BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Samford quarterback
Liam Welch was named to the preseason Watch List for the Walter Payton Award, which goes to the top offensive player in FCS football, by Stats Perform Wednesday morning.
Earlier this week, Welch was named third team preseason All-American by Stats Perform, and last week he was picked as the Southern Conference's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.
Following the 2021 spring season, Welch was named an All-American, and was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award. Welch was also named first team All-SoCon, and the league's media named him the Co-Offensive Player of the Year.
Welch led the SoCon and ranked second in the nation in total offense per game, averaging 424.2 yards per game. He also led the league and ranked fourth nationally in both passing yards per game (373.3) and pass efficiency (160.6).
Welch started six of Samford's seven games in the spring season, and threw for at least 300 yards in five of those six contests. He set a Samford and Southern Conference record, throwing for 570 yards against 19
th-ranked VMI. Welch was named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week twice (Mar. 1 and Mar. 22), and he earned SoCon Player of the Month honors for both February and March.
A total of 35 players were named to the preseason Watch List. More players can join the list during the regular season, and a national media panel will select the winner following the season. The Walter Payton Award was first give in 1987. Former Samford star quarterback Devlin Hodges won the honor following the 2018 season.
Also this season, Stats Perform will present the Buck Buchanan Award (FCS defensive player of the year), Jerry Rice Award (FCS freshman player of the year), Eddie Robinson Award (FCS coach of the year) and Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Samford will open the 2021 fall season by hosting Tennessee Tech on Thursday, Sept. 2 at Seibert Stadium. Season tickets are on sale at the following link:
PURCHASE TICKETS.
For the latest news and information on Samford football, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at
SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at
/SamfordFootball (Facebook),
@SamfordFootball (Instagram) and
@SamfordFootball (Twitter).
WALTER PAYTON AWARD PRESEASON WATCH LIST
Quarterbacks
Eric Barriere, Eastern Washington (2019 and 2020-21 finalist)
Juwan Carter, Norfolk State
Jack Cook, Dayton
Zerrick Cooper, Jacksonville State (2019 finalist)
Tim DeMorat, Fordham (2020-21 finalist)
Draylen Ellis, Austin Peay
Aqeel Glass, Alabama A&M (2020-21 finalist)
Felix Harper, Alcorn State (2019 finalist)
Cole Kelley, Southeastern Louisiana (2020-21 recipient)
E.J. Perry, Brown
Eric Schmid, Sam Houston
Breylin Smith, Central Arkansas
Daniel Smith, Villanova (2019 finalist)
Cameron Ward, UIW
Liam Welch, Samford (2020-21 finalist)
Running Backs
Percy Agyei-Obese, James Madison (2020-21 finalist)
Julius Chestnut, Sacred Heart (2019 and 2020-21 finalist)
Josh Davis, Weber State
Elijah Dotson, Sacramento State
Juwon Farri, Monmouth (2020-21 finalist)
Geno Hess, Southeast Missouri
Quay Holmes, ETSU (2020-21 finalist)
Dejoun Lee, Delaware (2020-21 finalist)
Jah-Maine Martin, North Carolina A&T (2019 finalist)
Karl Mofor, Albany
Pierre Strong Jr., South Dakota State (2020-21 finalist)
Otis Weah, North Dakota (2020-21 finalist)
Devin Wynn, Furman
Wide Receivers
Samuel Akem, Montana
Avante Cox, Southern Illinois
Dai'Jean Dixon, Nicholls
Jequez Ezzard, Sam Houston
Jakob Herres, VMI (2020-21 finalist)
Tyler Hudson, Central Arkansas (2020-21 finalist)
Christian Watson, North Dakota State
