COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- For the second time in this preseason, Tennessee Tech punter Chad Zinchini has earned national attention with his inclusion on the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) Watch List of top punters.

The preliminary watch list highlights 32 returning performers, vying for the top individual punter award in the Football Championship Subdivision.

"Congratulations to Chad Zinchini on earning a spot on the 2013 CFPA Watch List," said CFPA Executive Director Brad Smith. "Zinchini gives coach Watson Brown a strong senior punter for the 2013 season."

Last season, former Golden Eagle and current Buffalo Bills rookie Da'Rick Rogers earned the CFPA Elite Wide Receiver Award.

Zinchini was named second-team preseason All-America earlier this summer by BeyondSportsNetwork.com. He received all-OVC and All-America nods following the 2012 season after leading the Ohio Valley Conference and ranking fourth in the nation in punting with an average of 44.8 yards on 65 kicks. His average set the school record. He downed 19 of his kicks inside the 20-yard line with only five touchbacks, and avoided having any of his punts blocked.

Six punters from the Ohio Valley Conference are included in the list of 32 top punters who will be competing this season in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Conference punters joining Zinchini on the Watch List are Scott Weatherford of Eastern Illinois, Jordan Berry of Eastern Kentucky, Steven Mix of Murray State, Joe Vucic of Southeast Missouri, and James Satterfield of UT Martin.

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. CFPA recipients performing as NFL punters include: Bryan Anger (California), Sam Martin (Appalachian State), Chas Henry (Florida), Drew Butler (Georgia), Shawn Powell (Florida State), Quinn Sharp (Oklahoma State), Brandon McManus (Temple), and Patrick Murray (Fordham).

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

The 2013 CFPA FCS Punters Watch List:

• Bobby Wenzig, Alabama State
• Adam Lutz, Campbell
• Nick Pollard, Chattanooga
• Paul Delaney, Columbia
• Scott Weatherford, Eastern Illinois
• Jordan Berry, Eastern Kentucky
• Jake Miller, Eastern Washington
• Luke Cherry, Georgia Southern
• C.J. Reyes, Idaho State
• Pat Wright, Illinois State
• Kollin Kahler, Lamar
• Tim Divers, Lehigh
• Jeffrey Ondish, Maine
• Jean Breaux, McNeese State
• Chris Sullens, Missouri State
• Stephen Shaw, Montana
• Steven Mix, Murray State
• Andy Wilder, NAU
• Ben LeCompte, North Dakota State
• Justin Weldon, Sacramento State
• Greg Peranich, Samford
• Ethan Sawyer, South Dakota State
• Joe Vucic, Southeast Missouri State
• Austin Pucylowski, Southern Illinois
• Brock Miller, Southern Utah
• Grant Price, St. Francis (PA)
• Chad Zinchini, Tennessee Tech
• James Satterfield, UT-Martin
• Mark Hamilton, Villanova
• Tony Epperson, Weber State
• Clark Sechrest, Western Carolina
• Kyle Cazzetta, Yale