BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Samford senior Zeke Walters has been named to the College Football Performance Awards' (CFPA) preseason watch list for its Tight End Award, the organization announced on Monday.
 
The award goes to the top tight end in all of Division I-FCS football. Walters was one of just two Southern Conference players named to the list, and he was one of three from a school in the state of Alabama to make the list.
 
Walters, who transferred to Samford from Southern Mississippi in 2011, caught 12 passes for 45 yards in 2012. In his two seasons in a Samford uniform, Walters has 23 receptions for 198 yards.
 
Walters is the fourth Samford player to earn a spot on the 2013 CFPA Watch List, following quarterback Andy Summerlin, (running back) Fabian Truss, and (wide receiver) Kelsey Pope. Last season, Truss earned the CFPA Elite Kickoff Returner 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. All players are eligible for awards at their respective positions.
 
Walters and the Bulldogs open the 2013 season on Friday, Aug. 30, when Samford travels to Atlanta to take on Georgia State in the Georgia Dome.