GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The University of North Dakota football program received its second preseason honors of the 2022 season on Wednesday, with 10 Fighting Hawks being named to the Phil Steele Preseason All-MVFC Team.

All sides of the ball were represented for UND, as Donny Ventrelli (OL), Bo Belquist (WR), Luke Skokna (RB), Garett Maag (WR), Adam Zavalney (TE) and Easton Kilty (OL) all earned offensive appearances, while Devon Krzanowski (LB), C.J. Siegel (DB) and Ben McNaboe (DL) gained defensive recognition. Cade Peterson (P) also earned a spot on the special teams list, while Skokna (KR, PR) made the list twice on special teams.

The offensive side of the ball was headlined by Ventrelli being named to the second team offensive line. Last season, Ventrelli started all 11 games on the offensive line, beginning the first three games of the season at left guard before moving to right tackle. With his leadership, UND surrendered only eight sacks the entire season and ranked at the top of the conference in fewest negative plays.

Belquist appeared in 10 contests with seven starts at wide receiver last season. He led the team in both receptions (52) and receiving yards (535), while averaging a team leading 53.50 yards per catch. Belquist had five touchdown grabs to lead the team and recorded 10.29 yards per reception. The top receiver for UND hauled in one touchdown reception in five games last season and finished the season ranked No. 4 in the MVFC in receptions per game with 5.2 He ranked third on the team in plays over 20-yards with seven and recorded a career-high 142 yards receiving vs. Western Illinois.

Skokna was an all-purpose player for UND in 2021 and it shows coming into 2022, with him getting three spots on the Phil Steele Preseason All-MVFC team. The all-purpose back saw action in eight games as the primary kick returner and as a reserve running back in 2021. He earned starts at running back at Utah State and at Southern Illinois and started at wide receiver vs. Drake. Skokna averaged 24.8 yards per kick return to rank as the No. 3 returner in the MVFC. He returned eight kicks for 198 yards during the season, averaging just under 25.0 yards per return. Skokna accounted for 81.8 yards per game to sit No. 10 in the MVFC for all-purpose yards and ranked as the third-favorite receiving target at UND with 27 grabs for 183 yards. The New Rockford native, netted the third-most yards on the ground for UND in 2021 with 221 yards on 35 attempts, scored a rushing touchdown vs. Drake and led the Fighting Hawks in punt returns with five for 52 yards, averaging 10.4 yards per punt return.

Maag competed in and started nine games at wide receiver last year. He finished fifth on the team in receptions with 21 catches for 266 yards, averaging 12.67 yards per catch and 29.56 yards per game to sit fourth on the team. Maag produced two touchdown receptions throughout the season and had a season-high five catches for 81 yards at Utah State. Coming into the 2021 season, Maag was named HERO Sport's "Top FCS Player to Wear No. 89" and was a team captain.

Zavalney saw action in 11 games with seven starts at tight end in 2021. At tight end, he recorded 20 receptions for 303 yards and four touchdowns. Zavalney tied for second on the team in touchdown receptions with four touchdown grabs and led the team with 15.15 yards receiving per game. He put up a career-long of 65 yards receiving on five catches at Utah State.

Kilty rounds out the Fighting Hawks on the Phil Steele Offensive Preseason All-MVFC Team, starting 11 games on the offensive line in 2021, beginning the first three games at right tackle before moving to left guard. With his help, UND surrendered only eight sacks the entire season and also ranked at the top of the conference in fewest negative plays.

Krzanowski is one of the top players for UND defensively on the Phil Steele Preseason All-MVFC Team, projected as a second-team linebacker. In 2021, Krzanowski spearheaded the North Dakota defense, leading the team with 68 total tackles (35 solo and 33 assisted). He ranked second on the team in tackles-for-loss with five for 17 yards and recorded 1.5 sacks for 11 yards. Krzanowski also had nine tackles and a fumble recovery for a touchdown at Southern Illinois and recorded nine stops and a game-sealing sack on fourth down in the comeback win over Youngstown State. He finished the season with five or more tackles in eight contests and ranked as the No. 18 tackler in the MVFC with his 68 tackles. At the end of the season, Krzanowski was named honorable mention All-MVFC.

Siegel joins Krzanowsi with the highest defensive recognition for UND on the Phil Steele Preseason All-MVFC Team, ranking as a second-team defensive back. Siegel saw action in all 11 games last year and started 10 of them at defensive back, piling up 28 total tackles. He put down a career-high nine tackles at Missouri State. Throughout the season, Siegel posted 3.5 tackles-for-loss for 22 yards and ranked third on the team in sacks with 2.0 sacks for 17 yards. At Utah State, he pulled down an interception and also broke up a pass in the 14-7 win over Illinois State. Siegel also returned two kicks for 30 yards at Southern Illinois.

McNaboe appeared in 10 games on the defensive line in 2021 and started the final five games at defensive end after Jaelen Johnson went down with an injury. During the season, he racked up 19 tackles, had three tackles-for-loss for 20 yards and recorded two sacks for 13 yards. McNaboe also hauled in an interception and returned it for 20 yards in the win over Western Illinois. The standout defensive end put down a season-high three tackles on three occasions and was named to the MVFC All-Newcomer team.

Peterson joined Skokna on the Phil Steele All-MVFC Specialists Team and is listed as a second-team punter. Last season, Peterson saw action in all 11 contests and put up 1,736 yards on 43 punts for an average of 40.37 yards per punt. His season-long was a 57-yard punt at both Idaho State and Southern Illinois. Throughout the season, he tallied six punts of over 50 yards and pinned teams inside the 20-yardline on 19 occasions.

The Fighting Hawks will kickoff their 2022 campaign at 2:30 p.m. (CT) at Nebraska on Saturday, Sept. 3. The game will be televised by the Big Ten Network.