VMI trio earn Big South football honors

VMI football’s Josh Wine, Emilio Calvin and Marc Ray have earned Big South Preseason All-Conference honors.

Wine, who will anchor the middle of VMI’s defensive front in 2010, was an All-Big South second-team member following last season. He led Big South down linemen in tackles with 63, including a career-high 10 stops versus Charleston Southern. Overall, he helped the Keydets to their best run defense numbers since 1977, as VMI allowed just 146.8 yards per game on the ground.

Calvin, who was tabbed preseason All-Big South at linebacker, ranked third on the 2009 team in tackles with 66. The second-team All-Big South member also was 13th in the conference in tackles-per-game (6.0), and tied for fifth in tackles-for-loss per game (0.2). His overall total of tackles-for-loss, 9.0, led the Keydets as well.

Finally, punter Ray comes off a year where he was named All-Conference first-team, the only returning Keydet to earn those laurels. He was the first VMI punter to be named first-team All-Conference since 2002, and led the Big South in punting average at 38.9 yards per punt. That total included four punts of over 50 yards.

In the preseason poll, which was also released at the media day proceedings, VMI was voted sixth. The Keydets finished with 31 points, placing ahead of Presbyterian College (18 pts.). Gardner-Webb was fifth (54), with the lowest preseason ranking they have had since the Big South launched football in 2002. The poll’s top four were Liberty, who received 13 of the 15 first-place votes and 103 points overall, Stony Brook (81 pts., one first-place vote), Coastal Carolina (68) and Charleston Southern (65 pts., one first-place vote).

VMI will open its 2010 football season at home, taking on Lock Haven University at Foster Stadium on Sept. 4. Tickets are available through www.vmikeydets.com, or by calling the VMI Ticket Office at 540.464.7266.
 
 

Edited by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at [email protected].