NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk State senior linebacker Lynden Trail was named earlier this week to the 30-man watch list for the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) FCS Defensive Performer of the Year, the organization announced.

Trail won last year's CFPA Defensive Performer of the Year and is having another strong season so far in 2014. Trail is third on the Spartans with 65 tackles, including a team-high 8.5 tackles for loss. He also has 4.0 sacks, four pass deflections, eight quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles, two blocked kicks and one fumble recovery. He has helped the NSU defense to a No. 3 national ranking in total defense through the season's first games. The Spartans are allowing just 254 yards and 16.6 points per game heading into the season's final three games.

Trail is one of four MEAC players on the list.

About College Football Performance Awards:
The goal of College Football Performance Awards is to provide the most scientifically rigorous conferments in college football. Recipients are selected exclusively based upon objective scientific rankings of the extent to which individual players increase the overall effectiveness of their teams. As prominent scholars from a wide variety of disciplines note, CFPA eliminates the politics and biases that vitiate balloting-based awards. Furthermore, CFPA has received praise from both Republican and Democratic White House officials for promoting objectivity and fairness in college football. CFPA is now in its seventh season of player and team performance recognition. Twenty-eight CFPA winners have been first-round NFL Draft selections.