CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Javon Mention, a three-year letterwinner at Georgia Southern, has earned a spot on the defensive-linemen watch list for the College Football Performance Awards.
Thirty-eight returning performers begin on this preliminary watch list, contending for individual defensive end and defensive tackle awards in the Football Championship Subdivision.
The largest awards organization in Division I college football, CFPA presents 45 awards annually and honors 29 student-athletes for their accomplishments on the field each week. The full list of 2013 CFPA award recipients will be announced on Jan. 8, 2014.
“Congratulations to Javon Mention on earning a spot on the 2013 CFPA Watch List,” CFPA Executive Director Brad Smith said. “Georgia Southern has an outstanding tradition with defensive talent. Mention will be one of the top defenders in the nation to watch during the 2013 season.”
Mention, who earned three starts on a veteran defensive line in 2012, tied for Eagles’ team lead with 6.5 sacks and is the top returner with 10.5 tackles for loss (-57 yards). The rising senior from Tampa joins junior running back Dominique Swope and senior quarterback Jerick McKinnon on 2013 CFPA Watch Lists for 2013. Three Eagles have earned CFPA honors: Adrian Mora (CFPA placekicker award), Laron Scott (CFPA kickoff returner award), and Brent Russell (CFPA elite defensive tackle award).
All CFPA recipients are selected exclusively based upon objective scientific rankings of the extent to which individual players increase the overall effectiveness of their teams. The Eagles are eligible for Football Championship Subdivision honors in 2013, the first of its two transitional years as it begins the process of moving to the Football Bowl Subdivision for 2014.
More than 130 CFPA recipients have signed professional contracts with 21 selected in the first round of the NFL draft.
Last season, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel earned the 2012 CFPA national performer of the year trophy, while Harvard quarterback Colton Chapple earned the 2012 CFPA FCS national performer of the year trophy. Multiple award presentations were broadcast live nationally on ESPN, CBS, Fox Sports, Big Ten Network, Pac 12 Network, as well as internationally on BYUtv.