PHILADELPHIA, July 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Walter Payton Award Watch List really is better by the dozen.
Twelve of this year's initial 20 nominees were finalists for the award last year.
Their candidacy began again Thursday when the race for the 26th annual Payton Award kicked off with The Sports Network's announcement of a stellar Watch List for the Football Championship Subdivision's top individual honor.
After the season, the most outstanding player in the FCS will join a list of Payton Award greats such as Steve McNair, John Friesz, Brian Westbrook, Tony Romo, Brian Finneran, Armanti Edwards and 2011 winner Bo Levi Mitchell.
The 2011 finalists returning to the Watch List are quarterbacks Casey Brockman of Murray State, DeNarius McGhee of Montana State and Brad Sorensen of Southern Utah; running backs Shakir Bell of Indiana State, Jordan Brown of Bryant, Jamaine Cook of Youngstown State, Timothy Flanders of Sam Houston State, Andrew Pierce of Delaware and Terrance West of Towson; fullback Eric Breitenstein of Wofford; and wide receivers Aaron Mellette of Elon and Rodrick Rumble of Idaho State.
Joining the Watch List are quarterbacks Taylor Heinicke of Old Dominion, Kurt Hess of Youngstown State and Jeff Mathews of Cornell; running backs Zach Bauman of Northern Arizona, Matt Denham of Eastern Kentucky and Miguel Maysonet of Stony Brook; all-purpose player Richard Sincere of Sam Houston State; and wide receiver Ryan Spadola of Lehigh.
McGhee isn't just a returning finalist, he's the only two-time finalist on this year's Watch List, having finished seventh in the voting as a redshirt freshman in 2010 and 13th last season.
Among the running backs, no one wants to take the next step in the Payton voting more than Bell. He tied for second as a sophomore last season when he was the FCS' rushing leader (1,670 yards, 151.8 yards per game).
Brown actually outgained Bell in rushing yards (1,815) and per-game average (165), but was not recognized among the official FCS statistical leaders because Bryant was in its final season as a provisional school that was reclassifying to the FCS.
West is coming off a season in which he was the inaugural recipient of the Jerry Rice Award as the FCS freshman of the year. He rushed for 1,294 yards and a national-best 29 touchdowns.
The Payton Award Watch List can undergo revision during the 2012 season. Ballots will be sent to a panel of about 175 sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries following the regular season on Nov. 19. The top three vote-getters will be invited to The Sports Network FCS Awards Presentation.
The Sports Network also presents the Buck Buchanan, Jerry Rice and Eddie Robinson awards. The Buchanan Award honors the FCS defensive player of the year, the Rice Award goes to the FCS freshman of the year and the Robinson Award honors the FCS coach of the year. Those three winners will join the top three Payton finalists at the national awards banquet.
About The Sports Network
The Sports Network (www.sportsnetwork.com), North America's foremost international real-time sports wire service, furnishes a wide range of content on a 24/7 basis utilizing state-of-the-art technology which sets the tone and standard for the entire industry. From statistics to news, weather and injury reports to instant scores, branded product and gamecasts to photography and complete fantasy coverage data, domestic or world-wide, radio or TV, print or Internet, mobile to signage, TSN leads the way.
SOURCE The Sports Network
Share this article