PISCATAWAY, N.J. (May 21, 2007) – The Rutgers football team is ranked No. 10 in Athlon Magazine’s Preseason Top 25 poll, which was released today on AthlonSports.com. The Scarlet Knights return 14 starters from last season’s 11-2 squad that finished 12th in the rankings and won the Texas Bowl with a 37-10 victory over Kansas State.

Head coach Greg Schiano and running back Ray Rice (New Rochelle, N.Y.) are featured on the cover of the Eastern edition of Athlon’s Preview Magazine, which hits newsstands June 5. In the issue, Athlon wrote a feature on Rice in addition to their preview of the 2007 Scarlet Knights.

Rice and senior defensive tackle Eric Foster (Homestead, Fla.) were named First Team All-Americans by the magazine. In addition, the magazine voted two of Rutgers’ position units (offensive and defensive line) as the top units in the BIG EAST.

Eight players collected Preseason All-BIG EAST honors according to Athlon. Rice, Foster, senior offensive tackles Pedro Sosa (Union City, N.J.) and Jeremy Zuttah (Edison, N.J.) along with junior free safety Courtney Greene (New Rochelle, N.Y.) earned First Team All-Conference accolades.

Senior linebacker Brandon Renkart (Piscataway, N.J.) was named to the All-Conference Preseason Second Team while sophomore wide receiver Kenny Britt (Bayonne, N.J.) and junior cornerback Jason McCourty (Nanuet, N.Y.) were Third Team All-Conference selections.

Source: Rutgers Sports Communications Office