NORFOLK, Va. - Old Dominion University Football opens fall camp on Monday, Aug. 8.
The Monarchs return 17 starters from a season ago, including the Conference USA leading rusher in Ray Lawry and the league's leading tackler in TJ RIcks.
Old Dominion opens the regular season on Saturday, Sept. 3 against Hampton at 6 p.m.
ODU Preseason Notes
• Old Dominion University begins its eighth season of football this year. The Monarchs are 57-27 all-time under head coach Bobby Wilder. ODU went 5-7 last season and is coming off its first losing season in school history.
• Of the 53 schools that have started football since 2008, Old Dominion has the fourth highest winning percentage, and the highest winning percentage among Division I teams.
• Head Coach Bobby Wilder is the 14th longest tenured head coach in the FBS and the third longest in Conference USA. David Bailiff of Rice was hired one month before Wilder.
• ODU has 56 players that hail from the state of Virginia and 27 from Hampton Roads, led by 10 players from Virginia Beach and eight from Chesapeake. The Monarchs also have nine players from Richmond.
• This is the final year senior class of ODU FCS recruits. All six FCS recruits are expected to see significant playing time. Five players head into the preseason as starters.
2012 Recruits on Team (Final FCS Recruits)
1. C.J. Bradshaw
2. Troy Butler
3. Tyler Compton *
4. Zach Pascal
5. TJ Ricks *
6. David Washington
* FCS Walk-ons
• Old Dominion Head Coach Bobby Wilder is one of nine FBS head coaches this season to have a son on their team. Wilder's son, Derek, is a redshirt freshman linebacker for the Monarchs.
Head Coaches Coaching Sons
School Head Coach Player
UL-Lafayette Mark Hudspeth Gunner Hudspeth
Iowa Kirk Ferentz Steve Ferentz
Utah Kyle Whittingham Alex Whittingham
Middle Tenn. Rick Stockstill Brent Stockstill
Old Dominion Bobby Wilder Derek Wilder
Colorado Mike Macintyre Jay Macintyre
Tennessee Butch Jones Alex Jones
Idaho Paul Petrino Mason Petrino
UMass Mark Whipple Austin Whipple
• The following players have changed numbers/positions for the 2016 season.
Number Changes
| Name | Pos. | Old Num. | New Num. |
| Kesean Strong | WR | 31 | 4 |
| Travis Fulgham | WR | 86 | 7 |
| Jeremy Cox | RB | 34 | 35 |
| Mufu Taiwo | OL | 56 | 60 |
| Devin Hannan | OL | 69 | 70 |
Position Changes
| Name | Prev. Pos. | New Pos. |
| Kesean Strong | RB | WR |
| Terez Dickerson | S | LB |
| Mufu Taiwo | DL | OL |
Positional PreviewsQuarterbacks and Running Backs
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends
Offensive and Defensive Line
Linebackers and Secondary