LATROBE, Pa. -- On Tuesday afternoon, the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) held its annual football media day at Saint Vincent College, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp, for the 17th consecutive year.

During the unofficial kick-off to the college football season, members of the media had a chance to hear from head coaches and players from all 11 PAC programs throughout the afternoon. Second-year head coach Braden Layer and fifth-year linebacker Zach Altenbaugh (Industry, Pa./Western Beaver) represented the Gators at media day and discussed the upcoming season.

"It's also a big luxury to know you have guys like Zach in the locker room that are spreading the same message, that are holding players accountable in every walk of their Allegheny experience, be that football, be that in the classroom, or certainly for us, in the community, as well," said Layer when asked about having several veteran players returning at key positions.

The entire Q&A session with Layer and Altenbaugh can be watched here.

Additionally, results of the league's annual preseason poll, voted on by PAC head coaches, sports information directors, and media, were announced. After finishing last season in a three-way tie for seventh place, Allegheny was voted sixth in the 11-team conference with 219 total points. It represents not only a three-place jump in the poll from the 2023 preseason poll, but the sixth-place finish is the highest for Allegheny since the Gators tied for sixth place in the 2021 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) preseason coaches' poll.

The 2024 preseason poll was headlined by the defending PAC champion, Grove City College, which earned 444 total points and 29 of 42 possible first-place votes. Carnegie Mellon University (417), Washington and Jefferson College (378), Case Western Reserve University (335), and Westminster College (310) rounded out the top five.

Altenbaugh, who made 41 total tackles with 10 tackles for a loss, two forced fumbles, and one interception in 2023, was one of six Gators highlighted by the PAC as players to watch for the upcoming season. Four of the six players to watch, including fifth-year tackle Nigel Williams (Buffalo, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) and senior defensive backs David Babb (Pembroke Pines, Fla./Chaminade Madonna) and Vital Joseph II (Humble, Texas/Summer Creek), are on the defensive side of the ball as Allegheny returns eight starters on defense from last fall.

Allegheny opens the 2024 season at Bethany College on Saturday, September 1, at 1:00 p.m. The home opener is scheduled for Saturday, September 14, when the Gators host Saint Vincent College at Frank B. Fuhrer Field at 1:00 p.m.