BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Eight different Patriot League football student-athletes and one coach were named among the finalists for five NCAA DI Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) national awards, presented by FedEx Ground, as announced by Stats Perform this week.
 
Recipients of the 2023 Walter Payton Award (National Offensive Player of the Year), Buck Buchanan Award (National Defensive Player of the Year), Jerry Rice Award (National Freshman of the Year), Eddie Robinson Award (National Coach of the Year) and Doris Robinson Award (National Scholar-Athlete of the Year) will be announced at the FCS National Awards Banquet on Jan. 6 in Frisco, Texas – the eve of the FCS championship game. A national voting panel will select the winners. 
 
Four Patriot League Football Players Among the Walter Payton Award Finalists
Fordham sophomore quarterback C.J. Montes, Holy Cross senior quarterback Matthew Sluka, and senior wide receiver Jalen Coker and Lafayette sophomore running back Jamar Curtis were named among the 30 finalists for the 2023 Walter Payton Award, presented since 1987 to the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) offensive player of the year.
 
Montes completed 241-of-376 passes for 3,000 yards to lead the Patriot League and finish sixth in the FCS in his first season under center at Fordham. The Second Team All-Patriot League selection completed a League-leading 26 touchdown passes, seventh in the FCS while throwing a League-low one interception.
 
Sluka, the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, passed for 1,728 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed for 1,247 yards and nine scores to lead Holy Cross to the sixth-ranked scoring offense (36.9) in the FCS. Coker led the FCS with 15 touchdown receptions, tying the Patriot League’s single-season record. His 1,040 receiving yards were fifth in the FCS. Sluka and Coker are both three-time All-Patriot League honorees.
 
Curtis earned All-Patriot League honors after leading the League and finishing second in the FCS with 133.3 rushing yards per game. The sophomore running back led a Lafayette offense that ranked 14th in the FCS in rushing offense (195.7). He also ranked 12th in the nation with 12 rushing touchdowns.
The Analyst Release
 
Dobbs and Shaeffer Among the 30 Finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award
Holy Cross fifth-year linebacker Jacob Dobbs and Lafayette fifth-year linebacker Billy Shaeffer were selected among the 30 NCAA DI FCS student-athletes for the Buck Buchanan Award, presented since 1995 to the FCS national defensive player of the year.
 
Dobbs, the Patriot League Football Defensive Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year, finished second in the FCS with 13.9 tackles per game, helping him break the League’s career tackles mark in the final game of the season. Dobbs’ 432 tackles during his decorated career in Worcester, Mass., also makes him second among active FCS players.
 
Shaeffer led a Leopards’ defense that held opponents to a Patriot League-low 22.2 points per game, 31st in the FCS, to earn the Patriot League title and a berth in the FCS Playoffs for the first time since 2013. Shaeffer also led the Patriot League in tackles for loss (TFLs) (20.5) and sacks (10). He was third in the FCS in TFLs per game (1.9) and fourth in sacks per game (0.91).
The Analyst Release
 
Lafayette’s Joseph, Lehigh’s Yoder Among Jerry Rice Award Candidates
Lafayette freshman defensive lineman Jaylon Joseph, the 2023 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, and Lehigh first-year running back Luke Yoder were announced among the 22 finalists for the Jerry Rice Award, presented since 2011 to the DI FCS national freshman of the year.
 
Joseph finished with 26 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, 4.0 sacks, eight quarterback hurries and a blocked kick in 11 games for the Leopards. He helped a Lafayette defense that held opponents to a League-low 22.2 points per game, playing in each game in his first season in Easton, Pa. He recorded 1.5 TFLs and 1.0 sack to help hold Fordham’s high-powered offense to 16 points in a Week Eleven victory.
 
Yoder finished sixth in the Patriot League in rushing (644), averaging 5.0 yards per carry and scoring six touchdowns in his rookie season with the Mountain Hawks. The two-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week averaged 90.8 rushing yards per game in six League games, including back-to-back 100-yard performances against Bucknell (138) and Holy Cross (123).
The Analyst Release
 
Lafayette’s Troxell Named a Finalist for the 2023 Eddie Robinson Award for FCS Coach of the Year
Lafayette head coach John Troxell was named among the 20 finalists for the 2023 Eddie Robinson Award, presented since 1987 to the FCS national coach of the year.  
 
Troxell earned Patriot League Coach of the Year after guiding the Leopards to a five-game improvement from 2022 en route to the program’s first Patriot League title and FCS-Playoff berth since 2013. Under Troxell, Lafayette’s defense ranked atop the League, holding opponents to a League-low 22.2 points per game while finishing fifth in the FCS with 3.18 sacks per game. His team also featured the nation’s 14th-ranked rushing attack, averaging 195.7 yards per game.
The Analyst Release
 
Holy Cross’s Dobbs Among 15 Candidates for Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award
Holy Cross fifth-year linebacker Jacob Dobbs was honored among the 15 finalists for the 2023 FedEx Ground Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award. The ninth-annual award is presented to an FCS student-athlete who excels on the playing field, in the classroom and the community.
 
Dobbs continues to rack up honors during his decorated career in Worcester, Mass. The fifth-year linebacker was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in his career earlier this week, in addition to receiving Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. He also joined a list of 28 Patriot League football student-athletes to earn All-League honors four times. On Nov. 18, Dobbs broke the Patriot League’s career tackles record, finishing the season with 432 tackles, second among active FCS players. His 13.9 tackles per game also ranked second in the FCS. In the classroom, Dobbs carries a 3.76 cumulative GPA as an economics and religious studies double major, having also been selected as a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, considered the Academic Heisman.
The Analyst Release
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.