July 11, 2011
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The race for the 2011 Walter Payton Award, sponsored by Fathead.com, kicked off Monday which included Old Dominion quarterback Thomas DeMarco (Palm Desert, Calif.) among the 20-player Watch List for the Football Championship Subdivision's (FCS) top individual honor.
The Payton Award will celebrate its 25th anniversary this season and be presented to the FCS' outstanding player at the national awards banquet Thursday night, Jan. 5 in Frisco, Texas.
The 2011 Watch List includes 11 quarterbacks. Joining DeMarco on the list are seniors DeAndre Presley of Appalachian State, Casey Therriault of Jackson State, Mike Brown of Liberty, B.J. Coleman of Chattanooga, Josh McGregor of Jacksonville, Bo Levi Mitchell of reigning FCS champion Eastern Washington and Tirrell Rennie of Northern Iowa, juniors Casey Brockman of Murray State, and Brad Sorensen of Southern Utah, and sophomore DeNarius McGhee of Montana State.
Also included on the list are senior running backs Jonathan Grimes of William & Mary, Mike Mayhew of North Carolina A&T and D.J. McNorton of North Dakota State, as well as junior Jamaine Cook of Youngstown State and sophomores Nate Eachus of Colgate and Andrew Pierce of Delaware along with junior fullback Eric Breitenstein from Wofford.
The Watch List also includes two wide receivers, Liberty senior Chris Summers and Eastern Washington junior Brandon Kaufman.
Entering the 2011 inaugural Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) season, the Monarch signal caller has already garnered some preseason attention. DeMarco is a Preseason Honorable Mention All-American by the Consensus Draft Services and was named to the College Football Performance Awards Quarterbacks Watch List in addition to be listed as one of the Top FCS Quarterbacks by The Sports Network.
A member of the Walter Payton Watch List for the second straight season, DeMarco averaged 250.5 yards passing per contest including passing for a career-high 407 yards at Monmouth. He also passed for over 300 yards against Jacksonville and #14/16 Cal-Poly and threw for a career-high four touchdowns in games at Campbell, at Monmouth, and vs. #14/16 Cal Poly.
On the ground, the two-year starting Monarch QB ran for 423 yards and a team-leading eight touchdowns as the Monarchs' second leading rusher. He averaged 38.5 yards rushing per game, running for a pair of touchdowns at Hampton and versus Savannah State.
The Payton Award Watch List will undergo revision during the 2011 season. Ballots will be sent to a panel of about 200 sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries after the regular season on Nov. 21. Three finalists will be announced on Dec. 1 and invited to The Sports Network/Fathead FCS Awards Presentation.
The Sports Network also presents the Buck Buchanan, Jerry Rice and Eddie Robinson awards which are sponsored by Fathead.com. The Buchanan Award honors the FCS defensive player of the year, the new Rice Award goes to the FCS freshman of the year and the Robinson Award, which also is celebrating its 25th anniversary, honors the FCS coach of the year. Those three winners will join the top three Payton finalists at the national awards banquet.