Football | 8/23/2021 3:26:58 PM
Three student-athletes from the Empire 8 were named to the 2021 D3football.com preseason All-America team. Luke Lodini of The College at Brockport was a first team pick, while Maki Medici of Utica College garnered second team accolades and Raylens Boutin of Brockport was named to the third team. All three student-athletes are repeat D3football.com Preseason All-Americans.
Lodini, a senior offensive lineman, who will serve as an offensive captain for the nationally-ranked Golden Eagles, was a 2020 D3football.com second team All-American. In 2019, Lodini was a 2019 D3football.com Honorable Mention All-America selection and garnered All-Region and All-Empire 8 first team honors. 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. Lodini allowed just two sacks and had a 97 percent coaching grade on the offensive line for the Golden Eagles. He helped protect an offense that averaged nearly 30 points per game, and was a major contributor on an offensive unit that collected 4,706 yards of total offense.
Medici, who was D3football.com Third Team Preseason All-American in 2020, 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, who is a graduate student in 2021, served as a tremendous weapon in both aspects of the kicking game in 2019, 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.
Boutin, a defensive back, previously garnered 2020 D3football.com Third Team Preseason All-America honors. An incoming sophomore, Boutin 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.
Regular season action kicks off the weekend of September 3-4, as six of the seven Empire 8 teams are in action. League play begins on October 2.
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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