OGDEN, Utah-Tuesday, Weber State football received recognition from Athlon Sports by being ranked No. 19 in the publication’s FCS Top 25.

The defending national champions, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, are the preseason No. 1. South Dakota State boasts 16 returning starters from the initial national championship squad in program history in 2023.

The rest of the Top 25 is as follows:

No. 2 North Dakota State

No. 3 Montana State

No. 4 William & Mary

No. 5 Holy Cross

No. 6 Furman

No. 7 Idaho

No. 8 New Hampshire

No. 9 Southeast Missouri State

No. 10 Montana

No. 11 Southeastern Louisiana

No. 12 Incarnate Word

No. 13 Samford

No. 14 UC Davis

No. 15 Sacramento State

No. 16 North Dakota

No. 17 Mercer

No. 18 Rhode Island

No. 19 Weber State

No. 20 Southern Illinois

No. 21 Richmond

No. 22 Central Arkansas

No. 23 Tennessee-Martin

No. 24 North Carolina-Central

No. 25 Delaware

The Wildcats’ key returners in 2023 are senior cornerback Maxwell Anderson (5 interceptions, 16 passes defensed in 2022), senior linebacker Winston Reid (4 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, interception in 2022) and junior cornerback Abraham Williams (2 interceptions, four kickoff returns for scores in 2022).