Chillis Earns Spot On CFPA Kickoff Returner Award Watch List

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- College Football Performance Awards, the largest awards organization in D-I college football, recently announced its watch list for the 2013 CFPA Kickoff Returner Award and 2013 CFPA All-Purpose Performer of the Year Award, and the University at Albany’s Kevin Chillis has earned a spot on the Kickoff Returner Award Watch List. The preliminary list highlights 34 returning kick return specialists and 32 returning all-purpose performers, vying for the top individual kickoff returner award and all-purpose award in the Football Championship Subdivision, respectively. "Congratulations to Kevin Chillis on earning a spot on the 2013 CFPA Watch List," said CFPA Executive Director Brad Smith. "Chillis is a multifarious scoring threat for the Great Danes." In 2012, Chillis was a two-time Northeast Conference Special Teams Player of the Week, and ranked second on the team with 901 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns. The incoming senior made 11 kickoff returns, averaging 27.5 yards per return, including a 79-yard touchdown scamper against Central Connecticut State. Chillis marks the fourth UAlbany football player this summer to be named to the 2013 CFPA Watch List, joining defensive backs Justinian Mason and Tramaine Wilson, as well as quarterback Will Fiacchi. 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 CFPA Kickoff Returner Award dates back to 2008 with Alabama's Javier Arenas earning the inaugural award. Other CFPA recipients performing as NFL return specialists include: Tavon Austin (West Virginia), Giovani Bernard (North Carolina), C.J. Spiller (Clemson), Jayron Hosley (Virginia Tech), Dexter McCluster (Ole Miss), Dez Bryant (Oklahoma State), Golden Tate (Notre Dame), LaMichael James (Oregon), Laron Scott (Georgia Southern), Damian Williams (USC), Taiwan Jones (Eastern Washington), Ryan Broyles (Oklahoma), Eric Page (Toledo), Cliff Harris (Oregon), Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State), Asa Jackson (Cal Poly), Tyrann Mathieu (LSU), Joe Adams (Arkansas), Fozzy Whittaker (Texas), Jerodis Williams (Furman), Miguel Maysonet (Stony Brook), and Reggie Dunn (Utah). Last season, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel earned the 2012 CFPA National Performer of the Year Trophy, while Harvard quarterback Colton Chapple earned the 2012 CFPA FCS National Performer of the Year Trophy. Multiple award presentations were broadcast live nationally on ESPN, CBS, Fox Sports, Big Ten Network, Pac 12 Network, as well as internationally on BYUtv. The full list of 2013 recipients, including the 2013 CFPA FCS Awards, will be announced on January 8, 2014. For more information, visit the Official CFPA Website (http://www.collegefootballperformance.com). Follow CFPA on Twitter @CFPerformance.