CHARLESTON, SC—South Carolina State junior defensive lineman Javon Hargrave has been named to the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) 2014 CFPA FCS National Defensive Performer of the Year Watch List.

Hargrave (6-2, 300) leads the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) with 15 sacks, 20 TFL, and 45 tackles on the season. The All-MEAC performer broke the school record for sacks in a game (4), and also tied the MEAC and FCS I-AA with his six sack performance in the Bulldogs, 20-14, victory over  #14 Bethune-Cookman.

The initial watch list includes thirty players from the Football Championship Subdivision. All players are eligible for awards at their respective positions; players are not preemptively eliminated from consideration.

The list includes thirteen linebackers, twelve defensive linemen, and five defensive backs. Two watch list members have previously earned CFPA honors, including 2013 CFPA FCS National Defensive Performer of the Year Lynden Trail. Other winners of the CFPA FCS National Defensive Performer of the Year Award include: Caleb Schreibeis (Montana State), Ryan Davis (Bethune-Cookman), and Tyler Holmes (Massachusetts).

2014 CFPA FCS National Defensive Performer of the Year Watch List:
Jeff Covitz (DL), Bryant 
Nick Dzubnar (LB), Cal Poly 
Jonathan Woodard (DL), Central Arkansas 
Davis Tull (DL), Chattanooga 
Quinn Backus (LB), Coastal Carolina 
Alec May (DL), Georgetown 
Connor Underwood (LB), Indiana State 
Sage Harold (DL), James Madison 
Jimmy Moreland (DB), James Madison 
Jacob Hagen (DB), Liberty 
Dylan Cole (LB), Missouri State 
Zack Wagenmann (DL), Montana 
Christopher Robinson (LB), Morgan State 
Lynden Trail (LB), Norfolk State 
Kyle Emanuel (DL), North Dakota State 
Tim Wienclaw (DB), Rhode Island 
Darnell Sankey (LB), Sacramento State 
Marquis Smith (LB), Savannah State 
Javon Hargrave (DL), South Carolina State 
Isiah Corbett (LB), Southeastern Louisiana 
Roper Garrett (LB), Southeast Missouri 
Chinedu Ahanonu (LB), Southern Utah 
James Cowser (DL), Southern Utah 
Victor Ochi (DL), Stony Brook 
Christian Ricard (DB), Stony Brook 
Ryan Delaire (DL), Towson 
Tony Bell (LB), UT Martin 
Don Cherry (LB), Villanova 
DeAndre Houston-Carson (DB), William & Mary 
Derek Rivers (DL), Youngstown State

About College Football Performance Awards: The goal of College Football Performance Awards is to provide the most scientifically rigorous conferments 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. As prominent scholars from a wide variety of disciplines note, CFPA eliminates the politics and biases that vitiate balloting-based awards. Furthermore, CFPA has received praise from both Republican and Democratic White House officials for promoting objectivity and fairness in college football.
    CFPA is now in its seventh season of player and team performance recognition. Twenty-eight CFPA winners have been first-round NFL Draft selections.