June 10, 2010
NORFOLK, Va. -- A pair of Monarchs were named to the Consensus Draft Services Preseason FCS All-American Team. Redshirt sophomore Jonathan Plisco (Newport News, Va.) was named First Team Defense, while redshirt junior Thomas DeMarco (Palm Desert, Calif.) was named Honorable Mention.
The team is made up of players at the FCS level who the CDS staff predicts will be among the top players in the nation and have a chance to be selected in the National Football League Draft in April, 2011.
Plisco, who earlier today was named one of the top FCS specialist by the Sports Network, earned three All-America distinctions last fall. He was named a First Team All-American by the Associated Press, a Second Team All-American by The Sports Network, and earned Honorable Mention status by The College Sporting News. He finished the 2009 season averaging a nation-leading 44.84 yards per punt and consistently ranked among the top punters nationally in the FCS throughout the year. He made 57 punts with 18 going 50 yards more, 26 inside the opponent 20, and seven for a touchback. The left footer averaged over 50 yards per punt in games with Chowan and Savannah State and posted a career-high 76-yard punt in victory over Campbell.
The starting Monarch signal caller in DeMarco meanwhile was #1 in the FCS in pointsresponsible for with 21.1 points per game and was the second leading quarterback in the FCS in rushing behind Florida A&M's Curtis Pulley. DeMarco totaled 892 yards rushing and 81.1 yards per game in helping the Monarchs to rank 10th among all FCS schools in rushing offense. He completed 137 of his 255 attempts making only four interceptions, threw for 21 touchdown passes, and passed for over 100 yards in all but one of ODU's 11 games last year.
The 2010 football campaign kicks off on September 4th at Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium against Jacksonville. The fall slate also includes home dates with future CAA rival William & Mary (Sept. 18), in a game televised by Comcast SportsNet, Gardner-Webb (Oct. 2), Cal Poly (Oct. 9), start-up and future CAA rival Georgia State (Oct. 23) on Homecoming, Savannah State (Nov. 6), and VMI (Nov. 13). Monarch road games for 2010 include Campbell (Sept. 11), Monmouth (Sept. 25), Hampton Roads Rival Hampton (Oct. 30), and North Carolina Central (Nov. 20).
To view all the CDS FCS All-Americans, Click Here.