ATLANTA — The University of North Alabama football team has placed seven players on the ASUN Conference pre-season all-conference team, selected by the league's head coaches.
As a team, UNA was picked to finish sixth in the conference in its first season in ASUN league play.
Named to the pre-season All-ASUN team from UNA were sophomore running back Parker Driggers of Brantley, Ala.; junior receiver Takairee Kenebrew of Childersburg, Ala.; graduate receiver Cortez Hall of Hoover, Ala., graduate tight end Corson Swan of Spanish Fort, Ala.; junior defensive lineman Micah Bland of Louisville, Ky.; senior defensive back Kyree Fields of Columbus, Miss., and sophomore return specialst Kobe Warden of Killen, Ala.
Kennesaw State is the pre-season conference favorite, receiving 34 points in the voting. The Owls were followed by Eastern Kentucky (26), Jacksonville State (21), Central Arkansas (20), Austin Peay (14) and UNA (8).
Since its move to the Football Championship Subdivision in 2018, UNA played as an independent in football in 2018 before becoming an associate member of the Big South Conference from 2019-21.
2022 ASUN Conference Football Preseason Honors & Awards
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Xavier Shepherd, Kennesaw State
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Matthew Jackson, Eastern Kentucky
OFFENSE
QB | Xavier Shepherd, Kennesaw State, Jr., Nashville, Tenn.
RB | Darius Hale, Central Arkansas, So., Pearland, Texas
RB | Parker Driggers, North Alabama, So., Brantley, Ala.
TE | Corson Swan, North Alabama, Gr., Spanish Fort, Ala.
WR | Drae McCray, Austin Peay, So., Tallahassee, Fla.
WR | Takairee Kenebrew, North Alabama, Jr., Childersburg, Ala.
WR | Cortez Hall, North Alabama, Gr., Hoover, Ala.
OL | Payton Collins, Eastern Kentucky, So., Columbus, Ohio
OL | Zion Katina, Kennesaw State, Sr., Franklin, Tenn.
OL | Jaylin Hendrix, Central Arkansas, Sr., Everman, Texas
OL | Terrell Paxton, Kennesaw State, Sr., Stone Mountain, Ga.
C | Howard Watkins Jr., Eastern Kentucky, Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio
C | Matt Olson, Kennesaw State, Gr., Cumming, Ga.
DEFENSE
DL | *Logan Jessup, Central Arkansas, Jr., Wynne, Ark.
DL | Kelton Dawson, Eastern Kentucky, Sr., Stockbridge, Ga.
DL | Chuck Manning, Austin Peay, Gr., Durham, N.C.
DL | Jaylen Swain, Jacksonville State, So., Oxford, Ala.
DL | Micah Bland, North Alabama, Jr., Louisville, Ky.
LB | *Matthew Jackson, Eastern Kentucky, Sr., Nashville, Tenn.
LB | Stevonte Tullis, Jacksonville State, Sr., Dothan, Ala.
LB | Markail Benton, Jacksonville State, Sr., Phenix City, Ala.
LB | Eli Hairston, Eastern Kentucky, Jr., Columbus, Ohio
DB | Tamuarion Wilson, Central Arkansas, So., Bryant, Ark.
DB | Joseph Sayles, Eastern Kentucky, Sr., Alpharetta, Ga.
DB | Kyree Fields, North Alabama, Sr., Columbus, Miss.
DB | Shamari Simmons, Austin Peay, Jr., Ashland, Ala.
SPECIAL TEAMS
K | Maddux Trujillo, Austin Peay, So., Flowery Branch, Ga.
P | Jack Dawson, Jacksonville State, So., Sylvania Waters, Australia
RS | Kobe Warden, North Alabama, So., Killen, Ala.
- A tie in voting resulted in a 29-man Preseason All-Conference Team
* - Unanimous Selection to Preseason All-Conference Team
2022 Preseason Football Coaches PollPlaceTeam (1st-Place Votes)Points1.Kennesaw State (4)34T2.Central Arkansas (1)25T2.Eastern Kentucky254.Jacksonville State195.Austin Peay (1)156.North Alabama8
Additionally, the ASUN took to social media to poll the fans for the conference preseason superlative awards. A total of 2,690 votes were cast for student-athletes across the league. North Alabama running back Parker Driggers (389 votes) was named the Fan-Voted Offensive Player of the Year while UNA defensive back Kyree Fields (570 votes) garnered the Fan-Voted Defensive Player of the Year nod.