Delaware Blue Hens College Football Preview 2026

Delaware Quick Hits

• Head Coach: Ryan Carty (5th year at Delaware, 33-17)
• Best Case / Worst Case: Win CUSA title/Losing season and miss out on a bowl
• Key Player: Nick Minicucci, QB Sr.
• 2025 Record: 7-6
• Biggest Question: Can the defensive front be stronger against the run?

- 2026 Delaware Football Schedule Analysis

Delaware Key 2025 Stats

• Delaware Scoring: 1st Quarter 58, 2nd Quarter 138
• No. 1 Conference USA Total Offense: 441.6 yards per game
• Onside Kicks: Delaware 3-of-3, Opponents 0-for-1

Offense

It worked.

It wasn’t always smooth, but the yards piled up in bunches for the best offense in Conference USA. More than enough key parts are back from the attack that led the league in total offense and was second in scoring to be even better.

What’s Working

Nick Minicucci is an all-conference quarterback. He wasn’t the opening drive starter, but he took over right away, threw for 3,683 yards and 23 touchdowns, and ran for ten scores.

Great at keeping the mistakes to a minimum, he’s the exact veteran leader the offense needs this season.

The offensive line wasn’t a dominant force, but it was good enough. Now it comes back experienced, starting with the good tackle pair of Anthony Caccese and Noah Rosahac. The interior will be fine in time - it’s a bit young.

All of the main runners return. Miniucci was third on the team with 235 rushing yards, and the 1-2 punch of Jo Silver and Viron Ellison is back after combining for over 1,100 yards and nine touchdowns. Both backs can catch.

What Needs Work

The receiving corps is going through an overhaul. Sean Wilson is back after leading the team with 68 catches for 877 yards and three scores, but everyone else of note has to be replaced.

On the plus side, Elijah Sessoms is a good receiving tight end who can handle the midrange routes.

It’s all about getting the ground game going. The line has decent size, but it doesn’t blast away. Last year, the Blue Hens went 6-0 when running for four yards or more, and were 1-6 when they didn’t.

Hanging on to the ball is a must. Delaware lost the most fumbles in Conference USA by a mile - 11, the next worst team lost eight - and it mattered. The team was 0-3 when it lost two fumbles, and was 3-5 when it lost at least one.

Player to Watch

Nick Minicucci, QB Sr.
The power deep arm is good enough, but his real strength is his consistency. He’s accurate, good at keeping the chains moving, and is dangerous enough on the move to worry about. Be shocked if he’s not one of the best quarterbacks in Conference USA again.

Defense

It was a bit of a rough first season for the Delaware defense.

The overall stats make things appear worse than they really were - the Blue Hens were tenth in CUSA in total defense - but when they couldn’t come up with stops, the floodgates were open.

Enough experience returns to be stronger and more consistent.

What’s Working

The linebacking corps has a star to work around. Gavin Moul tackled everything. The all-star led the team with 111 tackles as an undersized man in the middle.

The outside should be fine with Blake Matthews like a big safety on one side, and Colin Gallagher about to take on a bigger role on the other.

Expect more from the secondary. There’s more corner depth now around Kshawn Cox and Jamarion Kolagbodi, and the safety situation got a whole lot better with George Mullins coming in from Michigan State to go along with KT Seay, who was second on the team with 91 tackles and three picks.

Great things happened when the Blue Hens took the ball away. They were good at coming up with interceptions, and overall, when they forced mistakes, they won, going 5-1 when generating multiple takeaways.

What Needs Work

The line needs more playmakers. The pass rush wasn’t anything special, and it mostly came from the interior.

Keyshawn Hunter is done, and now Trace Scott has to do even more. 300-pound Dominick Brogna is a decent anchor; now the line around him has to do more.

The run defense got gashed a bit too often. There were too many tackles down the field, allowing 4.6 yards per carry and 200 yards or more four times. When the run D was a rock, the team won.

Fourth down stops … Delaware couldn’t seem to come up with any. It was the worst in Conference USA by a ton, allowing teams to convert 18-of-26 times.

To feel a little bit better, the 128th defense in the nation on fourth downs was still better than Alabama.

Player to Watch

Gavin Moul, LB Jr.
A star when he got his chance in 2024, he came up with 71 tackles with two picks and six tackles for loss.

With a year under his belt, he did everything for the defense last season with 111 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, three broken up passes, and a scoop and score. He’s not all that big, but he gets in on everything.

Keys to the Season

Delaware has to do what it did last year, only a little bit better.

There has to be a bit more explosion to the offense, a little more consistency, and more toughness on a defense that has to hold up better and be more physical.

Player Who Needs To Shine

Trace Scott III, DT Jr.
The Blue Hens need more out of the interior against the run. 300-pound Dominick Brogna is the size, but there isn’t a ton of bulk around him.

The 6-4, 265-pound Scott is a quick tackle who can get behind the line, but he’ll have to be even stronger against the power running teams.

Biggest Concern

Holding up against the run.
There aren’t too many killer running teams on the slate, but Delaware has to be far tougher and nastier against everyone on the ground. There isn’t a lot of size across the board, so it has to make up for it with more plays in the backfield and owning third downs.

Biggest Game

Liberty, Oct. 2
It was the one time in Conference USA play last year when everything went totally wrong.

Liberty wasn’t that great, but it did whatever it wanted in a 59-30 win over the Blue Hens with 561 yards of total offense and great drive after great drive.

This year, it’s the CUSA opener, and it’s a Delaware home game with three of the next four dates on the road.

Transfer Portal

The Blue Hens didn’t do much.

They lost a few players, but for the most part, everyone stayed around, and most of the key backups stayed put. Among the little action there was through the portal, overall, Delaware did okay.

Best Signing

George Mullins, S (Michigan State)
He’s a tall, thin 6-3, 190-pound safety with range. He didn’t do much in his one year at Michigan State, but he’ll play a big starting role right away in the Blue Hen secondary.

Biggest Loss

Anwar O’neal, OG (Louisville)
A 6-6, 315-pound all-star guard with experience, O’neal would’ve been the best blocker on the Delaware front. Now he’ll be an instant fix for the Louisville line once he gets over an offseason injury.

Other Names to Know

• Jaquise Alexander, CB (North Dakota State)
• Tucker Smack, PK (Salisbury)
• Jack Small, OT (Duke)

CFN Season Prediction

It’s a Delaware program that expects to win - it’s not just happy to be decent.

There’s still a talent gap overall, and it can’t just run out on the field and scheme its way to wins, but it’s a good football team that knows how to pull off wins.

But, like last season, just when you think everything is going great, there will be a puzzling clunker somewhere to rest the expectations.

CFN Prediction: 6-6

Can the Blue Hens be good enough to get by Western Kentucky and Kennesaw State on the road, and Jacksonville State and Liberty at home? If they win three of those four games, they should be playing for the Conference USA title game.

Beating Coastal Carolina would be a big deal in non-conference play, but with road games at Virginia and Vanderbilt, it should be a bit of a tough start.

Even so, the Blue Hens will be good enough to get back to a bowl game with a shot at yet another winning season.