CHARLESTON, S.C. – Portland State's Kyle Loomis has earned a spot on the 2014 CFPA Punter Award Watch List, as announced by College Football Performance Awards. Loomis returns to Portland State as the reigning CFPA Punter of the Year.
The initial watch list includes 38 returning performers, vying for the top punter award in the Football Championship Subdivision. All players are eligible for awards at their respective positions; players are not preemptively eliminated from consideration.
"Congratulations to Kyle Loomis on earning a spot on this year's watch list," said CFPA Executive Director Brad Smith. "Loomis has the potential to become Portland State's first two-time CFPA winner in 2014."
The goal of College Football Performance Awards is to provide the most scientifically rigorous conferment in college football. Recipients are selected exclusively based upon objective scientific rankings of the extent to which individual players increase the overall effectiveness of their teams. Twenty-eight CFPA winners have been first-round NFL Draft selections.
CFPA is now entering its seventh year of recognition. The CFPA's player and team performance index, employed since 2008, ranks success across all three phases of the game. In 2013, Portland State led all NCAA FCS teams in net punting (41.71 net yards per punt). Loomis led the nation with 46.5 yard punting average, and also set a Portland State record.
Three Portland State players have earned CFPA post-season honors in the past as the top players in the nation at their position: Kyle Loomis (punter, 2013), Ian Sluss (linebacker, 2012), and Zach Brown (placekicker, 2011).
Loomis joins quarterback Kieran McDonagh and wide receiver Kasey Closs on the CFPAs 2014 Watch Lists.Â
Last season, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston earned the CFPA National Performer of the Year Trophy for the FBS, while Eastern Washington quarterback Vernon Adams earned the CFPA FCS National Performer of the Year Trophy.Â
CFPA Trophy winner and former South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was the first overall selection in the 2014 NFL Draft.
The full list of 2014 CFPA winners will be announced January 14, 2015.
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