WALTHAM, Mass. – First-year Bentley University head football coach Saj Thakkar is expecting 93 players, including six who earned All-Northeast-10 honors in 2022, to report Sunday for the start of the preseason camp. The first practice is set for Monday.

The returning All-Conference performers include two first-teamers, senior linebacker Salvatore Lupoli Jr. (Chelmsford/Chelmsford HS) and senior placekicker Mason Campbell (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS). Lupoli was the NE10's top tackler last year with 102 and Campbell was the conference's top scorer among kickers with 66 points. He was perfect on 12 of 16 field goals and all 30 of his extra points.

Thakkar, who came to Bentley from Harvard where he was the running backs coach for five years, also inherited four second-team All-NE10 honorees, including scrambling QB Mark Waid (Cortland, Ohio/Girard HS). He was second in the conference in rushing (715 yards) and also threw 15 touchdown passes.

The other second-teamers are sophomore offensive lineman Mike Boutros (Worcester/Doherty Memorial HS), senior cornerback Mathieu Severance (Lynn/Lynn English HS) and senior defensive lineman Herve Tshibamba (Naugatuck, Conn./Naugatuck HS).

In all, there are 13 returning starters with seven on the offensive side of the ball, including four lineman, and six players from a defense that led Division II in fewest points allowed (10.5) and was among the national leaders in several other categories. That includes senior linebacker Christian Lanzalotto (Rumson, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven HS), Severance and Tshibamba, a trio who were among the team's top tacklers.

Among the players that will have to be replaced are Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Year Cedie Dashiell II and first-team All-Conference honorees Jailen Branch (CB) and Nate Larkins (RB).

Bentley is coming off a 7-3 season and is 21-5 since the midpoint of the 2019 season.

Bentley will open the season September 2 at home against West Chester University. It'll be the seventh straight year that the two teams have met in the opener.