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Former App State Punter Named to All-Rookie Team

Appalachian State alum Sam Martin is one of 27 players to earn recognition on the PFWA's 2013 NFL all-rookie team. Courtesy: Detroit Lions
Appalachian State alum Sam Martin is one of 27 players to earn recognition on the PFWA’s 2013 NFL all-rookie team. Courtesy: Detroit Lions

Jan. 16, 2014. The Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) named former Appalachian State University punterSam Martin to its 2013 National Football League all-rookie team on Wednesday.

Martin, a fifth-round selection of the Detroit Lions in last April’s NFL Draft, ranked sixth in the NFL and third in the National Football Conference (NFC) with a 47.2-yard punting average as a rookie. His 72-yarder at Washington on Sept. 29 tied for the NFL’s fourth-longest punt of the season. He also handled Detroit’s kickoff duties for much of the campaign, averaging 64.2 yards over 70 kicks with 38 touchbacks.

Martin is the only punter on the PFWA’s 27-man all-rookie team.

Martin is one of 11 former Appalachian State student-athletes currently on NFL rosters. Appalachian alumnus and current San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Daniel Kilgore is the last former Mountaineer still alive this season, as he and the 49ers play for their second-straight Super Bowl berth in Sunday’s NFC Championship game at Seattle.