More Pre-Season Honors

FOOTBALL

Georgia football continued to garner more preseason honors as the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) and the Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook released their preseasons teams and watch lists.

Seniors Brandon Boykin, Blair Walsh and Drew Butler have all been named to individual 2011 watch lists for the CFPA. Former Dawg Justin Houston was named the CFPA’s Linebacker of the Year following the 2010 season.

Blue Ribbon Yearbook has also placed five Dawgs on its preseason All-Southeastern Conference Team. Junior tight end Orson Charles, redshirt sophomore Aaron Murray and senior offensive tackle Cordy Glenn were included for the Offense while Walsh and Butler were two of the four Specialists.

Also of note, Blue Ribbon named freshman running back Isaiah Crowell the Newcomer of the Year for 2011.

Boykin, (right) a native of Fayetteville, is one of 38 players on the Kickoff Returner Watch List. UGA’s leader in career kickoff return yards with 1,813, Boykin is the only player in SEC history to have three 100-yard plays of any kind.

Walsh, a native of Boca Raton, Fla., was the 2009 winner of the Place-Kicker Trophy and has returned to the 2011 Watch List. A semifinalist in 2010 and a finalist in 2009 for the Lou Groza Award, which is given to the nation’s top place-kicker, Walsh ranks fourth in UGA history with 303 point scored and had eight field goals over 50 yards in his career.

Butler, a native of Duluth, also won the 2009 Punter Trophy as well as the 2009 Ray Guy Award, which is given to the nation’s top punter, and is on the 2011 Watch List. Joining Walsh on UGA’s Team of the Decade, Butler was named a CoSIDA ESPN Academic All-American last year making him only the seventh player in Georgia history to be named an All-American both academically and athletically.

Charles, a native of Tampa, Fla., hauled in 26 catches for 422 yards and a pair of touchdowns in 2010 after starting in 12 of 13 games. Charles has already been named the nation’s fifth-best tight end by Lindy’s earlier this preseason.

Murray, also a native of Tampa, Fla., and a graduate of Plant High School, was tabbed a Freshman All-American following last season when he set a UGA freshman record with 3,049 passing yards, which ranks second in SEC history for freshmen. Murray’s passing efficiency of 154.48 was also the best in the country among all freshmen quarterbacks and second best in school history among all quarterbacks.

Glenn, a native of Riverdale, has started every game for the Dawgs the last two seasons and was named to the Pro Football Weekly All-America Team in 2010. He also joins senior teammate Ben Jones as one of the tandems named to the 2011 Pony Express Award Watch List.