BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Samford senior running back and kick returner Fabian Truss has been added to the watch list for the Walter Payton Award, the Sports Network announced Tuesday morning.

The Walter Payton Award goes to the top player in all of Division I-FCS football. Truss is one of 20 players across the nation to be named to the watch list for the prestigious award.

Through seven games this season, Truss leads the Southern Conference in all-purpose yards with 1,584 total yards, for an average of 226.3 yards per game. Truss ranks fifth in the league in rushing with 601 yards so far this season. He also has 263 receiving yards, 509 yards in kickoff returns and 211 yards in punt returns.

For his career, Truss is Samford's all-time leader in all-purpose yards with 6,019 yards in his career. The total also ranks third in the history of the SoCon.

Truss is the second Samford player to be named to a watch list for one of the Sports Network's national awards this season. Safety Jaquiski Tartt was named to the preseason watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award, which goes to the top defensive player in the FCS.

This is the 27^th-consecutive season The Sports Network has presented the Walter Payton Award. The Sports Network will present all of its postseason FCS awards on Dec. 16, 2013, in Philadelphia, Pa.

The 22^nd-ranked Bulldogs will take the next week off from competition. Samford will return to action on Oct. 26, when the team plays at Wofford. The game is scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. (CT) start from Spartanburg, S.C.