year, tallying 52 total tackles and a pair of forced fumbles.
 
Paye leads all returning Towson linebackers with 74 total tackles in 2018 in 12 starts on the defense, also having five tackles for loss, a pair of interceptions and a forced fumble.  The redshirt senior recorded at least six tackles in nine contests in 2018.
 
2019 CAA Preseason All-Conference Team (Towson)
Tom Flacco, QB (CAA Football Preseason Offensive Player of the Year)
Shane Simpson, RB
Shane Leatherbury, WR
Robert Heyward, LB
Aidan O'Neill, PK
Honorable Mention:
Jabari Allen, WR
Aaron Grzymkowski, OL
Bryce Carter, DL
Keon Paye, LB
 
2019 CAA Predicted Order of Finish
Rank, Team (First-Place Votes), Points
1. James Madison (20), 238
2. Towson (3), 217
3. Maine (1), 201
4. Elon, 164
5. Delaware, 162
6. Stony Brook, 151
7. New Hampshire, 109
8. Rhode Island, 104
9. Villanova, 84
10. Richmond, 62
11. William & Mary, 58
12. UAlbany, 34
 
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