Winner of the last three ASC championships and five of the last six, UMHB on Monday was picked overwhelmingly to capture another league title in the ASC’s preseason poll of head coaches, sports information directors and selected media members.
It is the sixth consecutive year that UMHB has paced the ASC’s preseason poll.
Coach Pete Fredenburg’s Crusaders, who were 12-2 last season and reached the NCAA Division III national semifinals, received 24 of the 27 first-place votes and a total of 240 points.
UMHB senior linebacker Eric Henri was voted Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, as fellow linebacker Jerrell Freeman was a year ago before he went on to win the postseason version of that award.
A Crusader has been chosen ASC Defensive Player of the Year in six of the past eight seasons - linebacker Preston Meyer in 2000 and 2002, safety Tony Salazar in 2003, safety Josh Kubiak in 2005 and 2006 and Freeman last year.
Hardin-Simmons, which has lost to rival UMHB in seven of their last eight meetings, took second place in the preseason poll. The Cowboys received one first-place vote and 197 points, edging Mississippi College (two, 196).
East Texas Baptist (154 points) was picked fourth, followed by Louisiana College (125), Texas Lutheran (97), Howard Payne (85), Sul Ross State (61) and McMurry (60).
Henri, a speedy 6-1, 205-pound player from Lake Dallas, was a first-team all-conference pick in 2007. He made 86 tackles, including 14˝ for loss and 5˝ sacks.
Mississippi College junior quarterback Adam Shaffer is the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, and East Texas Baptist kicker Kyle Pope is the Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year.
UMHB expects to have 10 starters (three offensive, seven defensive) and 38 lettermen returning from a team that went 8-0 in the ASC and won three playoff games before a road loss to eventual Stagg Bowl champion Wisconsin-Whitewater in the semifinals.
The Crusaders will report to campus Aug. 18 and play their season opener Sept. 13 against Southern Nazarene (Okla.) at Belton’s Tiger Field. Their ASC opener is Sept. 20 against Texas Lutheran, also at home.
