DeAndre Presley finds out on Thursday evening if he is Appalachian State University’s third-straight Walter Payton Award recipient when the NCAA Division I FCS player-of-the-year award winner is announced during The Sports Network’s annual FCS Awards Banquet at the Dallas-Frisco Embassy Suites in Frisco, Texas.
Presley, a junior quarterback, is one of three signal-callers invited to the ceremony, joining seniors Matt Barr from Western Illinois and Jeremy Moses of Stephen F. Austin. Should Presley edge out Barr and Moses for the honor, it will extend Appalachian’s stranglehold on the FCS version of the Heisman Trophy to three-straight years. Presley’s predecessor as ASU’s quarterback, Armanti Edwards, became the first two-time recipient in the 23-year history of the Payton Award when he earned FCS’s highest honor in 2008 and 2009.
In his first season as a starter, Presley became only the fourth player in FCS history to pass for 2,000 yards (2,631 — 20th nationally) and rush for 1,000 yards (1,039 — 28th nationally and second among QBs) in a season. The Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year ranks second nationally with 35 touchdowns accounted for (21 passing, 13 rushing and one receiving) and fourth with 3,670 yards of total offense. Moses accounted for 3,930 yards of offense (3,998 passing, -68 rushing) and 34 touchdowns (all passing) and Barr accounted for 3,859 total yards (3,410 passing, 449 rushing) and 34 touchdowns (27 passing, 7 rushing).
FRYE NAMED FCS ACADEMIC ALL-STAR: ASU junior offensive lineman Orry Frye is one of 52 players that has been tabbed by the NCAA Division I FCS Athletic Directors Association as an FCS Academic All-Star, the organization announced Wednesday.
The 52-player FCS ADA Academic All-Star team was selected from a pool of 92 nominees by a six-member review committee of FCS athletics directors. To be eligible for consideration, a player must have a minimum grade point average of 3.2 and be a starter or key contributor on his team.
Frye carries a 3.46 GPA in computer information systems and is a member of the prestigious Alpha Iota Mu international CIS honor society. On the field, the 6-2, 270-pound junior started all 13 games at left tackle for the Mountaineers in 2010 and helped anchor an offensive front that surrendered only eight sacks in 13 games and paved the way to top-10 national rankings in scoring (seventh - 34.3 ppg), rushing (eighth - 217.4 ypg) and total offense (10th - 430.9 ypg).
KILGORE, SMITH INVITED TO NFL COMBINE: Offensive lineman Daniel Kilgore and linebacker D.J. Smith have received invitations to participate in the 2011 National Football League Scouting Combine, which will be held Feb. 23-March 1 in Indianapolis.
The NFL Combine is the annual job fair for prospective new NFL players. For six days at Lucas Oil Stadium, players are put through a series of drills, tests and interviews in front of more than 600 NFL personnel including head coaches, general managers and scouts.
A 6-3, 285-pounder that projects as a guard or center at the professional level, Kilgore anchored Appalachian’s prolific offensive front as the starting right tackle for all 13 games in 2010. In 11 regular-season games, Kilgore amassed 46 knockdowns and 20 pancake blocks while never grading below 81 percent, including two grades of 90 percent or higher (91 vs. Chattanooga and 90 vs. Elon).
A 6-1, 235-pound linebacker, Smith led the SoCon and ranked fifth nationally with 144 total tackles while also recording four-and-a-half tackles for loss, two sacks, five quarterback hurries, four pass break-ups, an interception and a fumble recovery as a senior. He finished his career with 525 tackles, the most among all Division I players (FCS or FBS) active in 2010. His 525 career stops rank fourth in SoCon history and he joined three-time NFL Pro Bowler Dexter Coakley as the only players in ASU history to surpass the 500-tackle plateau.
In addition to the NFL Combine, Kilgore will also represent ASU in the Texas vs. The Nation all-star game on Feb. 5 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Defensive back Mark LeGree will also have the opportunity to impress NFL scouts in an all-star game setting when he takes part in the inaugural Eastham Energy College Football All-Star Game on Jan. 23 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
