EAST GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T had two players named to the Stats Performance preseason All-American team. Two Aggies appear on the preseason team with Jah-Maine Martin earning first-team running back honors and junior Jermaine McDaniel earning second-team honors.
The Aggies were also ranked No. 19 in the nation in the Stats Performance preseason poll.
Martin, a transfer out of Coastal Carolina, has been partly responsible for the Aggies success. After earning third-team All-MEAC honors in 2018, he had a breakout season in 2019 and has been present on numerous preseason All-American teams. Martin rushed for 1,446 yards and single-season school record 23 touchdowns in 2019. He was fourth in the nation in total rushing yards and led the nation yards per carry (7.73) and rushing touchdowns. 
 
He earned first-team All-MEAC honors last season along with FCS All-American honors from Stats Performance, HERO Sports, BoxToRow and PNRN Black College Football. During the preseason, he was named MEAC preseason player of the year and first-team preseason all-conference. HERO Sports and Athlon Sports named Martin a preseason All-American as well.
 
McDaniel led the MEAC in sacks per game (0.75) and was 21^st in the nation. McDaniel is a transfer out of Appalachian State. His first season with the Aggies was in 2019. He had his breakout game with the Aggies during the first game of the 2019 season when he made eight tackles (four unassisted) and three sacks in the Aggies 24-21 win over Elon on Aug. 31. McDaniel also earned preseason All-American honors from HERO Sports.

The Aggies are coming off a 9-3 season in which they shared the MEAC title with S.C. State at 6-2. The Aggies defeated the Bulldogs in a head-to-head matchup in Orangeburg, S.C., 22-20, on Nov. 2 to win the tiebreaker and earn another bid to the season-ending Celebration Bowl at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium between the MEAC champion and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) champion.

N.C. A&T beat Alcorn State, 64-44, on Dec. 21 to win their fourth Celebration Bowl in five years and their third in a row. The Aggies also won their fourth HBCU national title in five years and their third straight.

The Aggies finished the season nationally-ranked for the fifth straight season earning a No. 20 ranking in the FCS STATS media poll and a No. 23 ranking in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) coaches' poll.

The Aggies also earned a preseason ranking of 19 from HERO Sports and a No. 18 ranking from College Football Yearbook.