Welcome to the 2019 FCS Kickoff Jersey Countdown.
The regular season begins Saturday, Aug. 24 with Samford vs. Youngstown State in the Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff along with Villanova playing at Colgate.
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- FCS Home
- The Best Player in FCS Who Wears Each Number, 1-99
- Preseason Top 25 Poll
- Preseason All-American Teams
- Team By Team & Conference Previews
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HERO Sports is going to count down each day by highlighting the best player in the FCS who wears the jersey number equal to the number of days until kickoff. You can find the running list of top players here.
*Note: Jersey numbers are from the 2018 season.
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35: Nick Ioanilli, LB (Sr.) — Colgate
Ioanilli hit the starting lineup as a sophomore in 2017 and led the Raiders with 62 tackles. He added three interceptions and returned one of those for a touchdown.
On last year's defense that led the FCS with 9.3 points allowed per game, Ioanilli was fourth on the team with 56 tackles while adding six tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. He was voted onto the All-Patriot League Second Team by the coaches and is a back-to-back All-Conference selection from Phil Steele (Third Team in 2017 and Second Team last year).
RELATED: 2019 Colgate Team Preview
Expect this defensive unit to dominate once again in 2019 with Ioanilli leading the way alongside defensive end Nick Wheeler, who made this list at No. 92.
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