HILTON HEAD, S.C. ?­- For the third-straight year, an Appalachian State University student-athlete earned the Southern Conference's highest individual honor for a male, when football's Marques Murrell was named the SoCon's Bob Waters Male Athlete of the Year on Wednesday evening at the conference's annual Honors Dinner at the Hilton Head Crown Plaza Resort. A two-time consensus first-team All-America defensive end, Murrell joins former teammates DaVon Fowlkes (2004-05) and Richie Williams (2005-06) as the most recent winners of the Bob Waters Award, making Appalachian the first school in the 60-year history of the award to boast three-straight recipients. Murrell is the sixth Mountaineer, all football players, to bring home the honor. Other ASU honorees include wide receiver and current senior associate athletics director for development Rick Beasley (1979-80), running back John Settle (1986-87) and the school's only two-time winner, linebacker Dexter Coakley (1995-96 and '96-97). Murrell led the nation in sacks twice, recording 13 as both a junior and senior. After registering 17 tackles for loss and six forced fumbles to go along with his 13 sacks as a senior, Murrell finished third in voting for the 2006 Buck Buchanan Award, given to the FCS National Defensive Player of the Year. He was named the 2006 Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year by the league's coaches. The Fayetteville, N.C. native finished his stellar collegiate career as Appalachian's all-time leader in forced fumbles (18) and second on the school's career lists for sacks (36) and tackles for loss (59). In a lineage that includes NFL standouts Coakley and Dino Hackett, Murrell is the only player in ASU history to lead the team in sacks three-straight years. He helped lead the Mountaineers to back-to-back NCAA Division I national championships in 2005 and '06 and perhaps his lasting legacy in the Black and Gold came in the 2005 national title game, when he forced the fumble that was returned by current Green Bay Packer Jason Hunter for the winning touchdown in the Apps' 21-16 triumph over Northern Iowa. With Murrell currently training as a member of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, his parents, Patricia and Angelo Murrell, accepted the award on his behalf. In other awards presented on Wednesday night, ASU football player Pierre Banks and track and field standout Vonteena Knotts received Coleman Lew Leadership Awards and ASU alum and longtime supporter Reba Smith Moretz was recognized as Appalachian's Distinguished Service Award winner. Banks and Knotts were selected by a panel of SoCon athletics directors and representatives from Coleman Lew & Associates, a national executive search firm based out of Charlotte, N.C., as recipients of the second-annual Coleman Lew Leadership Award. The award recognizes scholar-athletes from each of the league's 11 institutions based on leadership, academic excellence and athletic achievement in both the college environment and the community. One-on-one interviews were conducted with each of the finalists before winners were determined. Banks earned second-team all-SoCon recognition on the field and academic all-conference plaudits for his performance in the classroom last fall. He led the Mountaineers in tackles with 110 last season and aspires to complete work for both a bachelor's and master's degree before he exhausts his eligibility following the 2008 campaign. Knotts earned all-SoCon honors in both the long and triple jumps at the outdoor championships after placing second and third, respectively. She was one of three Mountaineer women to advance to the NCAA East Regional during the outdoor season and became the first ASU woman since 2004 to advance to the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2007, placing 16th in the long jump. A prominent face around campus, Knotts also serves as a member of Appalachian's prestigious student ambassadors group. A member of ASU's Board of Trustees since 1999, Moretz holds a bachelor's and master's degree in music education from Appalachian. Owner of Appalachian Ski Mountain, Inc. since 1968, she has been a vital member of the High Country community as a member of the Watauga County Library Endowment Council, Boone Area Chamber of Commerce and the ASU College of Arts and Sciences Advancement Council. She also serves on the Appalachian Summer Festival Advisory Board and is treasurer of the Southeastern Ski Areas Association. Each member institution selects a SoCon Distinguished Service Award winner based on the recipient's overall contribution to the institution.