Football | 9/4/2020 3:05:26 PM
Five student-athletes from the Empire 8 were named to the 2020 D3football.com preseason All-America team. Raeqwon Greer of Alfred University was named to the first team, while Luke Lodini of The College at Brockport was a second team pick, Raylens Boutin of Brockport, Maki Medici of Utica College and Travis Alvarez of SUNY Cortland garnered third team honors.
D3football.com decided to recognize top players at each position who were projected to return despite the fall football season being postponed.
Greer garnered his second consecutive D3football.com Preseason All-America first team honor in 2020. Greer enjoyed a tremendous 2019 season, earning D3football.com and AFCA All-America honors in addition to being named the Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year. The incoming senior defensive back led the league with 60 solo tackles and was 12th nationally with 6.4 solo tackles per game. Greer has 208 total tackles, six interceptions, and two forced fumbles in his first three seasons.
Lodini, a senior offensive lineman, was named a 2019 D3football.com Honorable Mention All-America selection and garnered All-Region and All-Empire 8 first team honors. Last season, Lodini allowed just two sacks and recorded a 97 percent coaching grade on the offensive line. A native of Stony Point, N.Y., Lodini helped pave the way for the top rushing offense in the league as the Brockport averaged 214.2 yards rushing per game.
Boutin, a sophomore defensive back, was named the 2019 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. He was the only first-year standout in the region to earn a spot on an all-region defensive team. A native of Nyack, N.Y., Boutin finished the 2019 season with a league-best 16 pass break ups and he also added four interceptions. He finished ranked fifth on the team with 44 tackles and he had two or more pass break ups in seven games.
Medici garnered D3football.com Honorable Mention All-America and All-Region honors in addition to being named the 2019 Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Year. Medici, an incoming senior, served as a tremendous weapon in both aspects of the kicking game, leading the league with 15 made field goals. He was successful on 78.9 percent of those kicks, including a career-long of 48 yards. In addition, Medici made 31 extra points and averaged 7.6 points per game, which tied for the league lead among all kickers. The Watervliet, N.Y. native also averaged a net of 37.8 yards per punt with 23 of his 42 attempts resulting in a fair catch.
Alvarez, an incoming senior who also excels as an offensive linemen, helped lead a stout Cortland special teams unit in 2019 to earn D3football.com All-Region honors as a special teams player. He blocked three kicks against St. John Fisher, The College at Brockport and Ithaca. A 2019 All-Empire 8 second team selection on the offensive line, Alvarez, a native of Keyport, N.J., helped Cortland average 425.0 yards of total offense and 36.4 points per game. Through three seasons, Alvarez has set a school career record with 10 blocked kicks. He also earned D3football.com second team All-America honors in 2016.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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