BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Three Patriot League football student-athletes were selected to the 2024 Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List when it was announced by
Stats Perform. The Walter Payton Award is presented annually to the national offensive player of the year at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level.
Fordham junior quarterback C.J. Montes, Holy Cross senior running back Jordan Fuller and Lafayette junior running back Jamar Curtis – the 2024 Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year – are listed among the 35 student-athletes on the preseason watch list.
The initial watch list includes all 13 FCS conferences. The Walter Payton Award, presented
since 1987, is selected by a national media panel at the conclusion of the regular season. Two Patriot League student-athletes have earned the Walter Payton Award, with Colgate running back Kenny Gamble collecting the accolade in 1987 and Raiders’ running back Jamaal Branch in 2003.
STATS PERFORM RELEASE
Fordham’s CJ Montes Named to Preseason Payton Award Watch List
Fordham junior quarterback CJ Montes was named to the 2024 Preseason Walter Payton Award Watch List. Montes, who was a finalist for the 2023 Payton Award, is the third Ram to be named to the award watch list since 2021, joining quarterback Tim DeMorat (2021 and 2022) and wide receiver Fotis Kokosioulis (2022).
FORDHAM RELEASE
Holy Cross’s Jordan Fuller Named to Walter Payton Award Watch List
Holy Cross football senior running back Jordan Fuller has been named to the preseason watch list for the 2024 Walter Payton Award. Earlier this week, Fuller was named to the Stats Perform Preseason All-America team and was recently named to the 2024 Preseason All-Patriot League team.
The 2023 Associated Press Third Team All-American is the program's career-rushing touchdown leader (40). Last season, he ran for 1,046 yards and a nation-leading 19 touchdowns, including a school single-season record 18 rushing touchdowns, en route to first-team All-League honors. He was named the National Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 4 following a five-touchdown, 134-yard performance in a 42-20 win against Merrimack.
HOLY CROSS RELEASE
Lafayette’s Jamar Curtis Named to Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List
Junior running back Jamar Curtis was named to the 35-member preseason watch list for the 2024 Walter Payton Award.
Curtis was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award in 2023, when he was the nation's second-leading rusher with 132.7 yards per game. He was selected to the Stats Perform Preseason All-America First Team on Monday and named the Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year on July 24.
In 2023, the Film and Media Studies major set a Lafayette single-season rushing record, carrying the ball for 1,460 yards and 15 touchdowns while breaking a 30-year-old Lafayette single-season rushing mark. He added two more touchdowns through the air, finishing with 19 catches for 164 receiving yards. A native of Waldorf, Md., Curtis collected All-America laurels from four different media organizations following the season.
LAFAYETTE RELEASE
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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 who are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.