Harrington Named Walter Camp All-American Team

POCATELLO, Idaho- David Harrington not only led the FCS in punting in 2011 but his 48.7 yards a punt average was better than any punter in the FBS as Shawn Powell of Florida State averaged 47 yards a kick this season.

The success Harrington has this year has now earned him his fourth All-American honor of 2011 as he was named to the Walter Camp All-American team for the second-straight year. 

Harrington, who leaves Idaho State as the top punter in program and Big Sky history, has also been named to the AFCA, AP and The Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS All-American teams.

Harrington, a two-time first-team All Big Sky Conference member, leaves Idaho State as the best punter to ever wear the orange and black. The Bengal punter finished his two-year career with the best punting average in Big Sky history with an average of 46.29 yards a kick.  The Big Sky record was held by Eddie Johnson who averaged 46.27 yards a kick during his two-year career from 2001-02. He also had the best single-season average for a punter this year as he averaged 48.7 yards a punt. good for the top mark in the nation. He had a career-best 70-yard punt and 29 punts of 50-yards or more.

Harrington, who was a Preseason All-American, also earned All-American honors in 2010 and he is the sixth kicker/punter in Idaho State history to be named to an All-American team and he is only the fifth Bengal to be a two-time All-American.  Ed Bell (1968-69), Josh Hays (1995-96), Pete Garces (1998-99) and Jared Allen (2002-03) are the only Bengals who have earned the honor as a two-time All-American.

In all, players from eight different conferences and 21 institutions were represented on the 2011 Walter Camp FCS All-America team.   The Big Sky Conferences had the most selections with eight players from six different schools, including three from Eastern Washington.   The Southern Conference had five selections, while the Missouri Valley Conference had three.   North Dakota State, which will play in the FCS Championship Game on January 7, had two All-America honorees.

Walter Camp, “The Father of American Football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting All-America teams for the Football Bowl and Championship subdivisions.