Four CAA Football Players Named To Walter Payton Award Watch List
Rob Washburn
30 FCS Offensive Standouts Named to 2025 Walter Payton Award Preseason Watch List | Opta Analyst
RICHMOND, Va. (July 29, 2025) – Four CAA Football players have been named to the 30-person watch list for the 2025 Walter Payton Award, which is presented annually to the national Offensive Player of the Year in FCS football.
Making the list from CAA Football are Villanova sophomore running back
David Avit, Rhode Island junior wide receiver
Marquis Buchanan, Stony Brook graduate running back
Roland Dempster and Monmouth graduate quarterback
Derek Robertson.
Avit rushed for a team-high 923 yards and nine touchdowns last season, earning CAA Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. A finalist for the Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman in FCS football, he eclipsed the 150-yard mark in back-to-back games last season and added 11 receptions for 175 yards.
Buchanan garnered All-America status last season after topping the CAA with 82 receptions for 1,124 yards and eight touchdowns. He became just the eighth player in school history to post a 1,000-yard receiving season and he enters 2025 ranked 10
th on the Rams’ career receiving yards list.
Dempster received numerous All-America accolades in 2024 after rushing for a league-high 1,332 yards and 18 touchdowns. A finalist for the Payton Award, he recorded seven 100-yard games on the ground, ranked third in FCS in total touchdowns and added 32 catches for 335 yards and a TD.
Robertson, the 2024 CAA Offensive Player of the Year and a Payton Award finalist, set program records with 3,937 passing yards and 31 touchdowns last season. He led FCS in passing yards per game (328.1) and total offense per game (325.3) and threw for more than 350 yards in seven of his 12 contests.
The Walter Payton Award will be announced at the Stats National Awards Presentation on Jan. 3, 2026 in Nashville, Tenn.