LEXINGTON, Va. – With the 2020 season scheduled to start in a few weeks, college football expert Phil Steele released his Southern Conference preseason all-conference picks which included several VMI gridders.
 
Senior quarterback Reece Udinski and junior receiver Jakob Herres were named to the First Team Offense while senior A.J. Smith was named to the First Team Defense. Junior kick receiver Korey Bridy and junior long snapper Robert Soderholm were selected to the First Team Special Teams unit.
 
Senior defensive lineman Jordan Ward was picked for the Second Team Defense while offensive lineman Nick Hartnett was slotted for the Third Team Offense.
 
Udinski is coming off a heralded junior season in which he compiled record-setting numbers directing VMI's air raid offense. He led the SoCon in passing and broke his own VMI single season passing record with 3,276 yards. His 19 touchdown passes were the second most in school history and he began the season with an FCS record 368 consecutive passes without an interception. The North Wales, Pennsylvania, native also set new VMI single season records for total offense (3,155 yards) and best pass completion (63.9%) and tossed for 200 or more yards in 11 games in 2019, also a new school single season record.
 
Herres, a wide receiver from Easton, Pennsylvania, is coming off an Honorable Mention Sophomore All-American season in which he led the Keydets with over 1,000 (1091) receiving yards for the season for an average of 90.9 per game. He averaged 15.2 yards per catch and grabbed eight touchdowns for the season, including a long of 61 yards to clinch VMI's win over The Citadel. He was named a First Team All-Southern Conference receiver for his accomplishments in 2019.
 
Senior AJ Smith led the team in interceptions with three and was credited with 67 tackles and four passes broken up in 2019. It was his second All-SoCon honor as he was named 2018 All-SoCon second team by the media. The mechanical engineering major from Virginia Beach was also announced as a Google Cloud Academic All-District 3 honoree for the second straight year.
 
One of the top kick return threats in the FCS last season, junior Korey Bridy returned 32 kickoffs a year ago for 887 yards for an impressive average of 27.7 yards per return. He returned a career best 59-yarder against Western Carolina and had a 55-yard return against Chattanooga in the season finale. During the season, he rushed the ball 38 times for 175 yards and had 11 receptions for 68 yards.
 
Soderholm was named a First Team Sophomore All-American long snapper by Hero Sports and played a huge role in VMI's improved special teams play in 2019.
 
Named to the second team defense, Jordan Ward had 22 solo tackles and totaled 53 tackles, including 11 tackles for loss for a combined 41 yards. He also had two sacks for -19 yards to go with six quarterback hurries.
 
Redshirt sophomore Nick Hartnett was named to the Third Team Offense after seeing action in nine games a year ago and played an important role in VMI's much improved offensive production in 2019.