IRVING — Former UTSA student-athletes Andrew Martel, King Newton and Brett Winnegan have been named to the National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame (NFF) Hampshire Honor Society, the organization announced Wednesday.
The NFF Hampshire Honor Society is comprised of college football players from all divisions of play who each maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college careers. An impressive 1,432 players from 364 schools qualified for membership in the Society's 14th year.
Martel earned his bachelor's degree in multidisciplinary studies in May 2019. A four-time Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll member, he was a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy and a member of the Wuerffel Trophy watch list as a senior in 2019.
On the field, Martel played in 47 career games, which is tied for second in UTSA history. He registered 161 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, four sacks, two pass breakups, an interception, one forced fumble and four fumble recoveries, which places him second on the program's career chart. A product of Foster High School in Richmond, Texas, he made the move from safety to linebacker prior to his final campaign and led the Roadrunners with 83 total tackles and 57 solo stops to go along with seven tackles for loss, a sack, two quarterback hurries, a pair of PBUs and one forced fumble in 2019.
Newton earned his bachelor's degree in management in December 2019. The Southlake Carroll High School graduate is a four-time C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll member.
A defensive lineman with 36 career games under his belt, Newton finished his time as a Roadrunner with 77 total tackles, 29 unassisted stops, 9.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles and a pair of fumble recoveries. In a senior season cut short to four games due to injury, he posted seven stops, including three in the season-opening victory against UIW. As a junior, Newton recorded 21 tackles, including three behind the line of scrimmage, to go along with one QB pressure and a fumble recovery.
Winnegan received his bachelor's degree in finance in December 2018. A member of the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll, the two-sport student-athlete is currently pursuing a master's degree in public administration.
A product of Pearland Dawson High School, Winnegan set UTSA career records for kickoff returns with 68 and kickoff return yardage with 1,515 for an average of 22.3 yards. He turned in two of the five longest kick returns in program history with a career-best 65-yard return against Army in 2019 and a 51-yarder versus North Texas in 2017. He also saw time as a running back and wide receiver and he appears on the school's top-10 list for longest rushes with his 71-yard touchdown dash against Texas State in 2017.
As a sprinter and jumper for the UTSA track & field program, Winnegan placed fifth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.88 seconds and fourth in the long jump with a leap of 7.09 meters (23-3.25) at the 2020 C-USA Indoor Championships. He was sixth in the long jump (23-7.25) and eighth in the 60m at the 2018 conference indoor meet.
"We are pleased to honor another impressive group of athletes as part of this year's Hampshire Honor Society," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "For more than a decade, the Hampshire Honor Society has served as a powerful vehicle for schools to recognize their college football players who have distinguished themselves both academically and athletically, and we congratulate the schools and each of these young men for their commitment to excellence in all aspects of their lives."
The NFF Hampshire Honor Society capitalizes on the NFF's National Scholar-Athlete program by greatly expanding the number of scholar-athletes the NFF can recognize each year. The program further strengthens the organization's leadership role in encouraging academic performance by the student-athletes at the 775 colleges and universities with football programs nationwide. The initiative has now honored 12,127 student-athletes since its inception.
The NFF Hampshire Honor Society represents an important component in the organization's rich history as an innovator in promoting the scholar-athlete ideal, which began in 1959 with the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards. Click here to learn more.
-UTSA-
