CHICAGO, Ill. – Illinois State senior running back Mason King has earned a spot on the preseason watch list for the 2024 Walter Payton Award, which is presented annually to the national offensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football.
Stats Perform selected King as part of the 35-player preseason watch list for the award named for legendary running back Walter Payton and affectionately known as the Heisman of the FCS. All 13 FCS conferences are represented on the watch list, which includes 2023 Payton recipient Mark Gronowski of national champion South Dakota State as one of its 10 past finalists.
King was named the 2023 Missouri Valley Football Conference Newcomer of the Year and an All-MVFC First-Team selection at running back, after he led the team with 983 yards rushing, 14 rushing touchdowns and 84 points scored. The Centralia, Illinois, native led the MVFC with 14 touchdowns and 98.3 yards per game and he averaged 6.6 yards per carry, which ranked him in the top 10 in the FCS last season.
A MVFC All-Newcomer Team selection in 2023, King tallied five games with over 100 yards rushing in his first season at ISU following a transfer from Northern Illinois. He recorded a season-high 170 rushing yards with three touchdowns in a win over Western Illinois and ran for 169 yards and three scores in a win over Murray State. King earned MVFC weekly honors twice during the season, once as the league's offensive player of the week and once as newcomer of the week.
2024 Redbird Football season tickets are available for purchase NOW online at GoRedbirds.com/Tickets or by contacting the ISU Athletics Ticket Office at (309) 438-8000.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
