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BEST IN STATE: App State’s Milan Tucker tabbed Preseason Special Teams MVP

Redshirt junior kick returner was an All-American in 2022

Published

August 14, 2023

Milan Tucker proved one of the top kick-returners in all of college football a year ago. He's a preseason All-American and all-Sun Belt. (Photo by David Jensen/Icon Sportswire)

A game-breaking kick-returner with All-American pedigree has been picked as the NC Football News FBS Preseason Special Teams MVP.

Milan Tucker, a fifth-year redshirt junior for Appalachian State football, has been returning kicks for the Mountaineers the past three seasons. He also has contributed at wide receiver and cornerback.

**Appalachian State University athletics celebrated Milan Tucker’s being named to the 2o23 Paul Hornung Watch List. (Graphic courtesy AppStateSports.com)**

Tucker earned second-team All-America status a year ago from the Football Writers Association as a kick-returner. He enters this season on the Paul Hornung Award watch list, as he did going into 2022. That honor is given to the most versatile FBS player in the nation.

Tucker averaged 28.2 yards per return a year ago (620 yards total on 22 returns) – second in all of FBS behind Mississippi State’s Lideatrick Griffin (32.1 yards). He took a kick 96 yards for a touchdown against Marshall, while also recording returns of 63 yards (Georgia State) and 47 yards (North Carolina). He boasts a career return average of more than 26 yards per return.

The Sun Belt Conference put Tucker on its first-team preseason all-conference team as a kick returner. He’s also listed as a preseason third-team All-American by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele.

Tucker is from Lehigh Acres, Fla and played high school football at Fort Myers, where he was a two-way standout. He is the son of former Major League outfielder Michael Tucker. He wears #0.

Tucker and the Mountaineers will kick off (kick return?) the 2023 season Saturday, Sept. 2 when Appalachian State hosts Gardner-Webb.

Check back for more Best In State preseason MVPs and all-state teams.

Quotable From Appalachian State football’s Milan Tucker

“Sometimes you see it out the gate, sometimes you see it among the chaos. It’s kind of a fun thing to do … It depends how you see it. Sometimes you don’t even see it, it looks like chaos, and then you get to running. And then you see a little bit of grass and you take it, and it’s the right piece of grass.” – From a WLOS.com ABC13 story this spring on the kick return game. For the complete story with video, click HERE

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