#UACFOOTBALL -- Finalists for four annual Stats Perform National FCS Awards were announced and United Athletic Conference (UAC) Football garnered nine selections among the standout performers in 2024. Potential award winners were announced for the Eddie Robinson Award, Walter Payton Award, Buck Buchanan Award and the Jerry Rice Award.
A group of 15 finalists for the 2024 Eddie Robinson Award, which is given annually to the national coach of the year in Division I FCS college football, included Abilene Christian's
Keith Patterson, who guided his Wildcats squad to the UAC Championship with a 7-1 mark. ACU finished the regular season 8-4 overall including an 8-3 record against FCS opponents. The Wildcats also earned the AQ bid into the FCS Playoffs, marking the program's first appearance in Division I postseason play.
The Walter Payton Award, affectionately considered the "Heisman Trophy" for FCS, is given annually to the national offensive player of the year at the Division I FCS college football level. The 2024 finalist list features 35 names including a quartet of UAC standouts.
ACU quarterback
Maverick McIvor's 3,675 passing yards ranks third in the FCS this season and included a career-high 506 yards in the season opener at Texas Tech. McIvor passed for at least 250 yards in 10 of the 12 games. His 29 touchdowns and 5 interceptions give him the best TD:INT ratio among the top 20 FCS quarterbacks.
A trio of running backs from the league were also selected with Tarleton State's
Kayvon Britten, Southern Utah's
Targhee Lambson and Central Arkansas'
ShunDerrick Powell on the finalist list. Britten rushed for 1,750 yards and 16 touchdowns on 287 carries, averaging 6.1 yards per rush and 145.8 yards per game. He also had a touchdown and 120 yards on 10 receptions, finishing with 1,870 yards from scrimmage and 17 total touchdown. Nationally, Britten is second in total rush yards, second in rush yards per game, fourth in all-purpose yards per game (155.8), tied-fourth in rushing touchdowns, tied-fifth in total touchdowns and 19th in yards per carry. Lambson has rewritten the T-Birds record book setting new program records for carries (320), rushing yards (1,922), and total points scored in a single season (142) while tying the school record for rushing touchdowns in a single season (23). Despite missing a game and playing hurt in a couple others, Powell finished with 164 carries for 1,343 yards (8.2 ypc) ranking third nationally. He notched 14 rushing touchdowns, whils also tallying 318 yards on 36 receptions with three scores.
The 35 finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award, given annually to the national defensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football, featured a pair of UAC defensive stalwarts in UCA defensive lineman
David Walker and Wildcat linebacker
Will Shaffer. Walker, a three-time finalist for the award in his career, continued his strong play this season finishing with 69 tackles (46 solos), 23 TFL (121 yards), 10.5 sacks, 4 FF, 8 QBH and 6 PBU in 12 games for the Bears. A transfer from Arizona State, Shaffer has recorded a team-leading 108 tackles, 48 of which were solo. He also posted 6.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and two interceptions.
North Alabama linebacker
Josh Anglin and Bears' wideout
Malachi Henry were among the 25 finalists for the Jerry Rice Award, presented annually to the national freshman of the year in
Division I FCS college football. Anglin finished his rookie season with 81 tackles to rank second on the team. He had 7.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, as well as two quarterback hurries. A redshirt freshman, Henry finished the season with 40 receptions for 679 yards and five touchdowns, with a long reception of 79 yards. He finished ninth in the UAC with 56.9 receiving yards per game
All award winners will be selected by a national voting panel, with Rice Award winner announced on Dec. 4 and Robinson Award named Dec. 5. The winners for the Payton and Buchanan Awards will be unveiled and all four selections will be honored at the FCS National Awards Banquet on Jan. 4 in Frisco, Texas.