CHICAGO – Quarterback Lindsey Scott Jr. of Incarnate Word is invited to the announcement of the 2022 Stats Perform Walter Payton Award, which honors the offensive player of the year in college football’s Division I subdivision, on Monday afternoon.
A trio of players were announced to attend the event among 30 finalists including Scott, quarterback Tim DeMorat of Fordham, and running back Jaden Shirden of Monmouth.
A 54-member panel voted on the 36th annual award after the regular season. The announcement of the recipient will be made at the FCS National Awards banquet on Jan. 7 in Frisco, Texas.
Scott, from Zachary, Louisiana, and a graduate transfer from Nicholls, was the Southland Conference player of the year, helping his 11-1 team to a national quarterfinal this week. He became the third player in FCS history to pass for seven touchdowns in one half of a game, then did it a second time. Through 12 games, the 5-11, 212-pounder is 273 of 377 (72.4 percent) for 4,185 yards and 55 touchdowns with six interceptions, adding 466 rushing yards and seven TD runs. His 210.6 pass efficiency is above the FCS single-season record.
Scott set FCS single-season records for TDs responsible for (62 total) and points responsible for (378) after his five touchdown performance in the second round win over Furman in the FCS Playoffs.
Scott and the Cardinals take on second-seeded Sacramento State in the quarterfinals on Friday evening at 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
The Walter Payton Award, first presented in 1987, has a distinguished history of recipients, including Steve McNair, Tony Romo, Brian Westbrook, Jimmy Garoppolo, Cooper Kupp and Trey Lance.
Running back Deonta McMahon of McNeese finished 25th in the Walter Payton voting, while Scott is guaranteed at least a top three finish in the award.
Also at the national banquet, Stats Perform will present the Buck Buchanan Award (FCS defensive player of the year), Jerry Rice Award (FCS freshman player of the year) and Eddie Robinson Award (FCS coach of the year), and FedEx Ground will present the Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The Southland had nine represenatives named finalists incluidng: Scott (Walter Payton), McMahon (Walter Payton), linebacker Kelechi Anyalebechi of UIW (Buck Buchanan), linebacker Rodney Dansby of HCU (Buck Buchanan), running back Ismail Mahdi of HCU (Jerry Rice), linebacker Eli Ennis of Nicholls (Jerry Rice), and Head Coach G.J. Kinne of UIW (Eddie Robinson).
2022 Walter Payton Award Voting Results
Following is a breakdown of the voting results. A first-place vote was worth five points, a second-place vote four points, a third-place vote three points, a fourth-place vote two points and a fifth-place vote one point. The final number is the combined point total.
1. TBA, Jan. 7
2. TBA, Jan. 7
3. TBA, Jan. 7
4. Michael Hiers, QB, Samford: 3-3-7-8-5-69
5. Geno Hess, RB, Southeast Missouri: 0-3-8-9-7-61
6. Shedeur Sanders, QB, Jackson State: 1-2-8-3-2-45
7. Jaleel McLaughlin, RB, Youngstown State: 3-1-2-2-1-30
8. Cody Mauch, OL, North Dakota State: 0-1-5-2-4-27
9. Joey Hobert, WR, Utah Tech: 0-1-2-1-5-17
10.(tie) Cameron Skattebo, RB, Sacramento State: 0-2-1-2-1-16
10.(tie) Matthew Sluka, QB, Holy Cross: 0-2-1-1-3-16
12.(tie) Hunter Luepke, FB, North Dakota State: 0-0-1-3-2-11
12.(tie) Parker McKinney, QB, Eastern Kentucky: 0-0-2-2-1-11
14.(tie) Devron Harper, WR, Mercer: 0-2-0-1-0-10
14.(tie) Fotis Kokosioulis, WR, Fordham: 1-0-0-2-1-10
14.(tie) Ulonzo Gilliam Jr., RB, UC Davis: 1-0-0-1-3-10
17. ShunDerrick Powell, RB, North Alabama: 0-0-1-1-1-6
18.(tie) Tommy Mellot, QB, Montana State: 0-1-0-0-1-5
18.(tie) Xavier Gipson, WR, Stephen F. Austin: 0-0-0-2-1-5
20.(tie) Bhayshul Tuten, RB, North Carolina A&T: 0-0-0-2-0-4
20.(tie) Xavier Smith, WR, Florida A&M: 0-0-1-0-1-4
22. Reece Udinski, QB, Richmond: 0-0-0-0-3-3
23.(tie) Bailey Fisher, QB, Gardner-Webb: 0-0-0-1-0-2
23.(tie) Davius Richard, QB, North Carolina Central: 0-0-0-0-2-2
25.(tie) Cole Doyle, QB, Saint Francis: 0-0-0-0-1-1
25.(tie) Deonta McMahon, RB, McNeese: 0-0-0-0-1-1
27.(tie) Aidan Borguet, RB, Harvard: 0-0-0-0-0-0
27.(tie) Jake Chisholm, RB, Dayton: 0-0-0-0-0-0
27.(tie) Ailym Ford, RB, Chattanooga: 0-0-0-0-0-0
27.(tie) Andrei Iosivas, WR, Princeton: 0-0-0-0-0-0