We are midway through the summer and finally some light to the end of the lack of games. Everywhere I go these days people ask me, "When's your next game?" I want to say not soon enough, and being the polite young man my parents raised me to be, I just say August 31 at The Citadel.

On Tuesday, the CAA held its annual football media day at M&T Bank Stadium. It is a yearly gathering of players, coaches and the media. It is when the league whets everyone's appetite for football. It is also the day they announce the preseason rankings and preseason all-conference teams.

If the folks voting on these things are correct, it is going to be one exciting season for Towson Tiger football fans. The Tigers were picked to finish second behind the Dukes of James Madison. This is the highest the Tigers have been ranked in the preseason in years.

Coach Rob Ambrose has always been great at motivating his team to take the role of the underdog. His motivational speeches will have to be a little different this season. When practice begins on Aug. 2, I am sure the head coach will remind his players that they haven't accomplished a thing yet.

One thing we do know: The Tigers have two of the most explosive players in all of FCS football. Tom Flacco is back under center and was selected as the CAA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. The senior is coming off a tremendous year in 2018. Not only did he throw for 3,251 yards, he led the team in rushing with 742 yards. Flacco also threw 28 touchdown passes while rushing for another four.

He will have plenty of weapons to work with on the offense. Shane Simpson is back for his senior season and as he has shown when he has been healthy, he is probably the most exciting player the Tigers have had since David Meggett. Simpson can break a game open on special teams and on offense.

Last season, he had six rushing touchdowns, five receiving touchdowns, and a 96 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. He also led the team in punt returns. For all of those gaudy numbers from last season, Simpson also was named to the CAA Preseason All-Offensive team.

But there is more. Shane Leatherbury, who led the team with 67 receptions, was also named to the first team. Shane has a chance to move way up the all-time Tiger receiving list. Those 67 catches last year were the third most ever by a Tiger. The senior from Salisbury will be a key in this exciting Towson offense.

We haven't even touched on the defense, which will be led by CAA Preseason All-Defensive team member Robert Heyward. Robert will help anchor what could be the best linebacking corps in the conference.

And don't sleep on place kicker Aidan O'Neill. He was named All-Conference kicker. So offense, defense and special teams were all represented for the Tigers in the preseason polling. But as Coach Ambrose says all the time, football is the ultimate team sport. This team has a lot of talent that was not honored on media day.

Just reading about media day gets the juices flowing for that opening kickoff at The Citadel the last day in August. Former Tiger head coach and hall of famer Gordy Combs will be back with me on the radio this year. Coach Combs, his wife Cindy, my wife Sheryl and I went out to dinner last week down on the Jersey Shore. We drove our wives crazy talking Towson football all night. I think we were both pumped knowing the season was less than two months away.

I'm getting goosebumps just writing this blog. Come on Aug. 31!!!
 
I'll be back writing on a weekly basis starting in August. Until then, GO TIGERS!!! And hit it straight.