WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Monmouth University Football placed 11 student-athletes on the 2025 Phil Steele Preseason All-CAA Teams, as well as earning the league's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and a pair of national Preseason All-America selections.
 
Quarterback Derek Robertson and offensive lineman JT Cornelius were both recognized as Preseason FCS All-Americans by a pair of media outlets heading into the 2025 season – Phil Steele and FCS Football Central. Robertson appeared on the First Team on both lists, while Cornelius is a Phil Steele FCS First Teamer and FCS Football Central Third Teamer.
 
Robertson, who earned Phil Steele's 2025 Preseason CAA Offensive Player of the Year honors, delivered one of the most prolific seasons in Monmouth history in 2024, breaking single-season program records with 3,937 passing yards and 31 touchdown passes, and leading all of FCS in both air yards per game (328.1) and total offense per game (325.3). He completed 65% of his passes (283-for-435) and threw for at least one touchdown in every game, including seven outings with 350+ yards and a school-record 536-yard, three-touchdown performance at Stony Brook. The nods add to a list of preseason accolades for Robertson entering 2025.
 
Cornelius, a Stats Perform Second Team Preseason All-American and Preseason All-CAA First Team selection, returns as a cornerstone of the offensive line after earning Second Team All-CAA honors in 2024. His presence will again be vital in protecting Robertson and opening running lanes in 2025.
 
Joining Robertson and Cornelius on the 2025 Phil Steele Preseason All-CAA Teams are wide receivers Josh Derry and TJ Speight. Speight also earned First Team All-Purpose and Second Team Kick Returner honors.
 
Derry emerged as one of Monmouth's most dynamic offensive weapons in 2024, recording 60 receptions for 917 yards and 5 touchdowns over 10 games – leading the CAA and ranking eighth in the FCS in receiving yards per game (91.7). He broke into the program's history books as the 11^th Hawk to notch 60 catches in a single season and delivered three 100-yard performances, including an electric 227-yard, two-touchdown outing against Maine with a career-long 94-yard touchdown, helping him earn a Second Team All-CAA selection.
 
Speight hauled in 61 receptions for 896 yards and six receiving touchdowns, while adding 346 kickoff return yards and setting return statistics that ranked fourth in the CAA (1,346 all-purpose yards, 83.3 per game). He delivered three 100‑yard receiving games and electrified special teams with a 79‑yard kickoff return touchdown against Fordham. His explosive playmaking included a standout 151‑yard performance at Stony Brook and a career‑long 89‑yard touchdown catch versus Lafayette, earning him repeated conference accolades as both a receiver and returner.
 
Tight end Jack Neri and running back Rodney Nelson represent the Hawks offense on the Second Team, while linebacker Justin Bennin and Deuce Lee from the Monmouth defense appear as Second Teamers, as well. Punter Luke Schabel rounded out the Second Team selections.
 
Neri notched a career-best 32 catches for 329 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 2024 and returns for his sixth campaign donning the Blue and White. He finished as a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy highlight by an 83-yard effort in the win over No. 20/18 Stony Brook to close the year. Nelson exploded onto the scene as a redshirt freshman last year with 809 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 133 carries – averaging an impressive 6.1 yards per attempt.
 
Bennin, a team captain, played in all 12 games during the 2024 season, including seven starts at safety, and finished fifth on the team with 55 total tackles, including 35 solo stops. He tied for the team lead with two interceptions, added a fumble recovery, and consistently contributed across the defense. Lee started in nine of 12 games and finished third on the team with 70 tackles (46 solo), adding five pass breakups, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in 2024. His standout performance came at Eastern Washington, where he posted a career-high 12 tackles (eight solo), and he earned CAA Defensive Player of the Week honors on September 22 – a well-deserved nod after sealing Monmouth's historic upset at FIU with a clutch forced fumble and recovery late in the game. Schabel was a postseason Phil Steele honoree in 2024 after a strong junior campaign. He punted 32 times for 1,438 yards, averaging an impressive 44.9 yards per punt, which included eight punts of 50+ yards and a career-long 72-yard bomb.

Offensive lineman Shalik Hubbard and defensive back Israel Clark-White capped the list as Third Team members.

Hubbard started all 12 games on Monmouth's offensive line in 2024, making nine starts at right guard and three at right tackle. A key piece in the Hawks' high-powered offense, Hubbard helped anchor one of the top-ranked offensive units in the FCS alongside Cornelius. Clark-White played in 10 games as a redshirt freshman, earning eight starts at cornerback and tying for the team lead with two interceptions. He totaled 37 tackles, including 21 solo, while adding 1.5 tackles for loss, one pass breakup, and three quarterback hurries. A physical and instinctive presence in the secondary, Clark-White recorded multiple standout performances late in the year, including seven-tackle efforts against nationally ranked Villanova and Stony Brook, solidifying his role as a rising star in the Monmouth defense.
 
Monmouth opens the season at Colgate on August 29, 2025. Tickets and parking for the 2025 Monmouth Football season are available at MonmouthHawks.com/Tickets or by calling 732-263-5735.
 
Full List of 2025 Phil Steele Preseason Honors
 
First Team All-Americans
QB – Derek Robertson
OL – JT Cornelius

CAA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: QB – Derek Robertson

First Team
QB – Derek Robertson
WR – Josh Derry
WR/AP – TJ Speight
OL – JT Cornelius
 
Second Team
RB – Rodney Nelson
TE – Jack Neri
LB – Justin Bennin
S – Deuce Lee
P – Luke Schabel
KR – TJ Speight
 
Third Team
OL – Shalik Hubbard
DB – Israel Clark-White
 
Full List of 2025 FCS Football Central Preseason Honors
 
First Team All-American
QB – Derek Robertson
 
Third Team All-American
OL – JT Cornelius