Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Football's Matthew Steinbeck Earns Spot on CFPA Defensive Back Award Watch List
6/17/2013 8:00:00 AM | Football
June 17, 2013
LEWISBURG, Pa. - For the third time in as many weeks a Bucknell player has earned preseason recognition from the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA). Junior safety Matthew Steinbeck (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) recently earned a spot on the 2013 CFPA Football Championship Subdivision Defensive Back Award Watch List, joining Sean Sellers (Defensive Line Watch List) and Evan Byers (Linebacker Watch List) as Bison who have garnered honors from the organization.
A First Team All-Patriot League selection a year ago, Steinbeck led the Patriot League with six interceptions and ranked second nationally with .55 interceptions per game. He tied for seventh on the program's single-season interception list and is one of just three Bison in the last dozen years with at least six interceptions in a season.
One of just four defensive players to start all 11 games last fall, Steinbeck was eighth on the squad with 44 tackles and he registered 1.5 tackles for loss and a pair of pass breakups. At Bucknell's end-of-season banquet, Steinbeck was presented the Clarke Hinkle Award as the team's outstanding defensive back or linebacker.
Steinbeck enters his junior year with 60 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries, six interceptions and two pass breakups in his two-year career. He has appeared in all 22 games since stepping onto campus in the summer of 2011.
All CFPA honorees 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. Steinbeck is one of 36 players on the CFPA Defensive Back Watch List.
The full list of 2013 CFPA recipients will be announced Jan. 8, 2014.
