Appalachian State University wide receiver Tony Washington (High Point, N.C./T.W. Andrews) is one of 54 student-athletes nationwide to be named to the 15th-annual Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association (FCSADA) Academic All-Star Team presented by KP Sports, the FCS ADA announced on Thursday. Washington was one of 98 nominees for inclusion on the FCS ADA Academic All-Star Team. To be considered for the honor, an NCAA Division I FCS student-athlete must have a minimum grade point average of 3.2 (on a 4.0 scale) and be a starter or key player with legitimate athletics credentials.
A junior, Washington carries a 3.77 grade point average in architectural design. On the field, he ranked 10th in the Southern Conference with 39 receptions and 11th with 472 receiving yards in 2012. He was also one of the nation’s most explosive kick returners, ranking 11th nationally with a 27.4-yard kickoff-return average and tied for 21st nationally with a nine-yard punt-return average. His 1,316 all-purpose yards were good for ninth in the SoCon and 66th nationally.
On the field, Washington was named second-team all-conference as a return specialist while off the field he garnered first-team academic all-district recognition. Washington is just the third Appalachian State student-athlete to be honored in the 15-year history of FCS ADA Academic All-Star team, joining Pierre Banks (2007 and 2008) and Orry Frye (2010).

MARTIN NAMED PUNTER OF THE YEAR BY COLLEGE FOOTBALL PERFORMANCE AWARDS:
Appalachian State’s Sam Martin (Fayetteville, Ga./Starr’s Mill) continued to rake in accolades earlier this week when he was awarded the 2012 College Football Performance Awards’ NCAA Division I FCS Punter Award on Monday.
The award is the latest in a long list of postseason honors for Martin. In addition to the CFPA Punter Award, Martin was also named first-team All-America by the Associated Press, third-team all-America by The Sports Network and was a unanimous first-team all-Southern Conference selection by the league’s coaches and media.
The senior ranked third nationally with a 45.9-yard punting average in 2012, which was good for second in Appalachian State history behind only Harold Alexander’s 47.3-yard average in 1991. Twenty-five of Martin’s 60 punts were downed inside the opponent’s 20 yard line in 2012, which set a school record for punts downed inside the 20 and helped the Mountaineers rank second nationally with a 40.8-yard net punting average. The senior also excelled as Appalachian’s kickoff specialist (averaging 63.1 yards with 45 touchbacks in 71 kickoffs) and place-kicker (making 7-of-10 field goals, including the final five of the season). 
He is the fourth Mountaineer to be named the nation’s top player at his position by the CFPA, joining quarterback DeAndre Presley and safety Mark LeGree in 2010 and wide receiver Brian Quick in 2011.

Photo Courtesy: Tony Washington, ASU Athletics