The 2022 William & Mary Tribe football team represented the
College of William & Mary as a member of the
Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) during the
2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tribe, led by fourth-year head coach
Mike London, played their home games at
Zable Stadium. By finishing 7–1 in regular season CAA games, the Tribe tied with
New Hampshire as conference co-champions. They went 6–0 on the road in the regular season for the first time in program history.[1] William & Mary earned the
FCS playoffs automatic bid. They made it to the quarterfinals before losing 55–7 to the #3 team in the nation,
Montana State. The 11 wins tied a school record previously set twice, in
2004 and
2009.
Preseason
CAA poll
In the CAA preseason poll released on July 28, 2022, the Tribe were predicted to finish in fifth place out of 13 teams following the departure of James Madison and the addition on Monmouth and Hampton for the 2022 season.[2]
Predicted finish
Team
Votes (1st place)
1
Villanova
270 (16)
2
Delaware
235 (7)
3
Rhode Island
224
4
Richmond
219
5
William & Mary
206 (2)
6
Elon
191 (1)
7
Stony Brook
151
8
Maine
134
9
New Hampshire
117
10
Monmouth
105
11
Towson
81
12
Albany
64
13
Hampton
31
Preseason All-CAA team
Junior running back Bronson Yoder, senior defensive lineman Nate Lynn, and senior cornerback Ryan Poole were named to the CAA preseason all-conference team.[2] Lynn was also named the preseason CAA Defensive Player of the Year.[2]
William & Mary had a league-high 13 players receive all-conference honors, highlighted by two major award winners in John Pius and Jalen Jones.[10] Pius was also named a top-three finalist for the
Buck Buchanan Award, given annually to the most outstanding defensive player in all of
Division IFCS.[11]
CAA Defensive Player of the Year – John Pius (linebacker, sophomore)
CAA Defensive Rookie of the Year – Jalen Jones (cornerback, freshman)
CAA First Team Offense – Bronson Yoder (running back, senior); Charles Grant (offensive lineman, sophomore);
Colby Sorsdal (offensive lineman, senior)
CAA First Team Defense – Nate Lynn (defensive lineman, senior); John Pius (linebacker, sophomore); Ryan Poole (cornerback, senior); Caylin Newton (special teams, senior)
CAA Second Team Offense – Donavyn Lester (fullback / halfback, senior); Lachlan Pitts (tight end, senior); Ethan Chang (placekicker, sophomore)
CAA Second Team Defense – Carl Fowler (defensive lineman, senior); Isaiah Jones (linebacker, senior); Jalen Jones (cornerback, freshman)