CHICAGO – Illinois State junior running back James Robinson has been a handful for opposing defenses so far in 2018, and for his efforts he has been named as one of seven players who was added to the STATS FCS Walter Payton Award Watch List on Thursday by the organization.
The Payton Award, known as the Heisman of the FCS, honors the national offensive player of the year award in college football's Division I subdivision. Its esteemed list of past Payton Award winners includes Steve McNair, Tony Romo, Brian Westbrook, Jimmy Garoppolo and Cooper Kupp. Robinson follows in the footsteps of fellow Redbird running back Marshaun Coprich, who finished third in the voting for the award in 2015. Overall, Robinson is the fifth Redbird player in school history to be nominated for the honor.
The Rockford, Illinois, native ranks in the top 15 in the FCS in seven different offensive categories and is No. 4 overall with his nine rushing touchdowns. He also ranks No. 6 in the FCS in total touchdowns (10), rushing yards (783), yards per game (130.5) and scoring (10.0). Robinson has run for over 100 yards in four of the last five contests and scored multiple touchdowns in three of those games, including a career-best tying three scores in the win over Western Illinois. Thanks to his 202-yard performance in a victory last week versus Southern Illinois, Robinson became the 12th player in school history to rush for over 2,000 career yards and the first to run for over 200 yards in a game since Coprich in 2015.
Robinson was tabbed as a sophomore All-American by HERO Sports following the 2017 season, after he ranked second in the MVFC and No. 11 in the FCS in rushing touchdowns (12) and third in the conference in rushing yards (933). The Rockford, Illinois, native was named an All-MVFC First Team selection and posted six games with 80 yards or more, while scoring multiple touchdowns in four contests for the Redbirds. Robinson was the team's leading rusher with 165 attempts, averaged 5.7 yards per carry (second-best in MVFC) and rushed for career-high 193 yards in a victory over nationally-ranked South Dakota.
No. 7/8 Illinois State (5-1, 2-1 MVFC) hits the road Saturday to take on No. 1 North Dakota State (6-0, 3-0 MVFC) in a crucial MVFC matchup at the Fargodome. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m., and the game can be seen on ESPN+ and heard on WJBC AM 1230 and 93.7 FM or the TuneIn app.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Â Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
Â
