New Hampshire quarterback Max Brosmer, South Dakota State QB Mark Gronowski, and Monmouth running back Jaden Shirden finished as the top three vote-getters for the Walter Payton Award, presented by Stats Perform and awarded to the best FCS offensive player.
The winner will be announced at a national awards banquet on Jan. 6 in Frisco, Texas.
Brosmer finished the regular season completing 64.1 percent of his passes for an FCS-high 3,464 yards, 29 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. Gronowski led the FCS in regular-season pass efficiency (184.1), throwing for 2,359 yards, 23 touchdowns, and three interceptions while rushing for seven more scores. Shirden rushed for an FCS-high 1,478 yards with 10 touchdowns.
Thirty finalists were voted on by a panel of voters. Votes were due the weekend of the FCS playoffs first round.
Voting results for players 4-30:
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.
4. Matthew Sluka, QB, Holy Cross: 8-3-4-1-5-71
5. Davius Richard, QB, North Carolina Central: 2-7-3-4-2-57
6. Dylan Laube, RB, New Hampshire: 2-4-3-4-2-45
7. Isaiah Davis, RB, South Dakota State: 6-0-0-3-4-40
8.(tie) CJ Montes, QB, Fordham: 3-2-1-5-1-37
8.(tie) Mike DiLiello, QB, Austin Peay: 3-3-2-1-2-37
10. Jalen Coker, WR, Holy Cross: 1-3-1-4-4-32
11. Cam Miller, QB, North Dakota State: 0-2-6-1-1-29
12.(tie) Dymere Miller, WR, Monmouth: 1-1-4-0-3-24
12.(tie) Reese Poffenbarger, QB, UAlbany: 0-2-2-4-2-24
14. Lan Larison, RB, UC Davis: 0-0-4-3-2-20
15. Chedon James, WR, Idaho State: 0-2-2-1-3-19
16. Jamar Curtis, RB, Lafayette: 0-3-1-1-1-18
17. Cole Gonzales, QB, Western Carolina: 0-2-0-2-1-13
18.(tie) Gevani McCoy, QB, Idaho: 0-0-1-3-1-10
18.(tie) LaDarius Owens, RB, Texas Southern: 0-0-2-2-0-10
20. Sam Franklin, RB, UT Martin: 0-0-0-3-2-8
21.(tie) Michael Hiers, QB, Samford: 0-1-0-1-1-7
21.(tie) Ty James, WR, Mercer: 0-0-1-1-2-7
23. Zevi Eckhaus, QB, Bryant: 0-0-1-0-1-4
24.(tie) Hayden Hatten, WR, Idaho: 0-0-0-1-0-2
24.(tie) Jyran Mitchell, RB, Butler: 0-0-0-0-2-2
24.(tie) Parker McKinney, QB, Eastern Kentucky: 0-0-0-1-0-2
27. Brandon Porter, WR, UIW: 0-0-0-0-1-1
28.(tie) Darius Perrantes, QB, Duquesne: 0-0-0-0-0-0
28.(tie) Jake Wilcox, QB, Brown: 0-0-0-0-0-0
28.(tie) Jeremy Moussa, QB, Florida A&M: 0-0-0-0-0-0
