Head Coach Dean Paul

INDEPENDENCE — No. 16-ranked Ohio Northern was picked to finish second by the coaches and third by the media at the 2008 Ohio Athletic Conference Football Media Day Tuesday afternoon at the Holiday Inn.

The Polar Bears received 68 votes from the coaches to finish second and 217 from the 27 media members in attendance to finish third.

Top-ranked Mount Union was a unanimous choice by both the media and coaches to repeat as OAC champions this year.

ADA — Ohio Northern is ranked No. 19 in Division III in the USA Today Sports Weekly magazine preseason football poll.

This marks the eighth time in the last 10 seasons that Ohio Northern has been ranked in the preseason.

ONU was ranked No. 17 in 2007, No. 14 in 2006, No. 8 in 2005, No. 25 in 2003, No. 8 in 2002, No. 18 in 2001 and No. 6 in 2000.

“Being ranked by the preseason publications is a nice sign of the respect our program has generated nationally,” ONU’s fifth-year head coach Dean Paul said. “We are very optimistic about the upcoming season, but our players are smart enough to know that being ranked does not win games. You have to get it done on the field.”

Jamal Robertson

ADA — Former Ohio Northern All-American running back Jamal Robertson has made the 46-man active roster of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.
Robertson will become the third Ohio Northern player to appear in a CFL game, following current assistant coach Stacey Hairston (Saskatchewan Roughriders) and Nate Riles (Winnipeg Blue Bombers).
The Argonauts will open the 2008 regular season Friday, June 27, at Winnipeg.

Jamal Robertson

Former Ohio Northern All-American running back Jamal Robertson was traded to the Toronto Argonauts from the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

Robertson was traded for Leron Mitchell, a corner back from the University of Western Ontario, after signing a free agent contract with Saskatchewan in March.

Jamal Robertson

Former Ohio Northern All-American running back Jamal Robertson is battling for a roster spot on the Saskatchewan RoughRiders of the Canadian Football League after signing a free agent contract in March.

Robertson is one of five running backs hoping to land a spot on the Riders’ 37-man roster for the 2008 season, which begins June 28 against the Edmonton Eskimos.

Saskatchewan’s training camp got underway on May 31.

The first preseason game is June 13 at home against the B.C. Lions.