On Wednesday, the American Southwest Conference announced the 2022 ASC Football Preseason Poll, and Howard Payne University was picked to finish third after a vote of the league’s head coaches and directors of sports information.

Howard Payne, who finished 7-3 and 6-3 in conference play last season, received 118 votes to finish right behind Mary Hardin-Baylor and Hardin-Simmons. The Yellow Jackets’ seven wins last season was the best win total for the program since going 7-3 in 2005. HPU boasted one of the best offenses in the nation in 2021 starting the season with a 6-0 record.

Sophomore quarterback Landon McKinney was named to the 2022 players to watch list. An all-conference honorable-mention selection, McKinney started in all ten games for the Yellow Jackets and led the ASC with 2,840 yards passing on 160-of-269 attempts with 32 touchdowns. He had a game-high 405 yards passing against East Texas Baptist. Landon was named ASC player of the week three times last season.

The Yellow Jackets started their fall camp on Thursday, Aug. 11th with 132 players reporting. Howard Payne will open the 2022 season versus conference opponent Texas Lutheran University. It will be a 1:00 pm kickoff in Seguin, Texas.

[Story courtesy of HPUSports.com]