COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – For the fourth time in head coach Jay Long’s four-year tenure, the Chadron State College football team is picked to finish in the top three of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Preseason Poll and All-Conference Team was released during the RMAC Football Kickoff Monday in Colorado Springs.

Chadron State, which went 8-3 in 2014 and 7-2 in the conference, received 62 votes to edge fourth-ranked Colorado Mesa’s 56 votes. Defending national champion Colorado State University-Pueblo is first with nine first place votes and 81 points. Colorado Mines received one first place vote and 72 votes total.

Three Chadron State College football players were placed on the Preseason All-RMAC Team. They are offensive lineman Daniel Sotelo, linebacker Dylan Furrier and kickoff returner Cody Paul.

Furrier, a senior from Tucson, Arizona, is a two-time all-conference linebacker. He led the Eagles with 118 tackles in 2014 and added seven tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

Sotelo, a senior right tackle from Grand Island, Nebraska, helped the Eagles’ average 450 yards of total offense a game in 2014, including 195 on the ground.

Paul, a junior from Seal Beach, California, is one of the most dangerous returners in the RMAC. He averaged 28.7 yards on each kick return and accumulated more than 1,200 all-purpose yards in 2014.

Colorado School of Mines quarterback Justin Dvorak is the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while CSU-Pueblo defensive end Morgan Fox is the Defensive Player of the Year. Colorado Mines’ kicker and punter Avery Llewellyn is the Special Teams Player of the Year.