CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The University of Delaware football team has picked up its fourth Top 15 ranking of the pre-season as the Blue Hens were picked No. 4 in the Phil Steele College Football Preview Magazine Pre-Season Poll.

Earlier this summer, Delaware was ranked No. 5 nationally by The Sporting News, No. 9 by Lindy’s, and No. 11 by AnyGivenSaturday.com in those pre-season polls. The Sports Network and the College Commissioner’s Association/American Football Coaches Association will announce their pre-season polls later in August and will resume them throughout the season along with the AGS poll.

Delaware, which will open pre-season camp in early August under seventh-year head coach K.C. Keeler, is coming off one of its best seasons in school history in 2007 when the Blue Hens posted an 11-4 record and advanced to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision title game. Along the way, Delaware recorded playoff victories over Delaware State, Northern Iowa, and Southern Illinois.

The Colonial Athletic Association dominated the Phil Steele poll by placing four teams in the top five, five in the top 20, and seven in the top 30.

Delaware’s CAA South Division rival James Madison was listed as the pre-season favorite at No. 1 followed by three-time defending national champion Appalachian State, Richmond, Delaware, and Massachusetts. Eastern Washington, Youngstown State, Northern Iowa, North Dakota State, and Cal Poly rounded out the Top 10. Delaware will play JMU, Richmond, and UMass all on the road this fall.

New Hampshire was at No. 11 followed by Montana, Central Arkansas, McNeese State, Wofford, The Citadel, Elon, Southern Illinois, Georgia Southern, Colgate, Tennessee-Martin, Harvard, Eastern Illinois, Weber State, and Furman. Among the teams also receiving votes were CAA schools Hofstra and Villanova.

Individually, Delaware senior center Kheon Hendricks (Baltimore, Md.), junior kicker Jon Striefsky (Lansdale, Pa.), and junior defensive end Matt Marcorelle (Ft. Pierce, Fla.) were selected pre-season first team All-Americans while senior tight end Robbie Agnone (Etters, Pa. - at right) was listed as a second team All-American. The publication also tabbed Agnone, Hendricks, senior wide receive Aaron Love (Detroit, Mich.), junior offensive lineman Corey Nicholson (Frederick, Md.), and senior linebacker Erik Johnson (Fairport, N.Y.) as pre-season first team All-CAA picks and senior defensive end Ronald Talley (Oak Park, Mich.) as a second team All-CAA pick. Marcorelle was also selected as the CAA pre-season Defensive Player of the Year.

Striefsky, Hendricks, Marcorelle, Agnone, and Love all received All-American and All-CAA honors last season with Striefsky earning first team honors by The Sports Network and Associated Press after setting school records for field goals (21), extra points (64), and kicking points (127) in a season.

Hendricks and Nicholson anchored an offensive line that helped Delaware lead the CAA in scoring offense, total offense, and passing offense in 2007 behind a pair of All-Americans in quarterback Joe Flacco and running back Omar Cuff. Flacco was a first round pick by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2008 National Football League Draft.

Agnone caught 38 passes for 484 yards and four touchdowns and averaged 12.7 yards per catch in 2007; Marcorelle posted 64 tackles in 2007 and led the team in sacks (eight), tackles for loss (14), and forced fumbles (five); Love led the team with 73 catches for 1,009 yards and three touchdowns with a 13.8-yard average; Johnson led the team with 122 tackles while also posting two sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and three interceptions; and Talley recorded 43 tackles, three sacks, and six tackles for loss despite being hampered by an ankle injury for the second half of the season.

Delaware, which will begin pre-season camp August 4, will open its 2008 season Aug. 30 at Atlantic Coast Conference contender University of Maryland.