Stephen F. Austin QB Wins Payton Award

Stephen F. Austin quarterback Jeremy Moses won the Walter Payton Award on Thursday night, honoring him as the top player in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Moses earned what's considered the Heisman Trophy of the FCS, formerly Division I-AA, by completing 303 of 499 passes for 3,658 yards and 34 touchdowns. He led the FCS in each of those categories, and led his team to the Southland Conference title. The Lumberjacks went 9-3, losing in the second round of the playoffs.

Considering how many times Moses passed, his most outstanding stat might be having only four interceptions. He's the first Southland player to win the award, which is in its 24th season.

"What we do isn't very complicated," Moses said. "We know what we're looking for on the defensive side of the ball and we know what plays we want to run against it. That comes with a lot of film study and experience."

Over his four-year career, Moses completed an FCS-record 1,184 passes for 13,401 yards and 121 touchdowns.

In other FCS awards announced Thursday, linebacker J.C. Sherritt of Eastern Washington was named the top defensive player and Tony Samuel of Southeast Missouri State the top coach.

Sherritt received the Buck Buchanan Award on the eve of his team playing Delaware in the FCS title game. Sherritt was the runner-up for the award last season.

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Samuel took Southeast Missouri from 2-9 to 9-2, winning the school's first Ohio Valley Conference championship and a first-ever trip to the FCS playoffs. They were ousted by Eastern Washington in the second round.

The awards were chosen by a national panel of sports information directors, journalists and others.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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