BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Seven Patriot League football student-athletes were selected as 2025 Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-Americans, with defending League champion Lehigh placing three players on the three teams. Bucknell, Colgate, Fordham and Richmond were also represented.
Fordham graduate student linebacker James Conway and Lehigh senior defensive lineman Matt Spatny captured 2025 Stats Perform FCS All-America First Team honors. Conway and Spatny were both selected First Team All-Patriot League at the conclusion of the 2024 season. Conway became the League’s career leader in tackles last season, and enters the 2025 season with 436.
Lehigh senior offensive lineman Langston Jones and Richmond senior linebacker Carter Glassmyer received spots on the Preseason FCS All-America Second Team. Jones collected First Team All-Patriot League honors, while Glassmyer was a Second Team All-CAA selection in 2024.
Three League student-athletes earned a spot on the Preseason All-America Third Team, with reigning Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Ralph Rucker of Bucknell (Sr., QB) highlighting the trio. Colgate senior wide receiver Treyvhon Saunders and Lehigh senior defensive back Nick Peltekian, who both earned first-team All-League honors in 2024, were also recognized.
All 13 FCS conferences and 60 schools are represented among the 106 Preseason All-American selections.
STATS PERFORM RELEASE
Ralph Rucker IV Earns Stats Perform FCS All-America Honors
Courtesy of Bucknell Athletics Communications
It was a banner season for Rucker, a Lucas, Texas native who transferred to Bucknell from Oklahoma before the 2023 campaign. He earned five Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week citations, including four in a row to close out the season before becoming Bucknell's first Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year since Hall-of-Famer Rich Lemon in 1994.
Rucker capped off a record-setting season with one of the best performances of his career in the Bison's 48-34 win over Colgate. He finished 31-for-45 for 457 yards and five touchdown passes. Rucker set the previous mark of 387 against Colgate last season, giving him 824 yards in two career games against the Raiders. Rucker threw for 300+ yards four times this season, and his .672 completion percentage on the season set a new school record, just above the previous mark of .671 by Marcello Trigg in 2008. He led the Patriot League in passing yards, passing touchdowns and passing efficiency, as he finished the year with 25 TD passes and only seven interceptions.
BUCKNELL RELEASE
Saunders Named FCS Preseason All-American
Courtesy of Colgate Athletics Communications
Saunders' record-breaking junior campaign saw him set the program's single-season receptions mark, finishing second in the FCS and fifth in all of college football with 88 receptions. Averaging 7.3 grabs per contest, which was also a school record, Saunders totaled 831 receiving yards with two touchdowns.
In his three seasons starring for the maroon and white, Saunders has racked up 180 receptions totaling 1,975 receiving yards, nine touchdowns, 17 rushes totaling 96 yards, five kickoff returns totaling 37 yards, and three punt returns for 26 yards. He is a two-time All-League First Team and All-ECAC honoree.
COLGATE RELEASE
James Conway Named Stats Perform Preseason All-America
Courtesy of Fordham Athletics Communications
Conway, a four-time All-Patriot League selection, received first-team honors in 2024 despite being limited to four games due to a knee injury. He managed to finish sixth on the team with 49 tackles, recording double-digit tackles in three of the four games. Conway became Fordham and the Patriot League’s career tackles leader in 2024, reaching 436 tackles.
FORDHAM RELEASE
Three Mountain Hawks Named to Stats Perform Preseason All-America Team
Courtesy of Lehigh Athletics Communications
Spatny was an honorable mention Associated Press All-American last season following a season where he registered 11.5 sacks in 12 games. A First Team All-Patriot League honoree in 2024, Spatny ranked among the FCS leaders in sacks and sacks per game.
Jones was a mainstay on the offensive line for the Mountain Hawks last season, starting all 13 games at right guard. A First Team All-Patriot League selection, Jones was one of the top performers on an offensive line that paved the way for the Patriot League's top rushing attack.
Peltekian was a first-team All-League honoree as a defensive back while earning second-team honors as a return specialist. He made 74 tackles over 13 games, including a career-high 15 at Army, and led the Mountain Hawks with four interceptions.
LEHIGH RELEASE
Stats Perform Names Glassmyer Preseason All-America
Courtesy of Richmond Athletics Communications
Glassmyer, who joined Richmond for the 2024 season after being named NEC Defensive Rookie of the Year and Freshman All-American at Saint Francis the year prior, enters 2025 as Richmond's returning leading tackler.
In 2024, he recorded a team-leading 87 total tackles, including 53 solo stops, three sacks, and 7.0 tackles for loss, along with three pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, and a quarterback hurry on the way to being named Second Team All-CAA.
RICHMOND RELEASE
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes which are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.