Former Hahnville quarterback Easton Melancon has excelled at the collegiate level, and he was recognized for his efforts once again recently.
For the second consecutive season, the Louisiana College passer was named American Southwest Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player in Louisiana College history to be selected for the honor in consecutive seasons and just the third player in conference history to achieve the feat.
Melancon made good on last year’s preseason honor, posting 2,973 passing yards and 24 touchdowns as a sophomore en route to earning Offensive Player of the Year honors for the 2014 season.
The preseason award is selected following a vote by the league’s head coaches, sports information directors and media members that cover the conference.
“It’s definitely a great honor,” Melancon said. “I’m more excited this time than I even was a year ago when I received it for the first time. It feels pretty great.
“At the same time, it’s like I’ve been telling my coaches and teammates who have been congratulating me: I’d trade it all for a ring on my finger. The ultimate goal for me is to help lead our team to a conference championship.”
Melancon said he enjoys running the Louisiana College offense, which is up-tempo and based on quick decision making.
“My job is the easy part,” he said. “I get the ball to our receivers and they do the work. I want to get the ball to them in good positions so they can make big plays.”
The adjustment from high school to college play can be a stark one. Entering his junior season, however, Melancon believes the game has slowed down for him.
“You’ve got to get used to the speed of the game at this level, and it’s just a fact of life,” he said. “But I’ve seen a lot by this point. I focus on getting better every game and every week and making our team better.”
Louisiana College has been successful during Melancon’s tenure as starter. He has started 18 straight games and passed for 5,354 yards, 48 touchdowns and 24 interceptions over that span.
The Wildcats have finished as conference runner-up in four of the past five seasons, including the past three, but dominating Mary Hardin-Baylor has captured the ASC crown in 11 straight seasons. Last season, MHB defeated the Wildcats 45-24, but the teams were tied 24-24 at halftime.
The Hahnville product hopes to break that team’s run of titles this fall.
“I feel we’re really close to breaking through,” he said. “We’re basically one player making one play at the right time away. We’ve been playing well in 7 on 7’s, going 9-1 and 10-0. I really feel like this will be the year.”
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