WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (July 22, 2011) - The preseason honors continue to roll in for members of the William and Mary football team, as senior running back Jonathan Grimes, senior tight end Alex Gottlieb and junior linebacker Dante Cook have been selected to The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS preseason All-America teams. Grimes and Gottlieb garnered first-team honors, while Cook earned third-team distinction.

A two-time Payton Award Watch List selection, Grimes' list of 2011 preseason All-America accolades also includes selections by Phil Steele (first team), Athlon (first team) and Lindy's (second team). One of the most outstanding players in the program's history, Grimes has earned eight all-conference honors through just three seasons. The impressive total ties him with former New Hampshire quarterback Ricky Santos as the most decorated player in league history.

With 3,110 career rushing yards, Grimes enters the 2011 season ranked second among all active FCS players and needs just 635 more yards to eclipse the school record of 3,744 established by Derek Fitzgerald. Additionally, Grimes already owns the school record for career all-purpose yards with 5,445 - a total that leads all active FCS players and ranks ninth in league history.

One of the nation's top pass-catching tight ends, Gottlieb's list of preseason All-America honors includes selections from Athlon (first team), Lindy's (first team) and Phil Steele (fourth team). A first-team all-conference honoree last season, he totaled 34 catches for 350 yards with three touchdowns in 2010.

In addition to The Sports Network honor, Cook also earned preseason All-America distinction from Phil Steele (third team). Cook is coming off a breakout sophomore season in which he led the team with 111 tackles en route to earning second team all-conference honors. He ranked fourth in the CAA with 10.1 tackles per game, while his stat line also included 9.0 tackles for a loss, 4.0 sacks, two interceptions (both returned for touchdowns, totaling 134 interception return yards), a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and six PBUs.

A consensus preseason top-10 selection, the Tribe recently garnered a No. 1 national ranking by Phil Steele's College Football Preview. W&M returns 13 starters from last season's squad that captured the CAA title and earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Playoffs, marking the program's second-consecutive postseason berth.

The Tribe will kickoff the 2011 campaign at Virginia on Sept. 3. Season tickets are available for purchase by calling the W&M Ticket Office at 757-221-3340 or by visiting TribeAthletics.com.