Jared Farley, Malcolm Washington represent UNI on preseason all-MVFC team

Northern Iowa's defense returns nine of its 11 starters, so it is not surprising the Panthers presence on the preseason all-Missouri Valley Football Conference team is on that side of the ball.

Along with their two representatives on the preseason team the Panthers had a league-high five honorable mentions.

Senior inside linebacker Jared Farley is joined by senior cornerback Malcolm Washington on the preseason team. Farley led the Panthers with 80 tackles last season as the quarterback of the UNI defense. Washington — a transfer from Fresno State — played in eight games after suffering an ankle injury near the end of fall camp in 2016 and intercepted four passes while totaling 28 tackles and six pass breakups. Farley and Washington were recognized as All-MVFC second teamers in 2016.

Running back Trevor Allen, left tackle Cal Twait, safety Elijah Campbell, punter Sam Kuhter and return specialist Jalen Rima make up the Panthers' five honorable mentions.

Allen — a slot receiver in 2016 — has obviously won over his peers within the conference to be named honorable mention at running back after receiving just one carry last season. Allen will compete with senior J'Veyon Browning and junior Marcus Weymiller for carries, however his pass-catching rapport with quarterback Eli Dunne could give him an edge in the running back battle.

Twait has been impactful since the moment he arrived in Cedar Falls in 2015 and will be counted on to anchor an offensive line that will be asked to pass protect much more than it did his first two seasons. Twait, along with his three teammates to the right of him on the Panthers offensive line, stand to benefit immensely from the return of redshirt senior Bryce Sweeney. Sweeney is set to return from a back injury that sidelined him for all of 2016.

Safety Elijah Campbell — a transfer from Northern Illinois — is another Panther who was named 2016 All-MVFC second team that received preseason accolades. Campbell combined with Washington to fill the large void left by Makinton Dorleant and Deiondre Hall in the UNI secondary, intercepting three passes and totaling 36 tackles last season.

Rima burst onto the scene as a true freshman return specialist for the Panthers last season. Rima had a school-record 94-yard punt return touchdown in a win against Indiana State, along with a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in a season-ending loss to 2016 conference co-champion South Dakota State. The Cedar Rapids Prairie alum scored four total touchdowns and accumulated 764 all-purpose yards as a true freshman. Once quarterback Eli Dunne took over for the final five games in 2016, Rima's potential as a wide receiver began to show.

Punter Sam Kuhter was everything head coach Mark Farley could have asked for in 2016. Kuhter regularly flipped field position when his number was called, landing 17 of his punts inside the 20-yard line and kicking 13 50 yards or longer.

2017 Missouri Valley Football Preseason Offense

QB Taryn Christion, South Dakota State

RB Lance Dunn, North Dakota State

RB Steve McShane, Western Illinois

RB Brady Mengarelli, South Dakota State

FB Kane Louscher, South Dakota State

WR Malik Earl, Missouri State

WR Spencer Schnell, Illinois State

WR Jake Wieneke, South Dakota State

TE Dallas Goedert, South Dakota State

OL Jacob Judd, Western Illinois

OL Charlie Harmon, South Dakota State

OL Vitas Hrynkiewicz, Youngstown State

OL Jacob Ohnesorge, South Dakota State

OL Austin Olsen, Southern Illinois

OL Justin Spencer, Youngstown State

LS James Fisher, North Dakota State

PK Jerry Nunez, Indiana State

2017 Missouri Valley Football Preseason Defense

DL Colby Isbell, Missouri State

DL Dalton Keene, Illinois State

DL Greg Menard, North Dakota State

DL Kellen Soulek, South Dakota State

DL Nate Tanguay, North Dakota State

LB- Armand Dellovade, Youngstown State

LB Nick DeLuca, North Dakota State

LB Jared Farley, Northern Iowa

LB Christian Rozeboom, South Dakota State

LB Brett Taylor, Western Illinois

DB Tre Dempsey, North Dakota State

DB Robbie Grimsley, North Dakota State

DB Davontae Harris, Illinois State

DB Alec Kocour, Illinois State

DB Malcolm Washington, Northern Iowa

P Mark Schuler, Youngstown State

RS Deion Holliman, Missouri State