Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Warner added to final Payton Award watch list
11/20/2008 | 12:00:00 | Football
Nov. 20, 2008
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Sports Network) - Southern Illinois University running back/return specialist Larry Warner is one of four new candidates added to the final Walter Payton Award watch list.
Warner joins South Carolina State running back William Ford, San Diego wide receiver John Matthews and Harvard quarterback Chris Pizzotti as the final additions.
That quartet, which joins 12 other players already on the list, will be among the 16 players who will be on the official ballot distributed to voters next week. The three finalists for the Payton Award will be announced on Dec. 1.
The winner of the 22nd Walter Payton Award, symbolic of the top player in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), will be announced at the annual Sports Network Awards banquet on Dec. 18 in Chattanooga, TN at the Marriott Hotel. The Eddie Robinson Award, which goes to the top coach in FCS, and the Buck Buchanan Award, which is given to the top FCS defensive player, will also be awarded the night before the NCAA Division I football championship game.
Ford has been the offensive sparkplug for a South Carolina State team that has won its first MEAC championship since 1994, advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 1982, and is ranked 15th nationally. He ranks 14th nationally in rushing with 111 yards per game for 1,221 total yards, while averaging 6.1 yards per carry and scoring 11 touchdowns. Ford also has 14 receptions for 63 yards and one kickoff return for 18 yards.
Success as a runner is nothing new for the shifty 5-11, 221-pound junior from Travelers Rest, SC. Last season, Ford rushed for 1,389 yards and averaged 6.6 yards per carry with four touchdowns for a Bulldog team that tied for second in the MEAC with a 6-2 mark and was 8-4 overall. He was second in the MEAC in rushing, and 12th nationally with an average of 126 yards per game.
Matthews, a 6-0, 203-pound senior from Littleton, Colo., has been a major weapon for a San Diego passing attack that has ranked among the top teams in FCS in the past four years. He leads the nation in receptions per game (8.9), receiving yards per game (132), total receiving yards (1,317) and touchdown catches (20). His 89 total catches are one behind another Payton Award candidate, Andre Roberts of The Citadel, for tops in the country.
Matthews has had four games with double-figure totals in receptions this season, including a season-high 14 against Butler last week. He had a career- best 231 yards of receiving yards against Azusa Pacific, and posted three- touchdown games against Azusa Pacific and Davidson this year. He had a four-TD performance against Davidson in 2007.
Matthews was second on the team in receptions in 2007 as a junior, with 47 catches for 1,088 yards and 16 TDs and was seventh nationally in receiving yards per game (99 yards).
Pizzotti came back for a fifth year this season, and has led Harvard to the brink of another Ivy League championship. Viewed as one of the top NFL quarterback prospects in the current draft-eligible class. He has thrown for 2,381 yards in just nine games, along with 17 touchdowns and only four interceptions.
The signal-caller has completed 63% of his passes this season and ranks ninth nationally in total offense, 11th in passing efficiency, 13th in passing yards per game (265), 23rd in completions per game (20) and 24th in total passing yards. The poised 6-5, 225-pound passer from Reading, MA has thrown for 300 yards or more four times this year, including a season-high 370 in the season- opening win against Holy Cross.
Prior to this season, Pizzotti threw for 3,185 yards and 20 touchdowns in just 19 games after beating out returning starter Liam O'Hagen and current LSU quarterback Andrew Hatch for the starting job.
Warner, a 5-5, 169-pounder from Vicksburg, Miss., has established himself as one of the top running backs and kick returners in FCS this season, ranking near the top nationally in rushing, kickoff returns and all-purpose running for a team ranked 10th in FCS and battling to win a share of the Missouri Valley Football Championship.
Warner ranks second in FCS in kickoff returns (35.5 yards per return, 3 TDs), third in all-purpose yardage (193 yards per game, 1,933 total yards), 12th in rushing (112 per game, 1,123 overall) and 21st in punt returns (11.4 yards). He has averaged 6.3 yards per carry, has nine touchdowns on the ground and has been an effective pass-catcher with 21 receptions for 165 yards (7.9 per catch).
Warner rushed for 525 yards and five touchdowns as a junior in his first year with Southern Illinois, helping the Salukis advance to the FCS semifinals and post a 12-2 record.
Ford, Matthews, Pizzotti and Warner join 12 other candidates on the Payton Watch list - wide receiver Ramses Barden of Cal Poly, quarterback Rhett Bomar of Sam Houston State, quarterback Nathan Brown of Central Arkansas, running back Herb Donaldson of Western Illinois, quarterback Armanti Edwards of Appalachian State, quarterback Cameron Higgins of Weber State, wide receiver Terrell Hudgins of Elon, running back Rashad Jennings of Liberty, quarterback Rodney Landers of James Madison, quarterback Dominic Randolph of Holy Cross, wide receiver Andre Roberts of The Citadel and running back David Sinisi of Monmouth.
