Three Texas Longhorns Named to 2013 CFPA Defensive Awards Watch List

Texas Longhorns senior DE Jackson Jeffcoat, senior CB Carrington Byndom and junior CB Quandre Diggs have been added to the 2013 CFPA Defensive Awards Watch List, the CFPA has announced.

The thee Longhorns represent the second-most players from any team in the nation named to the watch list.

"Congratulations to Carrington Byndom, Quandre Diggs (who has been named to the 2013 Paul Hornung Award Watch List), and Jackson Jeffcoat on earning spots on the 2013 CFPA Defensive Awards Watch List," said CFPA Executive Director Brad Smith. "Texas Football has a storied history of recruiting and developing elite defensive talent. Byndom, Diggs, and Jeffcoat will likely continue that tradition forward with strong performances in 2013."

Jeffcoat is a fourth-year defensive lineman who has appeared in 27 games with 20 starts, posting 117 tackles (59 solo), 38 TFL, 14.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries (one for a TD) and 22 QB pressures. He posted at least one sack in 10 of his last 13 games with a total of 12 over that span. Jeffcoat was sidelined for the final seven games of 2012 after suffering a right pectoral muscle rupture versus Oklahoma.

In May, Jeffcoat was named to the 2013 Lott Trophy watch list, and last season he was named to the Nagurski Trophy, Bednarik Award, Lombardi Award and CFPA Defensive Lineman of the Year Trophy watch lists. Jeffcoat was a 2011 second team All-Big 12 selection (Coaches, AP, Kansas City Star, San Antonio Express-News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram) and was named honorable mention Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2010. He was a prep All-American, two-time first-team all-state and all-area and three-time first-team all-district selection at defensive end and was named to PARADE's All-America High School Football Team. He also earned first-team All-USA honors by USA Today.

Byndom is a fourth-year defensive back who has appeared in 38 games with 26 career starts. He has tallied 142 total tackles (103 solo), 11 TFL, 5 INT, 22 PBU, one sack, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and three blocked kicks in his career. His 26 consecutive starts were tied for first on the defense with Kenny Vaccaro, and tied for second on the team behind Mason Walters (38) at the end of 2012. He has returned two of his five career interceptions for touchdowns and is one of eight players in school history with two or more in a career. He was named to the 2012 Nagurski Trophy and CFPA Defensive Back Trophy watch lists, was named 2011 first-team All-Big 12 (AP, Kansas City Star, Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News) and received second-team (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) and honorable mention (Coaches) All-Big 12 honors that same season.

Diggs is a third-year cornerback who has played in 26 career games with 24 consecutive starts. For his career, he has made 113 total tackles (74 solo), eight TFL, eight INT, 22 PBU, three forced fumbles and one sack. He was ranked 10th on the FBS active career interceptions per game list (0.31) at the end of 2012. Diggs has also returned 20 kickoffs for 392 yards and 22 punts for 287 yards. He was named to the 2012 CFPA Punt Returner Trophy watch list and also named second-team All-Big 12 as a punt returner. He was a 2011 CBSSports.com Freshman All-American and was named to the 2011 Yahoo! Sports Freshman All-America First Team and the 2011 FWAA Freshman All-America Team. Diggs was also tabbed the 2011 Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year (Coaches), second team All-Big 12 (Coaches) and honorable mention (AP). He tied a Texas freshmen record with four interceptions. His brother, Quentin Jammer, was a three-year starter and All-America defensive back at Texas (1997-98; 2000-01) and currently plays for the Denver Broncos after spending eleven seasons with the San Diego Chargers (2002-12).

A Texas Longhorns football player has won a national CFPA award each of the last four consecutive seasons. Defensive end Alex Okafor was named the 2012 CFPA Elite Defensive Lineman Trophy winner, and running back Foswhitt Whittaker was named the 2011 CFPA Kickoff Returner Trophy winner for his stellar senior season where he returned two kickoffs for 100-yard touchdowns in consecutive games. In 2010, DE Sam Acho was selected as the CFPA Defensive Lineman Trophy winner, and Earl Thomas was selected as the CFPA Defensive Back Trophy winner in 2009.

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. All players are eligible for awards at their respective positions; players are not preemptively eliminated from consideration. More than 130 CFPA recipients have signed professional contracts, and twenty-one have been first-round NFL Draft selections. ??

The full list of 2013 CFPA recipients will be announced on January 8, 2014.