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Lamar University senior running back Kade Harrington has been named Preseason All-America by Athlon Sports. The honor comes following a season that saw him earn consensus All-America honors after leading the nation in rushing, and being selected as a finalist for the 2015 STATS FCS National Offensive Player of the Year Award – FCS football’s version of the Heisman Trophy.

“After the season Kade had it comes as no surprise,” said LU head coach Ray Woodard. “I’m looking forward to having him another season. People are more aware of him now because of what he did last year, so he will be a marked man. That by itself will make it more difficult to put up the same numbers but he will have his opportunity.”

Harrington is one of only three Southland Conference players represented on the team, and the league’s lone member on the offensive side of ball. Harrington is joined on the offense by 2015 co-STATS FCS National Offensive Player of the Year finalist Cooper Kupp (WR) from Eastern Washington.

The preseason honor comes following one of the best individual efforts in the history of the game. Harrington led the nation rushing yards, yards per game, all-purpose yards and rushing touchdowns, and finished third in yards per carry and second nationally in scoring. He finished the season with 2,092 yards, but went over the 2,000-yard plateau in the 10^th game of the season. He became just the seventh player in the history of NCAA Division I football to reach 2,000 yards in just 10 games, joining a list that includes Barry Sanders and Marcus Allen.

The Kingwood native set a school record by rushing for at least 100 yards in eight consecutive games, on his way to setting the school and Southland single-season rushing records. A three-time conference player of the week, and a two-time national offensive player of the week, Harrington was a threat to score every time he touched the ball. He finished the season with 63 carries of at least 10 yards, eight runs of 50 yards or more and three of 70, including an 80-yard touchdown run.

Already the school’s all-time leading rusher, Harrington enters his final season on pace to become just the fifth back in league history to rush for 4,000 yards in a career. He also ranks among the league’s all-time top-10 in rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns and is on pace to move into the SLC’s all-time top-10 in scoring and all-purpose yards early in 2016.

Harrington became the first player in program history to be named SLC Player of the Year in 2015, and enters 2016 looking to become just the fourth player in league history to repeat as the league’s MVP (Timothy Flanders, Jeremy Moses and Claude Mathis).

Fans will get their first look at the 2016 version of the LU football team Saturday, Sept. 3 when it kicks off the season at home against Coastal Carolina, who is ranked among Athlon’s preseason top 10. The game is slated to kick off at 7 p.m. from Provost Umphrey Stadium.