FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SUBDIVISION

• UCA's Hart, ASU's LeGree named to Buchanan Watch List

  
  

  Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Central Arkansas defensive end Larry Hart and Appalachian State free safety Mark LeGree have been named to the final Buck Buchanan Award watch list.

  The pair will join 14 other players on the ballot for the 2008 Buchanan Award. Voting for the Buchanan Award will be conducted next week.

  The winner of the 14th Buck Buchanan Award, symbolic of the top defensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), will be announced at the annual Sports Network Awards banquet on Dec. 18 in Chattanooga, TN at the Marriott Hotel. The Walter Payton Award, which goes to the top player in FCS, and the Eddie Robinson Award, which is bestowed upon the top coach, will also be awarded on the eve of the NCAA Division I football championship game.

  Hart, a 6-1, 252-pound junior from Madison, MS, has been the defensive leader for a Central Arkansas team that has dominated play in the Southland Conference this season and is ranked No. 13 nationally with a 9-2 record.

  A transfer from Holmes Community College, Hart has made a big mark in his first FCS season. He has 11.5 sacks, 20.5 tackles for loss, 39 tackles, four passes defended, one forced fumble and one blocked kick, and his tackles for loss have resulted in 93 yards in losses.

  Hart posted his best game of the season in a win over UC Davis, finishing up with five solo tackles, three sacks for 17 yards of losses, a pass defended and a forced fumble.

  If Central Arkansas were not a transitional school and ineligible for national rankings, Hart would rate third in sacks and sixth in tackles for loss.

  LeGree, a 6-0, 200-pound sophomore from Columbus, GA, has burst on the scene in his first year as a starter to lead FCS in interceptions with nine. He tied a school record with three INTs in a nationally-televised game against Wofford last month, and established a new single-season record at ASU when he picked off a pass against Elon last week.

  Coming in as a replacement for last year's Buchanan Award runner-up Corey Lynch, LeGree has at least one interception in five games in a row and seven of his past nine games. The hard-hitting safety also has 47 tackles, four passes defended, one sack and one forced fumble.

  He has been a key defender for an Appalachian State team that has gone 9-2, won a fourth-straight Southern Conference title and is ranked No. 2 in the The Sports Network Top 25 poll. ASU ranks fifth nationally in passing efficiency defense and sixth in interceptions. LeGree has nine of those 18 interceptions.

  LeGree played a reserve role in his freshman season, as Appalachian State won its third consecutive national championship.

  Seeing plenty of action on special teams, LeGree had 20 tackles in 14 games, including three in the national title win over Delaware.

  Joining Hart and LeGree on the Buchanan Award ballot will be linebacker Bobby Abare of Yale, strong safety Colt Anderson of Montana, defensive end Jovan Belcher of Maine, linebacker Zach East of Prairie View, defensive tackle John Faletoese of UC Davis, cornerback K.J. Gerard of Northern Arizona, free safety Marcus Haywood of James Madison, defensive end Greg Miller of Villanova, defensive end Greg Peach of Eastern Washington, linebacker Andy Romans of Lafayette, linebacker Andy Schantz of Portland State, free safety Lardarius Webb of Nicholls State, linebacker Jason Williams of Western Illinois and linebacker Nathan Williams of Murray State.

  11/20 15:28:53 ET