CHICAGO – Illinois State All-American running back James Robinson was one of 25 players announced for the 2019 STATS FCS Walter Payton Award preseason watch list on Wednesday.
The Payton Award is given to the offensive player of the year in college football's Division I subdivision. The watch list included at least one player from all 13 FCS conferences and is updated periodically throughout the season. Robinson was a finalist for the 2018 Walter Payton Award and has already been named a pre-season All-American by STATS FCS and HERO Sports FCS.
The Rockford, Illinois, product was named a 2018 STATS FCS and HERO Sports FCS All-America Second-Team selection and earned third-team All-America honors from The Associated Press. Earning All-Missouri Valley Football Conference First-Team honors for the second-straight year, Robinson led the MVFC with 1,290 rushing yards and tied for second in the league with 12 rushing touchdowns during the regular season.Â
He averaged 117.3 yards per game and 6.3 yards per carry and posted a pair of 200-plus yard rushing performances. Robinson recorded six 100-plus yard rushing efforts and scored multiple touchdowns in four contests throughout the season. He was named MVFC Offensive Player of the Week, after rushing for a career-best 256 yards and two scores in the season finale versus Youngstown State and ran for 202 yards and a score against Southern Illinois. He heads into his senior season ranked fifth in career rushing yards (2,545) and rushing touchdowns (26) at Illinois State.
The Payton Award was first given out in 1987, and has watched past winners such as Steve McNair, Tony Romo, Brian Westbrook, John Friesz, Brian Finneran, Jimmy Garoppolo and Cooper Kupp move on to the NFL.
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