July 26, 2005
ST. LOUIS, Mo. -
Illinois State seniors Stafford Davis and Ryan Hoffman were each named to the 2005 Gateway Football Conference Preseason Team Tuesday, while fellow senior Mike Stegeman earned honorable mention honors as part of the league's media day at the Renaissance Hotel and Conference Center.
Davis has started all 34 games of his college career at left guard and led the team with 140 knockdowns in 2004, including two games with over 20 knockdowns in each. The 2004 All-Gateway First Team selection also had only three missed assignments all season.
Hoffman, who earned second team all-conference honors in 2004, ranked No. 3 in the nation last season with a 43.87 yard punting average, which was tops in the Gateway. In 2003, Hoffman guided the Redbirds to a No. 1 national ranking in net punting at 39.2 yards per kick.
Head coach Denver Johnson and the Redbirds were tabbed to finish seventh in the conference preseason poll, conducted by league coaches, media representatives and sports information directors. Southern Illinois, which has won or shared two-straight Gateway Conference titles, was picked to win a third-straight in 2005.
The Salukis received 18 of 32 first-place tallies and 237 total points in the poll, and they were followed closely by Western Kentucky (223 points and nine first-place votes) and UNI (206 and 5). Western Illinois is slated for fourth (124 points), followed by Missouri State (119), Youngstown State (104), Illinois State (91) and Indiana State (48).
Stegeman, along with Davis, has anchored the left side of the offensive line for three seasons. Coming off of a torn ACL in the spring of 2004, Stegeman played in 10 games last season with nine starting assignments. In his 633 snaps played, Stegeman only had four missed assignments all season, while ranking second on the team with 98 knockdowns.
