Youngstown, Ohio - Youngstown State fifth year quarterback Beau Brungard is returning among a list of highly talented FCS offensive players for the 2026 Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List, Stats Perform announced on Tuesday.
Brungard coming off a record-breaking season last year, in which he became the first player in school history to receive the Walter Payton Award. He was a unanimous All-American Award winner receiving the Walter Camp FCS Player Of the Year Award and the FCS ADA Offensive Player Of The Year.
He is seeking to become the third two-time recipient after quarterbacks Armanti Edwards of Appalachian State, 2008-2009 and Jeremiah Briscoe of Sam Houston State, 2016-2017.
2025 Season Stats of Note:
326 Points Responsible For*
48 Total Touchdowns*
25.1 Points Per Game
654 Total Offensive Plays*
4,702 Total Offensive Yards*
361.7 Total Offensive Yards Per Game
277 Completions
403 Attempts
3,234 Passing Yards
27 Touchdowns
242 Carries
1,468 Rushing Yards
27 Rushing Touchdowns
*FCS Leader
Returning past finalists include quarterbacks, Keali'l Ah Yat of Montana, Andrew Body of Alabama State, Devin Farrell of Rhode Island, Collin Hurst of West Georgia, Justin Lamson of Montana State, Chris Parson of Austin Peay and DJ Williams of Southern Illinois. Running back Luke Yoder of Lehigh and Wide receiver Marquis Buchanan of Rhode Island are returning for the award as well.
Other candidates include Quarterbacks Chase Mason of South Dakota State, Ty Pennington of Northern Arizona and Dante Reno of Yale. Running backs include Dason Brooks of Idaho State, Ness Davis of Duquesne, Victor Dawson of Illinois State, MJ Flowers of Tennessee Tech, Eli Gillman of Montana, Carson Gresock of Gardner-Webb, Tylan Hines of Tarleton State, Adam Jones of Montana State, Ja'briel Mace of Villanova and Charles Pierre Jr. of South Dakota. Wide Receivers include Taco Dowler of Montana State, Samuel Gbatu Jr. of UC Davis, Gavin Lochow of Dayton, Sam Milligan of Bucknell, Bugs Mortimer of Stephen F. Austin, Chance Peterson of North Carolina Central and Brayden Smith of Mercer.
This will be the 40th anniversary of the Walter Payton Award, bringing even more excitement to this prestigious accolade.
 All 13 FCS conferences are represented by a finalist. Five of the 30 candidates are from the MVFC. The winner, to be selected by a national voting panel, will be announced at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Show on Jan. 9 in Nashville, Tenn.
