Quarterbacks Beau Brungard of Youngstown State, Taron Dickens of Western Carolina and Cole Payton of North Dakota State have been invited to the announcement of the 2025 Walter Payton Award, which will be presented to the national offensive player of the year in FCS college football.

The trio have emerged from 30 finalists across 13 FCS conferences for the 39th annual Walter Payton Award, which is affectionately known as the Heisman of the FCS. The recipient, selected after the regular season by a 56-member voting panel, will be announced at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Show on Jan. 3 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Brungard, a 6-foot, 215-pound junior from New Middletown, Ohio, received the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s offensive player of the year award. He ranked No. 1 in the FCS regular season in touchdowns responsible for (48 via 23 passing, 24 rushing and one receiving) and No. 2 in total offensive yards per game (357.9). He became the 16th player in FCS history (across 17 times) to surpass 2,000 passing yards (2,917) and 1,000 rushing yards (1,378) in the same season. He accounted for 407 more yards and six touchdowns in a playoff loss to Yale this past Saturday.

Dickens, a 5-11, 180-pound redshirt sophomore from Miami, received the Southern Conference’s offensive player of the year award. In only nine regular-season games, he ranked No. 1 in the FCS in passing yards (3,508), passing yards per game (389.8), completion percentage (74.2), total offensive yards per game (425.4) and touchdown passes (38). He set an NCAA all-divisions record by completing 46 straight passes to begin a game against Wofford, and it was 50 in a row over a two-game span.

Payton, a 6-3, 233-pound senior from Omaha, Nebraska, has helped defending FCS champion North Dakota State to a 12-0 record, the MVFC championship and the No. 1 seed in the national playoffs. In 12 regular-season games, his 197.4 pass efficiency rating ranked No. 1 in the FCS, and he was No. 2 in completion percentage (74.1). He was ninth in total offensive yards per game (294.1) and combined on 28 passing and rushing touchdowns.

The Payton Award is named for legendary running back Walter Payton, who starred at Jackson State as part of his Hall of Fame career. Its past recipients include Steve McNair, Tony Romo, Brian Westbrook, Taylor Heinicke, Jimmy Garoppolo, Cooper Kupp and Trey Lance.