LATROBE, Pa. -- The annual Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Football Media Day was held Wednesday morning on the campus of Saint Vincent College, home of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp.

Serving as the unofficial kickoff to the 2025 college football season, the annual PAC Football Media Day featured question-and-answer sessions with the head coaches and a student-athlete from each of the conference's 11 teams. Third-year head coach Braden Layer and senior linebacker Fletcher Hammond (Gibsonia, Pa./Deer Lakes) represented the Gators and discussed their expectations for the upcoming season. Layer also spoke about Hammond's role as a leader in the locker room.

"I'm sure all the head coaches in the room kind of have a prototype of the ideal player that fits their program or what they look for in recruiting. In my book, when I sit down in a living room and talk to a family, I hope that young man transforms into somebody just like Fletcher," Layer said.

To watch the full Q&A session with Layer and Hammond, please click here.

Also on Wednesday, the PAC also released the results of its annual preseason poll and its watch list. The preseason poll was voted on by head coaches, sports information directors, and media members in attendance at PAC Football Media Day. Allegheny was picked to finish eighth with 158 points ahead of Saint Vincent (152), Bethany College (117), and the PAC's newest member, Hiram College (60). Washington and Jefferson College, one of three teams that shared the PAC championship in 2024, was voted No. 1 in the standings and received a league-best 17 first-place votes.

Allegheny's defense was well represented on the 2025 PAC Football Players to Watch list as four of the five Gators highlighted were defenders. Hammond, who is returning to action after missing seven games with a season-ending injury in 2024, is joined on the watch list by fellow senior linebacker Coltin Colucci (Brewster Ohio/Fairless). On the perimeter, the starting cornerback duo of Elisah Banks (Las Vegas, Nev./Desert Pines) and David Williams (Boca Raton, Fla./Boca Raton), the 2023 PAC Newcomer of the Year, was also recognized. The lone offensive player named was senior receiver and kick returner Chris Gisewhite (Corpus Christi, Texas/Flour Bluff), who paced Allegheny with 587 receiving yards and 606 kick return yards last fall.

The Gators begin the 2025 season at home at Frank B. Fuhrer Field on Saturday, September 6, with a 2:00 p.m. matchup against Denison University. Allegheny's PAC opener is scheduled for Saturday, September 20, with a 7:00 p.m. showdown under the lights at the Robertson Athletic Complex against Thiel College.