Conference coaches’ polls almost always throw out at least a few puzzlers a year, usually at the bottom of the standings. For the most part, top picks are defensible, and certainly the coaches have a good idea of what to expect from teams in their conference. But sometimes things don’t add up.

Take the last-place pick in the USA South. I would be very surprised if USAC newcomer Maryville follows up on the near-unanimous eighth-place pick it was voted. This is Tony Ierulli’s third season with the Scots after taking over a program that had a 12-game losing streak. They were 2-8 in his first season and 5-4 last year. Even though the USAC looks like a conference on the rise, Maryville will be more than competitive. Even if they don’t win a single road game because of the travel distances, the road to Tennessee goes both ways, and I can see Averett, Greensboro, Ferrum and Methodist each having trouble. The Scots could also pick off a win at North Carolina Wesleyan.

Paying your dues? Maybe. But then again, the PAC slotted Thomas More fifth in the league’s first year with seven teams. That seems reasonable, although I might have put them fourth considering the coaches changes at Waynesburg and Westminster (Pa.).

I don’t see Lycoming finishing seventh in the MAC. Last year was an aberration. I really think you have to throw out the year immediately following the death of a player or an assistant coach, and we’ve seen it happen more than once. Last year was not indicative of where the Lycoming program is and I wouldn’t pick them any lower than fourth.

I also have to think Catholic will do better than last place in the ODAC, with Tom Clark able to get a full recruiting class in and the anticipated return of wide receiver Nick Bublavi. I’ll be honest — I saw them play once last year and they were truly awful. But history won’t repeat itself.

On the other hand, the NCAC, OAC and PAC had Hiram, Heidelberg and Bethany coming in last, and it’s hard to argue with any of those picks.

Then again, no poll is perfect. Even our own preseason Top 25 saw Wooster slide in at No. 25. I think the No. 4 pick they got in the NCAC preseason poll is more reasonable.

With NFL camps having opened within the past week, player profiles are plenty — The Jackson (Tenn.) Sun focuses on UW-Stout cornerback Tony Beckham, trying to hang onto his starting spot with the Titans ahead of Adam Jones, while The Tacoma (Wash.) News-Tribune talks about Trinity (Texas) wide receiver Jerheme Urban’s “crusade for enlightenment” with the Seattle Seahawks.

Neither trains at a Division III school, however. Baltimore trains at McDaniel, Buffalo at St. John Fisher, Green Bay at St. Norbert, Indianapolis at Rose-Hulman and Kansas City at UW-River Falls. Pittsburgh trains at St. Vincent, which is neither Division III nor has football, but will be by 2007.

Doug Dougherty’s College Notebook in The Roanoke (Va.) Times lists one of many position battles we’re monitoring as Kickoff 2005 approaches.

Bridgewater (Va) Eagles Head Coach Mike Clark will have to choose a new quarterback to replace graduated Brandon Wakefield. Will he choose senior Jacob Lewis or sophomore Jeff Highhill? Both are pictured in the tremendous picture (Lewis at left, Highill at right) courtesy of Eagles’ fansite Bridgewaterfootball.com.

Either way Clark is confident the Eagles have enough returning pieces on offense. “We’re in a position where the quarterback doesn’t have to be a magic man,” he told the Times.

Bridgewater isn’t the only team with a key position battle taking place in training camp. Each of the other 226 teams will have similar subplots unfold on their quiet, hot campuses.

And D3football.com will bring you the story from each and every one in our upcoming Season Preview. Stay tuned for more information on this exciting product shortly.